Reporters Without Orders: Recent Episodes
Newslaundry.com
Young Reporters talk about major stories of the week and what it took to cover them. Click here to support Newslaundry: http://bit.ly/paytokeepnewsfree
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This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and independent journalists Alishan Jafri and Nidhi Suresh.
The discussion begins as Alishan talks about his report on the sense of betrayal and anger felt by NEET aspirants after 67 students scored the top rank, in a “doubtful and faulty” result. The possibility of meritorious students making it to prestigious institutes stands diminished.
The conversation moves on to the horrific rape of a minor who was sexually abused for two years, first when she was just 12 years old. The child born out of the crime reunited with his mother years later, and pushed her to file an FIR, lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding such incidents. The accused were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail last month. Nidhi speaks about her experience covering the case.
Avdhesh chips in, talking about his report on how the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party turned around its poll fortunes in the electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. It was a “PDA” formula that helped the party succeed.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:11 - NEET Issue
00:19:30 - Battle for Justice
00:31:02 - PDA over NDA
00:46:49 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
What binds Prajwal Revanna, Brij Bhushan Singh, Kuldeep Sengar – a system that treats women as dispensable
Public Secrets of Law: Rape Trials in India
Avdhesh
Muslims in India: भारत में मुस्लिम मां-बाप और उनके बच्चे अब कैसा महसूस कर रहे हैं (BBC Hindi)
How India's elections are dividing the nation | Witness Documentary
Tanishka
Exit polls, foreign investors, and stock market mayhem: What really happened?
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Prateek Goyal to dissect the fallout of exit polls on the stock market.
As the Lok Sabha results starkly contrasted the exit polls – most of which were bullish on the Narendra Modi-led BJP – the stock markets hit an all-time high and then crashed, between June 1 and June 4. The panel throws light on the influence of exit polls, stock manipulation malpractices, and the media’s role as pollsters.
The reporters also delve into the mandate in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, and the possible reasons that went against the BJP and the factors that worked in favour of the Congress.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:24 - Exit Polls
00:13:39 - Election Results
00:51:28 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
Laapataa Ladies
Prateek
Panchayat
Basant
8 A.M. Metro
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar, Pratyush Deep, and Sumedha Mittal to discuss the coverage of the Lok Sabha elections and provide insights into the pulse of the people.
The conversation delves into the potential election outcomes across India, hot seats, political parties’ strategies, and campaign. They also discuss the grassroots mobilisation by political parties.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:12 - Haryana-Punjab elections
00:13:35 - Assam-Bengal elections
00:34:29 - Delhi-NCR elections
00:42:38 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
deKoder
Rajdeep Sardesai
Girish Kuber writes: Why Maharashtra worries the BJP
Pratyush
Porsche case: No, the minor did not release a ‘rap video’. The media got it wrong
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Sumedha Mittal.
Sumedha profiled Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of Sushma Swaraj and the BJP’s candidate from New Delhi constituency. She explains why the BJP chose not to field Meenakshi Lekhi, a two-time winner from the constituency, and how Bansuri has been trying to make herself relatable to voters despite a ‘nepotism’ narrative.
Avdhesh reported on the violence during polling in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, where voters from Muslim-majority villages alleged they were beaten up by the state police. He says the voters, despite having voter IDs, say they were “deliberately” prevented from casting their votes.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:35 - Violence and elections
00:11:00 - Bansuri Swaraj
00:29:20 - Sambhal incident
00:42:10 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
The Election Tricycle
Identity politics, polarisation, and development aspirations mark the electoral battle for Bihar’s Mithilanchal
Avdhesh
Uttarakhand: Over 1,000 forest fires in 4 months, crisis looms amid poor preparedness
Anmol
Ruled or Misruled
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry reporters Tanishka Sodhi and Anmol Pritam, who have been reporting on the ongoing Lok Sabha elections from ground zero.
Anmol talks about his experience of reporting from Bihar on the tussle between the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA alliance and the “Nitish Kumar factor”, which seems to be dying down. He also shed light on the state of affairs in the hinterlands and the shifting political dynamics in the backward state.
Tanishka reported on the Baramati constituency in Maharashtra, where the two factions of the NCP battled for the Pawar legacy. She says the rift in the Pawar family is leading the voters into confusion, while NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule told her it’s “not a family issue”.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:20:38 - Bihar politics
00:20:43 - Pawar vs Pawar
00:39:26 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
Bigotry 101 | BJP’s Crazy Experience at a Samdish Rally in Delhi
Anmol
Laapataa Ladies
Basant
Laapataa Ladies
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by independent journalist Angad Singh.
Formerly with Vice News, Angad was “blacklisted” by the Indian government over a documentary called India Burning, which he worked on as a production assistant. He talks about dealing with court cases after being accused by the central government of portraying India in a “negative” light. He says his OCI card was taken anyway and talks about the sorrow of not being able to return to India anymore.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:01 - Angad’s story
00:30:29 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Angad
Captivating the Simple-Hearted: A Struggle for Human Dignity in the Indian SubcontinentSumedha
Time Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for India
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by independent journalist Astha Savyasachi and The Mooknayak’s Arun Kumar Verma.
