Cyclone Gunu has caused havoc in Oman. Citizens of Oman, who visit Mumbai to have a personal experience of rain, have now experienced a real nightmare. One Indian is said to have perished and about a dozen missing. The real problem is lack of information. Our electronic media gleefully present interviews with people back home complaining our government's inability to give information about their dear ones. I am not belittling the concerns of those back home; but the media should be realistic and should not excabarate the wounds of those already suffering.
Even in this age of communication revolution, things depend on infrastructure and when that infrastructure collapses, what can anyone do? It will take sometime for things to settle down and skeleton services to commence and information will trickle in. No point in blaming the government when the storm is still raging.
Instead of going for the kill by presenting false picture, these channels should create their own infrastructure for such calamities. How many of these channels have sent Ham Radio Operators (who alone can successfully function in such conditions) to Oman? Do they have any panel of names of those who willingly volunteer to render such service. Can't they arrange their passage? Ham Radio Operators had done yeoman service in 77 AP Cyclone and the recent Tsunami.
Media should practice what they preach.
One more word of advise to the Electronic/Print media. They should not show the bodies of victims of road accidents/murders, etc. in graphic/gory detail. It will be very shocking to the relatives of the victims, especially if they are not already aware of the incident. This is nothing but intrusion into privacy and robbing dignity in death. Ethically the correct procedure is to convey the bad tidings personally to the relatives of the victims by deputing a person who can handle such a situation with due sympathy and dignity before giving details. Some of the Telugu channels have been very insensitive in this matter.
Ponder...
No comments:
Post a Comment