Andhra Pradesh - A Strategic Ignorance Of Media

Disclaimer: please bear with my English ,there might be grammatical and spelling mistakes but sorry a poor telugu fellow trying to convey the pain ,i want my feelings to reach out to you ...that's all ...

A Letter To Media 

To

 Main Stream Media and National Media 

I start my letter to you by quoting ambedkar words which you almost uses as a troll or tool (sorry take what you want )  called freedom of expression and freedom of speech :

Ambedkar view of media :    

    

"It is depressing that we don't have enough resources with us. We don't have money; don't have newspapers; Throughout India, each day our people are suffering under authoritarianism with no consideration, and discrimination; those are not covered in the newspapers. By a planned conspiracy the newspapers are involved full-fledged in silencing our views on sociology-political problems” 

when I look back at the works of ambedkar what he wrote about india press at that time  is clearly a mirror image of Andhra Pradesh today.

….

I am a citizen of india ,belongs to forbidden area and ruined place called "Andhra Pradesh" which is ruled by a 125 yr old congress party that constantly ignores that its because of the 41 seats that this state give a breathing to congress to form a central govt and make a selected pm at the center however we are also citizens of india ..let us keep it aside but what about you people who believe to be the medium and 4th pillar of indian system yet always ignore this land. Of course we know you are national media ,we know that you have a reach only to the metros and national importance  news but somehow you always have a duty to report on all the issues at least faced at the state level .you ignored us because of your bosses who are close to congress or your trp rates which are low in the state but the big question always remains is when will our voices are to be heard ? actually these days I get a doubt that do really Andhra Pradesh have a voice ?

Let me elaborate on few issues that made me to come to this conclusion 

The power situation 

when ysr died in 2009,the power situation was a concern but after his death ,it is evident that power was really the center of point but you ignored it as saying it is a state issue but when north india was under a power grid failure for just few hrs ,your vans lined up before minster homes and parl and keep on asking why this happened ,well national media never gave that importance or at least came to Andhra Pradesh to actually know how we will live with 14hrs-16hrs power cut, but who cares in media ,all you need is just simple trp games ,why I mentioned power in the first place,right now it is a burning issue ,you will never even reply to many tweets and many questions I pose on you to have a look at the life we are leading here ,well it is just in vain …..

Now coming to 2012, the power crisis and the lack of power supply reached a peak that even in winter season we are facing a power cut of 10-12hrs and already the CM Of Andhra Pradesh tells all people in Andhra Pradesh to pray to the god to give current …..Did anyone of you report on this bizarre statement? He goes on to speak and says acs need to be switched off ,power usage need to be reduced ,ok no problem but what about hospitals which saves the lives of us .do you report on this ?

Small scale industries and medium scale industries have began to close ,it is expected that by the end of dec 2012 ,wither world will end or not you keep asking but in Andhra Pradesh the industries come to end by end of December 2012.who is responsible ? who is going to help us ? do we expect you to report this ? are you going to help us ? NO.you talk about unemployment in other states ,here also there is vast unemployed youth who are going to fall in prey for the golden schemes by political parties called youth pensions ........but still i dont see any thing coming on tv about andhra pradesh

You got many entertainment shows concentrating on how amitab wears and how rahul Gandhi eats and  how modi does act ,but I agree you need trp but you can’t compromise on the ethics you follow and the way you take the oath that we will be unbiased and will be ruthless towards injustice 

 …

At the end of this discussion on current issue …..want to ask you following questions 

1.did you anytime report on the pains of rural Andhra Pradesh who go through a 6am to 6pm and 6pm to 6am power cuts

2.you talk about power cant be given for even 7hrs for farmers ,well at least we are asking for some power to sleep .who gives us ,why don’t you take the matter to central govt ,why this hesitation?

