Studying the Media

Starting with this post I intend to examine at the print, and possibly broadcast media and look at the kind of news they are reporting, and more importantly, not reporting. It will be an interesting exercise to compare what stories and themes different newspapers carry everyday, how they report similar stories, How much prominence they give to stories etc. Since media shapes public opinion a study of media will reveal the newsroom processes that go into deciding which news is 'fit' for public consumption, which news is in 'public interest' and so on. Since I am in Bombay (mumbai), which is a financial hub it should be an interesting study.

Today's post examines the Times of India dated October 9, 2006. ToI led with a story about controversy over prime property belonging to a church in Malabar Hill. A fairly routine story, but going by the soaring real estate prices in Bombay and shortage of land, the story is fairly 'juicy'. Incidentally there was a small ad about the sale of a bungalow in Juhu. The last line says 'Clients with "Taste & Budget" only'. Interesting, hmmmm. The second lead is about another case of data theft at a BPO in Delhi. Big numbers have been thrown around...50 crores apparently. The story looks at cyber crime and efforts to curb it.
Page 1 had 2 stories whose focus was real estate and the outsourcing boom. And finally on page 1, 'Brangelina' hysteria reaches fever pitch. A papparazzi style picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their son in an auto. I wonder how many people in Andheri, let alone Bombay have heard of the Hollywood couple? The way the all papers are reporting it it seems as if all of India is obsessed with them.
Two good stories on page 10. One is an opinion piece by Santosh Desai on education. Education is immediately equated with intelligence, ambition, urbane etc. while its opposite state (uneducated) is identified with ignorance and treated with disdain. The author seeks to upturn this 'received wisdom' and says that educated folk, who abrogate to themselves the right to define societal norms, are not automatically cleverer or more anle than uneducated people. I agree with this formu lation. In fact, I think educated people are more prejudiced than the ones that are the objects of their disdain.
A story about how Marathi films are turning to Jatras (mobile exhibitions) to break even financially was interesting. Since this genre is finding it difficult to exhibit in multiplexes, the jatras, that tour rural areas, are one option to recoup financially and reach audiences outside urban centres. What does this say about the tastes of urban audiences in Bombay, definitely not Marathi films.