Indian media: Failure to represent plurality of opinions

Dimapur, Sep. 8 (EMN): Unlike in the past when the Indian media had the ‘possibility’ to be critical and navigate the complex discourses that concerns the country, the current situation is not conducive to critical thinking. There is a failure to represent plurality of opinions, a senior journalist at CNN-News 18 is said to have told Naga scholars during a discourse.
The Naga Scholars’ Association (NSA) conducted a ‘special talk’ on topics concerning the media and professionalism, on September 7 at the School of International Studies of Jawaharlal University at New Delhi.
Bhupendra Chaubey, executive editor at CNN News18, and host of daily show Viewpoint, and Dr. Sushmita Dasgupta, chief economist at JPC were among those attending the discourse, updates stated.

The association issued a press release on Sunday to the media offering updates about the discussions.
At the programme, Bhupendra Chaubey began with an opening note that the current media dynamics in India was ‘unsound’ considering the ‘unpleasant changes’ in the political, social and economic environment of the country.

“He remarked that there has been a fundamental shift in the media landscape of India. Unlike in the past, where there was possibility for media to be critical and navigate the complex discourses that concerns the country, the present ‘ecosystem’ is not conducive to such critical thinking and that, there is a failure to represent plurality of opinions,” the press release stated.

Furthermore, Chaubey asserted that the fundamental challenge of the 21st century is to curb the ‘weaning’ space for an open discourse.

“The debate of media’s role in legitimizing or delegitimizing the narrow agendas of political power class will be a continuous actuality. So, it is healthier to move beyond media whipping and create more platforms where one can engage in meaningful discourse as an agent of political change.”

In the context of Northeast India, he acknowledged the neglect of the mainstream media which led to a failure to understand the narratives of the people. As such, he emphasized the importance of bridging this gap.

“A way of bridging gaps within the multiplicity of India is economic development, which is a common denominator for all Indians,” he said. However, he stressed that this should not happen at the cost of the diversity of India.

To a few questions about the problems of the media’s outreach and the issue of media sensationalism, he acknowledged the failure of the media to reach out to remote areas and the involvement of media in sensationalizing news because of the role of money in media production.

“He noted that for a credible media, it has to move beyond advertisement dependency and that, consumers’ willingness to pay for media can enable a meaningful journalism.”

In her concluding remark, the chairperson of the session Dr. Sushmita Dasgupta said the media is a learning tool for citizens. For this reason, she said, media professionals play the role of a teacher as well.

Dasgupta said that the media needs to concede space for accommodating pluralistic opinions to nurture an inclusive and healthy discourse, the press release stated.