Yesterday night while flipping through news channels, I stopped at a leading
Indian news channel where a debate was going on about the recent murder of
Pune-based Anuj Bidve who had apparently been shot by a Briton in Manchester without any
provocation. Many label it as a racist attack, many a hate crime n some as just
a psychopath killer. Whatever be the reason, a family lost a son without any
rhyme or reason, a 23 year old son whom they'd sent for higher studies to the
UK, a boy they'd raised so that one day they could proudly say this man is my
son. A bullet shot, a moment had taken it all away.
The debate started from sending condolences n heartfelt grievances to the family and continued along the lines of hate crime and racist attacks ending with the British media handling the crime better than the Australian media during the 2008 racist attacks on Indians.
Irritated, I put on the next channel. BBC. Bidve here too. But the stark difference was that the journalist was sitting with the Bidve family and sharing the moments they'd spent with Anuj. No mention of race, religion, nationality or hatred. Simply the sharing of a loss.
What struck me was the way the same murder case was being handled by the media.
While one was sensationalizing, the other sympathizing.
I am in no way comparing and evaluating the two groups of journalists. Rather I am simply laying down what I saw and what I felt as a common man.
I hope to God that the family finds the strength to endure this test of time too. And wherever Anuj is, may his soul rest in peace.
The debate started from sending condolences n heartfelt grievances to the family and continued along the lines of hate crime and racist attacks ending with the British media handling the crime better than the Australian media during the 2008 racist attacks on Indians.
Irritated, I put on the next channel. BBC. Bidve here too. But the stark difference was that the journalist was sitting with the Bidve family and sharing the moments they'd spent with Anuj. No mention of race, religion, nationality or hatred. Simply the sharing of a loss.
What struck me was the way the same murder case was being handled by the media.
While one was sensationalizing, the other sympathizing.
I am in no way comparing and evaluating the two groups of journalists. Rather I am simply laying down what I saw and what I felt as a common man.
I hope to God that the family finds the strength to endure this test of time too. And wherever Anuj is, may his soul rest in peace.
1 comment:
It is a wonderful observation. This is the stark difference that most of us notice but very few can put it into clear words like this. Journalism, in this day and age is at its all-time high but needs serious changes in functioning
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