Media’s high society Do media’s close links with politicians give it clout or deprive it ofcredibility? It would appear that almost every ...
Media’s high society
Do media’s close links with politicians give it clout or deprive it ofcredibility? It would appear that almost every media group makes a trade-off between the two – sacrificing some credibility for either money or power. Indeed, with money comes power, and with proximity to power comes money. The continuing success of the unabashedly partisan, pro-Modi Republic TV is proof. RTV’s idiosyncratic anchor, Arnab Goswami, is a thorough professional and a personally amiable fellow.
However, when the camera is turned on he becomes an actor, not a professional reporter of news. His viewers, the mainly urban middle-class Hindus who enthusiastically support Modi, lap up all the histrionics on display. Arnab has come to symbolise the headiness of power that the media is capable of conferring on a normal professional.
In the age of private, corporatised television, anchors are not mere journalists; they become brands. Some have even become proprietors. Prannoy Roy set the trend turning from TV anchor to NDTV proprietor. Rajat Sharma and Arnab Goswami have walked in his footsteps.
Print media, too, has had its entrants to the world of the power elite. Journalists have entered the corridors of power, joining political parties, becoming members of Parliament and ministers at...
