A few weeks ago readers woke up on a lazy Saturday morning to read a review of the ghastly film Harry Puttar getting 4 star reviews in the premier English newspaper of the country, The Times of India. Equally pathetic is the attempt of the leading Indian film portal Bollywood Hungama, to paint the latest oddity of a movie Karzzz as a mass masala film. Also a well known film journalist, who keeps running down the Bachchans for not getting invited to a wedding in the family, has become a laughing stock in the media circles.

The fundamental duty of a media vehicle should be its unbiased reportage. However in this age, most media vehicles get intoxicated in their supposed power to influence public opinion. This leads them to believe that they could push substandard products/people and ideology as genuine quality on the back of its hype, which they generate at any cost.

Sadly Journalists and people in the media get inebriated in the power the media entrusts them with and cross the thin line between opinion and propaganda. Some do it without realizing it while some blatantly thrive on it.

It’s a very difficult in today times to maintain a neutral and objective position vis-à-vis the current happenings in the society. However, media is a beacon, which has kept the institution of democracy alive in our society.

Political parties are known to reward their favorite journalists, post their retirement with plum Rajya Sabha posts. Many favorable journalists are known to be gifted plots of land for their propaganda services, by their political masters.

This trend is inimical to the very concept of media as a watchdog in a democratic society and the faster it gets curbed better for all of us.