MxMIndia

Tag: Navika Kumar

  • Everyone knows how cowardly the Indian media is, writes Ranjona Banerji, adding: Our star TV anchors are inordinately proud of their pusillanimity

    From Licence Raj to Silence Raj?

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiThe “humbling of Gautam Adani” says The Economist. Not sure if the Government of India is going to ask UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to personally spank the editors of the prestigious journal with his hairbrush, but this article provides a good round-up of the Adani “growth story” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegedconnection to Adani.

    https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/02/09/the-humbling-of-gautam-adani-is-a-test-for-indian-capitalism?utm_campaign=a.the-economist-this-week&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=2/9/2023&utm_id=1486037

     

    For the media however, is this damning paragraph to ponder on.

    “Licence Raj to Silence Raj

    The Modi years have in many ways eroded India’s checks and balances. His government has steadily undermined the independence of the courts and the police. The media are mostly too cowed to investigate the mighty as they once did. Few Indian newspapers would have touched a story about Mr Adani had an American firm not asked the tough questions first. Mr Adani himself recently bought NDTV, a news channel that was once critical of the government but is now supine.”

    Obviously then, everyone knows how cowardly the Indian media is. Not that it’s a secret. Our star TV anchors are inordinately proud of their pusillanimity. And their ability to prostrate themselves in front of power. It gets them promotions and is thus profitable.

    Here’s an example of how TV anchors behave, as if we didn’t already know. This is Navika Kumar, exalted “group editor” of Times Now. Her love for the Prime Minister is no secret, nor is her lack of aspiration to journalism, She has had to apologise for her treatment of Opposition politicians. But so what, eh? Clearly her love is pure.

     

     

    The Prime Minister of India thundered through the speech above in Parliament, as ever blaming the last UPA government and previous Congress governments for the state of India. That Modi and the BJP have been in power at the Centre since 2014 means nothing to the BJP because they know they will not be held to account by the media. This Kumar tweet is not different from the way any of these TV anchors and those in cahoots with them behave. These are collaborators in a massive heist on Indian democracy. And they know it.

    Adani, you may ask, where was Adani in the PM’s speech. Nowhere and that did not bother most Indian TV anchors and mainstream journalists anyway. Some asinine reference by Modi to the Nehru surname has excited them as Modi’s great “oratory”. Others are thrilled that Modi ignored Adani and had his own “agenda”.

    As if after over eight years, we don’t know what the agenda is. Should I tell you? Or have you figured out what is lying in plain view?

    The reason that Modi cannot mention Adani and that the media can allow him to get away with it is that Adani’s stock values have not stopped falling since the Hindenburg Report was released at the end of January. And that Modi has not been able to use his massive powers to help either Adani nor stem the effect of Adani’s troubles on the Indian economy points to both weakness and incompetence. The sad fact of the matter is that the media has boosted Modi’s oratory – which is mainly anti-Muslim and anti-Opposition – as good governance and ignored his government’s inability to provide governance and policy.

    The short spurt in journalism which we saw during the pandemic has subsided.

    And thus, this story remains buried somewhere on the inside pages:

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/actual-covid-infection-in-india-17-times-more-than-official-number-bhu-led-study/articleshow/97702910.cms

    Even the other week, we had top TV anchors tweeting about what a good job Modi had done with Covid compared to other countries. Not to mention how he had personally vaccinated all of us for free. I exaggerate but we all know that that’s how it rolls.

    Meanwhile, journalists in India, the unknown, the unsung, who try to expose wrongdoing, pay the price:

    https://rsf.org/en/indian-reporter-murdered-over-story-just-hours-after-publication

    Maybe that explains the extreme cowardice of our top anchors?

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal

     

  • People must criticise whoever they want and journalists can develop carapaces to deal with the vitriol directed at them, Ranjona Banerji

    When no standards apply…

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiOften when I discuss the media with non-media people and occasionally with media people, I get a series of lectures and explanations. Anyone who knows me knows that I am inimically averse to lecturebaazi (unless I’m doing it myself, ahem) and more importantly, that I have spent over 35 years working in journalism. More in the media itself, if you count my little ill-fated foray into advertising! I know how it works, I say, without any modesty.

    But people will have their theories, and am sure they are intelligent and have used their powers of observation to work out why the Indian media is in such a pathetic state. The other truth is that these are people who spend an inordinate amount of time watching TV news and thus believe that all these star anchors are their friends, since they met them on TV last night or this morning. So you hear all about why Rajdeep, Nidhi, Barkha, Faye – these are just representative names – think or what motivates them.

