I was watching an episode of a serial on Nick which goes by the name of Maruko. It is about a Japanese (I think) girl who lives with her parents, sister and grandparents. It is sweet in a non-cloying, heartening way. At a time when most kid's serials are about overtly aggressive behaviour and scarily adult themes like vengeance, this one felt like a breath of fresh air. Maruko's best friend is her doting grandfather - an emotional person given to shedding tears at the drop of a hat. The serial actually mocks his sentimentality - but in a way that endears him. It is often deprecatory to the main characters but what emerges is the reassuring feeling that things like family and love and affection, and the small things in life are important enough to make a story about.

Simple situations and characters are all but extinct in the media today. Whereas our lives will involve precisely these factors. Entertainment that touches this chord sensibly will surely be rewarded with a loyal viewership. The apathy towards most issues among people today has a lot to do with exaggerated, negative, media concerns. And then, despite all the sensationalism and "breaking news" attitude, the media does nothing to help change the lives of people where it matters most - by ensuring better governance. For all its relevance today the media may as well only give us the economic analysis - socially it has only helped foster cynicism. Even the political news is mere reporting and is very often nothing more than the dictated gossip of some power-that-is.