TRP Fixing Scam: BARC Suspends Ratings for News Channels for 3 Months!

 

The technical committee of BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) has today suspended TRP (Television Rating Point) ratings for all English, Hindi and Regional news channels of India for 12 weeks or three months during which weekly ratings for individual news channels will not be published while the weekly ratings by language and state would continue. The period of suspension, as reports say, would be fully utilized by BARC to completely review and re-haul its sets of rules for calculating the TRP numbers, and thus would try to make the statistics of the biggest television rating agency of the world credible and trustworthy. Up to this point the rules were based on the viewing patterns of a sample of 40 thousand households or 180,000 viewers across the country through installation of people’s meter device in their TV sets, to determine the standards and patterns of nearly 200 million television viewing households or around 836 million viewers in India. President of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has welcomed the decision as a step in the right direction.

 

This decision comes in the wake of the TRP-fixing by a few news channels, the Republic TV most prominently. A complaint to this effect had been filed recently by BARC with Mumbai Police through Hansa Research Group. It was alleged in the complaint that the said channels are bribing families in whose television sets meters have been installed for collecting viewership data to tune in to the particular channels continuously. Accordingly, the Mumbai police commissioner held a press briefing in Mumbai to announces the start of investigations to probe the channels allegedly trying to manipulate TRP data to garner more advertisement revenues.

 

This development was also preceded by a few stormy months during which a few news channels had started media trials to convert the apparent suicide of a rising film star, Sushant Singh Rajput, into a murder conspiracy and accordingly, ‘investigative’ campaigns to howl for the blood the ‘accused’ along with slander campaigns to malign a number of cinema celebrities allegedly associated in the ‘murder’ angle and drug-abuse charges. The government of Maharashtra and Mumbai police were also vilified in the campaigns. Three premier investigative agencies were put into the scene to file charge-sheets and jail the ‘accused’, primarily named in the media trials, all for apparent political gains. At the moment, their investigations have almost petered out, none of them being able to justify the murder angle. In the month of October 2020 all the leading producers of the Hindi film industry, Bollywood, had filed a petition in Delhi High Court complaining against the media trials and slander campaigns by two prominent national news channels, the Republic and Times Now. In the meantime, to-watch-or-not-to-watch news channels has become an existential crisis for the common people of the country.  

 

In fact, since the coming to power of the Hindu nationalist NDA government in India in 2014 and its aggressive push for a Hindu nation, the news channels and the Indian media had been increasingly getting polarized along ideological lines, with some pushing for agenda-oriented and brazenly communal campaigns while the others struggling with their neutral-journalism stands. Fake news and manipulations in the social media have also been the disturbing developments during the same period.

 

Under the liberal push of the Dr. Manmohan Singh Government in 1991 private international television broadcasting players were allowed to take part in the Indian broadcasting scenario which hitherto had been dominated by the national broadcaster, Doordarshan. So then, satellite cable entertainment channels had started coming in from the early nineties and news channels had started proliferating since the mid-nineties. Cut-throat competition thus began with the proliferating channels fighting for their respective chunks of viewership. Audience research had thus become an issue of paramount importance.

 

TAM or Television Audience Measurement, a private concern to measure TV viewership in India, started operations since the mid-nineties, and was soon joined by INTAM or Indian National Television Audience Measurement by ORG-MARG. The ride of the TRP competition and measurement had always been a roughshod journey with most of the channels contesting the statistical figures making their own claims and some of them launching bitter legal battles against the agencies. In view of this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, started deliberations to build a more credible and complete rating agency in 2008, trying to involve all the stakeholders in the business. After various reports by various committees and recommendations by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) the concept of BARC was formalized in 2010 as a joint industry body founded by the stakeholders: the broadcasters, the advertisers and the advertising & media agencies, and it started its operations from 2013-14. In a landmark move in 2015, TAM and INTAM got merged with BARC. However, the recent developments and various charges/allegations in the preceding years have again proved that a complete and trustworthy rating agency is still a distant dream.

 

While audience research and rating for the competing broadcasting groups cannot be dome away with, the TRP analysis for the news channels can definitely be abolished altogether, leaving the news channels to concentrate on good and unbiased content to win the respective viewership. This would also liberate the sober news channels from unnecessary cut-throat wars or controversial statistics or rigging over the TRP. Further, news is very close to the physical reality, informing the viewers about the developments in all fields of activity, and any tampering with the news content, making it biased or fake or just unreliable would be an absolute disservice to the citizens. Therefore, we also join the many voices that are already in the ups, for a total stop of the TRP system for the news channels. Suspension is most welcome, but it has to be the forebearer of more drastic action.

IPL 2020 Highlights: Recalling Vintage Tendulkar!