    Sadly, few people I meet have such particular insights into the minds of Rahul Kanwal, Rahul Shivshankar, Navika Kumar and so on. I suspect it is not because they do not watch them but more because these anchors have no nuance and put all their hatred and incompetence assiduously and regularly in the public eye so that everyone knows what they stand for.

    Almost no one discusses print reporters or print columnists.

    The upshot of these insights gained from nightly observations is that these anchors are under immense pressure and are trying their best. They may work in difficult newsrooms and under trying circumstances but are trying to keep some amorphous journalism flag flying.

    It is a sweet argument, even if it has almost no connection to reality. It also supplies a neat out to the rampant false equivalences and nauseating both-sidesism which characterises the more “liberal” sections of the television media. For any mediaperson, most of TV “news” in India is weak, cowardly and lacks both judgment and perspective. Newsgathering is consigned to the corners and publicity for the regime is the top priority. No standards apparently apply, even if this is a medium notoriously short of standards.

    Sadly, no such concessions are made for people who work in print or digital journalism and display better journalism and higher standards. They are held to the highest scrutiny and must prove their high standards at all times. If ever they make a slight deviation or slip from this high standard, they are excoriated, often from amongst their own tribe of liberals. It’s an impossible level for anyone to maintain.

    And yet, The Wire – I come back to this – continues to suffer from its mistake in its “investigation” into Instagram following the BJP’s orders. It has to be taken to task repeatedly because it tried to maintain the higher standard. If it had consistently produced mediocre journalism, those around would have said, “poor things, see how hard it tries but what can it do in these difficult times.” It was similar with TV anchor Nidhi Razdan’s mistake over her Harvard appointment: she was attacked viciously from within the liberal community.

    Perhaps a big difference is that both The Wire and Razdan publicly acknowledged their mistakes. Rather than brazen it out with craven lapping at the feet of their masters or some masterly deflection to some other topic.

    The dichotomy is astounding and dangerous. Pushing religious bigotry and hatred, pushing misinformation, playing conveniently dead when the BJP and Narendra Modi break every rule, you hear: “all this is par for course, what can we do, they are like that only”.

    It is also difficult to try and remain “neutral”, that is to criticise both the BJP and other parties. Those who laud you for critiquing the BJP will turn on you viciously for criticising the Congress for instance. I may disagree with Swati Chaturvedi’s analysis on Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Veer Savarkar, but I find the social media attacks on her ludicrous. Especially when the same people were happy with her earlier praise for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra!

    Obviously, people must criticise whoever they want and journalists can develop carapaces to deal with the vitriol directed at them.

    But my larger point is to choose your targets wisely. Do not have double standards for news outlets. Do not feel sorry for extremely highly paid TV anchors who don’t have the gumption to do their basic job.

    And the more you attack within, the more you strengthen the divisive forces working hard to destroy our democracy.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal

     

  • That India has egg on its face thanks to despicable bigotry is not surprising. Nor sadly is the fact that the media which amplifies all of this is actively involved in this embarrassment, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Taking India for a ride!

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiSomewhere in the offices of Bennett Coleman, there’s someone sitting and laughing.

    India is in the middle of a very embarrassing diplomatic incident and Times Now has to take responsibility for it. But. Ha ha ha.

    We went through this last week, when Times Now anchor Navika Kumar supported BJP’s National Spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who had abused Islam and the Prophet on national television. There was a backlash within India and Times Now distanced itself from Nupur Sharma and her comments.

     

    https://www.mxmindia.com/2022/05/ranjona-banerji-someone-trying-to-cover-their-nether-regions/

    What India did not know at the time is that within various Islamic nations in the Middle East and West Asia, there was massive anger building up. Indian goods were being removed from shop shelves, the Grand Mufti of Oman called for action, and then the diplomatic anger began. Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran and Oman are some of the nations which expressed their displeasure and some called Indian ambassadors for explanations.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61701908

     

    And then, the BJP and the Narendra Modi-led Union government behaved in a most remarkable manner. First, a statement was issued by the BJP distancing itself from statements by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, head of the media cell of the BJP’s Delhi unit. Then, soon after that statement, another one appeared suspending Sharma and expelling Jindal who had also made similar remarks.

    Sadly for Sharma, she had in between appeared on a BJP propaganda website claiming to her namesake that the BJP supported her all the way. She claimed assurances from people close to the Prime Minister that she was safe. Alas.

    The Times of India has covered the episode, Sharma’s sad humiliation and the anger in Islamic nations but has not mentioned its sibling, Times Now. Instead, the newspaper report said that Sharma made her unacceptable remarks in “a TV debate”.

