Narendra Modi used India’s media elite for his own advantage. Sanjaya Baru explains how he did it
Do media’s close links with politicians give it clout or deprive it of credibility? It would appear that almost every media group makes a trade-off between the two – sacrificing some credibility for either money or power.
Indeed, with money comes power, and with proximity to power comes money. The continuing success of the unabashedly partisan, pro-Modi Republic TV is proof. RTV’s idiosyncratic anchor, Arnab Goswami, is a thorough professional and a personally amiable fellow.
However, when the camera is turned on he becomes an actor, not a professional reporter of news. His viewers, the mainly urban middle-class Hindus who enthusiastically support Modi, lap up all the histrionics on display….
