Recently in Hyderabad, at the National Round Table on “Lakshman Rekha for the News Media, Editor-in-chief of The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle

Mr.MJ Akbar

revealed Seven Deadly Sins routinely committed by the Media:

Seven Sins:
* Media owners, journalists becoming players in game of business and politics
* Bias in various guises
* Pomposity of journalists
* Seriousness generating boredom in readers
* Triumph of trivia
* News on sale
* Ignorance

While television personality Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai mentioned that there is rampant insensitivity and trivialisation of issues which signalled the need for a Lakshman Rekha. He quipped that while editors are lobbying to get Rajya Sabha seats, marketing managers are making news decisions. The chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice J.N. Ray, said that the media had not only shied away from constituting a regulatory authority.

Now, what I feel is about 'Bias' - well,liberal Bias infuse bias reporting in network television and trigger hindrance to reporting facts. Issues ranging from homelessness to aids, reporters are going over the misinformation of pressure groups they favor, to the harm of honest reporting. Fairness, balanced and integrity disappeared with changing times in network television. There has been one-sided nature of reporting of the news coverage tilting to the left which is close minded and journalists honesty have become pawn to liberal opinion. Political correctness in network television creates a sensation ahead of the facts and enthusiasm of the reporters mis-fires the message, often misleading the viewers to create waves over the issue. An example is the Riots of Gujarat, the whole print and television media journalists focused on the one major issue and harp over the incidents to raise the heat of news reporting. Balance reporting fell out of gear and the news that shoot and create waves chart to the top and the biggest scoop story of the time would probably not be heard in the evening news. The bias really affect on how people view to see the world!

It's indeed true, as Mr. Akbar says that the seventh sin is ignorance which is strongly prevalent among the new generation of journalists! Awareness is Lacking most of the time!

- ilaxi