Gordon D’Souza echoes a growing frustration with the electronic news media in India:
The arrival of the private sector to broadcasting promised a lot but today I stay away from any Indian news channel. The reasons are pretty obvious. Practically everything is ‘Breaking News’. I can barely see the broadcasts due to a stock market ticker, a weather ticker, the odd cricket score ticker, the ad marquee, the ‘Breaking News’ marquee, the logo, etc. As each and every news channel jostles for content it doesnt push up the standards but hits a new low every time. And every time they try to shock my sensibilities by broadcasting shocking content I am indifferent, because I have been repeatedly shocked and my brain has adjusted to the madness of some obscure madman.
It’s a race for towards the bottom, and it’s a race where everyone loses. The market is wide open for a sensible news channel that not only digs up issues that matter, but has the courage, character and perseverance to follow them relentlessly.