Dumbing down gone too far: Media must face the mirror

Blame it on the race for eyeballs. As media logic goes, the more the eyeballs, the more the revenue. The more the revenue, the stronger the organisation. The stronger the organisation, the better paid are the journalists. How do you get there? Shed all pretense of intellect and appeal to the lowest common denominator. Dumb down enough to attract attention, swim with the tide and never antagonise the audience — actual and potential. After all, it is eyeballs that matter. But how far can you go? The current outrage against the media is not entirely unjustified. Yes, the media has taken up an activist role, raising the issues of people and exposing corruption in high places. But clearly that has not been enough to bring enough credibility to the profession. Politicians and people who are constantly under the media scanner have their own axe to grind against the media, but what is worrisome is the shrinking respect for journalists among the lay viewer. [caption id=“attachment_143637” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A news producer at a studio in New Delhi. Reuters”]  [/caption] The sharp reaction in the media to Justice Markandey Katju’s caustic remarks on journalists reveals their inability to introspect and take criticism with dignity. Katju was too sweeping in his observation and too condescending, but, the media — which feels it has unfettered rights to criticise everybody — was not doing any justice to themselves by refusing to take some criticism. The sad part is Katju’s impression on the low intellect of journalists is shared by a good number of intelligent people. Possibly, the process of dumbing down has gone too far. By focussing too much on the lowest common denominator, journalists have come to be viewed as part of the imagined or actual audience they cater to, of the same intellectual wave length. The simple truth that the audience/viewer/reader is intelligent and needs better — in form of news and analysis — is conveniently forgotten. A big share of the blame rests with television media which has come to be identified as ’the media’. With television, ‘over-the-top’ is the standard expression used in the context of certain programmes. It was at its worst during the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare. Anchors of some channels became extensions of the crowd at Ramlila Maidan. There was no sense of balance, objectivity and whatever acceptable journalism stands for. The anchors were clearly taking sides, stifling all contrarian views and bulldozing critics of the movement. In some studios there was a clear absence of reasoned discussion. The viewer at large was forced not to be critical and swallow the views of anchors. The media was doing no great service to journalism by going out of control. In the panel discussions, the anchor did not ask questions, he/she interrogated; took a pre-decided line on issues and forced others in the panel to fall in line. There was a lot of arrogance going around. It was not difficult for the viewer to realise that he was being taken for a ride, made to look stupid. In this particular case, a large section of the media was going with the public mood, too timid to raise questions. In the process, it was not fighting a public cause, it was looking after its own interests. Finally, it’s about eyeballs. Interestingly, the media’s credibility has not gone up after the Anna episode. The feeling around is they are not doing what they are supposed to do. Raising public temperature was never their core activity. Why must anchors be showmen, entertainers and rabble-rousers, all rolled into one? It is not a role they are supposed to play. They would be doing a great service to the country by being dispassionate observers encouraging intelligent debate and genuine discussions. It may not get viewers in droves but it will certainly give respectability to the profession. The message: respect the intelligence of the viewer, he will respect yours. But it also has to be admitted that it is a situation many editors — all very competent journalists — are forced into. Competition is a difficult beast to handle. And it’s a matter of eyeballs in the end.