That awkward moment media declared Jayalalithaa dead

So has been the trend that whenever there’s a powerful person on the verge of an almost death, myriad unconfirmed news reports and headlines surround it. The same has been the case with Amma. Even as news organisations like Jaya TV, Sun News, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, India Today (and even DailyO) put out announcements of the "death" of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the Apollo Hospital in Chennai denied any claims of that sort, as they continued to tweet about the Tamil leader being on life support.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister had been admitted to Apollo Hospital in Chennai on September 22 for “dehydration and fever”. News of Jayalalithaa’s cardiac arrest, on Sunday, attracted a huge crowd of her loyal followers outside the hospital.

Apollo Hospital denied all local media reports claiming Amma’s death.

The premature reports of Jayalalithaa’s "death" led to a chain reaction of spontaneous violence on the streets of Chennai. This is reminiscent of the events in the wake of the deaths of both former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Tackeray. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), just after the initial reports of her "death" surfaced, lowered their flag at the party headquarters in Royapettah. Curiously enough, post Apollo Hospital’s announcement of Jayalalithaa still being on life support, they hoisted their flag once again

The problem with being part of an environment that feeds on breaking news and quick reportages is that often we forget that information (especially related to someone’s life or death) needs to be heavily verified before it is published. And when it comes to announcements related to cult leaders like Jayalalithaa, one has to be all the more careful. Here’s a leader whose fans and followers have been waiting outside her hospital day and night, praying for her recovery. The love Amma commands over the masses is unparalleled. So when a band with tendencis this fanatic, is told of the death of their leader, there is obviously likely to be repurcussions (namely rioting).

Hence, making an announcement of an unconfirmed report in this acutely sensitive case is not only careless, but also negligent. Violence broke out in front of Apollo Hospital in Chennai soon after the reports were tweeted or broadcast. Police barricaded the hospital to ward off protesters, while security officials got into a scuffle with members of the public. People began to throw stones, upturned barricades, and threw chairs and water bottles at the police resulting in the police lathicharging the crowd.

A rather memorable scene from Aaron Sorkin’s series The Newsroom depicts the channel’s owner forcing the anchor to make an announcement about the death of a politician. The executive producer’s reply will always be relevant. “It’s a person. The doctor pronounces her death. Not the news.”

This is what should always remain the mantra for any time we are faced with a situation that involves us making an announcement related to someone’s life or death. We at DailyO apologise for our hasty announcement.

Whether it’s a flag that’s being put on half-mast or full mast, whether it’s that very leader’s mouthpiece channel, whether it’s the people outside the hospital wailing in morning, the only indicator of someone’s death is and should be, the doctor’s announcement.

Media houses across the nation have received criticism for their hasty reportage. This is, of course, an expected reaction. After all, people depend on news outlets for accurate facts, not unconfirmed rumours.

Maybe this shall act as a reminder, the next time media houses race for an exculsive report.

Also read - How Jayalalithaa went from Ammu to Tamil Nadu's Amma