The Decline of News Channels in India: Is Mass Communication at Risk?

Yesterday I had a call from a friend. He wanted to know if I had a friend in Mumbai who can find a rented place for his daughter to stay in sharing basis. He wanted a place in Bandra or Worli. His daughter is doing her MASSCOM from Mumbai.

My reason to talk about this story is my concern for the future this education may give.

In Indian diaspora news channels are now a joke. Gone are the days when crisp and to the point short news were delivered. Now Indian news channels are more like desi daily soaps.

The first example is where an anchor with an umbrella is giving a comical weather report in front of a screen showing floods and rains. Indian news agency has taken people for granted. They think the viewer is a 4 year old kid to which you can show pathetic VFX and animation with some rhymes.

The Second example is where a reporter was chasing a bollywood celebrity on car and at that very moment she was asking question to a closed glass of a running car in which the celebrity was travelling.

The Third example is the most common where the reporter is not at all concerned about helping the victim but to ask him a timid question for his channel.

I don’t know how far the MASSCOM education is going to build good reporters and news channels. We see mostly female anchors in Red shouting loud as they could. The debates are full of verbal fights and sometimes go to an extent of exchanging blows with each other. It looks more like a boxing ring and less like an debate.

The world is steadily shifting towards digital platforms. Smaller independent Youtube channels are giving accurate and no gimmick news. Gen Z is now interactive. Gone are the days when News were one way traffic.