once upon a crime

It's intrusive, it's all-pervasive, and it has the makings of a bestseller. It's the latest buzz on TV. Fact is, eight of the top 10 shows on news channels are crime reports. That's the whodunnit part. Here's more...
There's a common modus operandi for these crime reports - a vigilant approach, dark and sinister sets, sometimes with a cellphone in the background mingling with the hushed conspiratorial tones of those who host these shows.
Finally, there's the hush-hush talk. Here, the criminal (accused, not convicted mind you - but that's but a little detail for TV channels) is produced before the camera and the anchor combines the three roles of cop, judge and jury. If the reality component of these shows, given the crusading manner of the TV hosts, doesn't grip you, there's more to come. The crime is dramatised and it's always way beyond terrible, more so because the criminal, more often than not, is an overweight, moustachioed bad guy playing the cliche to the last detail.
Aaj Tak has a programme called Jurm Aaj Tak, which trawls through recent FIRs in faraway places in Meerut and Bulandshahar. The anchor, Shams Tahir Khan, goes into a low-tone mafioso drawl to add to the effect. It doesn't add up though. Sony has a show called Crime Patrol, which is hosted by Shakti Anand.
While the pumped-up host gives the impression of a cop who's about to pounce on a criminal, the show doesn't really live up to expectations in that, sometimes, 'lesser' crimes are blown up to make them interesting. "It is after all a crime show and we do need to spice it up sometimes just as we sanitise the show a little bit sometimes," says Anand.
"One thing is for sure, crime sells big time in middle-class India." Does it bother Anand that some of the cases are still in court and the alleged criminal hasn't actually been convicted? "We have a role to play as the media. Even if a case is highlighted, we take care not to be biased," he maintains.
Star's Red Alert isn't different from other crime shows on TV, what with its share of hushed whispers, wailing sirens and other stuff that goes into making these potboilers on TV. Says the host, Jitendra Dixit: "Red Alert aims at raising civil awareness about crime and those that subvert the laws of society. It is easy to sensationalise and dramatise things while doing this, but the show hasn't been designed on these lines."
The way these TV crusades are shaping up it appears time is not far when Indian TV will do a trial like the celebrated O J Simpson media circus in the US. The awesome reach of TV gives the anchors power to play cop without any checks or curbs on their crusades. The reason why so many channels have so many crime shows and there's one channel in the pipeline that will be exclusively dedicated to crime isn't far to fathom. These shows are targeted at the voyeuristic instinct of the middle-class family man and his wife - it's sort of cheap thrill and means getting acquainted with big crime and its perpetrators. Indeed, blood and gore sells almost as well as soaps in developed markets such as the US and Europe.
Ratings for crime-based reality shows are far greater than talk shows of news channels and the academic discussions on TV. What's more, if reality crime shows are at the top of the ratings game in the West, they're slowly getting there in India.
Says Sulina Menon, CEO, North of Carat: "There is serious interest in these shows, which are throwing up impressive numbers. But production quality has to go up a long way before they can become top drawer attractions."
Shoaib Ilyassi, whose copy of America's Most Wanted became popular, now has a new show on India TV. Says Illyasi: "We have already been instrumental in catching 24 criminals though this new show. The public wants to know about crimes and demands accountability from the police. I believe that we cater to both these aspects."
So, come tonight, and couch potatoes will once again be taken through a whirl of sirens and guns, cops and robbers. Let the hunt begin.

indian stock market anchors need transperancy

Media needs to be more transparent
Switch on any business channel on television and you have the same picture. An anchor sits in a plush studio with two “experts” gleefully telling the viewers which stock to buy, and which to dump. By the way of exposure you have a half a second clip which tell you that the said “expert “ holds stock in the very company he is pontificating about. This has clearly irritated the country’s stock exchange watchdog the securities and exchange board of India. Its out going chairman Mr. Damodaran made this much plain in a recent interview to the Indian Express. When a regulator held in wide esteem as a sensible overseer takes notice of the media it raises several questions.
In the United States, especially post Enron, there are specific provisions that channels have to follow including a detailed discourse of number of stocks and likely investment positions in the futures markets before they come on television and speak on a particular stock. None of this alas is in existence in the Indian media.
The lack of such disclosure has the potential to create a herd mentality in bull runs. It can also hurt the retail investor given the fact that some of the large business houses hold a significant percentage as ownerships in business channels. Thus if an industrialist has a major stake in a media house that owned a television channel and comes up with an IPO it can be a case of conflict of interest for him to manipulate a stock.
The real concern is that although SEBI has made two attempts to work out a self-regulating code of conduct for the media there has been no response from the media. This arrogance may cost the media some of its dearly loved freedom. When self-regulation is absent, inevitably governments find ways to impose their will.The media needs to heed this wake up call and line up a code of conduct that makes their manner more transparent. Such a move will help them, their viewers and the retail investors. Not so doing could cost the media its credibility and some of its freedom.

soros looks @ indian entertainment sector

When billionaires come together industries shake. The decision by billionaire investor George Soros top put $100 million for a three percent staked in Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment has indeed shaken up the sector .

Go to any film studio in Mumbai or a gaming café in Bangalore and you can see that consumer interest and easy availability through retail is allowing for a boom in India’s entertainment sector. The Indian leisure classes love their movies and their TV shows and there are more then 150 million of these willing to pay for content.
According to Price Waterhouse coopers, a consultancy, Indian entertainment industry has a turnover of $10 billion. It is estimated that the industry will be worth $13 billion by 2010.

The crucial difference this time is that this industry is moving away from fragmentation. Mr. Ambani’s enterprise for instance has under its roof more then 100 theaters across India and an equal number planned in the US. It also has film production firms that have signed upon big names in bollywood. Add to the menu gaming portals, postproduction faculties, an animation firm, TV programming companies, DVD distribution, FM channels with a pan Asian presence and music. What emerges is a media conglomerate in the making that can do the famed end-to-end operations Ambani style.
The larger industry too is growing exceptionally. New television channels are multiplying like rabbits similar growth is there in sectors such as movies and magazines. The Indian consumer is growing richer and more literate and there is also the back up of the foreign residing Indians hungry for content from back home. The annual growth of 18 % in this industry is looking to get bigger.
In all this growth however there are real issues distribution still remains a bottleneck though direct to home access will in time change that. The entertainment industry is heavily taxed making film tickets expensive even in small towns. Revenue models from entertainment avenues including FM radio and the Internet are in its infancy. However investors like Soros have taken a bet that a foot n the door now will ensure rich rewards as the market matures. This appears to be a good bet.