Arun reported on the rise and fall of the Bahujan Samaj Party. He delves into the ups and downs of Mayawati’s political career and explains how the BSP became sidelined. He also talks about the new leadership with Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand and what changes are expected from him to revive the party.
Astha reported on how most Sainik schools across India are run by people with direct or indirect connections to the BJP or RSS. She explains how the central government essentially handed over 62 percent of new military schools to the Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians, and allies, bypassing eligibility criteria in the process.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:28 - BSP’s rise and fall
00:10:41 - Sainik schools
00:38:08 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Arun
Amar Singh Chamkila
Astha
Centre hands over 62% of new Sainik Schools to Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies.
Shivnarayan
How BJP ‘won’ in Surat: Unravelling 24 hours of peculiarities
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalistRahul Singh.
Rahul talks about his report on the shortcomings of the public distribution system in Jharkhand. He says despite the online mechanism, food security is poor in rural areas, and instead of helping, the system “is emerging as a hurdle” for the Adivasis.
Basant reported on people falsely named as beneficiaries of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in a report by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which also claimed their farm incomes doubled in 2022. He shares how he found out the factual errors in the government body’s book.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:14 - Lok Sabha Election
00:07:57 - Issues in getting Ration in Jharkhand
00:25:21 - Farmers’ income
00:36:45 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Rahul
Jawan
Basant
Scoop
Media Ka Loktantra
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and The Quint’s Himanshi Dahiya.
Shivnarayan talks about his profile of ANI and how it became the Modi government’s favourite media outlet. But the story isn’t that simple, he explains, because beyond ANI’s dismal coverage of the opposition are a number of contracts that the agency has signed with state governments.
Himanshi reported on a Gujarat Dalit family that was “cheated” into giving a whopping Rs 11 crore in electoral bonds, of which Rs 10 crore was encashed by the BJP. She explains how the alleged scam took place and just how a company linked to the Adani group was involved.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:05 - ANI’s journalism
00:25:25 - Gujarat family’s electoral bonds
00:49:07 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Himanshi
Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India
2024 Pro-Hindutva Films Were Funded By BJP-Linked People, Promoted by BJP Netas
Shivnarayan
Aamis
Tanishka
How National Creators Award Winners Amplified BJP’s Message
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
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This week, host Sumedha Mittalis joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and The News Minute’s Jahnavi.
Jahnavi talks about her report on businessman P Sarath Chandra Reddy, accused-turned-approver in the Delhi liquor policy case. She says his firms bought electoral bonds worth Rs 55 crore, later encashed by the BJP, and also explains the ‘South Group’ connection to the case.
Anmol was on the ground during the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He talks about the mood among the people, based on his interviews with locals, whether the Delhi police is being ‘biased’, and how the AAP believes their right to protest is being suppressed.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:31 - Kejriwal’s arrest
00:20:39 - P Sarath Chandra Reddy
00:29:06 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Jahnavi
Anatomy of a Fall
Anmol
Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda
Sumedha
Aamis
The arrest of Mr Kejriwal: A PMLA case
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Pooja Prasanna is joined by the Ramnath Goenka awardees from Newslaundry and The News Minute, to talk about the four awards they won this year.
While Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar won in the environment, science and technology category for the plunder of the Aravalli series, Hridayesh Joshi’s video report on arsenic in water triggering diseases in several villages, supported by the Thakur Foundation, was honoured in the Hindi broadcast category.
The News Minute also won two awards. While Azeefa Fathima, Balakrishnan Ganesan, and Prajwal Bhat won in the civic journalism category for their five-part series on exposing manual scavenging, Prajwal’s reports on the 2022 hijab protests in Karnataka were awarded in the political reporting category.
They look back at their work to discuss its importance and impact on society.
Tune in.
Recommendations
Ayush
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Basant
21वीं सदी : पहला दशक
Hridayesh
बड़े शहरों में जंगल? बिल्कुल, खुद देखिए [Forest restoration in Delhi and NCR]
The Cooking of Books : A Literary Memoir
Azeefa
ACCESS DENIED
These Precious Days
Balakrishna
3 Body Problem
Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Pooja
Love Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral Falsehoods
The Gentlemen
The costs of Reliance’s wildlife ambitions
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram; recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar.
Both Prateek and Basant share their experience of investigating the patterns in political funding in India, and decoding the State Bank of India’s data dump on electoral bonds.
They discuss how they found out about “a very strange pattern” of donation to political parties, with some companies donating or lapping up their donations after raids by central agencies. In some cases, the companies’ donations even surpassed their profit growth and revenue.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:21 - Donations to parties
00:05:18 - Electoral bonds
00:25:22 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
Project Electoral Bond (Report)
Prateek
Maamla Legal Hai
Tanishka
Plunder of the Aravallis
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep.
Pratyush reported on the Assam police increasing security and barricading in anticipation of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which the government this week said it would soon implement. He says there’s a huge difference in intensity of protests between 2019 and 2024. But Basant points out the government laid the groundwork to make sure no protest could take place.
Basant talks about his report on Uttar Pradesh appointing a chief information commissioner and 10 information commissioners last week. At least four have links to the BJP or are favourable to Chief Minister Adityanath, he says. He also explains his interview with Indrajeet Ghorpade, a 32-year-old techie and activist from Pune who has filed over 50 complaints against hate speech on news channels.
