In the second instalment of its sting videos on media organizations, web portal Cobrapost on Friday released 49 videos of senior officials of 27 media organisations purportedly expressing their willingness to an undercover reporter’s proposal to promote Hindutva politics and content criticising leaders of the opposition parties and some of their leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav. The videos purportedly feature executives of Hindustan Times, Star India, Network18, Zee News, Times Group, Dainik Jagran, and Paytm, among others. It is nauseating to see how the media house after media house falls for the reporter’s offer of cash to promote the ideology of the ruling party and help its campaign for the next year’s general election. Some of the top media names who have bitten the bait include Kalli Purie, vice-chairperson of the India Today Group; Vineet Jain, managing director of Times Group; Ajay Shekhar Sharma, vice-president of Paytm and brother of the companys founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Brijesh Mishra, CEO and editor-in-chief of Bharat Samachar. The sting operation is code-named ‘Operation 136’, in reference to Indias ranking on the press freedom index in 2017.
In the videos, the journalist has posed as the Acharya Atal, a representative of an unnamed sangathan, affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). So, his words carry weight and media houses take him seriously. Vineet Jain of the Times Group promises him propagation of the Hindutva content disguised as news. As a corporate, we have to look as neutral as possible. Matlab dekhne mein neutral lagna chahiyae, Jain tells him.He also promises to help the sangathans propaganda reach over 70-80 million readers in one day. Puri too makes promises along the similar lines.
The videos have once again brought to light the murky state of affairs of the media across the country – albeit, it hardly needed a sting to confirm this sad reality. The content across the media, more so, in television channels is too brazenly pro-government and pro-Hindutva to be lost on the reader. But Cobrapost sting has now put it out into the open. It is now clear that the daily outrage that we are now used witness daily on the media is selective and generally dictated by whosoever is ready to pay cash. Similarly, it is TRPs that rule the roost. Media organizations also are open to run content laced with a very communal and nationalistic outlook just because it is seen approvingly by the government. This is such a tragic state of affairs for the media. What it shows is that the news in India follows an implicit code: it merits playing up only when deemed to be politically correct and fitting the ideological framework of the ruling party.
This shows as Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his piece has rightly said, a certain contempt for the people who are treated as “infantilised fools.” The sting should thus provide an occasion for the media to introspect and take firm steps to regain its credibility. It is a moment of reckoning.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
