as I see it

The title of this post is a very disappointing attempt at expanding the acronym NEWS but then I guess it is better than what is being delivered to us in the name of NEWS. As me and a lot many have seen it from their very own eyes, heard it using their very own ears, news items like "Commisioner Sahab ka kutta khoya/mila" or the "Chajje pe billo rani", we very well understand and often ridicule the horrendous use of a medium (TV Channels) to showcase ridicule! Maybe, it makes commercial sense, maybe a large set of people love such items for the entertainment quotient or anything else, but weren't you supposed to be a NEWS Channel, a channel that I assumed will give in important happenings around the world or was it that I made baseless assumptions.
Anyhow, as if the 'Vishesh's and the 'Breaking News's and more such unintentional humor wasn't enough we enter another era. As we all very well know the virus like spreading infection of joining Twitter, especially amongst the celebrities and well-known public figures. No, I have no qualms against this, absolutely not and I myself follow quite a few of them including Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Pritish Nandy, Gul Panag, Shashi Tharoor, Barkha Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh and some more. Now they are here for whatever reasons, its there business, I can choose to follow them or not.
Now a point here. Undoubtedly the small list of the much larger pool I gave above have huge fan following, love, respect from people on or not on Twitter. Of them, those who actually are on Twitter are likely to follow them so they are expected to have a large following. And as it was, it perhaps is a very big thing (a dream come true for many of us) if a celeb actually replies you and addresses you with your twitter alias in his tweet. It was big even for someone like Barkha Dutt who re tweeted (forwarded) someone else's tweet mentioning that she was the first one whom Shah Rukh Khan himself replied on twitter.
It is Barkha Dutt's personal account, she felt like and she did it. Fair Enough. But there are news channels on Twitter as well including CNN IBN, which I duly respect and liked. A recent update on CNN IBN has the headline "SRK tweets in support of 'unpaid' hockey player".
Now this is just too much, these channels are now following whatever celebrities write on twitter and are making news items out of them. There just doesn't exist any other news or what? Is it the most interesting and most important thing. An opinion by SRK, though well respected, but should it become a NEWS ITEM? And its not for the first time, I remember news items about celebrities joining Twitter, one update after the other.
Even if I try to justify the news story on Shashi Tharoor's 'cattle-class' tweet or the Chetan Bhagat's FPS-3Idiots opinions, which in itself was lame, I don't think I can justify this SRK one. How can you just make news stories out of ANYTHING, EVERYTHING or rather NOTHING!
I just don't understand where we are heading. As if the Kutta Billi stories weren't enough that now a less than 140 character tweet from a celebrity is molded into a full fledged news story. Ridiculous.

Now that the IPL ends I wonder what on air will be able to catch my attention. Argh, even Roadies is over so now there is nothing to watch even on Saturday evenings. Let us try to find out what all is on air these days and then I'll try and decide on a few.

1.) News
Whats up ? Nothing much. There hasn't been any BIG STORY of late so some channels have put up repeat telecasts of some 'Comedy' shows and some other put up tricks (walking on water, disappearing) performed by Criss Angel (described as 'Lambe Baal, Gora chehra') and then ask viewers to call them and give in their opinions on how he must have done it. Surprised ? Then heres more to it. People actually call. Some of them said its 'Kudrat ka Karishma' some other said its 'Shaitani Taqat' and I heard one intelligent guy correctly pointing out and revealing the secret behind the trick. By the end of this story the news channels actually reveal the secret themselves and say that they just did a 'Pardafaash'. Now someone please tell them that there is obviously some trick involved and its not 'Kudrat ka Karishma' and that you are revealing the secret behind the trick and its not 'Pardafaash'

And of the other stories that appear on these channels, I managed to collect some interesting images.




2.) Reality Shows
Kya aap Panchvi Paas se Tez hain ? I actually liked the concept but lately I got to know that even this show is an exact replica of a show named "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" (perhaps, they have appropriate rights to do the same) just like KBC was much like Who wants to be a Millionaire and Indian Idol (which gave birth to a hell lot of singing competitions and is not at all interesting) was on the lines of American Idol. Not that it makes a difference as far as my viewing is concerned but then the rumors that the answers are told to the students before hand is not totally unbelievable and that kind off pulled me away from it.

3.) Daily Soaps
No.

Guess, it has to be sports then and Yes ! Euro Cup 2008 starts 7th June. So its few more days and then at least there will be something I can see though watching TV is not mandatory.