Much of the world sees Kerala as a model state with excellent records in multiple fields. Yet, for many Malayalis and their media, Kerala symbolises everything wrong. Negativity bias is inherent not just to Malayali media but to news media everywhere, as it follows the dictum, “No good news is news”. Yet, many feel Malayalam media surpasses others in “gloom and doom journalism” to ignore even their state's significant achievements. Critics call this the media’s “scary world syndrome”, which would create a skewed perception of reality, leading audiences to believe that bad news is more prevalent than it actually is. Human beings are known for their inherent negativity bias, a cognitive tendency to give more importance to negative than positive or neutral experiences. The media, driven by commercial considerations, exploit audiences' fear and anxiety to keep them engaged. Emotions sell more than facts and drive readership numbers, TV ratings and clicks.

A constant question now heard everywhere is: Why is the media always full of dark and depressing news? Whether in a newspaper, TV, or social media, one is deluged with a cascade of calamity, corruption, crime, apathy, or hate. Is there nothing happening around us that is good or that kindles hope?

Undoubtedly, many terrible things are happening around us, and the media only reflects them. Moreover, responsible media has to relentlessly report them to alert society and hold the authorities accountable. Media is democracy’s fourth estate and should often take the role of opposition to check abuse of power. Without the media’s persistence, governments would have ignored many problems faced, particularly by the marginalised sections. Look at how our media pressurised authorities to intensify the search for the sanitary worker Joy, who drowned in the Amayizhanchan canal, or the initially lethargic Karnataka government to look for the truck driver Arjun, who went missing in a landslide.

There is yet another matter Kerala media should be proud of. Even when most of the Indian media has been severely criticised for abdicating its role as watchdogs to become rulers’ lapdogs (“Godimedia”), Kerala’s media, despite its warts, has largely remained different. Many even see this as an extension of the public’s pressure on authorities to adhere to probity and........

© Mathrubhumi English