    In its editorial, Times of India says: “That it took diplomatic censure from strategically and economically important Gulf countries for BJP to take action against two spokespersons, whose appalling comments on TV and Twitter have been known for days, says everything about how much political discourse has coarsened in this country”.

    It does not mention its colleagues in TV who actively supported and encouraged Sharma, let alone censuring or stopping her. The noxious Navika Kumar and the churlish, petulant Rahul Shivshankar are posterchildren for bigotry and Islamophobia. Both are the lynchpins of Times Now and set the tone. They have not paid any price yet for what they have set in motion. No responsibility, no action.

    The toxic “federal structure” excuse used by Bennett Coleman to justify its various platforms promoting opposing viewpoints is further amplified by a comment in The Economic Times. This pink paper feels that the Modi government is set on some great “development and wealth-creation mission” and thus “elements out of sync” – like Sharma and Jindal – must pay the price. It’s an intriguing thought process. By its own argument, the BJP must now get rid of Modi, Shah, Yogi Adityanath et cetera. It may also work if Times Now get rid of Kumar and Shivshankar who are certainly not bringing international glory to India.

    (I must thank communications and branding consultant Karthik, of the popular Twitter handle @beasoftraal for the juxtaposition of these two edits.)

    That India has egg on its face thanks to the BJP and its despicable bigotry is not surprising. Nor sadly is the fact the media which amplifies the BJP is actively involved in this national embarrassment.

    What is somewhat surprising is how quickly the BJP capitulated to pressure from these Islamic countries. Normally it hisses and spits venom at anyone who dares to question its rabid nature. Now suddenly, it rolls over and crawls away in abject apology? Could it be because India’s two biggest billionaires have massive business interests in some of these countries?

    Any media house going to take this up? Especially those laughing creatures at Bennett Coleman?

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

     

  • It demonstrates one more low in a long list of lows that Indian journalism now aspires to, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Thrilled by the pain of others!

     

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiThis is Navika Kumar of Times Now on Twitter on April 20, 2022. She has some fancy designation which is an insult to anyone else who has ever held that designation or aspires to it.

     

    “Dramatic increase in demand for bulldozers. Are we increasing domestic capacity for manufacturing or will we have to depend on imports?? #JustAsking JJ”

     

    The context: Properties in the national capital were destroyed by the municipal authorities. This was presented as part of what is called a “demolition drive” in the Indian media where encroachments and illegal buildings are brought down. However, this “drive” which has filled this Times Now “editor” with such glee, followed a complaint made by a BJP leader which was part of a new pattern in India. Create a communal situation and then accuse only Muslims of riots (started by Hindus) and then use demolition equipment – bulldozers, earthmovers – to destroy their homes and livelihoods.

     

    The “drive” that Kumar enjoyed so much was stopped by the Supreme Court but officials of the BJP-run New Delhi Municipal Corporation continued with it as long as they could, in blatant contravention of an order from India’s apex court.

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/supreme-court-stays-demolition-drive-in-jahangirpuri-for-two-weeks/articleshow/90973632.cms

     

    The seriousness of the situation – part of the total breakdown of communal relations, of law and order, of Constitutional democracy being carried out the by the BJP-RSS in India – was better presented, obviously, in The Hindu and The Wire than in Navika Kumar’s sister publication The Times of India.

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/dangerous-deceptions-the-hindu-editorial-on-jahangirpuri-demolition-drive/article65342304.ece

    https://thewire.in/government/jahangirpuri-demolitions-not-legitimate-anti-encroachment

     

    What is Navika Kumar made of? If she ever was a journalist, then the facts of the case have not made it to her tweet. Nor has the basic tenet of questioning all official actions been fulfilled. And on the basis of humanity, of compassion? To have such joy in the prospect of people losing their lives and livelihoods?

     

    Sadly, she is not the only one. Big names in the Hindi TV anchor world – Amish Devgan of News18 and Anjana Om Kashyap of AajTak – were equally thrilled at the devastation caused to the poor. Kashyap even jumped onto a bulldozer to get the experience of destruction first hand. Embedded “journalism” if you like.

     

    There is a lot of anger amongst journalists over what The Times of India or the Bennett Coleman group has become. A bit like the way India’s public intellectuals continue to rail against the Congress party while applauding the fascist control of the BJP. The truth is that TOI has long been all things to all people. Under Girilal Jain, it was definitely leaning towards the Hindu right. It is an establishment paper, and for a while it was even run by the government because of ownership litigation.

