Just this morning, I got this link via twitter. It is a link to an article on the Financial Express where Baba Ramdev says that India should ban Rs500 and Rs1000 notes so that we can reduce corruption. This article reminded me of a scene from 30 rock (IMHO the best show on TV, more on this later) where Tracy Jordan goes onto Larry King live and asks the viewers to panic in reaction to news about a financial downturn in Asia.
The number of time our media reports ” XYZ said …” and “Famous actor ABC feels …” as news is ridiculous. I can expect gossip magazines and E! Online to carry this stuff but isn’t the job of the media to be responsible and report real facts and news. I am certain Baba Ramdev has no idea about finance or Macroeconomics. Everyone and his monkey knows this, yet why would a respected site like the Financial Express carry this ridiculous article.
It is really sad that, here in India, we do not seem to have a single good paper which publishes only news and none of this crap. All the media seems to do is make us dumber by giving us minute by minute reports of Sania Mirza’s wedding and a passing mention to a massacre of jawans in Dantewada. Sir Francis Bacon once said ‘scientia potentia est’ or “knowledge is power”. This is far truer today than it was in Bacon’s time. And instead of knowledge of real issues we know all about insignificant bullshit, instead of people giving real commentary or explaining things for the layman we have fake godmen giving idiotic suggestions.
Freedom of speech and all that is fine, but you can’t just tell everyone in India what one guy feels. If Baba Ramdev wants to tell India to burn all Rs500 notes of stand on your head while crapping, he can do it of his own expense on his own show, why is the media doing it for him? Why is it that the media completely ignores the people who actually need to be heard? I assume most people in the media are educated, why is this so difficult to understand?
Quid agis, medice? 
Masala sells, I guess. There are too many of us either too callous of what is printed in the newspapers these days, or who actually look forward to reading such crap.
I think the same would go for this article in HT below,
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Rahul-Gandhi-is-clean-shaven-again/Article1-542037.aspx
i totally agree with u on this one!
i once saw this late nite repeat telecast of NDTV online [my jackass cable network doesnt have it], n his panel had Montek Singh as a member, there was no loud argument or any such non sense the likes of which are common on Times Now or IBN. It was one of the most educative and awesome finance discussions i have ever witnessed.
I seriously feel the print and tv media is dumbing down the country with their non sense, not just the news channels, just look at the other trash on AIR, it sickens me sometimes. Nach Baliye 3, Aa Dekhen Zara.. WTF and comedy died long ago on Indian TV, so no point even discussing it.
One of my friends was telling me once, that ppl like u [i.e. me] only watch American shows, i was like, i try n watch quality shows, its not that one watches it coz its American.
Anyways, cant do much rite now but rant!
Good post!
Because news is no longer for information, media is no longer for enlightenment. It is a business.
Everything is business.
Including education. This is why, save for a few decent colleges and schools, the condition of our educational institutes is pathetic.
(Just saying.)
actually, baba ramdev’s complete argument is this:
Recall all Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes and re-issue new notes (new design, etc) in exchange.
Why do this?
A bulk of the black money in India is kept as cash. With this change, either the black money comes out, or loses value forever.
I don’t understand the argument for and against what he said, but the suggestion has merit and has been acknowledged by many economists. Manmohan singh mooted the same suggestion when he was in the finance ministry (citation needed).