He also said the media in Indian democracy from just being an informant has become a participant who partly lays down the agenda.
In the highly competitive scenario for news organisations, the desire to be watched more can lead to shrillness and hype where the other side of the picture is ignored, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said.
The viewer, he however added, has freedom to decide which version is closer to reality and it is here that the "conventionalists have a chance to hit back". The I&B minister was addressing a seminar organised by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Delhi on 'Establishment of a Communication University'. Jaitley said that the best training a journalist can get is only when he is on his feet in the field.
The media, he said, in Indian democracy from just being an informant has become a participant who partly lays down the agenda. "Whether good or bad, not in a position to sit on judgement," Jaitley said. The Minister said that if news channels have to compete with each other, there comes in the desire to create hype, which can be done through controversies, celebrities or important crime events being highlighted.
"This necessarily leads to shrillness. In a shrill debate, the other side of the picture is not known. And if the epidemic of shrillness spreads than channel across channel, you will find only one viewpoint.... And if there is a legitimate alternative viewpoint, how do you fill in the gap for that?," Jaitley asked.
He said the advent of news camera has changed the definition of news to "what the camera can capture". He added that even if one looks at conventional media, a policemen throwing a stone or singer having made a tweet found more prominence than the results of British elections.
Jaitley referred to the absence of adequate "financial model" as a real challenge saying that while digital media is still struggling to find such a model, in electronic media the cost of distribution is higher than the cost of content.
In such a situation, the cost of content can be obviously compromised, he said. The I&B minister said that there are a number of public issues currently being debated, but he was choosing not to express himself because he feels not adequately informed. "It is only when the shrillness dilutes a little, there will be space for the other viewpoint," he said.
Also Read: Lack of 'adequate financial model' a challenge for many media organisations: Arun Jaitley
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