In the good old days, news was read out to the placid listeners. The news reader was calm and steady and did not show emotions. The views were one-sided affair. Sometimes, they were two speakers, but both of them either agreed or civilly agreed to disagree.

In the 1990s, non-government news emerged. It changed the reportage which becoame more hectic. But analyses were still the same. They passed on government views. Politicians and anchors had a cosy  relationship, The wrangle too was amiable.

Then came the era of ‘shrill’  TV news. It shattered the old day calm. There are furious arguments and accusations. There are insults and cutting responses. It is BP, scowls and tears. The programme brings in lot of emotion, which was traditionally absent. The news rushes to all corners of the story. It is understood that India today aspires to have news that empowers ordinary lives. The citizens want to know everything. We live in interconnected world, and would love to know how events abroad and here in India impact us. Old TV discussions with chatty camaraderie do not satisfy this need.  Shrill news does.

Critics, however, feel that events are exaggerated. Some events are triggered by media coverage. However, channels just feel the emotions around them, picks up on them, and get their act together. They present an emotional nation inside a studio. Indian media has adopted loud, pushy American model rather than polished British model.

TV news is a saga of our current lives. It reflects its joys and sorrows, its hopes and disappointments, its chaos and  order, its ugliness and beauty. It has changed from a muted, subdued version to a shrill version. The nation has changed.