Watch.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:05:53 - Cops try to quell Assam’s CAA disquiet
00:24:10 - Appointments of information commissioners in UP
00:33:42 - Interview with Indrajeet Ghorpade
00:34:48 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
In 15 more donors of BJP, 4 shell firms, 11 companies that faced central action by Prateek Goyal
Basant
Poacher on Amazon Prime
Produced by Prashant Kumar, edited by Parikshit Sanyal, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep and The News Minute’s Nidharshana Raju.
Pratyush reported on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s media conglomerate, Pride East Entertainment, which is also the Northeast’s biggest media network. He delves into the hold of Sarma’s family on the media outlet and how its political leanings change as Sarma switches sides.
Nidharshana talks about her report on the killing of a 22-year-old Dalit man by his caste Hindu brother-in-law in broad daylight in Chennai. She says the city has been witnessing crime against Dalits, but had not witnessed such a caste killing in recent years.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:12 - Himanta’s media empire
00:11:25 - Caste killing in Chennai
00:36:26 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
ULFA: The Mirage of Dawn
Nidharshana
Karuvadu: the wet world of dry fish
Tanishka
India’s iPhone factory is keeping women workers isolated
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittalis joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and The News Minutes’s Korah Abraham.
Prateek and Korah were part of Newslaundry and The News Minute’s joint investigation on political funding. They found that in a five-year period, donations of nearly Rs 335 crore were made to the BJP by at least 30 companies that faced action by central agencies during that time period. They explain this unique pattern – and what happens when the companies skip donating to the BJP for a couple of years.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:00 - Political funding
00:10:10 - Companies and BJP
00:25:34 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Korah
The Caravan February 2024 - The Military Under Modi
Prateek
Poacher
Sumedha
Why Hindutva groups want to reshape Birsa Munda’s legend
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Aryan Mahtta andThe Quint’s Fatima Khan.
Fatima reported on Muslim vendors and delivery agents employed by online platforms that leave them vulnerable to discrimination and hate speech. She says bigots use technology as a tool to spread hate and fintech companies do nothing to stop them. To some people, she says, simply being a Muslim vendor is a “crime”.
Aryan reported on the ongoing farmers’ protests. He says it devolved into a stand-off between farmers and security personnel, since the forces were using a “very aggressive” approach towards the protesters.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:52 - Boycott of Muslim vendors
00:26:15 - Farmers’ protest
00:43:22 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Aryan
Red Love: The Story of an East German Family
Fatima
The Day I Became a Runner: A Women's History of India through the Lens of Sport
Basant
Unfiltered by Samdish ft. Vikrant Massey | Powered by Woodland
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Prashant Kumar.
Avdhesh talks about his report on the ongoing farmers’ protest at Shambhu border in Haryana’s Ambala, where thousands of farmers have gathered to march to Delhi. He delves into the police crackdown on protesters, demands of the farmers, and why they are accusing the government of fooling them.
Prashant reported from ground zero at Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, where violence erupted after authorities razed a mosque and madrasa citing “encroachment”, despite the matter being subjudice. He talks about the chaos and police action that unfolded in the locality, reportedly resulting in several Muslim residents leaving the locality.
Tune in.
By the way, general elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together. Choose an election project you would like to support and power our journalism. Click here.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - Farmer Protest
00:08:36 - Haldwani Violence
00:39:46 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Avdhesh
Jobless Youth : Jharkhand CGL Exam Paper Leak के चलते रद्द हुआ, तैयारी करने वाले छात्रों का हाल...
Prashant
MUJHE CHAAND CHAHIYE
Shivnarayan
‘Govt concealing facts’: Caravan notice points to ‘absurd confidentiality’ of takedown
https://caravanmagazine.in/crime/indian-army-torture-jammu-and-kashmir-poonch-bjp-gujjar-bakkerwal
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and The Caravan’sSagar.
Tanishka reported on the push for Ram temple consecration celebrations by resident welfare associations in Delhi. She talks about the discriminatory policies practised by many RWAs, resulting in the isolation of non-Hindus.
Sagar talks about his reports on the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya. He delves into the “undeclared” collusion between Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra's trust and the government, and says the trust is involved in murky land deals.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:08 - RWA’s discriminatory “rules and regulations
00:18:02 - Shady deals in Ayodhya
00:43:43 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sagar
Peaky Blinders
Tanishka
A thank you where it's due
NL@12 musical
Sumedha
The RSS: A Menace to India
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Mid-Day’s Neerja Deodhar.
Neerja reported on India’s slipping rank in the Academic Freedom Index, placing it behind Sri Lanka and Pakistan. She says this is a result of the growing “culture of surveillance” on professors and faculty members which affects campus integrity.
Sumedha reported on how prisoners jailed under the Public Safety Act in J&K are granted bail, but aren’t released since authorities want “clearance letters” that take time. Doesn’t this go against court orders? Listen to find out.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:04 - Academic Freedom Index
00:24:06 - PSA prisoners
00:35:21 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Neerja
Abbott Elementary
Sumedha
Our Struggle
Tanishka
Merry Christmas
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Ayush Tiwari from Scroll and independent journalist Srishti Jaswal.
