Many media houses are divided among political parties and this remains true even if they bluff that they are not. Looking at the recent past, media houses, irrespective of their political affinity, used to show decorum, strong subject matter, journalistic vigor and drive.
News bulletins on ETV, TV9 Ravi Prakash’s news presentations and effective interviews, Rishi’s news presentation on NTV, Point Blank by Murali Krishna, and Rajinikanth’s interviews all carried weight and commanded viewership. There was always something to know or learn from their articulation and professional approach.
Today, the pity is with some journalists, especially on TDP-allied media channels, who have become troll material.
One journalist recently spoke about a football court in Andhra Pradesh, mentioning meaningless “85 degrees and 90 degrees” terms that were not understood by anyone. He keeps praising Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh without substance, using exaggerated words of praise. He never minces words and speaks whatever comes to his tongue. His videos go viral just for meme value.
There is another journalist on a different channel who claimed that Chandrababu has the power to kick the cyclone and send it back, but said circumstances did not favor such a kick this time. This statement also caught the attention of many YouTube trolls. This is not just one but there are many.
Likewise, there are some social media journalists who behave like TDP maniacs, claiming that three crore tickets were sold in Hyderabad alone for Akhanda 2, raising eyebrows among those who know that the city’s population itself is around one crore. Such statements invite laughter and trolling.
These meme materials are being seen only in recent times at this level. Journalism has lost its value completely and has become disgusting.
Normally, when someone says something, opposing groups get angry, but here nobody feels anger, only frustration. Ironically, even sensible TDP followers find these so-called journalists disgusting. They realize that these individuals are doing more damage than good with their spineless blabbering.
Well, the videos of these media clowns are being uploaded on social media, making them memes, and those handles are becoming popular.
Many wonder how much these media-clowns are being paid to lose common sense and speak at this level. Unless the payment is unimaginably high and numbing their senses, it is difficult to understand this kind of madness.
“The only dare these journalists have is that both Telugu states currently have favorable governments, so they feel no one can touch them. If the government changes in Telangana, they can blow the trumpet of that party. They change loyalties only in Telangana, as their properties and positions are in Hyderabad, but show loyalty only to Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh. They don't change even though they are told that entire world is laughing at them,” said a senior journalist.
Usha Chowdhary