The role of media has always created a deep impact on the lives of the common man. While on the one hand it has updated people about the situations around the world, there again it has also created panic when half baked news has come out in the open. In India, the growing popularity of the media is having varied effects on the lives of people.
It has been quite a few years now that the Indian media has advanced from newspapers and radio and made its way into the television industry. There are several news channels that run 24×7 and keep people updated about all the incidents not only in the country but also across the world. The greatest benefit of this system is that people sitting in India get updated about the incidents that are happening in the USA within a matter of minutes. Unlike the old days, there is no need to wait till the next day when the newspapers arrive to be updated about the other side of the world. These channels also have sites on the internet that are updated every minute, so that even those who are on the move can remain up to date via internet on their mobile phones. Say for example the day when the World Trade Center came down, it was a matter of moments that people all over the world became aware of it.
Or even when the trains in London were bombed, the whole world became aware of it, thanks to the media. This immediate update enabled people from across the world to connect with their near and dear ones to ensure their safety.
However, it cannot be ignored that where on the one hand immediate knowledge about incidents help people, there again the media can be a menace at times. Media in India at times become repetitive and they keep playing the same news tape over and over again. At time those news items which are not at all important get a lot of hype, sidelining the occurrences that could be of real importance. Indian media paid too much attention to events like the wedding of a star son and a leading heroine, the kiss that a Hollywood star planted on the cheek of a Bollywood heroine, the coming to light of the clandestine relationship of a Pakistan cricketer with a lady, and also the pregnancy of a Hindi film heroine. These incidents are of least importance to the life of a common man and so much importance only takes away the light from those incidents that can really affect people in their daily lives.
Media in India is very strong and it is up to the journalists as to how they bring forth the news from across the world.