From News to Infotainment to Tamasha

PR

The book, “From News to Infotainment to Tamasha” is the story of TV news in India. It digs into its past, makes an honest attempt to analyse the present and discusses possible scenarios in future.

The back story : TV News in India has come a long way from the days of monopoly of Doordarshan to the present proliferation of private news channels. The book begins with theoretical aspects of news and ends with new developments like analysis of impact of social media on news channels (including the Anna Hazare episode). The book covers both the journalistic and managerial factors which influence news and its production.

The current scenario : TV news which was the holy cow in the DD days, was converted into infotainment (information + entertainment) and was later stripped naked and converted into a tamasha. TV news anchors can show complete lack of empathy while covering sensitive topics like rape and crime. It appears that the channels and news reporters often assume that audience not only loves sensational stuff, but is actually dumb.

When sensitive topics like rape, crime, war etc are covered, the way the topic is introduced, the kind of background music which is played, the facial expression of the anchor, the selection of visuals and so on become very crucial. Are our audiences evolving faster than our news channels? To develop empathy, the journalist must put himself /herself in the other person's story.

An informative resource : The book contains comprehensive tables, compact information on news channel industry in India, ( including channel profiles, logos, punch-lines, launch date, ownership patterns etc.), and complete information on digital and new media initiatives. It is a must read book for journalism students and faculty, managers in TV news industry and general public.

So, what’s the future? : In the end, the emerging scenario of tamasha becoming news again is explored with the help of insights from media experts. The book has several useful appendices also including a case study, “Why BITV Collapsed?” glossary and detailed bibliography. There are also interesting articles and information on Viewer Relationship Management in Indian News Channels ( An Analysis Using 7 Ps Framework), NBA and IBF and News Broadcasters Code.

The book has a Foreword by well known media personality, Vartika Nanda. She writes in the Foreword, “On a serious re-look and reading, this courageous piece of work calls for a deeper study of the malaise that plagues the current television news media in India. This 10-chapter book digs into the convoluted world of news media and its habit of nourishing itself on bad news and easily ignoring or celebrating the lighter side of life. The sub-title of the book is, "From tamasha back to news.” which says it all.

Author Dr Amit Nagpal
Published by -The Publisher
Price-Rs 795
Year -2011