CAN IT MAKE IT TO HEADLINES?

Justifying the causes of news: “barefooted nun” or “queen of hearts”
The causes of news and its making has from time and again haunted the
chambers of thoughts were glamour and glitz has been dominant over blurred
shades of life. The architectural parameters of newsworthiness in this
respect is not truly championed where true emotions takes a back seat to
power domes of existence. In this respect media holds a big question where
the occupation of Princess Diana and mother Teresa in the facets of
tabloids have questioned the ethical concerns of today’s media world. On
the occasion of the death anniversary of two power ladies; one a bare
footed nun traversing the global parameters for the causes of society and
its upheaval and on the other side a Mercedes borne princess whose deaths
are distanced by only three days have distanced itself by long miles on
the issue of tabloid occupation. As the charming princess holds the
headlines with subsequent dedication of numerous pages and broadcast to
the causes of the tragic incident, the sacred nun holds the caption or
footnote often bewildered and lost among the pages of tabloid. Why such
distance in occupation? Has the media lost relevance?
Thinking on par with media one surely cannot forget the newsworthy
appearances of lady Diana who was the hot cake of media domains and
paparazzi delight; where the frenzy media has portrayed time and again the
credibility of Diana as a news item even to the extent of its paralyzed
notion holding the thin red foil responsible for queens rusty death. On
the other hand mother Teresa though a global phenomenon holding the
torchlight of society devoid of glamour might not have caught the medias
crazy eyes. Still the justification of footnote to a sacred cause is a
deplorable issue where the ethics of journalism instruments fail
repeatedly.
Their deaths, three days apart, evoked comparisons between the two.
Both were women.
Both were Christians.
Both worked among the poor and the needy.
Both were world travelers and received international honors.
But indeed the loss of the queen was a shock at a time when British
tabloid was restructuring the history of a charming face where the death
parameters sounded truly tragic .the tragic incident sent shock waves
around the world with Diana’s easy to recognize face of magnetic
influence. Such a cause truly champions the newsworthiness. In this
respect an old saying,
“When a dog bites a man its not news but when a man bites a dog its news.”
Such a coronation is justified by the cause that glamour and catchy items
surely interests the reader where princess Diana proved her capacity
several times whereas mother Teresa sacrifice of her soul for the causes
of society may not be very news friendly but the tragic value of her death
should have been portrayed in a much valued sense. Making headlines with
shine can be viewed in many ways where “the saint” would have fitted a
better bill.
A discerning look at the lives of these two "SAINTS" reveals more
contrasts than similarities, as noted here below.
One was young, tall and beautiful.
The other was old, short and homely
One kept herself in good shape physically.
The other took no special care of her body.
One was royalty.
The other was a commoner.
One was a princess.
The other was a nun.
One was rich.
The other possessed nothing that she could call her own.
One led the fashion parade for the world.
The other wore a simple blue and white cotton sari.
One left her palace for occasional excursions among the less-privileged.
The other was always in their midst.
One returned each night to the lap of luxury.
The other lived among the destitute and the dying.
One stored up treasures on earth.
The other stored up treasure in heaven.
One was of the world.
The other was in the world, but not of it.
One dabbled in astrology and 'New Age'.
The other devoted time to prayer.
One had a nominal Christian faith.
The other lived a life of faith in God.
One broke up a family.
The other built up a community.
One tried to take her own life.
The other gave her life for others.
One fed the gossip columns with her questionable life-style.
The other was admired for her righteous lifestyle.
Let's be honest with ourselves.
One was known as having committed adultery.
The other had opted for life-long celibacy.
One's husband [Charles] was a spokesman for anti-Christian New Age
philosophies.
The other's spouse [Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life] ushered
in the true New Age of man.
One died with her lover in a high-speed car chase after a night of wining
and dining, while her sons and their father were in another country.
The other died surrounded by her family, a sharing and caring community.
One's last words were reported to be "Leave me alone."
The other's were "I love you, my Jesus."
Missions and visions may be different but some thin redline uniting the
causes would have lifted the relevance of media portray. Media not only
portrayed todays emptiness of spiritual wisdom and purity but also
deplored its sacred image as the voices of the society. The values of
human existence got a backseat with teresa’s occupation of caption space.
In that respect a living princess would have deplored the same with a more
vibrant response.
Jesus said: 'By their fruit you shall know them' (Mt 7:16).So, judging by
their fruit, which one was the true saint and which one the counterfeit?
Last but not the least headline writing took a historic blunder on its
stride with dianas occupation and denial of the same honor for “the
saint”.