     

    However, having worked for TOI during one of India’s worst moments – the Gujarat riots of 2002 – I can emphatically state that in spite of all the pressure put on the newspaper by Narendra Modi, by Arun Jaitley and our own marketing department, the editors and owners supported our endeavours to report and comment on the terrible violence unleased on Muslims by RSS subsidiaries with the support of the state government. There are excellent, hardworking journalists within the group. But their voices are being muffled day by day.

     

    And we now reach this moment where a senior editorial person does not just support the government but is thrilled by the pain of others. There has been no action against her yet so one can only assume her bosses share her excitement at the suffering of India’s poor.

     

    The excuse made by the Jains about the “federal” nature of Bennett Coleman’s various media arms cannot hold under such circumstances. That is just shucking responsibility by pretending that you’re being tolerant and inclusive. Kumar was once made to apologise for abusing Rahul Gandhi on her TV show.

     

    Frankly, this tweet is much, much worse. It demonstrates one more low in a long list of lows that Indian journalism now aspires to.

     

    I shudder to think of the young people entering journalism inspired by Kumar’s sickening hatred of India’s people, India’s religious minorities and India’s Constitution.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia every Tuesday and Friday. Her views here are personal

     

     

  • Led by Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar, the channel will air seven primetime shows

    Times Now Navbharat HD will launch on Aug 1

    By Our Staff

     

    Times Network has announced its foray with its Hindi News Channel, Times Now Navbharat in HD on August 1, 2021.  As announced earlier,  Navika Kumar will be Editor-in-Chief and air seven primetime shows hosted by anchors including Sushant Sinha, Padmaja Joshi, Ankit Tyagi and Meenakshi Kandwal. These include Rashtravad at 5pm, Log Tantra at 6pm, Dhakad Exclusive at 7pm, Sawal Public Ka at 8pm, News Ki PaathShala at 9pm and Opinion India at 10 pm.

     

    MK Anand

    Commenting on the launch, MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network said: “We have dominated the English news category with our flagship brand, Times Now, ever since we came into the space. We are now thrilled to mark our debut into Indian language News with our maiden Hindi news channel. We believe News has the power to transform and create impact for a better society. With Times Now Navbharat, we are pioneering disruption with a powerful proposition centred on the core promise of bringing news that will drive change, where we follow a Content philosophy that puts Social Impact and not Ratings at the centre. I am confident Times Now Navbharat will contribute to further improve the Hindi News broadcast space which is already served by some of the best Media brands.”

     

    The the network has planned a marketing campaign across Hindi Speaking Markets. Conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup India, the channel will unveil its brand film with the brand manifesto written by awardwinning lyricist and McCann CEO & CCO Prasoon Joshi. The network’s outdoor promotion spans over 400 sites across 19 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Dehradun, Indore, Punjab, Raipur and Varanasi. The network also plans to splash its print ads across leading Hindi and English dailies of the country.

     

    Meanwhile, the channel has announced the roping in of leading advertisers like Kent RO System, Century Ply, Radico Khaitan, Vedanta, Medibuddy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Darwin Platform Group of Companies, Mylab Discovery Solutions, Meghdoot Herbal, Kirloskar Brothers amongst others.

     

     

  • In her new role, Kumar will lead the editorial mandate of the channel

    Navika Kumar named editor-in-chief of Times Now Navbharat

    By Our Staff

     

    Times Network anchor and editor Navika Kumar has been named Editor-in-Chief of its soon-to-be-launched Hindi news channel, Times Now Navbharat. In her new role, Kumar will lead the editorial mandate of the channel besides continuing in her role as Group Editor, Times Network and hosting ‘The Newshour’ @ 9 pm and the interview show ‘Frankly Speaking’ on Times Now. She will also closely work with the business and leadership teams of the network to drive the channel’s growth strategy and work towards building Times Now Navbharat to become the leader in the Hindi News category.

     

    Commenting on the development, M K Anand, MD & CEO Times Network said: “Navika has been one of our key assets since the inception of Times Now in 2005. In fact, the largest number of critical news breaks and stories that eventually went into taking Times Now to the top in the English category in spite of our then late entry into that segment has been her work. In the last four years, she has morphed into a compelling and high impact primetime presence and made her mark in that highly competitive space becoming one of the most recognised faces on Indian news primetime. Her impact led journalism helps Times Now to live up to its promise of Action Begins Here. We are thrilled at the new launch and look forward to serving Hindi audiences with our unique Action orientated journalism and believe Navika Kumar is the best suited to lead Times Now Navbharat to eventual category domination.”

