DEBATE - MEDIA THRIVES ONLY ON SENSATIONALISM - FOR THE MOTION

Debate Speech on "Media thrives only on Sensationalism"

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”   Honorable chairperson, distinguished adjudicators, fellow debaters and all my dear friends … Good morning! I strongly favour the motion“Media thrives only on Sensationalism”

Gone are the days when the Media would battle for communal harmony and democratic establishment in the societies across the border.  Media was quite popular and valued in the past as it would speak for least spoken and voice their concerns to the populace for smooth and democratic governance in the society.

Now, What is sensationalism in the media world?  It is a type of editorial bias in mass media to make news deliberately obtuse, appeal to emotions, and more controversial.  It also includes intentionally omitting facts and information.  It is somewhat similar to emotional branding or in other words it is the adding of hype or excitement over and interesting or shocking even

As a matter of fact, exponential growth in the number of channels and newspapers eventually invited deadly competition amongst the media houses.  The presumed goal of the media both print and digital houses today is to sustain the circulation and viewership, respectively, and provide the audiences with sensational stories that help them increase their advertising revenue.  To retain this figure and revenue, reporters are always on lookout for the spicy ‘junk food news’ that is easily sold in a massive number.  And that is exactly when Sensationalism took its birth.  It attracts the viewers in a large number and so is the revenue.

For example: In today’s time when media has an omnipotent presence, it’s imperative to encourage responsible and informed news that can guide the mass to the picture of an ideal society.

People are in constant need of adrenaline rush but are too afraid to jump off the cliff.  Hardly any news is objectified in the media today.  A small hint of a lead somewhere leads to breaking news!  And that breaking news is followed up by paid opinion polls, paid debates and paid news flashes.  Half-baked news that almost never see complete research or are manipulated to show an intention due to shortage of time.  

For instance ,What we see as ‘debates’ on national televisions is just reinforcement of their preconceived ideas.  They don’t force  the plebeian to think, rather feeds them with biased opinions, and almost never show both sides of the coin.

Again, our perennial instinct of poking our nose into others’ businesses has resulted in the categorization of the media into a formal media and the tabloid Media, that is solely devoted to sensationalizing news and pointing out what’s wrong with someone’s lives and how they should be rectifying it.

Now the question is which one of the pillars of the democracy in India is more corrupt legislature, bureaucracy, judiciary or the self-proclaimed fourth pillar, The media.  With its sensationalism  the media is jeopardizing its role as the fourth estate