Good News is No News; No News is Bad News; And Bad News is what makes a great story.

And the Indian Media [perhaps the world over as well] has been following the tenets of journalism way too “purposefully”. If I’m to pick up one as a representative example of all, I’d go with my favourite Arnab Goswami. My admiration for this Felix scholar and an Oxford University alumni is huge, for cutting the chase and for his efficacy at articulating his unyielding journalistic theorems. 

So while I’m predominantly referring to Arnab here, this goes for the entire fourth estate , the degree depending upon how much they are able to replicate Mr. Goswami’s debating style.

There’s this whole thing, about delivering news, which he does so brilliantly while sporting a hair flick- his signature style at the Republic- a throwback to the early Bengali era calling upon the Rabindranath Tagore story characters.

I’m blogging this to ask questions [which will in all probability never get to him for me being such a passive blogger]. But Arnab, the nation wants to know [I have no idea what the nation wants but figured it out to be a determined way of asking questions]:

  • Why do you cozy up so well with the pro-government or BJP aligned panelists who are literally presented like class monitors or the good boys whom you bring in to speak in tandem for a team attack on your shows?
  • Did you know there is a term to describe your wearisome volubility that is called ‘Logorrhea’ [it means excessive use of words] and I believe you so excel at being ‘inaudibly loud’?
  • Did you know standing up during your debates connotes a desperate manoeuvre of power for an aura of command through a dominant posture, which is not debate-conducive by any rationale?
  • Why do you continue to give free airtime platform to radical leaders or near-separatists who would not even mumble the words “Jai Hind” or “Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ despite your scolding to beat it out of them?
  • Why do you shout out a war propaganda with blazing hashtags such as #DontSparePak, which is likely to stir up some with no brains but a lot of power under their fingers?
  • Where do you pick from, your choicest words and vocabulary for lashing out acrimony, provocation and journalistic hysteria, as well as rousing rogue sentiments for loathsome tweets by the end of your news debates?
  • Why don’t you seem to remind yourself that news reporting and debating ought to be done with utmost social responsibility and not for fuelling emotions with rage and impulse, just to have your channel TRPs jumping up?
  • And finally, did you realise that your journalistic style has become despotic, outsmarting even the power-centric politicians, who fairly allow the voters to take sides. The undertone of each debate hour virtually has you saying, “I want everyone on my side. And if not, then remember- you will be singled out, marked and dealt with, for being an anti-national [read as “anti-Arnab”].

Though, I so adore your journalistic acumen and will continue to do so, it’s time to ball roll a new hashtag “ArnabShutUpPlease”.