QOTD YES, QOTD NO

For most Indians today, the favorite way of exercising their franchise is the mobile phone. On every channel you have newscasters, VJs, or anchors exhorting us to make a difference.

Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Siddhivinayak Temple this morning and was accorded VIP treatment. Is it correct to accord VIPs special treatment? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N to 6838 or some such number and make your voice heard.

MS Dhoni is BCCI's new 50-50 captain. Are the selectors right? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N.

Suburban Mumbai is drowning as a cloud burst. Why should the cloud burst over Suburban Mumbai and why not over South Mumbai? Is the government responsible for the cloud burst? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N

A pipeline has burst and millions of liters of water have gone waste. Is the municipality responsible? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N

You can see many such issues, some more trivial these, being aired on live television as breaking news and channels literally using sublimal messaging to get the viewer to respond. How necessary are these polls?

Agreed that in cases such as that of Jessica Lal, Nitish Katara and others where recourse to law had failed the media played a major role in generating public opinion that saw justice being done.

But how right is SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N for anything and everything? We viewers must also understand the dynamics behind these SMSes. Do you think that channels are really interested in our views? 99% of the times the answer is no.

There is TRP to be managed, money to be made. Or do we think that these channels are purely helping our telecom companies grow their businesses? No, I say. Most viewers may not be aware that such SMSes cost Rs 3 or more per text message. Are we to believe that the news channels have no revenue-sharing deals with telcos?

In short, 99 of 100 times SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N is an easy way of earning a quick buck while making the viewer feel important. So viewers, think before voting for anything and everything. All that you will achieve is in helping channels and telcos laugh their way to the bank. And for what, giving us a false sense of being in control?