A teenage daughter is allegedly clinically slaughtered by her natural father, citing her 'objectionable' relationship with the middle-aged man servant of the house, with the mother present in the near vicinity, seemingly totally ignorant of the murderous drama being enacted in the next room.  

A personal tragedy of such gargantuan proportions, where two of the total three members of a small nuclear family are embroiled in a deathly trail of life altering events was dissected to its goriest extent by the sickeningly overt sensationalizing of media loudmouths.

Like scavengers picking on carrions, media personnel were seen scurrying all and about for every little scum of a detail on the poor girl, whose life was made into a mockery, resembling a grizzly celluloid version of things gone wrong, of impulsive decisions that altered her very existence.

And sadly we were the audience, who spurred by the onslaught of electronic investigative forays, gladly took the bait, lapping up the dementia that represented the case.  

With new angles emerging each day, the murder mystery is acquiring operatic proportions. The nauseating special capsules in between "Breaking News" segments, replete with melodramatic soundtracks defeat the purpose of balanced coverage that should ideally signify journalism.

Media in general and Indian media in particular, goes a long way to prove the adage that eventually, every channel of dissemination of information, succumbs to the mores of all-permeating commercialization.  

Serving news and events, all garnished with unnecessary hype, is meant to adhere to the basic maxims of demand and supply. Stoke the demand and consequently strive to satisfy it by whatever means available! 

Is hype the only resort?

Packaging of information is a much more important and crucial task than Indian media gives it credit for. Having the means to influence public opinion brings a baggage of ethical and practical mores with it. Overdoing the routine kills the sense of balance that media should strive to inject into the masses at times of crunch crisis.

Prioritizing and underlining the eventual importance of a certain piece of news requires discretion and sensitivity to global affairs. The grim proportions of a natural disaster like Myanmar cyclone, the heartbreaking devastation of China earthquake, the political turmoil in Zimbabwe shouldn't be overshadowed by melodramatic presentations of a personal tragedy, which should have been restricted to the realm of limited and to the point coverage, given the basic courtesy one owes to an untimely death of a single individual.  

Laying idealism on the side even if one views it in a purely professional light, glaring discrepancies greet one's eye. Every profession has its means, with which it seeks to fulfill its designated maxims.

It's an accepted reality that every profession boasts of practitioners, who blatantly trespass in order to abuse their rights and duties, but that cannot stop us from contemplating and acting towards filling the resultant gaps. Journalism and media is a turf that has a whole lot riding on it, given the limitless prowess it has of impacting public opinion.

Succumbing to sensationalism is understood to be a given in these times. But what next? What direction will the Indian media embark upon once this high commercial tide gives way to a slump? Will ethical, balanced coverage become a veritable marketable asset then? What is the discerning viewer supposed to do till such a time arrives?

Here is an effort towards urging the Indian media to let cinema occupy its own turf, to not let 'bollywoodian' drama creep into news coverage, to help retain the remnant sobriety of the field, which was once its enviable asset.