Chhota Rajan return and over hyped media coverage

New Delhi: A heavy contingent of mediamen remained deployed outside the Air Force Station in Palam since Thursday evening as if to welcome somebody who would usher in a paradigm change in India.

The overnight wait ended when India's most wanted don Chhota Rajan landed at the airport. And the news pandemonium began.

With media houses who claim to be "your channel", "aap ki awaz", "people's voice" reiterating what Chhota Rajan eats and where he goes, it may be time to question their media ethics.

Is it newsworthy to focus on his diet when countless Indians go hungry? Or is Chhota Rajan the primary security concern of the nation now?

At 2 PM on Friday, media channels reported, "Rajan is healthy". Is it justified to spend crores of money to air Chota Rajan's health status?

However, all media channels failed to establish whether Rajan was arrested or he surrendered. An exclusive video coverage had Rajan and other press cameramen in the same frame.

The media channels also raked up controversies such as the Mumbai Police being "irked" as the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Strangely, even the Sheena Bora case was dragged in while airing the Chhota Rajan case. The modus operandi of catering news shows that the media houses lack actionable content and do anything for catching the eyeballs.

The reckless reporting by media houses has pointed to a probable India-Pak war. Channels opined that India would use Chhota Rajan as an "asset" to catch Dawood Ibrahim who is backed by Pakistan's ISI. Can the channels afford to touch on such sensitive issues?

The media hype escalated to such heights that it eclipsed the exit-poll on the Bihar election. Even the PM's address did not create much of a flutter.

Instead of focusing on the success of the intelligence agencies, the channels kept on parroting what Rajan did in his childhood and aired documentaries on his meteoric rise.

This testifies to the fact that media channels are gradually losing their focus of catering news and making content to appease people. Instead of educating or informing the news-hungry masses, media houses keep on sensationalizing the news.

However, the channels failed to laud the heroics of the team that made the operation successful. Instead, they kept making Rajan a hero and glorifying his journey.

Calling Rajan a 'patriotic don' is just uncalled for.

(Picture courtesy: www.behind2ndlook.wordpress.com)