The effect of sting operations on TRP ratings of news channels

Abstract

“A Sting Operation is an operation designed to catch a person committing a crime by means of deception. A complicated confidence
game planned and executed with great care. The word “sting” derives its origin from American usage to mean a police undercover
operation designed to ensnare criminals. The word “sting” is a
synonym for the expression “set a trap to catch a crook” and this
article uses the term in that sense. In more refined terms, it can
be called Investigative Journalism or Undercover Journalism”.
Sting Operation is an information-gathering exercise; it looks
for facts that are not easy to obtain by simple requests and
searches, or those that are actively being concealed, suppressed
or distorted. An informed citizenry the bedrock of a democracy, holding the government accountable through voting and
participation requires investigative journalism which cannot sustain itself on asymmetric dissemination of information.
Television news is an evolving medium and has definitely moved
away from being just about straight news. With more than fifty
news channels at our disposal, the competition seems to be sizzling. We are living in the times of Page 3 journalism, where
sizzle sells and ’breaking news’ at any cost seems to be the mantra to get an edge over the competition. Sting operations of different sorts seem to be on the agenda of many news channels.
In recent times, sting operation or any form of investigative journalism is drawn by the fact that news channels can have greater TRPs
that is, an edge over other news channels in this age or channel wars