This is the title of my article published in ‘Inquilab’ (September 9, 2020) today. Here I have argued that the overwhelming majority of media is less interested in debating and discussing real issues while it does not miss any opportunity to rake up emotional and religious issues.
The media trial in the case of film actor Sushant Singh Rajpoot, which continues to be held months after his alleged suicide, points to the embedded nature of Indian media.
We should not forget that the same media ignored the contraction of GDP by 23.9 per cent and did not raise a single question about who is responsible for massive employment and poverty among the common people.
In my observation, the method of media is as follows. Firstly, the media follows the government’s line and praises everything the government does. Secondly, it ignores, mocks at and demonizes all those who disagrees with the policies of the government.
For media, the issues related to bread and butter, health and employment are less important. While issues related with religion, communal tension, film stars and other celebrity, and security are presented as big ones.
Some of these issues are discussed in the article shared here.
Author of this article Abhay Kumar is a Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is broadly interested in Minority Rights and Social Justice. Earlier, he held a Post-Graduate Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and worked as a reporter with ‘The Indian Express’. You can reach him at: debatingissues@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and not necessarily the views of “Voice of Dissent”.
