Such excitement in Godi Media circles. How dare Rahul Gandhi tell a TV person from India Today that she should wear a BJP badge for the kind of question she asked. The excitement – mainly because even journalists don’t know this TV person all that very well – is marginally less than when Rahul Gandhi called Smita Prakash, owner of ANI and BJP propagandist, a “pliable journalist”.
How dare he? Journalism must be respected. Congress has never respected journalists. She just asked a question as she must. Add lots of puffs of hot air and red faces and you get the picture.
Before we get to the question asked, let’s remind ourselves how many super-outraged TV people have spearheaded protests when journalists are killed, when freedom of expression of media houses are stifled, when journalists are arrested for merely questioning the BJP and Narendra Modi’s cronies. About zero would be the correct answer. Print, digital and independent journalists come out in large numbers. They came out when NDTV –which had nothing to do with them – was threatened with cases. They regularly come out in solidarity with each other. Big name TV anchors and solidarity with other media persons. Don’t make me laugh.
The question asked was whether Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the stock market rise and fall between the highly exaggerated exit polls and the down to earth election results was a waste of money.
Let’s break that down.
TV channels carried these exit polls, most of which gave the BJP a massive majority across India. India Today’s poll with Pradeep Gupta’s My Axis was one of the most prominent. The stock market rose after the exit polls and then fell the day the results came out. The Prime Minister himself encouraged people to buy stocks before the results. There are further allegations that the rise was manipulated by the exit poll results – which were wrong – and people were exhorted to capitalize on the rise. How many journalists from India Today have questioned Modi on why he advised people to invest in the stock market?
To many “journalists”, especially those in TV, just about everything is a waste of money, unless it benefits the rich. Therefore all welfare schemes for the poor, all government subsidies for the poor are burdens on the exchequer. The small investor lost in this stock market rise and fall, and thus any investigation is a waste of money.
I am being generous here. Whispers below the surface suggest that TV people have been forced to ask questions like this because media owners were part of the manipulation – a sort of insider trading if you will. Thus, to protect their interests, employees must provide the first line of defence.
This is a tiny example of media sensitivity and manufactured outrage. But it provides an example of difficult it is for the pro-BJP media to realise that some semblances of democracy have returned. The default setting to question the opposition and let the government go scot-free has not been changed.
If indeed they ever change, we’ll be watching. But it gives us a clear indication of how deep the rot is. And how little they can still be trusted. I do have a bias against TV. But we’ll be watching the print media closely too.
Meanwhile, turmoil within the media is handled variously across the world. Like this article on the Washington Post and journalists against their own publisher:
I also place this here to demonstrate that journalists do not have to kowtow to owners and executives all time, anywhere in the world. And many do not. Because frankly I am bored of people who know nothing about the media lecturing me on how important money is. I get it. Really. I still rely on media earnings, as I did on my salary for decades. But it’s not all about the money. And especially not making money for some fat cat bigot media owner.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Friday, and when necessary, on other days as well. Her views here are personal.