     

    Navika Kumar
    Navika Kumar

    Commenting on her new role, Kumar added: “I am really excited to take on this new mantle, which marks the Network’s debut in Indian language. I look forward to working with our robust team of ace journalists, technicians and crew, to build and nurture a distinctive brand of Hindi news. With a powerful and impactful narrative, I am confident that Times Now Navbhart will bring the much-needed paradigm shift in the Hindi news category and will set the course for superior news coverage.”

     

  • Ranjona Banerji is looking for a cogent explanation from India's brave media on why the policy has to begin on June 21

    No Vaccine against Media Stupidity

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiOn June 7, 2021, at 5 pm, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation. After several self-congratulatory statements, he then announced that his government was now going to reverse his early COVId19 vaccination policy of letting the states fend for themselves and begin a centralised policy. Not from today, June 8, 2021 but from June 21, International Yoga Day.

     

     

    This is The Telegraph, Kolkata, front page, June 8, 2021:

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced a centralised vaccine policy, taking the corrective measure after a countrywide outcry and a Supreme Court observation that the government’s policy was “arbitrary and irrational”.

    https://epaper.telegraphindia.com/imageview_363137_163320780_4_71_08-06-2021_1_i_1_sf.html

     

     

    Then there’s Navika Kumar of Times Now, in a tweet sent out at 11.26 pm on June 7, 2021, which she has since deleted. The tweet claimed: “I’m being told that reverting to centralised procurement policy for vaccines was on the @narendramodi @PMOIndia table on June 1. A detailed presentation & his ok was inked on the same day. SC hearing was on June 2. Over to the Opposition.”

     

    You can be kind and say she was misinformed. Or you can be real and know that Kumar is one of the leaders of the “pro-Modi at any cost” brigade. She is correct to the extent that the Supreme Court did call the Centre’s vaccine policy for 18 to 44 year olds “arbitrary and irrational” on June 2, 2021.

     

    However, it is also true that on May 31, 2021, while the hearing on the Centre’s vaccine policy was on in the Supreme Court, Justice Dy Chandrachud said to the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, “I was reading the Constitution. Article 1 says that Bharat is a Union of States. When the Constitution says that, then we follow the federal rule. The Government of India has to procure the vaccines and distribute it. Individual states are left in a lurch.”

     

    There is no ambivalence here.

     

    Only the equivocation of Modi’s pets in media who cannot for the life of them question this government on anything. Even when the lives of so many Indians are at stake.

     

    Navika Kumar’s programme on the night of June 7, 2021 was about absconding jeweller Mehul Choksi and how the Modi government was going to get him back to India, rah-rah!

     

    Who can blame her?

     

    How about the venerable Hindu?

     

    Malini Parthasarathy, member of the owning family, sometime editor and currently Chairperson of the Hindu group, tweeted that she felt that the Prime Minister’s decision for a centralised vaccine policy was “excellent and time-sensitive”. As it turns out, the Twitter handle @RURALINDIA, revealed to us that Parthasarathy had also called the Centre’s decision to leave vaccine procurement to the states “sensible”.

    Meanwhile, while we understand that Parthasarathy believes that whatever the prime minister does is sensible even when his actions are directly contradictory, The Hindu published a fact check, which found that, to put it bluntly, Narendra Modi’s several claims on India’s vaccination history in his 5 pm address to the nation on June 7, 2021 was riddled with lies.

     

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Friday presented a view of India’s vaccination history that is at odds with the facts. “If you look at the history of vaccinations in India, whether it was a vaccine for smallpox, hepatitis B or polio, you will see that India would have to wait decades for procuring vaccines from abroad. When vaccination programmes ended in other countries, it wouldn’t have even begun in our country,” claimed Mr. Modi in his address.

     

    “India, even before Independence, was among the countries that indigenously manufactured vaccines almost years within they were discovered, historical records suggest.

     

    “While there have been several challenges to the uptake of vaccines, their availability was the least of the problems.”

    https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/news-analysis-history-shows-india-did-not-lack-access-to-vaccines-as-claimed-by-pm-modi/article34758021.ece

     

    I have still to find a cogent explanation from India’s brave media on why Modi’s great policy – does anyone remember the Tika Utsav minus any tikas from a few weeks ago? – has to begin on June 21, 2021.

     

    I know the answer from reading between the lines. We do not have sufficient vaccines to start today.

     

    However, this analysis in The Wire lays bare several of the contradictions and lies in Modi’s new policy:

    https://thewire.in/government/modi-forced-to-change-tack-but-new-vaccine-policy-still-promotes-inequity-and-inefficiency

     

    That so many influential sections of India’s media will still allow Modi to get away with lies and prefer to roll in the muck, shows us the extent to which we have sunk. India’s current COVID19 figures may be not as bad as they were two weeks ago but we have still lost too many, and too many still struggle. As the Supreme Court, the Opposition, members of the public have all pointed out, the current mess is on the Centre and it has not gone away.

