Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Lokpal bill and media

Watching the media coverage of the Lokpal bill standoff is interesting. I notice that all the media outlets have their own version of a smart reporter (Barkha Dutt being the unchallenged leader)who then goes on to interview a host of politicians and journalists and or a bunch of aam aadmis who let lose with their personal experiences of corruption. Its a race to the bottom in terms of a critical discussion of corruption. If the country really wants to tackle corruption it cannot be by simply creating yet more laws and not enforcing them? Surely not by adding yet another layer of bureuacracy which can be corrupted? I don't have the answers but I don't believe the Lok pal is the only or even the best way to tackle corruption. How can we know without any evidence? What we need is an academic expert who knows how corruption was tackled successfully or where it failed and why. We need science and facts. The BBC at least does find experts to talk of things and not just politicians. You need skills and training so let the journalists do their job and rely on academics for the evidence of what works.

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