 

After getting over with IPL 2020 played to empty stadiums of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, and the rather loud virtual audios continuously fed in perhaps to enthuse television viewers, some of the true cricketing elements are catching our attention in all of their elegance or the lack of it. Last evening while watching the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) duel in Dubai, the passionate display of India captain and RCB captain Virat Kohli somehow reminded me of cricket’s living legend Sachin Tendulkar in his evergreen one-day international innings, famous as ‘desert storm’, against Australia in Sharjah under the Coca Cola triangular cup in 1998. The images of the two greats got somehow juxtaposed: Kohli, with his team in a precarious state batting first, running like a hare, desperate for every single run, diving and rolling over on the ground, his spectacular shots all around the park in the most visible display of controlled aggression to his crucial 77 not out innings; and Tendulkar, with a bigger national mission to see India through to the final, covered with dirt from head to foot, running like the blood hound thirsty for runs, falling and tumbling on the ground, his roaring boundaries and sixes and to that definitive 143-run innings.

 

Sachin Tendulkar ensured India’s entry into the final at a better net run-rate over New Zealand, also made sure India win the final against Australia with another superlative century knock of 134 and deservedly going on to win the Player-of-the-Series award. Last night Viral Kohli also ensured a win for his team, and from here how he goes about in the coming matches is to be seen. Although the comparison may not be justified considering the stakes, it came to my mind spontaneously, obviously for the cricketing delights, brilliance and the spirit of competition.

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Coming to the vanquished team last evening, CSK is not performing to its potential so far in IPL 2020. The main reason being the MS Dhoni syndrome: he is no longer the revved finisher by way of his performances in the last two years including that of the ICC Cricket World Cup-2019. In fact, as I maintained earlier, his selection in the World Cup team thanks to his experience was a huge mistake leading the team to absurdities with four wicket-keepers in the playing eleven several times, and his performance very predictable, struggling even for singles and the big shots entirely missing. Therefore, his being still the captain of CSK along with several veterans like him in the team makes it very difficult for his team to fight competitively. Only expert wicket-keeping cannot inspire a team, Dhoni will have to re-discover his shots to lead the team from the front, much sooner than later, as CSK has lost five of its seven games and cannot afford to lose any more to remain in contention.

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The biggest and the most lamentable surprise of IPL 2020 so far is Chris Gayle, who has been rested in all the seven matches played by Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP), is reportedly suffering from sickness, the latest of which being food poisoning. He continues to be rested despite Nicholas Pooran and Glen Maxwell doing almost nothing for the team. It seems too late now for a re-think, because KXIP is virtually out of the tournament losing six of the seven games. Ironically, the team showed a lot of promise from the beginning despite losing its first match that should have been won comfortably. The main reason for its poor performance is as much inadequate cricketing application as bits of pure bad luck.

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Another highlight of IPL 2020 has been the captivating performance of Delhi Capitals (DC) who are sitting pretty at the top of the points table with 10 points at the moment. This is in sharp contrast to the lackadaisical performances of its earlier avatar Delhi Daredevils throughout the IPL versions. Under a performing leader Shreyas Iyer, ably backed by national and international players, DC is set to give the toughest competition to its rivals.

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Even though Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has started with its Karthik-Russel hangover of last year it has somehow managed to show its grit in winning four of the six games played so far, and is currently in the third position on the points table. While Russel is yet to show his muscle Karthik has played only one solid match-winning knock so far. Both of them must deliver on the field if KKR were to be victorious for the third time after 2012 and 2014.

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Defending champions and four-time winners, Mumbai Indians (MI) has been progressing steadily winning four of their six games. With captain Rohit Sharma in full form and star players like Jasprit Bumrah, Pandya Brothers, Trent Boult and so on MI is always on the rudder for its potential foray into the play-offs. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, in the 5^th and 7^thposition respectively, are volatile as always, and can make a comeback from any situation. IPL 2020 is set to go on giving the cricketing highlights as it unfolds further, for sure.

Ek Doctor Ki Maut: The Relevance of a Movie Title!

 

Yes, the title ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut’ (Death of a Doctor) belonged to an award-winning Hindi movie made in 1990 by well-known filmmaker Tapan Sinha (1924- 2009). In the movie the protagonist, a medical doctor played brilliantly by Pankaj Kapoor, makes a rare discovery of a vaccine for leprosy after years of painstaking research, and instead of being recognized for that he is harassed and hounded by the authorities, and the doctor gets deprived of international honour also as he was transferred to a remote village. We cannot dismiss this story as a mere work of fiction, because the movie was based on the real-life story of Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay (1931-1981) who became only the second doctor of the world to use in-vitro fertilization in childbirth. Again, instead of honouring him the then West Bengal government and the Indian Government harassed him thanks to the familiar factors of professional jealousy, manipulative politics and bureaucratic negligence making the doctor face ostracization, reprimand and insults. He was also barred from international recognition. Dr. Subhash, frustrated and utterly dejected, committed suicide on 19^th June 1981, and he wrote in his suicide note, ‘I can’t wait every day for a heart attack to kill me.’

