Magic of media mikes

That stack of mikes can make celebrities of otherwise ordinaries. I wonder if the faces in the photograph (The Hindu) had so many media microphones so poised at them, before their Team Anna avatar . It has helped Mr Arvind Kejriwal and Ms Kiran Bedi acquire, what could be termed, a paparazzi status.  But then it carries a flipside. You can’t keep your tax returns or travel bills from media reports and social networking sites.

Admittedly, these are trying times for these notables.  And when the media hangs on to  every word  uttered  some of us tend to speak  a bit much ,   saying things that may sound gibberish.  For instanse Mr Kejriwal would have one believe fudging travel bills by Kiran Bedi doesn’t involve corruption.  Says Team Anna spokesman, “It is a matter between Ms Bedi and those who invited her. If anyone felt wronged, they can demand the money back”
I wouldn’t have the temerity to say such a thing  even in a drawing-room chat,  let alone at a Team Anna press conference. Must say,  Mr Kejriwal says it with flourish,  even if what he says doesn’t carry conviction.  But then the likes of Mr Kejriwal,  enamored with his new-found status,  would  find a microphone held out to him only so long as Team Anna is seen as prime-time by TV channels.  Whether Mr Kejriwal and Ms Bedi keep things this way depend, in parts,  on how they conduct their personal affairs,  and what they speak for the camera.

When it comes to public exposure the law of diminishing returns sets in, if you don’t weigh your words before before they are uttered. Maybe Ms Bedi and Mr Kejriwal could consider emulating  leader Anna Hazare.  Take to self-imposed media silence for a while. I don’t suppose India Against Corruption is likely lose its voice because a couple of core members maintain media silence. After all, as  Mr Kejriwal himself put it,  ‘this is people’s movement, not the core committee’s’.