Indian actress Sridevi’s death exposes TV news as all song and dance, with no substance
Amrit Dhillon says the lurid TV coverage of the iconic actress’ death reveals that entertainment is masquerading as news in India
The coverage was insensitive, sensational and totally speculative, without much thought for her family. First came the gushing praise of the actress. Television anchors were out of breath as they shouted about her iconic status, her popularity, beauty and talent. There were the endless clips of film stars and others waxing lyrical about Sridevi. Then, the endless loop of footage of the star, the fuzzy clips of her dancing at a wedding, the last time she was seen alive in public.
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Little of the reporting was attributed to sources. Few of the claims were verified. Pure conjecture ran amok. No one was prepared to wait until an investigation had established the facts about how she died.
The disgraceful coverage exposed what has become the biggest flaw in Indian television news: it is all debate and opinion, no reporting
The most bizarre aspect of the coverage was the bathtub. Let it be noted that bathtubs are not common in India. For a bath, you need space and lots of water, both of which are not always available in abundance. Most Indians prefer showers (if they are rich) or buckets (if they are poor or middle class). To enable the audience to picture a bath, one channel put up a huge graphic of a bathtub next to a photograph of the actress. A top newspaper kindly provided an image of a bathtub.