The media scene—Then and now…

news-426892_640NEWS…
Then: North East West South.
Now: Never-Ending Wanton Sensationalism.

Breaking news…
Then: Reserved only for big stories.
Now: Each and every story, big or small, will first appear as breaking news.

Analysis…
Then: In newspapers, think a lot, write later.
Now: In TVs, scream first, think later.

Greetings…
Then: To colleague, “Aap kaise ho?”
Now: To everyone, “Aap ko kaisa lag raha hai?”

Congress sources…
Then: Gave part of the story. Checked and rechecked.
Now: Give the full story. Taken verbatim.

BJP sources…
Then: They ran after you.
Now: You run after them.

Famous journalists…
Then: Got the top stories in town.
Now: Are the top stories.
(#Tejpal #Rajdeep etc)

Journalism…
Then: Service to the nation.
Now: Service to self, political party, business house… anything but the nation.

Expert…
Then: Master of one trade.
Now: Barely a Jack, but of all trades.

Bias…
Then: Sometimes visible, sometimes not.
Now: Extra-large and extreme.

Editors…
Then: Editors.
Now: Managers.

Conflict of interest…
Then: Taken seriously.
Now: No conflict. Only (personal) interest.

These versions by Sunil Rajguru

News in Limericks 7

There was this dude called Obama,
Who go the peace prize hey baba!
On peace how he did talk!
But he couldn’t walk the talk,
Palestine, Af-Pak, ISIS, Syria, Iraq…—What a world panorama!

There was this dude called Modi,
While campaigning there was a coverage OD,
But when he became PM,
He changed his stratagem,
And now TV channels are facing cold turkey.

There was this dude called Natwar,
Who suddenly shed all his dynastic darr,
He attacked the Queen Bee,
And little Pappu—yes even he,
And all the Congressmen are going grrrrrr!!!!!

These versions by Sunil Rajguru