     

    This article from the BBC revisits the suffering in UP.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-57383131

     

    The next few days will tell us which members of the Modi Bhakt Media are on their toes with the Modi Government’s vaccine procurement policies. Don’t hold your breath!

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia every Tuesday and Friday. Her views here are personal.

     

     

  • Navika will have additional charge of driving political reporting strategy for ET Now and Mirror Now

    Navika Kumar is Group Editor-Politics of Times Network

    By A Correspondent

     

    Navika Kumar

    Times Network has elevated Navika Kumar to the role of Group Editor- Politics, Times Network. With this, Kumar will have additional charge of driving political reporting strategy for ET Now and Mirror Now.

     

    Commenting on the elevation, MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, said: “Navika Kumar has played a key role in nurturing our flagship channel, Times Now since its inception. Her extensive knowledge and capabilities in the political space has immensely contributed to the channel’s leadership position. Navika is a valued member of the Network top management team and we are delighted that her attention and expertise will now be harnessed in areas beyond Times Now as well. I am confident she will enable us to generate greater goodwill and value for Times Network.”

     

    So will we now see Mirror Now following the same political line as Times Now? Guess only time will tell.

     

     

  • Ranjona Banerji comments on Arnab Goswami's mega-tantrum against director Aparna Sen on Republic which was followed by protégé Navika Kumar and successor Rahul Shivshankar on Times Now

    Journalism or Calibrated Outrage?

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    A supposed meltdown on Republic TV by famous TV anchor Arnab Goswami is doing the social media rounds. In the clip, Goswami is on a massive rant against film director Aparna Sen for being a signatory to an open letter asking the prime minister to do something to stop mob lynchings and religious violence in India.

    Goswami accuses Sen of trying to destroy India among other such claims, does not allow her to speak and carries on with what appears to be a mega-tantrum.

    However, suppose it is not a meltdown? Suppose this is the television that Goswami has found suits his audience the best? It is after all a style that he honed while on Times Now. And now he has perfected it. The tough guy journalist who will save his country from secular, compassionate, liberal intellectuals, that anti-national constituency that wants to rip India apart by not kowtowing to the majority religion and the government in power.

    It is therefore more than likely that this is manufactured and carefully calibrated outrage. It serves two purposes: it tells the BJP that Goswami remains one of theirs no matter what, and that there is no extent of illogicality and non-journalism that he will not go to support them. And it tells his audience that he remains what he is: a mighty show pony who will provide great entertainment every night regardless of the consequences and/or credibility.

    The journalism, remember, stopped while Goswami was at Times Now and therefore could not shift to Republic TV.

    The experiment that he started at his last job has taken fruit. At Times Now, his protégé Navika Kumar and his successor Rahul Shivshankar, carry on with Goswami’s toxic agenda, at times trying to outdo him. For all the great “fight” that Bennett Coleman had with Goswami when he quit, it is telling how they carried on with the form of non-journalism that he began. They replaced him with a wannabe clone which is I suppose a sort of compliment.

    Shivshankar on Thursday night (July 25) was in good “defend my masters” mode while he questioned panellists about why everyone wanted to save India’s religious minorities, but no one wanted to save Hindus. Trying to save Hindus is some Times Now hashtag on social media. The subject of the debate was the Triple Talaq Bill and the criminalisation of those Muslim men who use instant divorce as a way to abandon their wives. I made a huge mistake here and genuinely thought Shivshankar was going to ask why no one wanted to save women. I realised within second of course that I was on the wrong track.

    Shivshankar put me right and if one extrapolates from his sycophantic and illogical stance, then no one in the government is interested in the women. Of course, if they were, criminalisation would play no part in this bill but that’s another story.

    The capitulation of the media to the ruling BJP and its agenda is also clear, even without the melodramatics of Goswami or the poor seconds of Shivshankar. The very fact that the Right to Information Act was amended so easily is testament to our cowardice. Journalists – real ones, I mean, not these television snake oil salespeople – are those who will suffer the most as an authoritarian government exercises its muscle power in Parliament to protect itself.

    Do we care?

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. Her views here are personal

     

  • Do our news channels really care to highlight RBI's latest consumer confidence survey finding that 48% of respondents in six Indian cities feel that the economic situation in the country has worsened compared to a year ago, asks Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Jab Anchor Bhi Kabhi Journalist Thi & other soaps our “news” channels can run

    By Ranjona Banerji

    The Reserve Bank of India’s latest consumer confidence survey finds that 48 per cent of respondents in six Indian cities feel that the economic situation in the country has worsened compared to a year ago.

