The Supreme court says news channels  create  divisions in society

The supreme court recently made an observation that is apt and timely. The Supreme Court on Friday said the television channels are creating divisions in society, as they are agenda-driven and compete to sensationalize the news. The apex court also asked the news channels to do away with the anchors who create a schism in society while anchoring the news programs and debates. Sadly, this is true and continues despite the Supreme Court's earlier warning. Hate-mongering on the news channels has now become a norm. Divisive agenda and hate mongering has grown exponentially in recent years as news channels as also their anchors are immune to legal action, hiding behind the shield of freedom of Press. In the guise of news agenda-driven propaganda is being dished out to the people while engaging them in toxic communal debates that only lead to hatred in the society. The court observation comes from a bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna who observed that channels seem to sensationalize issues and work in tandem to promote a specific agenda. It is bizarre that often, even the vocabulary used by the news anchors is the same on a topic. This cannot be a mere coincidence.

A free and fair press that talked about the issues of the people and had people’s interests in the heart is long gone. It suits the news channels to have toxic debates as news gathering and research is a costly proposition while having a debate in the studio is easy; all you need is a foul-mouthed anchor to provoke the panel. This is a win-win for everyone; news channels get TRPs, anchors,  get popularity, and panelists get mileage to set shop based on their TV appearances. Nupur Sharma got her chance to indulge in blasphemy on a TV channel (which caused uproar and led to the loss of lives) thanks to a TV anchor. While FIR was lodged against Nupur, the TV channel and the anchor got away without a blemish. If one digs deeper, it is not only about the TRPs alone but also about pleasing powers that be who benefit from such toxic debates as the people's attention is deflected from the main issues and the irrelevant issues become the talk of the town. Such polarization comes in handy at election time. The Govt has informed the court that a comprehensive amendment to CrPC is in the pipeline and the Govt is in the process of taking people’s suggestions. One can only hope that such a law would rein in the errant anchors and their bosses.