 

Another doctor died recently in Assam. Although he was not in the league of the doctor-scientists as above he was a dedicated and efficient physician, always trusted and loved by his patients. He was working for public sector company and mid-way in his career he started discovering himself in the thick of politics of manipulation, professional or even personal jealousy, administrative negligence and gradual ostracization, and over the years it assumed the horrid proportions of harassment at workplace, constant hounding and denial of deserved promotions/responsibility/desired transfer. The torture took an inevitable toll on his health, and he suffered a sudden inexplicable health disorder in 2018 for which he had to be treated in the critical care unit of a Delhi hospital. He recovered from the illness eventually, but the inhuman official harassment only intensified making him depressed, isolated and afraid to even attend office. The trusted doctor, while on a medical checkup after his recovery, decided to make a last try for a transfer to his hometown so that he could at least resume his normal work, and was taken to the head office by a few colleagues. There, a top-level officer insulted him by reportedly saying that if the doctor wanted to die, he could damn well die as the authorities would take care of his family; these inhuman words were spoken in presence of the doctor's wife. The selective targeting happened till the day before the end. His life was cruelly snuffed out finally, equally inexplicably, when it was all over in just five minutes during his usual afternoon nap. The shock to his family and kin is beyond any relief, forever. 

 

More of such unfortunate cases may have happened or have been happening across India, but statistics on that are missing. We only know that there have always been assaults on good doctors whenever a patient dies suddenly while under their medical care. Last year in Kolkata, West Bengal, a brutal public attack in a hospital almost killed a young doctor, and sometime back in Assam a senior doctor got killed in a similar attack. Therefore, unfortunately, although we hold doctors as givers of life or at times like God, this bonhomie continues as long as the patients get cured and return home. Repeated protests and demonstrations by the medical fraternity are yet to convince the governments in drafting a policy of protection for all of the workers of the healthcare sector. Harassment and hounding at workplaces are a far cry in terms of even taking notice.

 

When the COVID-19 pandemic had started to affect India seriously from the month of March 2020 all doctors and all healthcare workers were hailed as ‘Corona Warriors’ and had been requested to carry on with their life-saving duty with dedication. Now, over six months they have been doing their duty without any break or relief, except for the periods of quarantine when they themselves are infected which, of course, cannot qualify as rest. Active doctors of both government and private sectors have been saying that this continuous stress of non-stop duty is going to have serious repercussions in near future; but no one is hearing them. Instead, in many places across the country the dedicated fraternity has had to hold protests for the payment of even monthly salaries.

 

Appalled by the apathy of various governments the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had recently published a statement pointing out the risks of working doctors and the very high fatality rates among them. The risks of getting infected with COVID-19 is naturally high, because they are treating positive patients all the time, and since the viral load in them is also naturally much higher the fatality rate is also very high. The IMA said in the statement that around 2300 doctors got infected with COVID-19 till mid-September out of which 382 succumbed to the disease (more than 500 in October). This yields a death rate of around 16-17% in doctors while the normal rate is around 1.6% only now. The statistics also reveal a shocking aspect: an overwhelming majority of the dead doctors belongs to the age group of 60-61 which belies the national objective of protecting the elders. In fact, there had been guidelines regarding not directly deploying senior doctors in the field, but allowing them to supervise from the master control rooms. However, the opposite practice is in force, obviously due to the limited number of doctors as per population in the country.

 

As per the IMA statement even insurance facilities are not being extended to the dead doctors, with the central government saying this being a State subject it has no data for consideration, and the States yet to take any action on this. The statement further said that if no government is prepared to recognize them as ‘COVID Warriors’ in the true sense, then at least declare the dead doctors as ‘martyrs. This is very tragic indeed, and scary too, in view of the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic is set to continue for quite sometime to come and the medical fraternity is stressed beyond any measure or understanding.

 

We tend to be very vocal in severe criticism whenever incidents of commercial attitudes of private doctors and hospitals get reported.  But we must consider the other side too, the good and trusted physicians working selflessly round the clock, particularly in the times of the pandemic. We the citizens always look upon the doctors to treat and save us every time we fall sick or get the virus in the present context, and in that same spirit, we must think and care about the dangers and stress faced by the most important and the integral part of our society, and take appropriate steps to help them out. If only citizens and the governments combine in protecting and respecting the medical fraternity, the title ‘COVID Warriors’ given to them would be justified and realized.  Else, the movie title would continue to be the cruel reality.