In these most fractured and fractious election, how is the media to be fair in its coverage? You may laugh, because if it is one thing you can be sure of, it is that the media has not been fair. The how is very glaringly obvious to anyone who understands a modicum of journalism, that all we have to do is concentrate on the “how not”.
You do not for instance give even more traction to a man who has brazened out the most terrible accusations of sexual assault and harassment from a number of women, some of them award-winning athletes. That is not journalism so much as cowardly both-sides-ism masquerading as journalism. Certainly cover Brij Bhushan Singh if you want to, but if you release a photo of both of you posing and smiling in a pretend arm-wrestle, that is legitimization of a man accused of crimes against women.
You do not for instance scrutinise in minute detail every apparent and imaginary transgression by opposition parties while giving a free pass to shameless demonisation, dehumanisation and divisiveness from the ruling party.
You do not for instance allow misinformation and disinformation to be allowed into the public sphere by campaigning politicians, without exposing them for their lies and for their attempts to manipulate the electorate.
And most of all, for instance, you do not accept the total capitulation to the ruling party by all democratic and state agencies. These agencies report to the people of India not individual politicians or political parties and the media must hold them to the highest standards possible.
Yeah, by now even I’m laughing.
But more seriously, the refusal of the Election Commission to release exact number of the two completed rounds of this general election is unacceptable. And also unacceptable is the media’s general inability or reluctance to directly ask the Election Commission why. Instead the 10-year-old trend of shooting from the shoulders of opposition parties and civil society continues.
Massive scandals remain, from the parole granted to convicted criminals connected to the BJP so that they can campaign in these elections, but elected chief minister who are battle unproven accusations cannot get bail. Once again, the media falls short here.
This is a media which went out of its way to demonise and target a young actress for having an affair with an actor who died tragically, without any evidence or any concern for her own privacy. But the same media is tongue-tied and tied up in knots when the electoral process is India is compromised by those is power, those in charge and those who are irresponsible with the powers vested in them.
We are now close to the middle of this questionably long election season. We see no signs that the ruling party is willing to follow any rules at all and we definitely see the bureaucracy falling over backwards to play along with the ruling party and the cult status of its star campaigner.
The media remains as culpable as these other compromised arms of the system as long as it cannot break free. Whether it is an outright adorer or a both-sides pretender.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.