Rest in Peace Mainstream Journalism!

The title is indicative of this post. Mainstream Journalism is dead or gasping in its last moments. Unfortunately, mainstream journalism is on its way out. People today are turning away from mainstream journalism that aligns itself with the Government in power. It would not be wrong to state that today fewer people subscribe to mainstream journalism that subscribes to the government in power. 

It wouldn't not be wrong to claim that fewer people today subscribe to mainstream journalism because it projects the views of the Government in power. I, personally, have stopped watching popular news channels because they present a distorted view of what is happening at the grassroots level. Today's journalism is based on sentiment and popular trends, but not on actual facts.

This is the reason why Citizen Journalism is on the uptake. People have foregone watching popular news channels that provide more suspect information about things happening around the world today. The war between Russia and Ukraine is laced with one-sided information, while the war in the Middle East is based on who scored brownie points. 

The lack of trust in mainstream journalism has led to people watching reels and on-site videos of actual incidents taking place in real time. Today, more and more people are shifting from mainstream journalism to what is called as Citizen Journalism. Gone are the days when we had authentic journalists like Mark Tully or even Peter Arnett. 

Journalism today is based on subscribing to the popular view of the government in power.  The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) of Iran claims hits on ships slipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while the American News channels disclaim these claims. One wonders whom one should believe. Back home, one is forced to believe what the news channels say: that all is well in the region. The rise of the so-called Godi Media in India has given rise to an era of suspicion and doubt about the authenticity of what is being reported. Unfortunately, authentic journalism is dead because it is driven by propaganda and the need to align itself with the government in power. 

Mainstream news channels are losing on TRP ratings, and more and more citizens are shifting to reels and on-the-spot reporting of actual incidents by Citizen Journalists. The rise of Citizen Journalism is driven by the desire for authentic on-the-spot reportage of events backed by reliable evidence. Mainstream Journalism is no longer an authentic proof, and it is being sidelined by Citizen Journalism.

The power of the internet has given rise to people who drive news. As more and more people resort to the gifts of the internet, they have provided a challenge to mainstream journalism. The fact is that today there are fewer takers for mainstream journalism. Mainstream Journalism is languishing because it is driven by the need to toe the line of the Government in power. Yellow page journalism is on the rise today because it is driven by incentivisation and other inducements. Authentic journalism no longer exists as it is subverted and not in line. 

The fact of the matter is that mainstream journalism has taken a backseat today, and it has led to the rise in popularity of citizen journalism that might be "unregulated" by the so-called "ethics of journalism". Unfortunately, we are today bombarded by information that is not authenticated. The distrust with mainsteam journalism has led to people turning away from it. People are smarter than before, and they are capable of realising that the news that they are being fed is nothing but propaganda! Mainstream journalism is dead because it is fed by propaganda and not authenticity.

Journalism is believed to be the fourth pillar of Democracy, but then Democracy is dead, and when democracy is compromised, journalism too is compromised!  When Journalism no longer functions as a watchdog of democracy, it loses its authenticity! Ideally, journalism is supposed to function as a watchdog and a cornerstone of an open, transparent, and accountable society.  Unfortunately, this is not true today! True journalism is based on the following assumptions:

Informed Citizenship: A healthy democracy requires an electorate that can make educated decisions based on information provided by a free press. A free press provides facts, diverse perspectives, and a necessary context on national and global issues. A free press facilitates public discourse. Fair and effective journalism provides a forum where different opinions, grievances, and debates can be aired, discussed, and addressed. True Journalism is supposed to protect Civil Liberties. True journalism shines a light on human rights violations, gives voice to marginalised communities, and protects the fundamental rights of the people.

It is a matter of great disappointment that today, Journalism has taken a backseat and it no longer functions as a watchdog to prevent infractions in society.  Mainstream journalism has taken up the role of forwarding the agenda of the government, and it does not really protect the rights of the citizens.

The reader might also like to read an article on journalism published by me a few years ago:

https://rodrickwrites.blogspot.com/2020/05/challenges-before-journalism-in-2020.html

Memories-A Poem

The Past whispers, softly scratching

Through layers of time, waiting to be

Heard. Remembered scents, tunes, sights

Voices, waiting, wanting to be heard. You

Don't ignore them, whispers, softly wafting.

The sounds of his spool tape recorder

Silenced forever, the records spinning on the 

Turnable, static hisses passing into the vacuum

Elvis and Nancy crooning into the unknown.