    However, it is more than likely that this information is interesting to no one who controls the news cycle. There’s Anand Narasimhan of Times Now claiming that Prakash Ambedkar of all people has threatened him. This threat includes, apparently, a statement by Ambedkar that the Modi government has only another six months to go, which is in some sense a real threat to the anchors of “news channels” like Times Now.

    On the other side, well-known TV anchor Barkha Dutt says she and her family have received death threats. Will Times Now be doing a whole evening’s show in support of Dutt?

    The biggest problem for India is of course that former president Pranab Mukherjee addressed some RSS convocation. Actually, that is not the biggest problem but it must be the biggest perceivable problem. We will undoubtedly hear and see lots of comment on this. The connection between the RSS’s Hindutva agenda and the murder of Gauri Lankesh by Hindu supremacists will be made in a tenuous manner while there will be much handwringing about Mukherjee’s speech, should he have gone there, should he have made it, blaming liberals, and of course, the usual lies that will emerge from rightwing troll accounts.

    Vedanta, Thoothkudi, the arrest of Dalits in the Bhima-Koregaon case, the collapsing economy… all will be forgotten. Because, as a side dish, we have some masturbation scene in a Hindi film which denotes the end of India’s cultural superiority as we see it or some such nonsense.

    But all this is wisdom from far away. Am on holiday in Great Britain where media obsessions and trends are quite different. Not always any better perhaps, but different. For all of last week, the BBC has been obsessed with the reopening of the Jeremy Thorpe case. A charismatic politician accused of hiring a hitman to kill his homosexual lover Norman Scott in 1975. The unfortunate casualty was Scott’s dog Rinka, who was shot but Scott was saved because the hitman’s gun jammed. Thorpe stood trial but was acquitted. He died in 2014. The case was closed in 2017. Now evidence emerges that the suspect, thought to be dead, maybe alive.

    However, after watching the ceaseless coverage of the case past and present, you began to wonder whether the news was about the case and Thorpe or about the BBC itself. Because at the end of every news bit, there would be a reminder to viewers to watch the BBC Four drama, Thorpe: A Very English Drama, starring Hugh Grant. So was the news just an advertisement for the drama series or was the drama series an innocent off-shoot of the news?

    Is there an opportunity here for our intrepid “news” channels and their endless drama on prime time “debates”? Akshay Kumar stars as Anand Narasimhan in the Times Now soap, “Are Liberals Trying to Finish Times Now”? Suneil Shetty plays Rahul Shivshankar in the drama, “Hard Fact: There is No More News on this Channel. And, will Smriti Irani come out of ministerhood to star as Navika Kumar in the special series, “Jab Anchor Bhi Kabhi Journalist Thi”?

    Meanwhile, in Republic TV Land, Rajnikanth in and as “Arnab Goswami Ab Tak Sab Se Gussa”?

    **

    And in one wonderful moment of news excitement winning over news fact, the BBC informed us last week that the weather was so bad, that one woman had to be rescued when her car stalled in a puddle! Nostalgia fans will find this scene replayed now as the monsoon hits Mumbai badly and news channels will run to Milan Subway to film the puddles there. For those who came in late, Milan Subway 1) Has a flyover above it 2) Is below road level so will flood if a cup of coffee spills.

    On that note, coffee time, see you next week!

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views here are personal

     

  • For TV anchors, practising better journalism is perhaps a good way to fight Republic TV, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: In a high decibel world, anyone for better journalism?

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Times Now anchor: Don’t you think, Mr Salve, that the Pakistan lawyer’s speech was all rhetoric?

    Mr Salve: I would not like to comment on another lawyer’s speech.

    Times Now anchor: But don’t you think Mr Salve…

     

    At this point, I put my earplugs back in because I can take high decibel screeching only for short intervals after which my ears need a break.

    The issue being discussed was of course the death sentence against Indian national KulbhushanJadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying, and the subsequent case being fought at the International Court of Justice between India and Pakistan.

    What I understood from Times Now is that its top anchors Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar had listened to the arguments at The Hague and come to certain conclusions. They then tried to get their guests to corroborate or sanctify those conclusions. Times Now constant Maroof Raza knows how to play the TV news game and agrees with the anchors and then adds his own ideas. Other panellists sometimes fall victim to the absurd idea that the anchors are interested in their personal opinions and up go the decibel levels. Mr Salve, by refusing to play the game, somewhat befuddled our anchors, who constantly interrupted him but did not have the required chutzpah to argue with him. A #BigFail for entire law degrees acquired in one’s own mind, would you say?

