Indian teen Aarushi Talwar's murder caught the attention of the nation. -- PHOTO: THE HINDU

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Is it sacrificing professionalism and ethics at the altar of profit, viewership and circulation?

That is the question the industry is facing in the wake of controversy surrounding coverage of the sensational murder of a schoolgirl. It drew more eyeballs than the Indian Premier League cricket tournament that was under way then in this cricket-crazy nation.

Even the serial soaps dished out daily by almost every entertainment channel, and which housewives would not miss for anything, were relegated to the backseat as the brutal murder of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar riveted the nation.

And, as it became apparent, the newspapers and TV news channels, especially the latter, often 'manufactured' news to satiate the hunger for more.

A study by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS) shows that six channels beamed news and special programmes on the murder for 39.3 hours out of a total 92 hours of prime time, from 7pm to 11pm, between May 16 and June 7.

Aarushi, a Class 9 student of Delhi Public School, was found murdered, with her throat slit, in her home in suburban Noida on the morning of May 16.

In one of the shoddiest pieces of investigation, the Noida police first blamed the family's domestic help, Hemraj, 45, for the murder and sent out a warrant for his arrest.

But a day later, when his body was found on the terrace of the family home, the police quickly blamed the girl's dentist father, Dr Rajesh Talwar, for the murder and took him into custody.

A senior police officer drew a storm of protest after he told reporters that the girl was murdered by the father because she was in possession of information that could have embarrassed her parents, suggesting extra-marital relations. He also suggested that the girl was intimate with the servant.

Smelling blood, the media went into a frenzy of speculation, conjectures and theories, and condemned the father and the family even as investigations were ongoing.

It took 49 days before Dr Talwar was released on bail after the federal investigating agency, which had taken over the probe from the Noida police, told the court that there was no evidence against him.

An assistant at Dr Talwar's clinic and two other domestic helpers are now being held for the double murder.

Even as Dr Talwar left the jail, the media frenzy continued. As he was mobbed by scores of reporters and cameramen, who blocked him from leaving with his wife and family members in a waiting car, the dentist appealed to the journalists to leave them alone to grieve for their daughter.

Suddenly, there was palpable anger and revulsion among newspaper readers and TV viewers over the way they were fed 'salacious' reports about the murdered girl and her family.

'How can we trust the media?' was a question that media personalities had to face at different forums.

Sensing the mood, The Times of India (TOI), the country's leading newspaper, 'unconditionally' apologised for the way the case had been reported.

The day Dr Talwar was released, the paper said: 'The tragic death of Aarushi Talwar was bad enough. But her family was then made to die a thousand deaths. Dr Rajesh Talwar was named the prime suspect in the murder of his own daughter, the worst crime any parent can be accused of.

'The media, especially some news channels out to boost ratings at any cost, also erred in blindly accepting everything the cops said and sensationalising it further.

'On its part, TOI would like to unconditionally apologise to the Talwars for any insensitivity that may inadvertently have crept into its coverage of the case.'

Some TV channels had also, in the face of hostile questioning on chat shows, grudgingly admitted their coverage was irresponsible.

Mr Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief of CNN-IBN news channel, admitted: 'I think the television media in general is facing a crisis of credibility.

'I think the media was irresponsible in the Aarushi case but the prime guilt must lie with the police,' he said in a Web chat in which several participants asked how they could trust the media.

Yet, he and other TV personalities blamed the police.

He said: 'It's the police that claimed Dr Rajesh Talwar was the murderer. Once the police had said that publicly, then the very fact that a father could have murdered his daughter in a middle-class home became the kind of story that any media anywhere in the world would latch on to.

'Having said that, the media did not stick to the facts, but engaged in wild speculation that had no basis in good journalism.'

But a participant at a chat show on NDTV asked: "Are you not professionals? Are you not supposed to check what the police say? Otherwise, anybody can be a reporter."

Mr Ashutosh, the managing editor of Channel 7 who likes to go only by his first name, was left tongue-tied when a classmate of Aarushi asked him bluntly: 'How could you do this?'

She was referring to some TV channels publicising details of Aarushi's e-mail messages and her phone calls to friends.

Mr Ashutosh's attempt to claim media credit for unravelling other sensational murder cases - like that of model Jessica Lal in 1999 - was shot down by retired High Court judge R.S. Sodhi in the same show. Last year, it was Mr Sodhi who sentenced Ms Lal's killer to a life term.

It was the courts and not the media that tried and sentenced the killer, Mr Sodhi said.

Mr Harish Salve, a former solicitor-general of India, cautioned the media to exercise restraint in the coverage of sensitive cases.

'It is better that you observe self-regulation in reporting rather than force the government to impose it,' he said.

Legal experts say various media organisations could face compensation claims from the Talwars for damaging their reputation by publicising unsubstantiated charges against them.

pjay@sph.com.sg