Journalism has lost its charm – a fact, which every sensible citizen admits. Reporting the unusual and not the routine was the hall mark of journalism in the past; but the present-day journalism has stooped to such a low that anything under the sun has become a news.
Mainstream and digital platforms alike now compete to sensationalize the ordinary, turning anyone into a celebrity overnight.
Storytelling has transformed into a bitter war for ratings – an exercise in publicity rather than public interest.
Recently, a bizarre trend captured the Telugu media’s attention: journalists rushing to interview liquor traders who won government liquor shop tenders through a lucky draw.
As the tenders were opened and the bidders for liquor shops were announced, these so-called journalists vied with one another to interview the winners, as if they have won the World Cup or become national heroes.
The interviews were utterly absurd. “How do you feel after winning the wine shop tender?” “Will you retain the license or sell it to someone else?” “How do you plan to increase liquor sales?” — as if these were achievements of public importance.
What is ironical is that these liquor businessmen are carried away by the sudden media attention, sought to portray themselves as victors in a battlefield and gave more absurd answers to the “journalists.”
The same media that once held politicians and corporations accountable now glorifies liquor syndicates and their profit strategies, turning crime-linked entrepreneurship into prime-time content.
At a time when pressing social issues — unemployment, rural distress, corruption — abound, journalists focusing on liquor lotteries instead of people’s lives raises troubling questions.
The line between mainstream journalism and YouTube sensationalism has all but vanished. Sad day for journalism!
