The media of political discourse

The political discourse has changed. It should have evolved with rising social connectivity but unfortunately it hasn't. However the impact can still be observed in the numerous political discussions that happen on social media. The impact is however on the quantity and not the quality. This makes me think if the media is actually playing its role or it is simply a hoax and doesn't have any impact.

It is not denying that each of us has made up in our mind that a particular person or a particular party is the one that is going to bring the change we are looking for. Some of us are so leaned towards an extreme that no matter what we always stay with the political ideology of our choice. While some still try to judge everything from an objective point of view. I get worried when I see arguments that go beyond my logical understanding. Of course it would be wrong to say that my political understanding is correct but there is always a manner in which political discourses should be lead. I am worried about that. 

Recently I asked an acquaintance a question, "Isn't it wrong to follow news solely on the social media? It is biased as we always choose to follow pages that suit our political understanding". The reply made me think for a while, "what if I want to stay biased". So all the hullabaloo about the rise of information age and ignoring the press media isn't that white. Can we ignore the traditional media after all? No we can't and we shouldn't but then the onus lies on these traditional media that they should not try to bias with their own bias. It's better to bias oneself my one's own bias than to fall under the bias of what some people call 'selective journalism'.

Under the pretext of these biased news media has online Facebook pages like the Logical Indian, The Frustrated Indian, The Viewspaper or the Firstpost have emerged so strongly. Now who protects the sanctity of these platforms. They are equally vulnerable to biases - a bias which is leaned either left or right.

It is said that if a lie is told thousand times it becomes the Truth. I see something very similar happening in our political atmosphere today. If we take one incident and repeat that incident thousand times even an intellectual will think that the country is going in totally wrong direction. The problem in such scenarios is that the real problems remain untouched and the issues which are non-issues get the maximum attention. Maximum attention means that all resources are diverted towards solving a problem which wasn't a problem at all.

I remember an interview of the star reporter of Times Now - Arnab Goswami. He was asked a very simple question that within the realm of journalism it is often dictated that the presenter of news should never bring his/her opinions in the discussion. That's the most fundamental rule of journalism. But he was totally against this idea. According to him if you have an opinion let it be. Have a strong counter argument if some street-smart Politician is manipulating the viewer with his cryptic words. And then let the listener decide what is wrong or what is right. Many may disagree to his viewpoint but that doesn't stray them away from making the Newshour show one of the most popular show in the country.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.