Please evaluate my issue :-)

[Mayur Kulkarni]

Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Society right from the inception, have been dogged by scandals. Scandals depict horrifying, immoral, dishonest behavior of people with high reputation, which quickly grabs media's attention. Media does it's job well in exaggerating certain issue to gain publicity. Social reformers on the other hand try to find solution of a certain problem and try to alter the condition in the society for its well being.

Whenever a scandal surfaces, atrocities like murder, drug abuse, rape cases are broadcasted by media without thinking about it's consequences and effects on children. Because these organisations are hungry for TRP and believe what they are showing is 'truth'. Many a times to spice things up they alter numbers in a fraudulent case , ask slanderous questions, make derogatory remarks against a reputed organisation/person. For instance, recently Zee media was fined $100,000 for asking personal questions to the Prime Minister and flashing the same in their TV advertisement, a failed attempt to lure people and make them watch their channel. Media should act responsibly and should not misuse its power for its own self.

Secondly, it doesnt care about the consequences. The suspects who are involved in a crime yet to get convicted often end up being publicly harrased. For instance, parents who were suspected in the murder of their 12-year old daughter (Who later on were found innocent) were beaten up by their own family and the same was broadcasted on television. Hence, the had to live an isolated life. Instead of just making public aware of the information, it should try to find a solution.

Social reformers on the other hand are educated people who have  high values and morales. They have high tendancy to change things. More than that, what's more important is they truly want to change the society in which they live. They make rigourous analysis of how a specific situation can be dealt with and have no thoughts for their own benefit. For instance, Arvind Kejrival, who was an ordinary person and an IIT(Indian Institute of Technology, #1 institute in Asia) passout who earned millions left his job for social service. He gather people of similar thinking (Now known as the Aam Aadmi Party) and became chief minister of the capital of India. A exemplar of how an ordinary man could change the society if he wished so.

Many social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy have led profoud impact on the Indian society. Raja Ram addressed the issue of widows who were treated condescendingly by the society and made efforts to change this mentality of the people, and also lost his life doing the same. Reformers like Vidyasagar corroborated the same ideology and took it a step further. Vidyasagar had his own son marry a widow, hence people could look up at such people as idols. Such people made true efforts to change the society, now after 200 years we live to see it's consequences.

However, sometimes reformers may fail to lay a deep impact on society and/or a particular movement may fade with time. Since the reach of media is far beyond than that of reformers they may lack in spreading out the message. For instance, the recent movement by Anna Hazare to pass an anti corruption bill eventually faded away beacuse of lack of support.

In sum, above paragraphs are clear indication of how the negative side of media (which tries to focus peoples attention) far outweighs its positive side. One should bear in mind, only attention is not enough to change the thinking of people in society but certain measures must be taken which is excellently done by social reformers.

 

[Vince Kotchian GRE Prep]

hey Mayur,

Make sure you understand the prompt before you start writing! Many of my students make the same mistake. Also, check back in with the prompt and your thesis during your essay to make sure you remember it and are focusing on it.

This essay doesn't respond to the prompt. Instead, it seems to discuss what the media does versus what social reformers do and which is better. 

[Mayur Kulkarni]

Actually this thought crossed my mind, but I was representing media as an entity that focuses attention vs reformers.