Ayush reported on shady land deals in Ayodhya, where a firm linked to the BJP sold ecologically sensitive land to the Adani group. He explains how there have been other “crazy” land deals over the past years.
Srishti talks about her report on the BJP’s data collection app, Saral, and what the party hopes to achieve from it. She says data manipulation in India is “too easy”.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:20 - Land deals in Ayodhya
00:20:41 - Data collection in India
00:44:55 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Srishti
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Ayush
The windfall gains made in the name of the Ram temple
Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It
Basant
In Ayodhya, firm linked to BJP leaders sold ecologically sensitive land to Adani – for a big profit
Ayodhya: Temple is inaugurated, ‘Balak Ram’ consecrated. What next?
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Avdhesh Kumar along with independent journalists Shweta Desai and Kashif Kakvi.
Shweta was in Ayodhya to report on locals’ fear and excitement over the Ram Mandir project. She says they’re happy it’s being built but are worried about the city’s ‘redevelopment’ wrecking their homes and livelihoods. She also explains why there’s tension between Ramanandi akharas and the temple trust.
Basant spoke to youths in the temple town for their views on the BJP and Ram Mandir, and also visited the site of the proposed mosque – to find nothing there.
Away from the Ayodhya mayhem, Kashif reported on the release of a Muslim teenager in Ujjain, five months after he was jailed for purportedly ‘spitting’ on a Hindu procession. He says there was no evidence and hostile witnesses, but the administration had bulldozed the accused’s home anyway.
Finally, Avdhesh talks about why students were protesting at Jantar Mantar and why they’re upset with the government’s Agnipath scheme.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:34 - Ayodhya’s redevelopment
00:11:06 - Battle to control the temple
00:19:53 - Land acquisition in Ayodhya
00:34:31 - False cases in Madhya Pradesh
00:49:57 - Negative impact of Agnipath Yojna
00:53:53 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Avdhesh
'मैला ढोने, गटर में जाने वाले दलित...', Bezwada Wilson सरकारों पर बरस पड़े! Manual Scavenging |GITN
Shweta
Ayodhya: The Dark Night
Basant
Dhimi Wali Fast Passenger
Kashif
City Of My Heart
Shivnarayan
Exclusive: AAP govt procured drugs from 2 blacklisted pharma firms with many failed quality tests
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Naresh Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Basant reported on an ANI senior editor who allegedly “infiltrated” a dozen Indian army internal WhatsApp groups. He talks about how he stumbled upon the story and dug deep into the controversy of journalist Ajit Kumar Dubey entering these groups “by hiding his identity”.
Shivnarayan talks about his report on Rohit Godara, the gangster who claimed the responsibility of the murder of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi and gang operations. He traces Godara’s journey from being a mobile technician to becoming a gangland godfather associated with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:59 - ANI’s ‘infiltrator’
00:12:54 - Rohit Godara
00:30:38 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
96
Basant
Three of Us
12th Fail
Mrityu Katha
Sumedha
The rise of Narendra Modi
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s the last episode of Reporters Without Orders for the year, so we’ve got a special episode featuring an all-Newslaundry panel. Hosts Tanishka Sodhi and Basant Kumar are joined by Avdhesh Kumar, Pratyush Deep, Sumedha Mittal and Prateek Goyal to pick through their reportage in 2023 and discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what impact they had.
The panellists share behind-the-scenes experiences from their time on the field. They also tell you exactly why independent media outlets are vital to India’s democracy today.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:04:10 - Wrestlers’ protest
00:07:09 - Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
00:14:24 - Manipur violence
00:22:35 - Sachin-Seema love story
00:32:50 - Controversy over flats for MPs
00:39:49 - Manual scavenging in India
00:44:14 - Changes at NDTV
00:51:24 - Nuh violence
00:54:29 - Balasore train accident
00:59:21 - Real-life Dunki
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Avdhesh Kumar from Newslaundry and Ayush Tiwari from Scroll.
Ayush reported on the impact of the Ram Mandir construction on Ayodhya’s residents. He says some residents were evicted with poor compensation while others had their homes demolished by authorities.
Avdhesh talks about his report on NDTV’s shrinking digital viewership. Comparing data before and after the Adani takeover, he says “more than 50 percent of viewers” have moved on from NDTV.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:36 - Ayodhya’s development
00:15:14 - NDTV’s shrinking viewership
00:29:25 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Ayush
Ayodhya The Dark Night
Avdhesh
UPSC Wala Love - Collector Sahiba
Basant
Telgi: A Reporter's Diary
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Samarendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Basant Kumar from Newslaundry, and Astha Savyasachi and Tapasya from The Reporters’ Collective.
Astha and Tapasya had reported on how the Haryana government turned the state pollution control board “into a body that serves the potential polluters” by including it in the Right to Service Act. They explain how Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar weakened the agency and regulations to stay on top of the centre’s ease of doing business rankings.
