The invitation, from 'Media Watch', a newly minted penniless outfit of people deeply concerned about the state of media in India, was for a talk on 'MEIDA MATTERS'. (Their spelling.)
The speaker:
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, left-leaning media maven
A couple of hundred people turned up. Most of them from the host school of mass communications. It turned out to be a master class. In a melodramatic outpouring that lasted about an hour, Paranjoy shared with us some of the things that he said were bothering him and that we should be wary of.
Paranjoy's big concern is the increasing role of money
His erstwhile employer TV18, operator of the channels CNBC-TV18, CNN-IBN, Colours etc., is now controlled by the Mukesh Ambani Reliance group. That is somehow not good for TV18, for media at large and for the country.
The India Today group, operator of the channels Hedlines Today, Aaj Tak etc. is now to a large extent owned by the Aditya Birla group. That is somehow not good...
The ND TV group is independent but highly connected to the establishment - witness Barkha Dutt in the Radia tapes - and that is somehow not good...
Paranjoy flew business-class to Bangalore
The Pioneer is sponsored by the Sangh Parivar and that is somehow not good...
The Hindustan times is owned by the Birlas and wired deep into the establishment - witness Vir Sanghvi on Radia tapes - and that is somehow not good...
The Times of India is independently owned, but it is also wired deep into the establishment. The fact that Arnab Goswami ceaselessly hounded Suresh Kalmadi and A. Raja, and yells and screams nightly at the hapless Manish Tiwari or the idiotic Digvijay Singh does not fit this hypothesis so we will not go into it. But whatever it is, it's somehow not good...
Paranjoy arrived in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes
The Dainik Jagaran, has succeeded financially beyond anyone's expectations and they are now shamelessly siphoning out money earned in media operations to other businesses and that is somehow not good...
The Deccan Chronicle on the other hand has failed miserably, both in media operations and dumb forays into other ventures, and will now have to be bailed out by injection of funds earned by other people in other businesses and that is somehow also not good...
The list goes on, shareholdings, directorships, matrimonial linkages etc. and finally,
Doordarshan is really the pits for it is a pathetic mouthpiece of the establishment, which controls the purse strings, and dictates content and stance. This can't possibly be good...
Paranjoy stayed at a five-star hotel
Hobbled miserably by success and by failure, and by money - internal, external, too much, too little - Indian media is down in the pits and headed deeper. Unfortunately, and with scarcely hidden glee, even Paranjoy does not have a solution.
Meanwhile, it is all very lucrative for Paranjoy, thank you. A media star, he rakes it in off media twice. First when he makes paid appearances on TV or writes for the press. Second when he makes paid criticism of his paymasters or goes on all-found junkets to do what he does best - talk.
The problem is real and we do need checks and balances but solutions will probably be found by people who do not feed at the same trough.
The speaker:
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, left-leaning media maven
A couple of hundred people turned up. Most of them from the host school of mass communications. It turned out to be a master class. In a melodramatic outpouring that lasted about an hour, Paranjoy shared with us some of the things that he said were bothering him and that we should be wary of.
Paranjoy's big concern is the increasing role of money
His erstwhile employer TV18, operator of the channels CNBC-TV18, CNN-IBN, Colours etc., is now controlled by the Mukesh Ambani Reliance group. That is somehow not good for TV18, for media at large and for the country.
The India Today group, operator of the channels Hedlines Today, Aaj Tak etc. is now to a large extent owned by the Aditya Birla group. That is somehow not good...
The ND TV group is independent but highly connected to the establishment - witness Barkha Dutt in the Radia tapes - and that is somehow not good...
Paranjoy flew business-class to Bangalore
The Pioneer is sponsored by the Sangh Parivar and that is somehow not good...
The Hindustan times is owned by the Birlas and wired deep into the establishment - witness Vir Sanghvi on Radia tapes - and that is somehow not good...
The Times of India is independently owned, but it is also wired deep into the establishment. The fact that Arnab Goswami ceaselessly hounded Suresh Kalmadi and A. Raja, and yells and screams nightly at the hapless Manish Tiwari or the idiotic Digvijay Singh does not fit this hypothesis so we will not go into it. But whatever it is, it's somehow not good...
Paranjoy arrived in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes
The Dainik Jagaran, has succeeded financially beyond anyone's expectations and they are now shamelessly siphoning out money earned in media operations to other businesses and that is somehow not good...
The Deccan Chronicle on the other hand has failed miserably, both in media operations and dumb forays into other ventures, and will now have to be bailed out by injection of funds earned by other people in other businesses and that is somehow also not good...
The list goes on, shareholdings, directorships, matrimonial linkages etc. and finally,
Doordarshan is really the pits for it is a pathetic mouthpiece of the establishment, which controls the purse strings, and dictates content and stance. This can't possibly be good...
Paranjoy stayed at a five-star hotel
Hobbled miserably by success and by failure, and by money - internal, external, too much, too little - Indian media is down in the pits and headed deeper. Unfortunately, and with scarcely hidden glee, even Paranjoy does not have a solution.
Meanwhile, it is all very lucrative for Paranjoy, thank you. A media star, he rakes it in off media twice. First when he makes paid appearances on TV or writes for the press. Second when he makes paid criticism of his paymasters or goes on all-found junkets to do what he does best - talk.
The problem is real and we do need checks and balances but solutions will probably be found by people who do not feed at the same trough.
