Sensation over sense, the mad race to TRP

It isn’t long ago when news was broadcasted roughly half an hour every day. But in this era of staying updated to the last millisecond, this pattern has changed. We now have access to news channels 24*7. 

Today, news channels are judged more on grounds of their TRP and less on the content covered by the media. In simpler words, TRPs are an indicator of the number of people who watch a particular channel in addition to giving details about the socioeconomic categories that viewed the channel. This data helps in generating revenues through advertisements.  

But is the benefit of staying updated worth it or are we just creating unnecessary news in the mad race to TRP? Let’s weigh how much this sensation makes sense. 

Sense

Let us first weigh the pros of the subject and analyze how much the 24*7 news channels make sense in today’s day and age.  

• 24*7 news broadcasts help people in staying aware of the happenings around the globe.
• Media is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy, and news channels strengthen democracy by ensuring transparency in the functioning of the government.
• An eminent economist Pranab Bardhan in his analysis of India and China argues that press in India has been favourable in checking crony capitalism and corruption. 
• It also helps in establishing accountability amongst our elected representatives. Those in power are aware of news channels that act as watchdogs.
• Easy availability of news helps people develop an interest in the happenings around the world, turning citizens into aware and learned voters.

Sensation

Now that we have discussed one side of the story, it is time to look at the other piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Let us now understand how and why the mad race to TRP is causing side-effects. 

• In the lure of TRP, news channels tend to exaggerate every piece of news they lay hands on. It thus creates unnecessary panic among people.
• News channels concentrate mainly on negative news which impacts happiness levels of people.
• As per the latest report released in 2020, India’s Happiness Index is ranked as “dismal”. News Channels have a major impact on influencing it.
• Many news channels are opting for paid news and are manipulating people. Many news anchors have taken a stand either for or against the government and they sound pretty blatant and adamant when speaking on such matters. This does not give the audience a clear picture of what’s actually happening and instead shows them only one side of the coin. This is one of the many reasons why people are losing faith and trust in news channels.
• Some political parties have news channels of their own. It results in biased news to influence voters, which tarnishes free and fair elections.
• News channels often take up the role of investigators at crime scenes which was observed recently in Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. It created a huge uproar on social media even before any evidence was found.
• The repeated telecasts of communal violence incidents instigate extremism and jingoism which can be detrimental to the society’s integrity.
• As news channels report crimes every now and then, it fosters a constant feeling of being unsafe.

Conclusion 

Whether the sense of this constant sensation is helpful or not is for the user to decide. While 24*7 news broadcasting helped in generating awareness, it takes the quality of news at a toss. It is high time for news channels to level up their integrity and make sure that people are not misguided. It is about time for journalists and news channels to step aside and not be party to the mad race to TRP.