Balancing on the Wall!

I believe media ought to be non-partisan and is ethically bound to be this way and just report facts as they are. Of course, If it were so simple then there wouldnt be so many news channels around boasting about their 'humble viewership'! would they?

Why is it people snigger about the dull news reports from the government owned channels when all it does is present the news like it is: without any frills? Which means one one hand while we complain about sensationalism of news by the media we seem to secretly encourage it too by subscribing to these channels, although not necessarily to their point of view. We like to shift channels between Jaya and Sun or NDTV and CNN- IBN to see what each has to say about an issue. We also like to know more about hidden intentions/meaning of what has been said by this person and the details of the body language and what it could have otherwise implied and so on. And when you get opinions from people belonging to different ideologies, it is bound to reflect in their opinion however erudite it is!

So in this context, is it possible for a newspaper to be totally loyal only to truth? (like 'The Independent' and the character depicted by Mithunda in the film GURU where the criterion for publication of a news item is only that it is true.)

So Today is there plain black and white in anything? Particularly in politics? So what is more possible is that they do not publish or say something completely untrue or totally speculative. A known fact is that news carriers and channels depend on advertisements for their survival in the market so there is some kind of pressure on them to go easy on their patrons! Well not surprising is it?

As readers and viewers we are also happy to be exposed to different views and analyses as it expands our thinking and presents diverse view points. The channels are obviously under pressure to grab the viewers with the result that the very critical issue over the boundary line between reportage and entertainment has become obscure!