Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Unwanted media hype

The electronic media’s day-long coverage of the court proceedings was irritating. All television channels roped celebrities from the tinsel world into what seemed like an exercise in mobilising opinion in Sanjay’s favour. Once the verdict was out, they started projecting it as a national tragedy.

Sanjay Dutt may be a celebrity in his own right. But the media cannot glorify him in an attempt to claim immunity for him from the law. It was a herculean task for the TADA court to conduct the trial and deliver judgment. The media should not have tried to influence the final outcome of the case by initiating a glorification campaign.

B.R. Pantulu,
Hyderabad

The wide media coverage of the Mohammed Haneef and Sanjay Dutt episodes makes one wonder where the country is headed. Dr. Haneef’s return to India was treated like the return of a hero who had fought for his country. Even our Kargil heroes were not given so much attention. As for Dutt, one wonders how many people possess armoury for self-defence. Had he been let off, we would have had everyone acquiring lethal weapons for self-defence.

V. Aravind,
Chennai

Whether or not the sentence is fair, the visual media’s attitude was deplorable. They tried to evoke sympathy for the actor by showing the live coverage of his journey from his house to the court. Was the minute-by-minute account necessary, that too with background music? That the film fraternity is shocked at the verdict is amusing. In several cases, innocent people are implicated and no media channel rushes to support them.

I. Aarthi,
Chennai

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