Nine years later, 100 news channels on (and counting), the chatter has increased.  The Mumbai siege went on far longer than any terrorist attack before and that stretched the resources of reporters/anchors beyond their limits — not least their vocal chords. Nevertheless, tirelessly and in the face of increasing criticism, they stuck to their talk and gave people a voice — above all the Mumbaikars. Everyone from the terrorists to Shilpa Shetty was given free talk time on the air. 

The fact, is we talk too much. As this newspaper has already detailed, such loose talk revealed NSG positions and plans and had the security forces vying with one another to broadcast their versions of the unfolding tragedy. Rebuked by the authorities, channels were more subdued Friday/Saturday. That didn’t stop the chatter but only robbed it, substantially, of information so that often, they were speaking without anything to say. Listen in:   

Times Now: One doesn’t know if the encounter is over, it could be possible that the final assault could be over, it could be possible that the ambulance is there to take away the hostages or commandos, or the terrorists...  

CNN-IBN: (sighting white flag at Nariman House): Not sure if it was a hostage (holding it up), not sure if it was a terrorist, not sure what it is supposed to mean — a surrender signal or a hostage appeal?  

Star News: Umesh, can you see that balloon of smoke from the Taj?

Umesh: Yes, absolutely, I can see the balloon of smoke. 

Alternatively, the void was filled with hyperbole: NDTV 24x7 (entering Taj): The casualties are very, very high, look, look — shattered windowpanes, shattered, shattered. Look, look — glass everywhere, everywhere... 

Or they gave out wine and food lists: India TV: (The terrorists) bought 20 kilos of meat, spent Rs 35,000 on liquor... 

What do you expect after 60 hours non-stop talking? Saturday night was back to the studios. Here, the verbal flourishes came from the public and panelists like Shobhaa De, Suhel Seth, Maxwell Pereira, Prahlad Kakkar, Shyam Benegal, etc.  Politicians were called ‘wimps’ and more than one person said they were ‘idiotic’. The police were ‘political stooges’, and even the usually mild-mannered Sharmila Tagore said that politicians playing games was ‘sick’.  

It got to the point that verbal warfare broke out between De and Congresswoman Jayanthi Natarajan. (NDTV 24x7). De, deciding ‘to call a spade a bloody shovel’, scorned politicians visiting Mumbai with their Z security (PM. Sonia G and Advani, for instance). Natarajan went ballistic: ‘this is atrocious, absolutely rubbish —  who is she to question (Sonia Gandhi’s credentials)?’ 

Sunday gave two glaring examples of what too much loose talk can create: confusion and hysteria: NDTV 24x7 reported that the NSA M.K. Narayanan had resigned. It added that along with Home Minister Patil’s resignation, the President in Indonesia had accepted Narayanan’s, that NDTV had this information directly from the President’s entourage, so there. Half-an-hour later, CNN-IBN announced that Narayanan was staying on — the correct information.  

On We The People, Simi Garewal called on India to raid terrorist outfits in Pakistan and said people in shantytowns by her home, flew Pakistan’s flag, and rabble-babble followed. For calm considered opinion, turn to Fareed Zakaria on CNN with Ratan Tata, Henry Kissinger, strategic analyst Stephen Cohen. Zakaria allowed his guests to speak, and develop their arguments without interruption, disagreement or incitement.

Why can’t we be that? Because we enjoy the sound of our own voices more.

shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com