Five years ago when Tehelka.com introduced India to the concept of a sting operation, we were all jubilant.It showed us that finally transperancy was on its way.A very unfortunate Bangaru Laxman was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.And something that we had always known was proved yet again,namely,politicians are corrupt.But soon these optimistic musings were killed when most of those implicated by the sting operation continued their careers in active politics.Tehelka, just as its name implied, had started the age of Sensationalism although accountability still seemed elusive.
Media gurus and spinmasters realised that the Indian psyche loved this concept of a sneak peek.This lead to many scandals which were bordering on obscenity and definitely in the realm of bad taste.From sting operations on B-grade Bollywood character artistes to unknown television artists, we saw it all.News channels covered these faux pas of the relatively rich and famous as though it was credible news.Obscene MMS's regularly pop up featuring Bollywood starlets and the girl-next-door.I guess the decades of prudish Media coverage lead to this voyeristic streak in all of us.
In all fairness,we cannot blame the Media agencies alone for this turn of events, as they just supply the public's demand. Our nation stands at this critical juncture in History with increasing global clout and also increasing global aspirations of its citizens.But as the values subscribed to by the mass Media change, the public perceptions are confusingly muddled.
This is definitely not the face of the Brave New World.Page 3 culture is well and good, but I hope we come to realise that there is a fine line between Celebrity worship and outright voyeurism.The only thing the Tehelka sting operation gave birth to was poor standards in journalism and of course provided a means for Tarun Tejpal to gain enough prominence to let loose his enormously poor contribution to literature, Alchemy of Desire.
The authour is a final year student in a prominent engineering institution.This article and other graphic artistry by the same authour can be viewed at http://weedwanderer.blogspot.com.
Author:: Kartikeya Bajpai
Keywords:: Tehelka,Sensationalism,India,Media,Mms,Obscene,Bangaru,page 3
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