Evolution of TV NEWS in times of COVID-19

 

The ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has changed us and the way we lead our lives is beyond comprehension. What once used to be a normal life- one that we called 'monotonous' and 'uneventful' at best, has now become something that the society yearns for - badly.

I'M A REPORTER TOO !! 

Phrases like ‘flattening the curve’ , ‘bringing down the graphs’ , ‘community spread’ , ‘stages of the pandemic’, - All of which If would have been uttered in as late as March would have solicited unkind remarks involving the speaker being blamed for making the  conversation boring - have now become household terminologies. Suffice to say, the virus has turned us all into armchair epidemiologists, and aren’t we thrilled about it !  

The pleasure of sharing some random pedestrian information in family groups or with classmates over WhatsApp isn’t something which can be put into words. And once some information reaches our ears, who exactly cares about assessing its authenticity?  The cardinal rule of Covid related info is that IT HAS TO BE SHARED WITHOUT VERIFICATION lest some distant uncle discloses it in the family group and takes on the role of the family professor. Now who’d want that, right?!

THE ONE WITH THE REAL REPORTERS 

When the pandemic began, our news channels were flooded with images of the demonic virus, with spikes larger than a cow’s horns protruding in all directions. In reality, these versions of the virus were all cooked up in the minds of the graphic designers of news channels because till then, the virus hadn’t even been viewed under an electron microscope, anywhere in the world, let alone making its colored version in HD quality available for news channels to mooch off. But again, in the race to release ‘exclusive’ imagery of the virus, channels forgot to verify the sources. Not that it comes as a surprise though. The general discourse of our media has fallen so abysmally that any new low should best be taken with a grain of salt.

But this was in early March.April. May. June. Eventually, as the Indian TV audience got bored with the same depressing stories of  the number of fresh cases, mortality rates and the ongoing migrant crisis, the channels found it excessively difficult to retain the audience. What must have followed is anyone’s guess, because a few days later ( And after long brainstorming sessions), the TV audience was again hooked to the ‘new’ shows the channels were showing. These included Yoga, beauty tips, cooking classes and other stories which the masses could relate with - children taking online classes, people banging Thalis to scare away the monstrous locusts and a lot more.

We also saw a change in the demographics of the TV news panels. What were dominated initially by doctors and public health experts, rightly so, were now back to being shouting matches and political mud slinging competitions. The result was an absolutely chaotic situation, where the older panelists didn’t know how to set their cameras, microphones and masks, all of which led to muffled voices and unclear visuals. Anyone who says they didn’t enjoy the sights of people struggling to keep their masks on while debating are either lying, or the virus has taken a toll on their  sense of humor because the sights were hysterical !

CRISIS ? NAH. WE SAY MONEY. 

We also saw social scientists, sociologists and psychologists make  appearances on NEWS channels, giving helpful tips and advice about maintaining sanity while in lock down. All good right? What would have been better is that the same shows  would have gone on air prior to the unfortunate demise of Sushant Singh Rajput. But as the saying goes, its never too late to initiate a good habit. Kudos to the channels for doing that.

As the Prime Minister said, this crisis needs to be turned into an opportunity. And to the credit to our NEWS channels, when the going got tough, the channels got going. They’ve really risen the bar when it came to evolving as per the demand of the time and their viewers and for that, they deserve the NUMBER 1 IN INDIA TRPs they all swear by weekly!

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