    A far better discussion happened on NDTV and NidhiRazdan’s Left Right and Centre. Diplomat KC Singh, lawyer Dushyant Dave, journalist Jyoti Malhotra, party spokespersons SambitPatra and Manish Tiwari and the gentleman from Pakistan all had diverse views and ideas which gave the viewer something to chew on. Razdan did not allow too much hysteria and managed to check the gentleman from Pakistan and Patra from getting into a major battle. There was disagreement but it was civil. What a disappointment for viewers who are used to manufactured hysteria!

     

    **

     

    Speaking of which, it was fascinating to try and understand the results of MxMIndia’s poll with MRSS on English language news channels. Republic TV, headed by the inimitable ArnabGoswami, seems to winning hearts and minds, with 41 % of urban Indians giving it a “better than the rest”. What does that say about other news channels and the hopes and expectations of urban Indians?

    The “success” of Republic TV – too early to comment on success is my personal opinion and hence the inverted commas – continues to upset Rahul Kanwal of India Today TV. His latest flurry of tweets is about news reports alleging shady practices by the channel. Apparently it is available on secondary spots on the various platforms, according to a complaint made by the News Broadcasters Association of India to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Obviously unethical trade practices must be reported. But for TV anchors, are there better ways to fight Republic TV, one wonders. By practising better journalism, perhaps? I know. That was a joke.

     

    **

     

    On the subject of better journalism, interesting that after all the anger we spent in December 2012 over the brutal gangrape and murder of Jyoti Pandey, now called “Nirbhaya” forever, more recent horrific crimes against women fly completely under the radar. It is TV journalism which sparks and encourages public outrage very often at times like this and strangely, the gruesome details of the latest case in Rohtak, Haryana, do not seem to have created any collective froth amongst our intrepid TV anchors. One understands they are ready to go to war with Pakistan, bullet-proof vests and all, but surely the women of India deserve some attention.

    But perhaps, not when they are from Rohtak and not when Rohtak is in Haryana which is ruled by a BJP government…

     

    **

     

    Meanwhile, a week back in this wonderful nation of ours and our village newspaperwallah has not responded to messages that we have returned. Therefore, newspaper journalism will be under the scanner only whenever his scooter arrives at top speed with high-decibel beeps.

     

  • Even as the numbers from BARC are awaited, our study throws up some interesting findings… read on

    The MxMIndia-MRSSINDIA Poll on English News Channels

     

    By  A Correspondent

     

    India has seen launches of several media entities. But in recent years, the launch of Republic TV has been the most high profile. This could be possibly because of the entities involved: Arnab Goswami, decidedly the most well-known journalists across genres, and Times Now, which is part of one of India’s largest, richest and most powerful media conglomerates.

     

    While Republic TV launched on May 6, and there have been some numbers from OTT platform Hotstar and digital media that have come in, the numbers of consequence – from BARC India – will be out only on Thursday, May 18.

     

    MxMIndia commissioned leading marketing and opinion research firm MRSS India (www.mrssindia.com) to conduct a small study to find the mood of the masses, especially in urban India.

     

    Here’s the summary of the findings:

    :: Majority of English news channel viewers mentioned they are aware of ‘Republic TV’ English news channel and most of them (41%) perceive it to be ‘Better than Others’.

    :: Centre wise, Mumbai (41%) perceive it as ‘More Credible’, Delhi (39%) find it ‘Old Wine …’, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad English news channel viewers find Republic TV ‘Better than others’.

    :: Aggressive approach is found more appropriate for Debates, Breaking news and Analysis & interpretations. whereas, softer approach is found more appropriate for News deliver, soft news, sports and business news.

    :: Most viewers look at News channels to be opinionated but there is also a strong sense of believe that news channels should also play a vital role in bringing about political or social changes.

    :: Overall, print is a more trusted source (51%), closely followed by News channels, currently online (websites) are not considered a trust worthy source. News paper is more trusted by viewers in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai. News Channels are considered better trusted source by viewers in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

    :: When it is need to verify news, the first source is News Television (54%). This is more in Chennai (54%), Kolkata (68%) and Ahmedabad (67%).

    :: Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai are considered the most trusted news anchor by close to 1/3rd of the viewers. Barkha Dutt comes at third place. While Goswami leads comfortably in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Sardesai has higher trust value in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Dutt is relatively strong in Ahmedabad and Chennai.

    :: Among the English news channels visited in last 1 week, Republic TV was 41%, Times Now is 35%, followed by NDTV 24×7 is 32%.