Was it in 1884 when Paul Gottlieb Nipkow invented Nipkow disc (rotating disc technology) or in 1920 when John Logie Baird patented technology for using arrays of transparent rods for transmitting images or in 1927 when Philo Fansworth invented the first televised human face that the era of television began? I'm truly not an expert in the history of television and so I wouldn't get into details of its evolution. But what I do know is that in late '60s TV sets were gaining popularity.
So what has all this to do with Watchdogs and Wildcats? Well, something integral to what I have to say.
We have moved from Pre-historic times to Industrial revolution and then to the present Information Age. During these times, we moved from Barbarianism to Tribalism and to Colonialism. And then came Communism and Democracy.
Okay, there... We're close now – democracy. We know that democracy gave us freedom from slavery and autocracy. Right? Perhaps, yes! And, along with that, democracy also gave us - a protector called WATCHDOG – media (Press). Yes, you heard it right!! Now, you may ask what the link between TV and media is. The link, dear reader, is that television has come a long way from just being one of the medium to become the media itself – the be all and end all of modern media.
So why do I call them Wildcats when they should be called Watchdogs? Because instead of giving out a shout in the darkness (like how watchdogs bark at a stranger at night) and bring to light the issues that lurks, media has creatively designed a precarious mould and has gotten itself (and the audience) locked up in the very mould it created. This mould is creatively precarious because it has taken a new form – Wildcat – that focuses on the scene (or stream/process) and not the object (or fundamental/ real issue).
How often do we see a news story, which has an end? Let’s take the example of the Ambani brothers. Most of the viewers are lost in the cloud of developments crowding the actual news. What makes me say this? The recent news item that I read about the Ambani brothers reports that the younger of the two siblings has come back from a spiritual trip and wants to patch up with his elder brother… An average viewer is already lost in the cloud. From what started with a gas deal, the development has come to spiritual trip and talks for patching up. For goodness sake, I wouldn’t want to know what is happening between two brothers.
The point I’m drawing is that an average viewer is getting lost in the deluge of information (most of which is unnecessary) and is caught up in the process (the mould media has created). Instead of giving a complete picture, media, these days looses sight of the actual problem and gets into unwanted details.
And, what’s more. Instead of providing us information on what is happening around the world, media has started to create news. They are making exclusives, sting operations etc. They have moved from news to sensational issues.
This has to stop and media needs to know what its calling is. It needs to refocus on giving news and news that is worthwhile for the common citizen as that is its raison d’ etre.
What Nipkow, Baird or Fansworth thought of when they invented their pieces of history is a separate story. Not to mention that their inventions were good tools for the modern television. We have somehow managed to loose focus. So, lets reason this out and get out of the mould we are caught in.
