Take yesterday for instance. Afzal Guru was hanged in the morning. All the news channels diligently covered it as breaking news for whole of Saturday. Someone please tell them that once broken, it stays broken. It ain’t breaking news anymore. But Naah.. I wouldn’t be surprised if even on Sunday the news channels report it as breaking news.  Almost every channel without fail claimed that they reported it first… “You heard it first on our own channel”, every single news anchor screamed. The claim to reporting it first became, at certain points in time, more important that the event itself. As if Afzal Gurus hanging was not an important news for all viewers….but the fact that Times Now reported it first was of paramount national importance. Will someone please tell them that had I heard of Afzal Gurus hanging fifteen minutes later, it would have been fine with me.

Sad that histrionics have taken over news reporting these days. In the name of TRP’s, anything goes. Khap Panchayats are being run in the name of news channel debates. After the name of god, Arnab and Rahul have become the most uttered name in this country….at least on television. Histrionics in reporting is very much the name of the game. Sad that news channels don’t realise that if I want to watch drama I will go to a movie theatre or to watch a play.

And what about music? The background score,as the news plays itself, will put an eighties Manmohan Desai – Bachchan film climax to shame. Why does a dramatic filmy music score play in the background when an event as ghastly as a rape is being reported? I don’t have an answer to this. While channels like BBC and CNN are also far from perfect, the Indian news channels can learn a trick or two from them in news coverage.

If they don’t, then I think the day is not far when Salman Khan will welcome the panelists on News Hour Debate..( maybe SRK will go to Headlines Today) and A R Rehman will compose music and original background scores for these TV Channels. And we will have awards ….not for the best breaking news coverage but for the most original breaking news music score. We will not have awards for the best news anchor ….but for the best actor in a news anchor role. We are closer to this day than you can ever imagine….and when it happens, please remember….. YOU HEARD THIS FIRST ON THIS BLOG.   🙂

Have a great Sunday