Just before the commonwealth games there was a lot of noise in the media about how well India is prepared for the games. Be it the press or the electronic media, national or international, they were right behind CWG organizing committee taking and reporting updates. Oops! Fault-finding updates. The roof is leaking! Approach way is water logged! Bridge construction activity is running behind schedule! Footprints on the bed! Stinking and dirty washrooms.. so on and so forth! But did it mean that everything else apart from what was show-cased by the media was perfect! Nope, that wasn't the case either. The good thing that came out of this was that the organizing committee felt the heat and the work got done better and sooner. There was also a negative side to all this. The world was watching! Many got the false impression that India is nowhere near the world standards in organizing events. India's image was tarnished. Many conveyed their denial to participate in the games. Much to their awe, the opening ceremony was fantastic!
A lesson to learn! Media should be properly balanced. It should condemn the bad, but at the same time appreciate and show-case the good. Showing the right picture is very important.
The other day I read about an accident on Mumbai-Goa highway near Panvel. A biker was hit by a truck; while he fell on the road another truck ran over his legs. He was alive, unable to move, lying in the middle of a busy highway and just outside a very famous restaurant. People passed by, parked their cars and went in for snacks, but nobody bothered to attend to him. Finally, after half-an-hour the police managed to arrange for an ambulance and took him to a nearby hospital. But it was too late to save his life. This is another example of how the patrons should not be! Media does report incidents like this in bold. But if on the other hand, had anybody quickly helped him and saved his life, it would have gone unnoticed!
The point I am making is... positive journalism! Media does report positive things as well, but too little for the mass to hear. My opinion is to have a dedicated section in every daily, just as we have sports, economics, national, international, local and page-3, on the good things that's happening around us - motivating and inspiring patrons every single day. Reporting good things makes one aware of how beautiful this place is, how kind and helpful people around are and he/she also will also act accordingly.
Kudos Jeevan!
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