December 06, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 7, 1429

MUMBAI, Dec 5: Round-the-clock news coverage of the Mumbai attacks has made Indians nervous but analysts said on Friday it was also stoking anti-Pakistan public opinion and risks shaping policy before elections due by May.

Psychiatrists in India’s financial hub are reporting increased cases of panic attacks and insomnia after last week’s attacks.

“There was no sense of balance or reasoning. The coverage was so jingoistic and nationalistic, they’ve pushed public opinion on Pakistan to a point of no return,” said Atul Phadnis, chief executive of consultancy Media e2e.

In the days since the attacks, the Indian flag is often used by broadcasters as a visual backdrop, with viewers’ text messages expressing anger at politicians or Pakistan ticking across the bottom of screens.

A big protest in Mumbai on Wednesday, organised by text messages and on Internet social network Facebook and radio, was proof of growing media influence on opinion, said B. Manjula, chair of the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

“Everyone is being led to believe that by lighting a candle or carrying a poster they’ve done their part as a dutiful citizen without questioning whose opinion they are pandering to... their actions only make for great visuals for TV,” she said.

There are more than 60 English and regional-language news channels fighting for the attention of 80 million Indian homes. Most were launched in the last three years when a booming economy helped drive advertising revenues. But the fierce competition has also meant that less experienced journalists have been thrust into the field, Manjula said.

“This is a complex issue with various dimensions to it. Simply reducing it to ‘politicians are villains’ and ‘Pakistan is the enemy’ without discourse or debate is a deep failing of the media, but it does influence public opinion,” said Manjula.—Reuters