Basant reported on operational changes at BBC India – it’s metamorphosis into a new firm called Collective Newsroom that will be wholly owned by Indian citizens. He tells the panel why this had to happen to conform with Indian FDI rules.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:19 - Haryana’s state pollution control board
00:18:30 - Changes at BBC India
00:27:27 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
The inevitable evisceration of Sansad TV
Astha
Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of IndiaTapasya
Princess Mononoke
Tanishka
Masks are still being worn by some individuals—but not for health reasons
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Naresh Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s 300 episodes of Reporters Without Orders! So it’s a full house this week, with hosts Sumedha Mittal and Basant Kumar being joined by Newslaundry’s editor-in-chief Raman Kirpal and Newslaundry reporters Prateek Goyal, Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, Pratyush Deep and Avdhesh Kumar.
The panel talks about the ups and downs of reporting, the challenges and the opportunities. Raman talks about how the field has changed over the decades, the ethical issues that crop up, and why it’s hard to be a good reporter today.
Tune in!
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samarendra Kumar Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Pratyush Deep.
Shiv talks about the experience of reporting from Rajasthan on the assembly elections. He compares strategies used by the BJP and Congress to influence voters, from Gehlot’s welfarism plank to the BJP’s sprawling WhatsApp enterprise.
Pratyush then explains his report on Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar – his controversies and his tussles with the AAP government. Pratyush says the AAP has a litany of woes against Kumar, though Kumar himself says these allegations are “false”.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:03 - Rajasthan assembly polls
00:22:22 - Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar
00:36:11 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
Editor Missing: The Media in Today's India
Shivnarayan
A thorn in Kejriwal’s side: The controversies of Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar
Sumedha
Facing pressure in India, Netflix and Amazon back down on daring films
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Sukriti Vats from Land Conflict Watch and E Bhavani from The News Minute.
Sukriti talks about her report on land acquisition in Jharkhand for coal mining, and how even 22 years on, many are running from pillar-to-post for land compensation. She discusses that bureaucratic incompetence and a tussle between the centre and the state have resulted in the displacement of nearly 87,000 people in Jharkhand since 1973.
Bhavani delves into her report on Dalit-centred schemes introduced by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, and their poor implementation which might work against him in the assembly polls. She talks about the political undercurrent among the Dalit activists of the state.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:05:05 - KCR’s unfulfilled promises
00:13:53 - Land acquisition in Jharkhand
00:29:52 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sukriti
The Fall of the House of Usher
Bhavani
A movie on Razakars’ violent history in BJP's arsenal for Telangana
Tanishka
Why Mumbai’s shoeshine workers are fighting the railways in court
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and The Mooknayak’s Satya Prakash Bharti and Ankit Pachauri.
Satya talks about his report on women collecting oil left over in lakhs of lamps lit in Ayodhya by the UP government on Diwali to “make a Guinness World Record”. He says at least over 30,000 litres of oil were left at the site, which many marginalised women were collecting to use for cooking and other household chores.
Basant shares his experience of reporting from Chhattisgarh. He sheds light on the BJP’s purported communal experiment to make its way into the state. In Saja constituency, the party fielded a labourer who lost his son in a communal clash against a seven-time Congress MLA.
Meanwhile, Ankit delves into his report on Adivasis living in remote areas of Madhya Pradesh. He says incidents of malnutrition are rising among tribals as government schemes are not working on the ground. He also highlights the lack of other basic necessities such as water, roads, and electricity in tribal villages.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:08 - Diyas in Ayodhya
00:10:04 - Chattisgarh Politics
00:13:30 - Adivasis in MP
00:35:58 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
No power, roads in villages of MP rural minister’s constituency despite ‘Rs 22,000 cr’ spending
Dear Zindagi
Ankit
Jeevan Mein Samvidhan
Anmol
How to Become a Tyrant
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Naresh Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar, Tanishka Sodhi and Anmol Pritam.
Basant and Tanishka were reporting on the assembly elections scheduled in Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, respectively. Basant explains what farmers want in the state and their issues with paddy prices. Tanishka says Mizoram is not quite like any other election state, with parties having an intriguing set of “dos and don’ts” that they follow.
Anmol then talks about that old bugbear at this time of year – Delhi’s worsening air and how it impacts residents.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:38 - Chhattisgarh election
00:10:08 - Mizoram election
00:30:45 - Air pollution in Delhi
00:39:36 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka Sodhi
YellowfaceAnmol Pritam
Breaking Bad
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Sumedha Mittal
Air pollution raises risk of type 2 diabetes, says landmark Indian studyProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and DainikBhaskar’s Vaibhav Palnitkar.
Vaibhav talks about his experience and challenges of reporting from ground zero on the Israel-Palestine fighting. He also sheds light on the Humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.
Shivnarayan revisits his reportage from violence-torn Manipur. He delves into the state and central government’s handling of the conflict, and how some people ran propaganda amid the violence.Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:48 - Israel-Palestine War
00:11:11 - Manipur Conflict
00:46:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Vaibhav
Aspirants
ShivnarayanUnacademy, Chahal Academy, IQRA IAS: The 18 IAS coaching institutes under consumer watchdog’s glare
Gurmehar
The Girl Who Kept Falling In Love
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Pratyush Deep.
Sumedha talks about her report on the Modi government’s crackdown on NGOs by cancelling their FCRA licences. She explains how foreign funds are a lifeline for the sector, and how they’re now struggling.