Voices of the past waiting to be heard.

Russian friends projecting films from the war 

Patriotic songs of heroism and sacrifice, slogans

Of a revolution that overthrew an Emperor, 

Exhorting young and old to unite and make the

Motherland strong. A little boy listens to voices.

Memories are strong and will never fade away!

Strains of music waft in the air, voices-spoken

Scratch through layers of time. Parents, speaking

Words of encouragement and advice reprimand-

Old music wafting through the ether, gone.

Born in a land one wishes to visit to look at the

Places one lived in, meet childhood friends, and

Know that they were for real. Alas! That time 

Has passed, and memories are all that remain!

Often, one wonders if they were mere dreams.

And all this while the spool  rolls, vinyl spins

The cassette rolls, songs drift down memory

Lane, reminding us of another world where

Time was spent in nature's lap, watching 

Lions in the cotton field, crocodiles basking.

The patriotic songs of victory float from the

Celluloid projected by Russians, stirring a

Sense of pride, wonder where Vera and Stephen

Might be, or even that despot who visited us in

School, even as armed soldiers faced us.

Creating Safe Classrooms, Challenges Before All Educationists

If one child is terrorising a class, that is not a teacher's fault! It is a failure of the system. He or she might be showing aggressive behaviour, cross-talking, challenging the teacher's authority, or preventing other students from learning. The staff is on edge, and learning has stopped. In such a situation, the teacher is not overreacting, and this is because it is not alright. Unfortunately, some of these kids are dealing with relationship problems, but safety is a major issue in classrooms today. We educationists cannot control what happens at home, but in school, administrators must hold children accountable for their disruptive behaviour. In most cases, administrators hold back the child, give them some extra work, a conversation takes place, but then the student returns to class bolder than ever, disruptive as ever!

You try as a teacher to build up a relationship, but it does not work with this behaviour. This happens regularly. What needs to happen is that the student needs an immediate removal because his or her disruptive behaviour is causing a problem in class. In many cases, the student's behaviour might be violent in nature or it might cause a threat to the class. In such cases, administrators need to follow up with this problem seriously lest this problem lead to serious consequences. They need to follow up with such cases daily. Check up with them today, what are you going to do today,  and at the end of the day, what is the plan they have for tomorrow? What are we not going to see tomorrow?

We need to have intervention, counselling and positive time-bound plans to deal with such problems in class. In most cases, the blame for such problems is laid on the teacher. But then, understand that a teacher has to look after a class of thirty or more students and in most cases, the teacher is already overburdened with clerical duties, cultural duties and sundry other responsibilities.  In addition to this, there is the issue of providing protection for the class because the rest of the class needs to feel protected and supported, too. So, how do we create a safe environment of learning in classes? One of my mentors, Kaye Jacob, advised me not to get into a situation of confrontation with disruptive students, but then the issue is that if you don't address the situation on the spot, it might spiral into an uncontrollable situation! 

Accountability and support in such situations are not opposite, and teachers need to understand this. Do teachers need more support, accounting, resources, strategies, and rules to pull them out of such situations? When support is lacking, such disruptive behaviour in classes cannot be swept under the carpet. Every child deserves support, including those who are affected by the disruptive behaviour of one or two children who aim to disrupt the teaching in the class. Each child in school needs to feel safe and secure. If one person's behaviour is hurting everyone else, then it is a major issue that needs to be tackled proactively. If nothing is being done to solve it, then it is a systemic failure!

In many cases, infractions in classes are ignored. Administrators believe that such incidents will wear off in time. The fact of the matter is that such incidents lead to cases of bullying and the creation of toxicity in classrooms. We all know that a toxic environment is not conducive to ideal learning. Some of the most vulnerable students are affected by toxic learning environments in class. They are the most affected. Teachers, unfortunately, are taken for granted, but then they are human beings too and vulnerable in most cases.

Some teachers spend more time in controlling the class. But then, teachers have not signed for this. If more time is spent on addressing discipline-related problems, then how is the course content to be delivered? The advice of not confronting problem-making children is not practical in nature. The teacher is not a referee of behaviour, and if this does happen, then the entire class falls back in studies. Poor behaviour snowballs, allowing one student to curse the teacher opens up the floodgates for others to do the same! To handle this, we need administrators to step in. Administrators need to get out of their offices and address the problem in real time. Teachers need administrators who have their back! To address such issues, we need consequences, and a metaphorical rap on the knuckles will not be enough! Threaten the class, you don't get to stay in class! The real world has consequences, so why don't schools have them?

