Media freedom in India compromised as billionaire press barons tighten grip | Advait Palepu & Chris Kay

An exodus of star anchors. Fawning coverage of India’s political leaders. Newsroom censoring of reporters who ask the government tough questions on the economy, public policy and conflict.

Adani, one of Asia’s richest tycoons and a longtime friend of Modi, is a high-profile case study. After his conglomerate acquired NDTV, the channel commissioned an adulatory nine-part documentary about Modi and now lands exclusive interviews with senior officials in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Just a few years ago, sit-downs with top cabinet members were rare and managers fretted about federal agencies raiding NDTV’s offices.

The Adani Group’s media operation “is politically neutral and is deeply committed to supporting professional and independent journalism and NDTV will be no exception,” said a spokesperson in a written reply to Bloomberg’s queries. But for now, at least, Modi’s India remains a hot investment destination. Last month, the prime minister greeted hundreds of local and global business houses at a biennale summit in his home state of Gujarat. Many lavished him with praise.

Previous governments have also been harsh on the press. During the 21-month Emergency rule imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the Indian National Congress party, members of Modi’s BJP famously said India’s press “crawled” when they were asked to “bend.

After the ranking was released, S. Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, rejected the report, saying something was “fundamentally wrong” with the methodology. Modi, too, has pushed back. During a June visit to the US, the prime minister said in a rare press conference that he was “really surprised” to hear India’s commitment to democratic values questioned.

But on Jan. 2, days after the Roys resigned from NDTV’s board citing a change in leadership, Pugalia took over the couple’s corner office. Journalists said the new managers’ initial reluctance to cover the short seller’s fraud allegations against Adani that month illustrated the complexity of juggling competing priorities. Though NDTV eventually republished articles from the Press Trust of India, Reuters and Bloomberg News, staffers said harder-hitting pieces on the saga were blocked.

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

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