From reading to shouting news
Over the decades, there has been a sea change all around — none more so than in the sphere of TV news. Newsreaders have got a makeover; they are unrecognisable from their predecessors. News has stayed much the same, whether it be the vagaries of politics, the weather or cricket. It is the presentation that has changed.
Back in the old day, newsreaders were staid personalities. Nothing shook them, whether it be India winning the World Cup or a devastating calamity. They read both with the same dead-pan expression. They were truly yogis who maintained equanimity in all tumultuous situations.
Occasionally, a fly flew around the TV studio and settled on the newsreader’s nose, but there was not one twitch from him or her. Finally, it was the fly that gave up and flew away!
Newsreaders had a fan following. We admired their flair and poise, their voice and enunciation. The viewer observed subtle skills. In the absence of a tele-prompter, the newsreader could look the viewer in the eye and reel off sentence after sentence, not once glancing at his or her notes.
Television news was an ‘also-ran’ — a quiet, 15-minute programme that brought the day to a close. The drone of the newsreader lulled you into a good night’s sleep.
Contrast this with today’s hype and hoopla. The 15-minute news is now stretched to a channel of its own that runs 24×7. The monotone voice will not work anymore. Today’s news anchors are showmen — theatrical and loud, dramatic and opinionated. How else can you capture the viewer’s attention?
Factual news is now ‘interpreted’ with a melodramatic twist. There is breaking news and big breaking news. For any topic, the anchor gathers bullies from opposing camps and pits them against each other in a verbal duel. The result is mayhem. It is a street brawl as the participants bay for each other’s blood — rolling up sleeves, knotting up the lungi, slapping the thighs and spitting on the palms. The decibel levels shoot up to outshout the other in the ensuing slugfest. The saving grace is that the participants are all virtual. Had they been in the same studio, it would have come down to blows. The viewer’s primitive instincts are stoked. Reclining on the sofa, he is like a Roman emperor salivating over a gladiatorial fight to the finish.
Of course, the news anchors won’t blame themselves. They will swear that the public wants just this — ‘The Dirty Picture’, where entertainment, entertainment, entertainment rules the roost.
Meanwhile, what about news?