Pratyush reported on the cash-for-query allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra. He breaks down the questions Moitra asked in Parliament and how many of them were about the Adani Group.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - FCRA
00:12:50 - Mahua Moitra
00:31:57 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
The Running Novelist
Sumedha
Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison
Tanishka
Khufiya
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Sumedha talks about her report on the I-T department revoking the tax exemption status of four NGOs. She explains how there’s an Adani connection to these events too.
Shiv reported on the appointment of a retired army official to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, which sparked resentment among Jats, the state’s largest community. He explains how Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has found himself in a political crossfire.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:41 - Tax exemption of NGOs
00:04:48 - Kesari Singh Rathore
00:32:20 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
Flying too high: Chasing CM dreams, has Sachin Pilot lost support on the ground?
Shivnarayan
We Also Make Policy : An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions
Gurmehar
Voices of the Nakba: A Living History of Palestine
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Samarendra Kumar Dash and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Shreegireesh Jalihal of The Reporters’ Collective and Avdhesh Kumar of Newslaundry.
Shreegireesh talks about his latest investigation on the union coal ministry over-riding the environment ministry and its experts to allow mining activities in the country’s densest forest areas. He also delves into the operations of the mining lobby in India.
Avdhesh discusses the police action on a Madhya Pradesh journalist after he reported on a viral video featuring a BJP minister. The reporter was named in 11 FIRs within four days, and was subsequently arrested.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:30 - Union Coal ministry opens up mining in dense forest areas
00:23:40 - Madhya pradesh journalist faces 11 FIRs and his eventual arrest
00:40:45 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shreegirish
Infinite Jest
Coal Reformes Undermined
Avdhesh
Love Kills: Shabnam aur Saleem - Amroha Hatyakand My Daughter Joined A CultBasant
The Trap: India’s Dedliest Scam
Fraud, intimidation, suicide: BBC documentary exposes the murky world of Chinese loan apps
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Pratyush Deep.
Both Basant and Pratyush talk about their reports on the recent arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty in connection with a UAPA case lodged in August this year.
They delve into all that led to the arrests, including the early morning police searches at the homes of journalists, satirists, writers and contributors connected to NewsClick. The Delhi police special cell seized electronic devices and questioned so-called ‘suspects’ for hours.
The panel also talks about the precursor to the police action – a New York Times investigation that alleged the news site was among Chinese propaganda outlets funded by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham.
Away from NewsClick, Basant explains his report on a father-son duo who fled illegally to Pakistan from India, citing growing communal attacks on Muslims. They’d rather accept death in Pakistan, he said, but don’t want to go back home.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:42 - Newsclick
00:02:11 - Arrests
00:41:14 - Family flees to Pakistan
00:44:07 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
A Taste for Trouble: Memories from Another TimeBasant
Rag DarbariSumedha'Any story could be your last' - India's crackdown on Kashmir press
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalists Anand Dutta and Kashif Kakvi.
Kashif’s report spotlighted the wave of anti-incumbency against Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government in Madhya Pradesh. He explains how the upcoming assembly election in the state is a challenge for the BJP, and especially Chouhan. He also talks about the rumours around the party’s chief minister face.
Anand talks about his report on the salaries of Heavy Engineering Corporation’s employees being withheld for more than 20 months now. He says several of the HEC staff have been forced to sell tea and idlis to make ends meet. He delves into how the government fact-check unit PIB “wrongly fact-checked” his report, calling its headline misleading as it mentioned ISRO and Chandrayaan-3.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:14 - MP Election
00:28:31 - HEC
00:58:48 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Kashif
Rajnitinama Madhya Pradesh Rajnetaon Ke Kisse (1956-2003)
Kaala
Anand
Rag Darbari
Basant
Mitata Bharat Banta India
Bambai Meri Jaan
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar
and The Morning Context’s Ayush Tiwari.
Basant explains his report on how some Indian news channels call ‘political analysts’ for their primetime shows, but some of them actually have ties to the BJP.
Ayush, meanwhile, reported on the rise of dating coaches in India, fuelled by the Covid pandemic and the limitations of dating apps. But, as he explains, some of them employ questionable coaching methods.
The panel also discusses the INDIA alliance’s decision to boycott 14 anchors, and whether this will have an impact on upcoming elections.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:03 - ‘Political analysts’ on TV news
00:05:39 - Dating coaches
00:34:52 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Ayush
Koo’s search for ‘Bharat’
Basant
Meena Kumari
The Song of Scorpions
Tanishka
Bhanwari Devi was raped for trying to stop 1992 child marriage. ‘I curse her daily,’ says bride
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by The Quint’s Himanshi Dahiya and independent journalist Anand Dutta.
Himanshi talks about her report on Mizoram’s struggle to protect women from cervical cancer. She explains how stigma, poor health infrastructure, and religious beliefs have made the situation worse.
