India’s strength lies in its democracy and one of the fundamental requisites for a healthy democracy is a strong and independent media.
The media is supposed to act as the watch dog of the constitution. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the days of ‘independent journalism’ are over, at least in India.
Journalists are a dying breed and what exists now are merely content writers, scripting the narrative dictated by their capitalist bosses.
Running a media house is no small matter, it requires large funds that are mostly sourced from advertising revenues.
Naturally, the government is a major contributor. However, of late, media houses that speak out against the government are targeted with criminal cases and stop getting advertisements.
This in turn makes their survival next to impossible. That is why every media house is affiliated to one political party or the other.
They thrive when their party is in power and put up with hardships when in opposition, waiting to form the government again.
Where then are the media houses that espouse the ‘voice of the people’? They can survive the onslaught from the ruling party, courtesy of their ‘deep pockets’.
Over 70 percent of the media in India today is owned by Ambani and Adani.
Was there a single editorial in any of the newspapers owned by them on how these two businessmen have been benefitting unduly from the largesse of the government, how Ambanis are minting money from Russian oil, how the ports are being given away to Adani, etc?
Obviously not! In return, they espouse each and every policy of the government creating a beautiful and harmonious relationship that serves their common interests well.
That is not to say that the Opposition Parties are saints, either. They do the same when in power. When BJP rules, Arnab Goswami is the hero and when Congress is in power, it is Barkha Dutt.
The few ‘journalists’ out there who actually consider their profession to be sacrosanct? Well, their voices are lost in the cacophony of the mainstream media.
It is with a huge tinge of sadness that we probably have to admit that in India, ‘independent media’ is finally dead.
Kiran Sharma
