Biased journalism is affecting the outlook of the society in a very negative way. Especially the people who take everything reported on face value get disoriented. The twisting of reality is dangerous for the well being of society as a whole. Instead of sending out unbiased reports that they are expected to do, they are perpetrating biased views not just in politics and industry but also in case of general reporting.

I would like to discuss two cases dealing with shortage of facility for one gender in case 1 and other gender in case 2, but reported and treated very differently by the media which bring out this bias against mens right clearly.

Case 1 - Chinese women made headlines across the globe by doing something successfully that should have been resisted and criticized. But they have been applauded for using Men’s wash room!!!!

Following are the articles that appeared in New York Time and The Times of India respectively - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/world/asia/chinese-women-demand-more-public-toilets.html http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-29/china/31109941_1_public-toilet-ladies-toilet-cubicles These articles have been praising the women who used Men’s room which is grossly wrong.

The reasons given by the women for doing this were following

1) Shortage of washroom for women

2) The women were in hurry

Both these reasons are illogical

First being that there is shortage of wash room is incorrect as the ratio of men to women washroom in that China city is 1:1 whereas the number of working women are less that men so why should there be a case for shortage. Unless the women instead of using these places to answer nature’s call, start to use it for other time consuming activity, like they use it as a makeup room and spend hours locked inside the WC. A facility should be used for the purpose it is provided to the public.

Secondly some of the women said they were in hurry so they did these act???? This is also a very lame excuse. As these women could have requested the ladies in queue to let them go first as there was urgency. I am sure they would have been accommodated and allowed to go out of turn. This would have been a sober exercise compared to barging in the gent’s wash room.

In brief there was no need at all to create such a scene. The practical solution to this is to have gender neutral washrooms as mentioned in the New York Times article and being used in Mexico - http://www.thestar.com/living/article/948118--toronto-s-flush-with-unisex-washrooms

Now a question arises, if a male who is in hurry and uses the ladies wash room would be given the same respect that these women got from the media? The answer is no as men are not even allowed to board ladies train!!! Leave alone using Ladies wash room…

Case 2 – Indian city trains and metros are always full during morning and evening rush hours when the offices open and close, the commuters travel in very crowded compartments. In India the trains have coaches which are meant for ladies travelers, Men are not allowed to board these coaches whereas the ladies can travel in ladies as well as men coaches. Which females always do and decrease the space available in the Men’s coach while leaving empty the coach meant for them.

It is many times seen that the men coach is so full that there is hardly any place to stand where as the Ladies coach in the same train is empty, still men are not allowed to board the ladies coach at all. In 2011 when some men boarded the ladies coach to protest the lack of trains and men coach, they were meted very different treatment from the media and the police. These people were insulted and some were even bashed up by the cops!!! Just for boarding a ladies coach. The same news paper which applauded the ladies occupying gent’s washroom was seen criticizing the Men who occupied the ladies coach????

http://www.timesnow.tv/Women-cops-bash-up-men-in-Delhi-metro/videoshow/4359217.cms They not only criticized the men but also praised the fine collection done by the railway officials.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-08/delhi/28667880_1_commuters-compartment-metro-citizens-forum The other dailies were also equally active in this male bashing.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/men-entering-metro-women-coach-generate-over-rs-5-lakh/785667/0

If men are entering the ladies coach, which are not fully occupied during rush hour than they may be charged a fine, but insulting them or bashing cannot be justified on any grounds. Rather a positive solution to this is that there should not be any ladies coach in the metro and city trains so that the trains can get fully utilized. As in case of United Kingdom, they withdrew “Ladies Only” accommodation in British trains in 1977 and have done away with gender-specific provisions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women-only_passenger_car

The above mentioned case is not an isolated one the media always shows Men as oppressor irrespective of facts. As in case of Mr. Dasarath who was killed by his wife Lavanya. Dasarath had received Rs 40,000 as a part of his provident fund. His wife wanted the money to be given to her parents allegedly for better investment. But Dasarath refused to part with his hard earned money, this infuriated his wife and she smashed his head with grinding stone, bound him with rope and set him on fire with kerosene. This is a clear case of planned murder. But still news headline read “'Harassed' woman kills husband” Hence according to the Times of India the Husband was abusive!!!!!!!! So does that mean that the murderous wife who planned and killed her husband for money was a docile creature???? http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Harassed-woman-kills-husband/articleshow/15509407.cms#write. I am sure even if the incident had been the other way round where the husband killed his wife because she did not give him money the headline would have not changed to something like “'Harassed' man kills wife”.