Anand reported on how 233 caste groups and communities across the country are demanding tribal status. He says the issue is also being politicised, which could have a “fatal impact on our society”.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:35 - Cervical cancer
00:21:08 - Adivasis and politics
00:34:33 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Himanshi
How Prime Ministers Decide
Anand
Gunayatan
Basant
'Waiting To Die’: In Mizoram, a Struggle to Protect Women from Cervical Cancer
क्यों लगी है होड़ आदिवासी बनने की
Thaharti Sanson Ke Sirhane Se : Jab Zindagi Mauj Le Rahi Thi
कैंसर और ज़िंदगी जीने की ज़िद
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Pratyush Deep.
Avdhesh reported that the poorest in the national capital have been rendered more vulnerable as a direct impact of the Modi government’s beautification drive ahead of the G-20 Summit. He delved into the many slum demolition drives and evictions that have left people with nowhere to go. Several communities living in camps set up for flood-affected people have been compelled to return to the deluge-hit areas, while many slums have been veiled behind green sheets and banners.
Pratyush reported that a Delhi government school teacher was booked for allegedly passing communal slurs and insulting Muslim students in the classroom. An FIR was filed against teacher Hema Gulati after four students of class 9 accused the teacher of passing communal remarks. He spoke about the nonchalant approach of the school authorities and the police in the matter.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:35 - Evacuation drives
00:04:27 - Communal remarks
00:28:45 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pratyush
Guns & Gulaabs
Avdhesh
'Waiting To Die’: In Mizoram, a Struggle to Protect Women from Cervical Cancerबेटे को दूध पिलाने के पैसे नहीं थे...आज स्टार:पति मारता था, ट्रेनों में गाना गा बच्चा पाला; आज यूट्यूब से लाखों कमा रहीं 'फरमानी नाज'GurmeharThe economics of thinnessProduced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Hassan Bilal.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, The News Minute journalist Prajwal Bhat and The Frontier Manipur’s executive editor Paojel Chaoba. The panel discussed the ongoing conflict in Manipur, its underlying causes, perspective divide and the lack of accountability for the tragedy.
Shivnarayan reported on the mass transfers of government officials in the region. The data showed that over 2,000 government employees were transferred to make sure they worked from areas where they would “feel safe”.
Prajwal reported on the issue of drugs in Manipur and its role as a key catalyst in the conflict. He said the government’s war on drugs in the region had completely failed.
Meanwhile, Paojel dug deeper into the dynamics in the northeastern state and underlined what could be the root cause of the strife. He said that both the central and the state governments have failed in fixing accountability and also spoke about the difficulties faced by journalists while reporting on the conflict.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:00 - Mass transfers
00:06:40 - Status in Manipur
00:12:55 - Drug in Manipur
00:50:52 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prajwal
FLAME ON A HILL : A COLLECTION OF STORIESShivnarayan
Behind Manipur violence, a ‘war on drugs’ that wasn’tPaojelShadow and Light: A Kaleidoscope of ManipurTanishka
How the demolition drive in Nuh went against court orders and due procedures
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by The Reporters’ Collective journalist Shreegireesh Jalihal.
Shreegireesh had reported how an NRI businessman, linked to the BJP, had sent a proposal to the Niti Aayog to corporatise the agriculture sector – paving the way to the farm laws that were repealed after wide-spread protests. He divulged his findings regarding the making of the controversial laws and shed light on how a government-appointed task force served as a “lobbying platform for corporates”.
He also shared that the government’s task force consulted mostly big corporations such as the Adani group, Patanjali, BigBasket, Mahindra Group and ITC. He delved into how farm laws accommodated corporate interest at the cost of the farmers’ welfare. He also highlighted that the Adani group had advocated to remove restrictions on corporates hoarding agricultural commodities.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:18 - Farm law committee
00:37:10 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shreegireesh
Blood Meridian: Or, the Evening Redness in the West
Jujutsu Kaisen
Basant
In Farmers’ Name
Prem Gali Ati Sankaree (A Novel)
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Sumedha Mittal.
Shivnarayan reported on the ongoing conflict in Manipur from ground zero. He delved into the deepening divide between the Kukis and the Meiteis that has seeped into all aspects of life, from land to administration. He said this divide and the internet shutdown in the northeastern state is gravely impacting all walks of life in the northeastern state. He said the state was marred by the deafening sound of gunshots and its casualties.
Sumedha reported on the activism of the Bajrang Dal worker who was killed in the communal clashes in Nuh and the police crackdown in the area in the aftermath of the violence. She shed light on the social undercurrents in Mewat and the “laboratory” of Bajrang Dal, and their aspirations to further their agenda.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:27 - Manipur Conflict
00:03:09 - Mewat Violence
00:33:28 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
Shivnarayan
Land of Jade: A Journey from India through Northern Burma to China
Gurmehar
Romantic Comedy (Reese's Book Club): A Novel
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam.
Anmol reported on the recent communal violence in Haryana, which began during a religious procession at Nuh and spilled over to Gurugram, leaving six people dead. In Gurugram, several commercial properties were burnt down, a mosque was vandalised and over 200 Muslim families were forced to leave their home amid threats. He spoke about what conspired in Haryana, the pattern of communal violence, the negligent police action and the death of a 52-year-old man in Nuh after being beaten up by the police.
He also shared his experience of encountering miscreants, who threatened and forced him to stop recording, while he was reporting on the ground.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:17 - Mewat Violence
00:36:11 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Anmol
Wah Bhi Koi Des Hai Mahraj
Basant
The Song of Scorpions
Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Washington Post’s Karishma Mehrotra.
