Let us bow in respect before the brave reporters — including those from far-off Kerala — who tirelessly criss-crossed the shell-ravaged border villages of Kashmir for days and nights to bring us firsthand accounts from the war front. While these young journalists and their organisations cannot be excused for the highly irresponsible-even reckless—decision to enter a conflict zone without proper training or basic protective gear, their courage and commitment deserve our salute no less than that accorded to our soldiers; regardless of how much armchair critics may pooh-pooh them.

One chilling image is unforgettable: a TV reporter crouched in a bunker without even a helmet in the pitch darkness of a curfew-bound town in Jammu, the ground shaking from relentless shelling, his voice trembling as he reports live with only a torch pointed at his face to make himself visible to viewers. These courageous journalists have held aloft the great legacy of the heroic war reporters of the past who risked their lives out of sheer commitment, duty, and sacrifice.

However, while we honour the media's courageous legacy, we must also acknowledge one of its enduring and less commendable traits: a tendency for rabid war-mongering, often without addressing the profound human suffering wars inflict on all sides. This is problematic even when India undoubtedly had every right to do what it did to teach Pakistan for the massacre of 26 innocent tourists in Pahalgam. Media shouldn't turn hostile when its enemy forces its government to enter a war. But, should it be a cheerleader and turn a blind eye to inconvenient truths? In today’s media war theatre, more than the reporters at the frontlines, the studio anchors, childish and outraged as they are, surrounded by hawkish experts and former military officers, seem most battle-ready—thumping desks, raising decibels, abusing the enemy from the safety of air-conditioned newsrooms, as if national security depended on their lung power. This has long been the norm in much of the media worldwide, including in India, whether in English or regional languages. Though not as hysterical as the rest of the Indian media, the jingoist virus has now certainly invaded the Kerala media sphere too.

This trend has intensified with the advent of television, which, more than print journalism, thrives on sensationalism. As a result, the mass media often becomes ineffective for those seeking accurate accounts of events on the frontlines, even in........

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