This is magical sleight of hand. We see these people as the heroes from their films, even villains. Who could be more lovable than Khalnayak Sanjay Dutt? The media treats them as stars, not the accused or the convicted. They enjoy an iconoclastic status denied to mere mortals. The law says they are equal before the law but in the media and public perception, they are above it.

From here, it’s not far to suicide bombers whose daredevilry wins them fans, respect and an iconic stature in the eyes of their followers, justifying their heinous actions. The more we, the media, treat celebrity crimes as page 3 types, we make crime attractive. Very.

Another news channel in Kerala: Jai Hind, with allegiance to the Congress. That places it in direct opposition to Kairali that sees only red. TV news channels are lining up along political lines: in Tamil Nadu, you have Jaya TV versus Sun, and the upcoming Kalaignar channel. Sudarshan TV has the blessings of the RSS.

Imagine what the news will read/sound like:

Jai Hind: Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (in that order) say the nuclear deal is in the national interest.

Sudarshan TV: Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh are anti-national, so are the Communists but in this case, they are right with us.

Sun TV: Former Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran did everything he could while at the Centre to promote Indo-American relations.

Jaya TV: Former chief minister and mother of Tamilians, Jayalalithaa, outright condemned the nuclear deal. She said it was not in the national interest of the Tamil people.

... contd.