It was not that long ago when we had just a few options for news, entertainment and infotainment. We had radio to listen, TV to watch, and books, magazines and newspapers to read. The only way for a small guy like you and me to get involved into it was the phoning program where you could phone in, talk and request for your favorite song at your local radio station. Reality TV was still a new thing and your daily newspaper was like a holy-grail that needed to be devoured from the first to last page without missing a piece of news. The evening main news time was not only a special moment for all to gather around the TV but it also worked as a reminder for all to arrive home in time and enjoy the dinner while watching news as a family.

Then internet came in and it started changing the rules of the game. But it was the discovery of mobile technology that changed everything and the world was never the same again. Smart phone is a game-changer, you can literally do almost anything with smart phone and indeed it is a very powerful tool to have. We can not only play, read, shop, pay, watch and make call on smart phone but also take picture as well as make video all at the same time and at the same time, connect with the world from almost anywhere in the world. Everything is on our fingertips now. We just have to tap few words on the screen and bingo! It is there! Isn’t it just great?

People’s habits changed with time as well, we rather prefer our daily intake of reading including news, books as well as magazines on phones, and prioritize our needs by convenience as well as choice. It must have already been years since I have bought actual newspaper, people are even watching lesser TV now and common practices such as going to the movie are already becoming less common. Service providers as well as business owners must also change with time, everything is getting digitalization, and mainstream media is no exception.

Digitalization of mainstream media has certainly made reading news really easy. Just with a flick of fingers, you can read all the news and keep yourself update with the events from around the globe. We can not only read the news on mobile but also like, comment and share it with our friends on social media and help generate the necessary buzzes that media world so fervently craves for nowadays. The more likes, comments and sharing it generates on the social media, the more popular the portals are, and newspapers are said to be in great pressure to attract more followers. It is here when things get a little messy. In order to generate hypes, they have to start writing pieces that publics like to read and quality is somehow compromised.

It is mainly writings on cheesy, gossipy, racy, controversial and political topics that mostly generate reactions and such writings mostly lack substance. But sadly that is the demand of the time and newspapers, even the most prominent ones, must follow. They must hold their market share as well as keep their shareholders happy and a healthy presence in the social media is a must if you are to remain in the business. The media executives are well aware of that fact and they seem to encourage that in great deal.

However, there is a downside on letting people comment on the news thread. Needless to say, pleasing everyone at the same time is impossible and criticism is bound to happen. We might have different opinions but there are right and wrong ways to express them. Criticism is actually helpful when it is done in a civilized, polite and rational way. But people don’t give a monkey about ethics while on internet, everyone can become a tiger when alone and they tend to behave really badly. If they don’t like the piece, they become very aggressive and start hurling insult as well as abuses.

You might say I am wrong but I am saying it from my own experiences. As a regular contributor to a local news portal, I had some difficult situations of my own and some of the things said were quite nasty as well as hurtful. However I am not writing here in defense of my own situation at all. As writing novels is my main job, I can afford to stop writing for the newspaper and avoid such situations anytime. But what about those seasoned and respectful writers who have spent more than half a century on the same profession and perfected their trades? They have spent almost all of their life on this job and most of their works are of a very high standard? Yet, they are also put on the same level of scrutiny and judged by mutts who have zero knowledge on writing or journalism. They get the same treatment and abuse as others and that is certainly not right at any given society, especially in a modern and educated society like ours.

A society without respect for experience, intelligence and merit is the one in the reversing gear. All in all, it is like giving small men a huge sword to wield and hope that nobody will get hurt. Of course, it will. Ironically, nobody seems to care about it.


TIM I GURUNG/AUTHOR AT ISSLCARE – http://www.timigurung.com