Journalism or sensationalism?

Watched Mumbai Meri Jaan yesterday. As you may already know the movie looks at how the lives of five people are affected by the 7/11 local train blasts. One of the five people is television reporter Rupali Joshi (played by Soha Ali Khan), who loses her fiance in the blasts. The movie shows how her life changes, and how she is forced to take a second look at what goes on in the media - especially the television media - in the name of journalism. And the director Nishikant Kamat has really hit the nail on its head. Of how the television media in India - well, I'll talk about India because of my ignorance of what goes on in other parts of the world - will almost do anything to garner TRPs and viewership ratings. Of how almost anything is sensationalized by the media today. Right from frivolous things like a cat on the roof (see image), to people's personal tragedies and battles. The movie shows a scene where Rupali is shown covering a story on caste-based murders in some remote village. The scene shows the women bemoaning the death of their husbands, and the reporter (Soha's character) thrusts a mike into their faces to ask, "Abhi aap kaise mehsoos kar rahen hai?" And suddenly, a similar visual from a popular television news channel came to mind. The setting was very familiar. Communal tension. Deaths. Protests. And the television reporter asking a family member, "Ab aap kaise mehsoos kar rahen hai. Aapki kya apeksha hai, ki sarkar ne kya karna chahiye?" One feels that the media in India would not hesitate to sell it's soul to the devil, if they were to be guaranteed the numero uno spot in the TRPs war in return! In the movie, the television team Rupali works for is shown huddled together in the meeting room after the blasts, looking at possible 'hot' stories to be aired at 'prime-time'! She zeros in on the case of a young 25-26 year old who loses his life in the blasts. This young man is the only earning member in his family, which includes his wife and kid, and his ageing parents. Rupali asks her team to get every bit of information they can on him, and his family. It will strike an emotional chord with people, she says of the story. And so it's decided that the story will go on air 'Saturday night, 9:30 PM, primetime!'

Is this what has come to pass in the name of journalism. Sadly, the answer may be yes. While the media does do it's bit in creating awareness, and may even help in securing justice (the Jessica Lal case), one wonders (yes, it may seem cynical) whether it does even that with the sole aim of getting the truth out? Or is it another attempt at garnering TRPs?