News Editorials are meant to inform and educate the readers about the larger picture behind the everyday news; it’s meant to pull the curtain and expose the truth behind the drama under the headlines. Metaphors if used, are meant to simplify a complex topic. So when a seasoned journalist used the phrase “economical with the truth” to describe a simple three-letter word “lie”, his action raised questions about whether corporate media houses have killed the profession of journalism.
https://youtu.be/O7RkPdfyaf4
How could a senior journalist not to use the word “lie” to describe Narendra Modi’s statement that there are no detention centres in India? And if he had to use a metaphor, what does he mean when he calls the truth “Economical”? Economical can be good or bad. If I had to I would have said Modi “Demonetised” the truth.
While Rajdeep discussed the economical truths spoken by Modi, another channel Mirror Now gave just five minutes to a shocking revelation that Kashmir suffered a loss of 17,878 crores due to the lockdown by the Central government. There is even an admission that the actual figures could be much higher. Further, lakhs of jobs have been lost and businesses shut down thanks Modi not being “Economical” with his promises and policies (fulfilling them).
After this news, the channel spent half an hour debating the myths regarding solar eclipse. I watched it hoping that they would mention that the loss to the economy of the country because of this superstition was more than 17,000 crores. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
Anyway, I hope nobody took notice of Rajdeep’s comments. Imagine kids telling their parents, “I didn’t lie to you mom, I was being economical with the truth” or an accused say to a judge, “I am telling the economical truth… I swear I didn’t steal from him”.