So, we claim some privileges (we express through the stickers saying PRESS/MEDIA in the front of our vehicles) that the most of the societies formally deny (and accept non-formally).
We keep the right to be anywhere and everywhere and ask questions about the rightness of anything and everything under the Sun (in fact we are the dreaded ones in many cases).
While PRESS do something called "publication of news reports", what we the MEDIA do is "break news"...we say so as ours is a faster medium...we cover (or expose!) incidents as and when they occur...
While PRESS derive its strength from the pen, BYTES and VISUALS are elements of the fire power of the we the MEDIA have.
BYTES (=8 bits? Come on, do not go that far) these are actually the statements (from Horses mouth) of the persons involved with the event in one way or the other. And VISUALS are what ever we record through our mighty cameras. Our motto is "Seeing and hearing is believing"
The more slang, abusive, accusing the BYTES are, the more violent the visuals are the more explosive our coverage is. We can break the news more forcefully.
So before recording the BYTES we try to inspire the subject to be more "newsy" through lubricating questions. So, if some how you are one of those injured in some accident (may God prove me wrong), you should fail your heart when point my mike and camera at you and ask "Now after loosing your legs, how you are feeling?"
You should have the understanding of the fact that we are the ones who disseminate truth, give voice to the voiceless. We have to gather courage and expertise to record and show the incidents in its raw form. So there are the chances that what one dying in an accident or a riot sees for the last time are MEDIA men fighting among each other to record the last, heart touching moments of his life. Armed forces and the militants are not the only one's who have the right to spare their lives in a gun battle or a fight. We from the MEDIA too enjoy running with live cameras in fierce gun battles.
All these do not mean that "Breaking News" is the only thing we do. We have to and we often do something called " Making and than Breaking". After fixing a potential target (must be with two parties A and B, say).
We approach B and say A said bla bla bla about you. Angered and fumed B yells at A (on records). Then only in fact we approach A and repeat what B said and record "reaction". We combine the two, according to the sequence that is suitable to us. The next step as usual is "Breaking of the news we have made". We call this POLITICAL REPORTING. If we are the only channel to do that, then it's we claim something to be EXCLUSIVE.
The more EXCLUSIVE news we cover, the more viewers and commercials we attract. So at times you will find same news running EXCLUSIVE on different channels...ask how it is possible? You should not have difficulty in accepting that camera angles are exclusive for each channel...
After "we the MEDIA" expose each and every thread of an event by repeating it hundreds of time in a day, the PRESS brings them in the front page HEADLINES (only on the next morning)...
But you should not find it awkward when you find us, from the MEDIA, sitting with a news paper at hand next morning and trying to find out "what actually happened yesterday"...it's a symbiotic relation, you will not understand if you are not from the PRESS and MEDIA.
Viva la PRESS, viva la MEDIA...
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