Indian Media's Moment of Reckoning

Grand Tamasha

A recent controversy involving the online news site the Wire and the tech giant Meta has sparked a new debate on the media in India. The recent controversy has been something of a Rorschach test with some critics castigating digital media for playing fast and loose with the truth and others defending the media from further intrusion by the state. The debate is far from academic as its consequences have implications for freedom of expression, government regulation, and democratic accountability.

To discuss the state of the Indian media in the year 2022, Milan is joined on the show this week by the journalist Manisha Pande. Manisha is the executive editor of Newslaundry, a well-regarded digital news site that is dedicated to covering the media ecosystem in India today. She is the host and producer of the Newslaundry show, TV Newsance, which offers a satirical look at television news in India.

In addition to discussing the media controversy involving the Wire, Milan and Manisha discuss the business-media nexus, shrinking space for anti-government criticism, and the dangers of self-censorship. Plus, the duo discuss why the sorry state of prime-time news television refuses to change.

1. “Mehrauli Murder Case and 'sansani' reporting,” TV Newsance 193, November 19, 2022.
2. Manisha Pande, “Why we report on the media,” Newslaundry, June 25, 2022.
3. Manisha Pande, “‘It’s not a newsroom, it’s a durbar’: Inside the Republic of Arnab Goswami,” Newslaundry, September 7, 2020.