Important Questions for The Summer of The Beautiful White Horse - Grade Eleven, English

I kicked into the muscles of the horse. Once again it reared and snorted. Then it began to run. I didn’t know what to do. Instead of running across the field to the irrigation ditch, the horse ran down the road to the vineyard of Dikran Halabian where it began to leap over the vines.

1. Who is I in the above extract?

2. How did the horse come into his possession?

3. Whom did the horse actually belong to?

4. What was the excuse that the boys used for having taken the horse?

Every family has a crazy streak in it somewhere, and my cousin Mourad was considered the natural descendant of the crazy streak in our tribe. Before him was our Uncle Khosrove, an enormous man with a powerful head of black hair and the largest moustache in the San Joaquin valley, a man so furious in temper, so irritable, so impatient that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, It is no harm; pay no attention to it.

1. Who is Mourad?

2. What crazy streak did Uncle Khosrove have?

3. Where had the family come from?

4. In what way was Mourad a natural descendant of his uncle Khosrove?

We were poor. We had no money. Our whole family was poverty-stricken. Every branch of the Garoghlanian family was living in the most amazing and comical poverty in the world. Nobody could understand where we got  money enough to keep us with food in our bellies, not even the old men in the family. Most important of all, though, we were famous for our honesty. We had been famous for our honesty for something like eleven centuries, even when we had been the wealthiest family in what we liked to think was the world. We were proud first, honest next, and after that we believed in right and wrong. None of us would take advantage of anybody in the world, let alone steal.

1. Who are ‘we’ and where had they come from?

2. What was the economic condition of the family?

3. Had they always been poor as a family?

4. In spite of being poor, the Garaghlonian family would never hurt others. List some more of the qualities that are unique to them. List at least two-three qualities.

Character sketches

1. Draw a character sketch for Uncle Khosrove.

2. Draw a character sketch for Mourad.

3. Draw a character sketch for the narrator.

4. Draw a character sketch for John Byro.

Long answer-type questions to be answered in 125-150 words.

1. You are the narrator of the lesson, The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse. Draft a letter to John Byro explaining why you had taken his horse and explain what prompted you to return it.

2. Draft a character sketch for Aram and Mourad.

3. Why do you think that Aram and Mourad return the horse to John Byro?

Haemorrhage - A Poem

 As the world haemorrhages into slow death,
Despots-madmen, bloated with ego, revel in
The power they wield over others. Blockades,
Tariffs, wars, drones, and missiles garnish a
Heady cocktail of impotence, frustration, and
Vanity larger than life. Alas! These very men
Were elected by others so ignorant, gullible, and
Naive and easily influenced. If only they could 
See through the facade of sincerity and honesty!
And thus the world heads to its doom, ruled by 

Despots and Tyrants, intoxicated by the power 
They wield over innocent, unsuspecting people
Enforcing embargoes, trade wars, and waging
Wars with fire to assuage their bloated egos.

The world haemorrhages into slow death, as those

In command, unleash the dogs of war, wreaking

Havoc and destruction on the innocent. They cut

Trees, drain wetlands, destroy mountains, ignore

Global warming for development! "It is a myth!"

They claim, turning a blind eye to the denuded

Earth, selfish men who want to fill their pockets

With credits, even as she cries for help! Greedy

Men wage wars on the environment and the poor

People, driven by entitlement and mandate, a law

Unto themselves, beyond censure and reprimand.

Bystanders, hypocrites, and sycophants watch

Silently lending insult to injury, guilty of acts

Of omission, themselves, part of the machinery.

Gullibility and complacency feed an ever-hungry

Beast that asks for more, an Ogre that grows more.

The world is ruled by Ogres with ever-growing

Demands, driven by unsatisfied egos. They wage

Wars against children, trees, birds, and animals, to

Justify their demands for obedience and obeisance

In a world driven by greed, fear, and violence. As

The world haemorrhages into a slow, painful death,

Despots-madmen rule lives, distracting minds from

Global warming, waging wars with drones, missiles

And guns - dangerous diversion for those with short

Attention spans, junkies getting highs from thrills

Spills, a morbid fascination with destruction and

Wars! Roman Gladiators would have been better!