A Brave Soldier, The Dog and the Media Scoop

The Brave Soldier :-

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a young man who knew his duty well went about doing it professionally and in the end made the supreme sacrifice of his life so that his colleagues would not meet his fate. He was given a hero’s burial. The electronic press was in the forefront in heaping praise and the high and mighty gathered to pay respect.

This would not have happened if he was able to do more acts of bravery and survive to tell the tale. You would not have heard about him, had he suffered injuries only - however brave his actions were. Sure, the Media would have then surrounded his hospital bed and bombarded him with repeated questions on the action, so that they could give on ground reports to the salivating public eager to know each and every detail of the attack as long as they were no where in the scene to actually witness it.

The Dog :-

Now that the hero was given the ceremonial final respects, the media was hungry for more. After all the Chief Minister of our home state had not paid the respects, where as the local state C.M had done it graciously. And so the hunt began. Political parties went to town about the issue and finally the C.M was forced to visit the family to pay his respects. By then the father of the hero was influenced by all the media reports and refused to meet and accept the condolence message that had been tendered under duress. There was rich pickings for the Media that night. Interviews, Phone call-ins, Campaigns to protect the Hero’s honour, Carpet bombing telecast after cleverly editing the whole unsavoury incident for max saturation effect. Hands were rubbed in glee in the editing rooms. There were high fives in the editorial desks. The TRP was off the charts, want more… Some more! Sleeves rolled-up the Media went to work.

The humbled C.M was asked by a channel about the alleged remark of the father of not wanting to see any Dog. The C.M fell to the trap. He said that had it not been for the hero no Dog would have even Glanced at the House. That was a crude colloquial expression that made the Media bosses jump up in glee. Out came the scissors and the question was deleted and only The C.M’s reply to the Dog question was repeatedly telecast. The opposition went down on their knees to thank their personal Gods, took out their dog garlanded with the C.M’s photo for a walk and just for the added effect cremated the effigy of the C.M.

By now the media could not get enough. A buffoon from Bihar came on to demand the C.M’s resignation and the people seethed with rage. Finally The C.M regretted causing pain to the family. Soon came the clarification from the hero’s family that they regretted the trouble caused to the C.M. They regretted the whole episode and wanted the whole affair to be closed.

What Sandeep’s family says….

http://www.asianetglobal.com/index.php?pg=newsdetail&id=9358

Speaking exclusively to the Asianet News on behalf of the father of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Rajeev a close family relative clarified that Times Now, one of the national news channels had asked the chief minister to commend about the ‘dog’ statement made by the family members of Major Sandeep. He also said that the family treats the reply by the chief minister as quite natural and pointed out that there would have been no controversy had such a question not been raised.

Rajeev added that the family members of Major Sandeep deeply regret the mental agony caused to the chief minister due to this un wanted controversy and called upon all those concerned to end the controversy at the earliest...That was a rude shock to the media and the opposition out in the streets. The channel immediately brought out the breaking news of C.M’s apologies. Of course the scissors took care of the family’s statement. After all no one likes to look like a fool after heading blindly with a story that was just a fabrication.

The Media Scoop :-

That is how Headlines Today blew a small ember from the funeral pyre of Sandeep Unnikrishnan into a conflagration. Times Now and IBN spread it online. See how successful they are. Close your eyes. Think of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. What is the image that comes in front of your eyes? His brave fight or the sight of his father running around agitated? This is why we must never trust what we see on T.V . Political agendas are carried out by manipulating what goes by the name News.

Conclusion : Never let Media houses be the Guardian and Formulator of your views.