The bias in not only in one news paper but it’s across the media, as seen from an article written in Mid day about a woman who had affair with her brother in law and married him before getting divorce from her husband the headline read as “With divorce pending from Abusive husband woman marries brother in law” on reading the article it was clear that here the wife is the perpetrator for cheating the husband behind his back and when the crime unfolded (Because she got pregnant without physical contact with her husband for 30 months) she termed him ABUSIVE. Also she has committed adultery for which the article is silent along with the law which only punishes Men for adultery and frees female to commit more...So does that a mean if a husband questions his wife’s loyalty or objects to her affair he can be labeled as abusive Or if he fails to celebrate her pregnancy out of affair, he can be called abusive and the wife even though adulterous and pregnant with someone else’s child is always the suppressed victim????????? http://epaper2.mid-day.com/showtext.aspx?boxid=21525733&parentid=179492&issuedate=09082012&edd123=mumbai

One article which I felt was totally illogical was on a woman who did not wear uniform and hence disciplinary action was taken on her. The media took on the judge’s role and decided that the school in this case was oppressor and the woman who refused to wear uniform was a victim. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kerala-teacher-defies-dress-diktat-moves-rights-panel/articleshow/16920325.cms The article appears to be very archaic like 19th century and just wants to portray woman as victim instead of being modern and looking at the logic, for example no one in UK challenged the decision of school which banned skirts and shorts for their students. I think Indian journalism has to modernize itself and instead of just giving knee jerk reaction for creating news, they should delve to the underlying facts and there repercussions on society on it. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Human rights department also got involved in this case, which makes me think that if human rights department has time to look into matters of what a school management decides as to be uniform for the staff, so they must have resolved all the issues of Naxal areas, Kashmir and the lower caste??? I think a school management or for that matter any employer should be able to decide what their student and staff should wear and be able to take disciplinary action on those who do not follow it. Otherwise there will be a day when students come to school wearing carnival dress with feathers or boxer shorts and torn jeans while the soldiers, Navy seals, SWOT team will come dressed in colorful Brazilian shirts and bright neon colored pants and participate in the armed forces parade. What fun it would be to watch them. And if President of America questions them why they are not wearing uniforms the Media and Human right department will be seen supporting them while ignoring the real issues of the society. This case reminds me of the Citibank employee Debrah Lorenzana who was fired for dressing provocatively and the whole media stood by her side http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/too_S00LEBs0JUIl9OhB6xTBVI instead of finding the facts of whether she was actually that innocent as she was claiming to be.



Media is also filled with articles supporting right to abort which is not neutral as it is asking for right to abort for the women without considering the fact that many fetuses are aborted without any strong reason sufficient enough to end some innocent fetus's right to live. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Denied-abortion-woman-delivers-malformed-baby-dies-in-hours/articleshow/16921666.cms But I feel there should be no free license to kill either for a woman or a man instead every abortion should be done in special case after getting permission from court instead of over the counter drugs. The writer should have questioned the mother's carelessness of not doing the ultrasound in time and proposed a modern, logical and thoughtful solution instead of asking for archaic blanket approval of abortion which leads to misuse. http://lifenstory.com/stop_male_female_foeticide

If a wife or girlfriend commits suicide the whole world stands against the husband/boyfriend, But when a Man tries to commit suicide because of marital discord the wife is not even questioned by the media or anyone else like in case of man who jumped in Lions enclosure to get rid of nagging wife - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Sad-hubby-jumps-into-lions-enclosure/articleshow/16691714.cms Another incident of biased journalism and society - A Boy who was in love with a girl and wanted to marry her was rejected by the girl’s family. If this had been case with a girl she would have got the support of media who would have demonized the boys family simultaneously the judiciary would have arrested the boy under charges of rape (As happened with Gopal Kanda whose girlfriend committed suicide). But in the case of this boy who committed suicide no body showed any sympathy which has again brought to fore the ugly face of hypocrite society - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-11/mumbai/34385899_1_sea-link-man-ends-life-mira-road

There is huge uproar on the recommendation by Khap panchayat to ban marriage in the same Gotra (Because in those caste male & females are considered to have a brother sister relation even if they are not of same family), So by this logic the people opposing the ban will also ask for the removal of ban on incest marriage in blood relations like brother and sister and god knows what all in the name of modernization? I think cultural beliefs of people should be respected and not belittled. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-29/india/34797122_1_khap-panchayats-khap-leaders-hindu-marriage-act

In Delhi rape case of 23 year old girl Indians are turning to herd mentality and following this hysteria of media without thinking of its repercussions. They all resort to mudslinging to anyone who does not support their views. Even Females who try to talk sense are not spared. As happened in case of Dr. Anita Shukla who tried to give a word of caution to girls. This makes me feel what the use of India being a democratic country if someone is cursed for taking what’s practical. There would have been no questions asked if a boy would have been looted in night when coming from a party and same Anita Shukla advised him to not venture so late in night. What a hyporite public Indians are becoming. Time to grow up. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/woman-scientist-causes-outrage-says-had-delhi-gangrape-victim-girl-not-resisted-she-would-not-have-lost-intestine/1051165

Another misinterpreted case was that of a MP who wanted a ban on students carrying mobile phones in school was totally misreported - http://in.news.yahoo.com/bsp-mp-saini-says-dont-cell-phones-women-070940014.html It’s not correct for media creating so much hype just because a person talked about not giving mobiles to students as it is distracting. Does media want students to carry mobile in classroom to take pics and create MMS like happened in DPS case or take pics of their teachers when they are not watching or some clothing has got misplaced while teaching to be revealing. What a crap the media is just interested in creating sensation and TRP. Instead of logically reporting the matter with the pros and cons of allowing mobile to students the media has taken role of attacking someone they can. I feel that mobiles are a good means of communication when your kid is away but that does not mean that the kid should carry it everywhere.

