The words used to praise them are not acceptable to many of the great personalities outside that industry. I have my own view on people with good personal attributes – they should be respected and presented as the role model by the media, so others can emulate them. Presently, the role models of our society are the handsome and dashing people from the film industry. But it is often said that beauty is only skin deep. Are the said role models capable of guiding our youth in the right direction? Again the media is to be blamed for this state of affairs.

The media hype is such that people end up trapped. On the electronic media, particularly on many of the news channels, you can get to watch the same news item hour after hour, in minute detail and blown out of proportion. Media, electronic or print, can make a great difference by influencing popular movements. It influenced our freedom movement. Papers like Punjab Kesari made such an impact that people readily sacrificed their lives too for the freedom movement. They recited verses and reaffirmed themselves for a greater cause.

Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and should be very careful in reporting news and other programmes. The electronic media is more powerful as it is perceived by eyes too; it leads us to believe what we see. The media also shows a few manipulated items that look real to our eyes and makes for sensational news. In my opinion these things should be treated as a punishable offence because they manifest media’s gross irresponsibility towards society.