Justice Markandey Katju has stirred the media out of its glossy Page 3 comfort zone. Stung by his incendiary remarks, the Broadcast Editor's Association had come up with a set of 10 Commandments to be followed while covering the Aishwarya Rai's child birth. As I had read it first in a blog my first impression was that it was some sort of a spoof on TV jounalists. It is another matter that these days some of the real news events upstage spoofs in terms of hilarity quotient.
Coming back to the 10 Commandments, even a cursory reading would make one realise that the broadcast editors were indirectly admitting that whatever Katju had said in his interview was correct.
Conditions such as "no pre-coverage of the event; story of birth of baby to run only after, and on the basis of, official announcement; story not to run on breaking news band" actually seems like a desperate attempt to nullify the numerous sins of celebrity fixation it had committed in the past.
Another set of conditions - no camera or OB (outdoor broadcasting) vans at hospital or any location related to the story; go for photo-op or press conference if invited; not carry any MMS or photo of the child - shows the extent to which the visual media had gone over-the-top while covering similar events in the past. To me it seemed like Sunday school lessons being dished out to teenagers in a juvenile prison.
Probably the broadcast editors were badly smarting under Katju's invective on astrology coverage while framing the following rules: no astrology show to be done on this issue; no 11.11.11 astrology show to be done. Astrologers like Sunita Menon or Bejan Daruwala will wonder as to what went went wrong with their own stars!
The last commandment, of course, takes the cake: "unauthorised entry into hospital not permitted." When Big B was in hospital a TV reporter had barged into his room in nurse’s clothes! And now broadcast editors do not want a repeat of history.
I just hope the Bollywood's first family has a quiet outing at the Breach Candy hospital. But, will they be happy with TV hounds at bay, I have my doubts.
On the other hand I too have a niggling feeling that it would be very difficult for itchy TV cameramen and hysterical reporters to docilely wait for official confirmations.
PS: Looks like channels like CNN-IBN were unusually quiet in announcing the arrival of Baby B and seemed to have obeyed the commandments.
Coming back to the 10 Commandments, even a cursory reading would make one realise that the broadcast editors were indirectly admitting that whatever Katju had said in his interview was correct.
Conditions such as "no pre-coverage of the event; story of birth of baby to run only after, and on the basis of, official announcement; story not to run on breaking news band" actually seems like a desperate attempt to nullify the numerous sins of celebrity fixation it had committed in the past.
Another set of conditions - no camera or OB (outdoor broadcasting) vans at hospital or any location related to the story; go for photo-op or press conference if invited; not carry any MMS or photo of the child - shows the extent to which the visual media had gone over-the-top while covering similar events in the past. To me it seemed like Sunday school lessons being dished out to teenagers in a juvenile prison.
Probably the broadcast editors were badly smarting under Katju's invective on astrology coverage while framing the following rules: no astrology show to be done on this issue; no 11.11.11 astrology show to be done. Astrologers like Sunita Menon or Bejan Daruwala will wonder as to what went went wrong with their own stars!
The last commandment, of course, takes the cake: "unauthorised entry into hospital not permitted." When Big B was in hospital a TV reporter had barged into his room in nurse’s clothes! And now broadcast editors do not want a repeat of history.
I just hope the Bollywood's first family has a quiet outing at the Breach Candy hospital. But, will they be happy with TV hounds at bay, I have my doubts.
On the other hand I too have a niggling feeling that it would be very difficult for itchy TV cameramen and hysterical reporters to docilely wait for official confirmations.
PS: Looks like channels like CNN-IBN were unusually quiet in announcing the arrival of Baby B and seemed to have obeyed the commandments.
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