By: Vijay Kumar Verma, Editor-ICN Group
“Saas bahu aur sazish”
“Saas bahu aur Betiyan”
“Saas bahu aur Suspense”.
“Saas bahu aur family Guru”
SHIMLA: These are some of the mid day servings on some famous National news channels. News of the women specific soap opera. Mid day is considered as siesta time for housewives. With spicy taste on who stole whoes beau or who played pranks etc. Menfolk are not supposed to be at home to watch and criticize the offerings. Truly so, it is not there time to be at home.While some other news channels run promotional programs in the name of news during these relaxing hours.The upto 3 hour slots on all these channels are reserved for such non news programs. If one settles down to update himself on news during lunch breaks, one wonders if he has switched on to a news or an entertainment channel. Closely followed by such programs in the evening one encounters a number of channels running slots on “Viral Such”. It appears that they are vying with each other to unearth the real facts behind such social media news. One may not have come across any such video in all practicality but only on the channels. There are news offerings picked from foreign media Irritatingly they keep repeating a shot, perhaps to fill up empty time. The news channels are supposed to be operated on auto mode during these hours.There are still many channels airing programs like “Avishwasniya””Adbhut” “Vardaat” crime thrills etc in the name of demystifying the myths. And that too in the name of news.There are no less than 100 news channels in the country with a few competing to claim the numerouno slot.Among them there are many channels airing debates of apparently non issues where none of the speaker is audible. The show becomes like a vegetable market where all the vendors are up to selling his ware. The news anchors blaring at top of there pitch, in a bid to detox the effect of a hot issue end up fanning it further. Sometimes it appears that certain issues are rather being flared up by the channels at the behest of some vested interests.Then there are news pegs based on irrelevant and senseless tweets by some bigwigs being shown out of proportion.The repetition of one news many times apart it appears that airing TV commercials is the major objective while news slots are mere fillers.Barring the fast news slots, watching the routine news appears to be is no better than killing time.
So what channels are you going to surf?