3.do you seriously follow journalistic ethics ? what wrong did Andhra Pradesh did to you ,we are also citizens ,  you constantly ignore the news of us ..

  telagana issue

This was one issue where all media have collectively have decided that telagana must be given ,happy ,they were numerous discussions and they were numerous debates where people are called up and given a chance to talk but here comes the tricky part . I could hear only one side of the story ….the real people who are on other side were never given a chance to speak ,I am not saying about lagadapati or someone else ,I am talking about ground situation ,how many times you travelled out of Hyderabad ,please don’t tell me we are national media so we don’t have the issue of knowing about the rural Andhra Pradesh but media its about 2 areas not a birthday cake piece that has been cut in your studio .hope you do understand ,recently heard a news media anniversary cake was so tasteless that one of the guest posted on twitter saying your cake is a bit of crap

Political instability and lack of governance 

There has been a instability in Andhra Pradesh  politics since 2009 due to different factors ,in these times ,your duty is to act as a news maker and news teller to tell india how a 125yrs party is trying to make the state into a burial ground ,sorry guys but this is the strongest word I used but what do I do ,do I have a choice ? no ,you tried to ignore every aspect of news about Andhra Pradesh ……what really hurts me is when Andhra Pradesh is suffering from drought and floods ,not even on single national media came forward to do a story on it …..what do we expect from a system that has buried the stories of corruption in order to make media deals with them …..do we expect ?

 We as citizens feel like we are no more a state of this so called “Largest Republic Of India” .

The people who are to be a medium between govt and people ……alternatively changed into the business of news making and storytelling .Once a famous journo said to me that telugu is a secondary language in Andhra Pradesh ,yes that is our ruining and dying situation of national media where our constitution which was made in delhi gave us the first state that has to be born on the linguistic bases …….do you really check your facts and stories.

Scams and past mistakes 

 Big scams happen, you go and tie up with those people and lead the regional  media ,do we have to separately tell to world which channel or which media I am speaking about .what hurts me really is the deliberate back side of the stories  ..ya you are the common man voice ,bullshit ,you don’t even know common man in Andhra Pradesh ,how do you represent the whole of india  .i don’t want you to go to every village and make ,sorry hear stories ,at least basic issues like power,water ,lack of basic immunities and of course lack of proper governance ,scams,govt corruption ……A basic example I want to give is,

1.Do you know in past 10yrs ,they were 108 civil servants who were caught in corruption .do you at least have the stories of some of them..

2.do you know Andhra Pradesh govt that started free ambulance with toll free no 108 was stopped or called as lack of funds .

3.do you know there has been liquor scam that happened where a minster was involved and he publically accepted and the supreme court has refused to accept that he did the scam .

4.do you know villages will have 16hrs power cut and towns will have 8hrs and city like Hyderabad has 3hrs power cut

5.the cm daily gives us the devotional speeches saying pray to god ,stop using current and later he will say stop drinking water .do you report this ?

6.In nov ,the govt of Andhra Pradesh has to make contract sigining with power grids and pvt power suppliers but it never happened because of slow functioning of our cm,did you ever report ,no when north india for few hrs gets dark ,you go gaga over it and cry as if it was your channel power was cut ,  ………at least use some sensible reporting on our issues also

 7.we are fighting for past 30yrs for a seprate railway zone to vizag but it never featured on your channels because ,its minor issue but what actress wear is your issue ,

If I start writing all the problems ,this blog becomes a daily serial .so just think once ,

do we really doing justification in highlighting the issues of a state that is the breath of the govt at delhi where your studios are just side of the party offices ….?

Last but not least every other weekend I see lot of you go on vacations ,the hurting factor is that you don’t post pics ,I know you on tv but really would like to know what you are in real life …….

Finally end of the day if I write, shout, tweet, or post, you are not going to change, so I will only change and give a silent cry on my fate of being a telugu citizen,

I end with a quote by Herbert Zettle

 Media production gives you the tools to clarify, intensify, and interpret events for television, computer, and film presentation. In effect, it teaches you how to apply major aesthetic elements to manipulate people’s perceptions. Because media consumers are largely unaware of the power of media aesthetics, they must and do trust your professional judgment and especially your good intentions. Irrespective of the scope of your communication—be it a brief news story, an advertisement, or a major dramatic production—your overriding aim should be to help people attain a higher degree of emotional literacy, the ability to see the world with heightened awareness and joy. All your aesthetic decisions must ultimately be made within an ethical context, a moral framework that holds supreme the dignity and well-being of humankind.”