Tuesday 2 September 2014

Discipline required in T.V. panel discussions

2.9.2014, 6 p.m.

 I was watching a panel discussion on a T.V. channel just now. Out of the 6 panelists, often 4 persons were speaking at the same time, some shouting at the top of his/her voice. How can anybody be heard in this situation ? Should there not be some discipline on these channels ?

I think that the anchor should tell the panelists before the discussion begins that they could speak only when the anchor permits, and when the anchor tells him/her to stop, the person must stop. If the person does not stop his/her voice should be made silent.

If anyone wants to speak he/she should raise his/her finger, and only when the anchor permits should the panelist speak. At one time only one person should speak, otherwise nobody will be heard. We should see the B.B.C. panel discussions, which are carried on in a highly disciplined manner.

3 comments:

  1. Fully agree with you Sir. But ironically, many TV anchors want such cacophonous debates which supposedly raises their TRPs. Apart from many panelists not caring for a civilized debate, many anchors are notorious for constantly interrupting panelists, particularly those holding a contrarian view. As you stated, no Indian channel comes close on professionalism to BBC or even CNN. So much for having a 24x7 news media.

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  2. The only decent "discussion" show I have seen on news channels is Ravish Kumar's "Prime Time" on NDTV Hindi. Unlike many English news anchors, he actually understands that debate is not a synonym for "outrage" and "shouting", and usually is very well prepared to put both sides of the debate into tough corners.

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  3. "... he/she should raise his/her finger ..." but not the middle finger:-)

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