EVERYTHING WRONG WITH INDIAN JOURNALISM
By: Ankit Sinha
Tags: Propaganda, India, Indian Journalism, Journalism, Indian Politics

ORIGIN OF INDIAN JOURNALISM

The roots of Indian journalism go deep within the long history of the freedom struggle with the first newspaper in India being credited to James Augustus Hickey, who launched The Bengal Gazette, in 1780. The paper lasted just two years before being seized by the British Administration in 1782 for its outspoken criticism of the Raj. Several other newspapers followed such as The Bengal Journal, Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier, and Bombay Herald. All of them, however, were curtailed by censorship measures imposed by the British East India Company. After the events of 1857 which resulted the introduction of the Licensing Act in 1857 by the perturbed foreign administration. It gave the colonial administration the powers to stop publication and circulation of any printed material. Journalism was among one of the most important factors to seize The British Raj; a sign of freedom and information.

MODIFICATIONS IN JOURNALISM POST-INDEPENDENCE

A Press Enquiry Committee was set up in 1947 with the aim of examining press laws in the light of fundamental rights formulated by the Constituent Assembly.

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In 1951, the Press Act was passed along with an amendment to Article 19 (2), which empowered the government to demand and forfeit security for publication of “objectionable matter”. It remained in force till 1956.

Today, there is no formal body that exclusively deals with the freedom of Press in the country. All matters concerning the freedom of the Press falls under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which states that “All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression…” . These freedoms are restricted under Article 19(2) that prevents absolute power under 19(1). Meanwhile the electronic media complies with the guidelines of Central News Media Accreditation Guidelines, 1999 that grants accreditation to the representatives of media organisations.

RISE OF FAVOURITISM & MANIPULATION

There are many journalists who are passionate about giving people access to information, and like any ordinary person every journalist begins his profession on this very idealism. Several factors like Society, Political leaders and Crime lords have used journalism for nefarious reasons, while also molding journalists. I personally believe that journalism is more about giving accurate information, instead of penning down your own opinions about a certain incident, movement etc. but this idealism is far too gone to be retrieved and it’s one of the major reasons behind propaganda's.

The present conditions of Indian journalism is not a result of a single event/political leader as many people believe, but it’s a result of several decades of twisted lies, annotations, manipulated news to change the outcome of an incident and lure people, yet it can’t be denied that manipulation and extremism has spiked since the last decade.

The main problem lies in the fact that journalism has became more like a daily soap opera where spicy, twisted lies and unnecessary drama brings more coverage/reception to the publishers which often increases this journalism pattern/corruption.

RISE IN PROPAGANDA

Misleading information is the biggest factor among the different methods to toy with general audience for Indian publishers/media channels.

India has a deep history of Dictatorship by The Mughals, The British Raj, revolts, riots etc. and a lot of people were affected by this radicalization, while a lot of people are trying to reform the country, societal norms and dogmatism, there are many who make money out of religious sentiments, spewing hate by spreading their own nefarious opinions against a certain community/person.

This prolonged propaganda and the lost of trust for the Indian publishers among the youth has resulted in the formation of extremist right and left wings who are being unheard by these “journalists”, led by many keyboard warriors. All kinds of accusations are followed by counter accusations, many a times most of the people turn out to be shameless hypocrites who’re just participating in an online blame game, instead of accepting faults of a certain community/event/person/leader etc. resulting lack in unity and growth in hatred among several communities.

WHY PROPAGANDA?

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Since the last few decades the rise in scams, unemployment, poverty, corruption, G.D.P etc. have increased drastically, while the majority of youth have gained enough sense to question the people in power, majority of publishers and journalists use their available resources to divert the concern of our unsophisticated society towards unimportant issues rather than focusing on important issues the country is facing in this dire situation.

A higher target rating point( T.R.P) is not an aim for our publishers and journalists anymore, they’re solely focusing on diverting our gullible audience, this propaganda has reached such a peak that people are getting more agitated and annoyed as each day passes, while the major news anchors are airing unnecessary “news” on their channels and newspapers.

THE ALGORITHM GAME

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When the social media was created, it served the purpose of connecting people and making communication easier. Never in their wildest imaginations did the creators of major social media realized that their tools of amplification would be weaponized to radicalize people towards extremism, gaslight public, or to serve as vehicles of cruel harassment and hate.

Social Media has been a safe space for the youth, where they share their thoughts, insecurities, connect with celebrities and mentors etc. but since the last few years social media has started radicalizing the mental safe space of youth by selling poverty porn, stereotypes and passive hate against several communities which only results in a heavy mental toll on the general audience.

“THE MORE YOU’LL INTERACT WITH HATE CONTENT, THE MORE IT”LL BE ON YOUR FEED.”

THE ENDGAME

In the end, all the passive hate, radicalization and extremism will require a single spark in the form of riots/hate speeches and in a short span of time all hell breaks loose and then any certain community/event/person/leader will be blamed.

Eventually resulting in another full-fledged propaganda to brainwash the gullible audience into taking certain steps to avoid the repetition of past events, while the keyboard warriors will keep reflecting their own “opinions” and wouldn’t let the wounds rest for the act of “woke influencer”, regardless lot of people will suffer drastically.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

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As the major audience of the Indian journalism we should focus more at understanding the vulnerabilities in news and social media those manipulators see, can help you strengthen your approach.

Be aware of their policy “the key to their success is to become newsworthy in your minds” i.e. not everything you’ll hear is the ultimate truth.

Abandoning/boycotting journalists who are spreading propaganda in the name of news and being self aware is the key to change.

Don’t let passive hate take over you, talk about the things which build up passive hate in your mind with someone who’s not biased, accept criticism, be reflexive and stop the cycle of negativity with the light of hope.