Election and the Dirty Media wars

With five states going for elections presently, there is frenetic activity throughout the country. Even as I was leaving Delhi, the election fever had already gripped Tamil Nadu. Even a month back when I was contemplating on how to spend my vacation before joining the company after my MBA, I was confident that there would be some entertainment in lieu of the TN elections scheduled for 8th May 2006. After reaching here, in no time my belief was justified, albeit to an even deeper level. However on a more serious and sober note, the election scenario is pathetic and even alarming for a democracy like India. What is ever more pronounced today is the siding of the fourth estate with the political parties. This has eaten into the transparency of these media and has made them blindly biased.

There is a clear division of the satellite TV channels and the newsprint media with the various parties. The stage is set out like this: The opposition front led by DMK is backed by the Sun Network of satellite channels and their print media including newspapers like Dinakaran. The ruling ADMK has its eponymous satellite channel JJ TV and some print media to its advantage. Now there is a clear pitched battle between not just the parties but also their media partners who openly distort news and report only those things that support their party. Recently, both the sides have come out with their own version of pre-election polls which show the respective parties romping home victorious! One might argue that this has been the case in the earlier Assembly election in 1996 and 2001. However this time things are blaringly biased and only too obvious.

Also another interesting mockery is happening this time. Sample this: Sun TV has stopped screening Vijayakanth movies/clips as he has recently formed his own party to contest the elections. They have also banned showing movies/clips of
a host of other actors who have expressed support to the ADMK. Rajinikanth movies are a strict no-no as he has abstained from expressing his support to any front this time. Sarathkumar has broken away from DMK to join ADMK, so it is obvious that he cannot get airtime on Sun TV. Sarathkumar’s wife Raadhika, who heads the Raadan Media Works produces most of the popular programmes in Sun TV. But as the couple have crossed over to ADMK, it is just a matter of time before the programmes too make their way to Jaya TV!! Similar is the case with the other front.

Funny isn’t it? But that’s the sad state of affairs in the media front in Tamil Nadu which has caught the election flu!