When a girl faces even minor retaliation in case of affair the whole media goes crazy and the news is splashed everywhere and even the least circulated news papers cover it. The politicians visit the home of that girl and pledge support. But even if a Boy is burnt alive and acid is thrown at his face, no one comes forward to support his family. This clearly lays bare the hypocrite mentality of the society and journalists - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-10/lucknow/35725493_1_acid-love-affair-student

If a man throws chemical on woman, it will be front page news the government gets ready to bring special laws for such attacks. The whole world will criticize that person. But if a woman throws chemical on a innocent & harmless baby boy, The newspaper prints a small article on it downplaying the woman's horrific act few people take notice of it and forget it.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-14/mumbai/35819608_1_ayush-powai-4-yr-old-boy

Sometimes I get a feeling that outrage are planned as Minor Naga girls repeatedly Raped by Pastor Jacob for Years. Why no TV Outrage/Protest http://www.nagalandpost.com/channelnews/state/StateNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDAzNDg2Mg%3D%3D-kXyo0BNjbhY%3D

In Ahemdabad a mother and daughter duo lured a man into honey trap and killed him by cutting his body into 17 pieces. The media did not give a headline "crime against Men" in this case but if the roles had been reversed than surely there would have been a headline of " Crime against women" and the whole system would have gone out of control - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Ahmedabad-woman-daughter-kill-Mumbai-stockbroker-cut-him-into-17-pieces/articleshow/17735753.cms?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweets

Wasn't paid media enough, these people have now started extortion as well. They are losing all the faith people had - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-26/india/34749444_1_jindal-steel-jindal-group-zee-business

So many men are losing life because of women who have no respect for humanity as happened with Mr. Sunando Sen. He was pushed from a platform in front of an approaching train by a woman named Erica Menendez. This was a communal hate crime. Though the media talked about the incident it has turned a blind eye to the issue of Men’s safety why? Is a man’s life worthless? Is murder a lesser crime than rape, so that rape news makes headlines while murder cases go unheard? – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254628/Erica-Menendez-Muslim-hating-madwoman-confesses-shoving-Indian-immigrant-Queens-7-train.html

I welcome the decision of penalizing the news agency for incorrect or casual reporting as it is not correct practice to allow media to misreport and still get away with it. Media should be more responsible as there articles can totally destroy someone’s reputation. In fact I suggest that for every misreported article the media should not only be fined but should telecast and print the same size ads in the news paper and same duration shows telecast on TV apologizing for the incorrect report. Only than the victim may have some chance of regaining the lost reputation. No one should have the right to play with someone’s reputation and life just for the sake of TRP's which is also causing harm to men’s rights. - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-23/india/35982034_1_nbsa-news-broadcasters-rajiv-gandhi-charitable-trust

Some news channels have stooped so low that they fabricate cases and sting operations to get attention and viewership without thinking about the lives that will be spoiled because of such behavior. Live India channel aired a report in which a girl claiming to be a student at a New Delhi school accused teacher Uma Khurana of blackmailing female students into prostitution after drugging them and making pornographic CDs. The report led to hundreds of angry parents and residents flocking to the school premises, throwing stones and damaging nearby vehicles. After the mob attacked Khurana, she was arrested by police and sacked from her job. When it was later established that the entire sting operation was stage-managed by a reporter, Prakash Singh, and that Khurana had been entrapped. http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2008/02/indi-f23.html

When a male celebrity is accused of some crime they immediately jump the bandwagon to humiliate the celebrity even though prima facie the case looks fake . But strangely they adopted a different stance when the man is of ruling political party as seen in Rahul Gandhi – Sukanya Case: Amazing Media Silence http://www.mediacrooks.com/2011/03/rahul-gandhi-sukanya-case-amazing-media.html#.UsAjb6DvBAM

We need Ban Paid Media journalist, make them responsible for what they write with exemplary punishment for spreading Misandry and there won't be any need for social media activism http://www.academia.edu/1634110/_Coming_Clean_on_Duty_of_Care_Australian_Print_Medias_Representation_of_Male_Versus_Female_Sex_Offenders_in_Institutional_Contexts

India needs strong defamation law to discipline journalists: http://www.televisionpost.com/television/india-needs-strong-defamation-law-to-discipline-journalists-dr-prannoy-roy

Instead of providing the reader’s neutral articles the journalists have started coloring their articles with men hatred, gender bias and suppression of men’s right, they do not miss any opportunity to criticize men even for a trivial fault. But also resort to transferring the entire blame to a male scapegoat even for incidents where a woman is on the wrong side which I think is creative journalism which neglects men’s rights. These people should be questioned for their biased reports - http://lifenstory.com/start_questioning

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