Sumedha reported that the national public radio broadcaster Akashvani – with arguably an unrivalled reach – has turned into the Modi government’s megaphone. She gave a peak into this “transformation”, delving into the radio’s news coverage packed with bulletins on the Modi government, and the frustrations of its employees dealing with this “tectonic shift”.
Karishma spoke about her reportage on India’s push for solar grids in villages. She explained how decentralised solar infrastructure is aiding those residing in remote areas, but the upkeep of these new-age systems is proving difficult for the government – resulting in abandoned panels and batteries far and wide.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:42 - Akashvani
00:09:55 - Renewable energy
00:30:27 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
Oppenheimer
Supreme Court summons DGP: ‘No law and order left in Manipur’
Karishma
Last Among Equals: Power, Caste & Politics in Bihar’s Villages
Joyland
Gurmehar
Yellowface
Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by the Quint’s Saptarshi Basak and freelance journalist Vikrant Dubey.
Saptarshi explained the ethnic divide in Manipur between the state’s tribal groups. He delved into the ongoing conflict and its implications in the northeast, and also threw light on the central and the state governments’ failure in maintaining law and order.
Vikrant spoke about his reportage on a Gandhian organisation’s struggle in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi against a demolition order. He detailed how the district magistrate’s demolition order against Varanasi Sarva Seva Sangh’s official premises last month triggered a sit-in protest at the site to save the seven decade old campus.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:32 - Manipur Violence
00:09:48 - Sarva Seva Sangh
00:47:41 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Saptarshi
ETHNIC CONFLICT IN INDIA: A Case Study of the Kukis and the Nagas in Manipur
The Homeland and the State: The Meiteis and the Nagas in Manipur
Vikrant
Dekho Hamri KashiBasant
Kashi Ka AssiExclusive: NCW ignored complaint linked to Kuki women video filed 38 days agoProduced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Avdhesh Kumar.
Tanishka reported on all that has changed at NDTV, and all that has remained the same, six months into Gautam Adani’s takeover of the TV network. She divulged how the news outlet has transformed from being a critic of the Modi government to becoming a typical legacy media. She said the transition of its coverage can be seen in their reportage.
Avdhesh reported on how Pakistani national Seema Haider’s love blossomed in India. He delved into the media scrutiny faced by the unusual couple. He also spoke about his reportage on Delhi’s flood, which resulted in many people and their cattles being stranded at their homes. In addition, he spoke about his report on the viral video of a Madhya Pradesh man urinating on a tribal worker, and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s attempt at damage control.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:40 - Transformation of NDTV
00:07:08 - Pravesh Shukla/MP Peegate
00:17:28 - Seema Haider
00:34:14 - Delhi Flood
00:38:25 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
Another Strike Against The Free Press: Why A Journalist Who Stood With Adivasis Was Arrested
Avdhesh
My Indian Life
Gurmehar
Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood
Okay Days
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Basant reported that state broadcaster Doordarshan uploaded videos on the YouTube channels of DD National and DD News UP, passing off BJP members as “common Muslim citizens” batting for the Uniform Civil Code. He explained how the broadcaster had laid aside journalistic ethics to exhibit its skewed reporting on UCC.
Shivnarayan reported on the politics around Saudi moderate Muhammad bin Abdul Karim bin Abdulaziz Al-Issa’s visit to India. He delved into how national security adviser Ajit Doval was lauded at a Delhi event hosting the Muslim World League secretary general. He explained the controversy around Al-Issa’s visit, with reports linking it to the government’s push for UCC. He also spoke about the significance of his visit for the Modi government.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - DD News
00:10:03 - Al-Issa
00:30:37 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
Yaad Ho Ki Na Yaad Ho
Shivnarayan
Photos show WFI chief Brij Bhushan ‘making advances’, CDRs match location in testimony: Police chargesheet
Tanishka
Court
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Pratyush Deep.
Shivnarayan reported on Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s relationship with his party in Rajasthan, and the impediments on his way ahead of Rajasthan’s assembly polls. He explains how he traced the 45-year-old’s journey from being the youngest MP in the Indian parliament to his current tussle with chief minister Ashok Gehlot, also throwing light on his chances of a strong comeback.
Pratyush reported on the RSS-linked outfits illegally occupying housing meant for members of parliament in Lutyens’ Delhi. He recounted how he found out that at least 14 of the 176 flats at Vithal Bhai Patel complex were illegally occupied, with one of the occupants being Rajyavardhan Singh Parmar, a Hindutva leader accused of sexual assault.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:50 - Sachin Pilot
00:07:14 - Illegal occupancy at the Vithalbhai Patel Complex
00:38:46 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
24 Akbar Road: A Short History Of The People Behind The Fall And Rise Of The CongressPratyush
Targeting of Kukis the main reason behind Manipur violenceGurmehar
The Idol
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Sumedha Mittal.
Avdhesh reported on the layoffs at ABP News this week, with nearly 47 employees losing their jobs. He explains how the company was “unprofessional” and things turned upside down after Sant Prasad Rai became senior vice president (news and production).
Sumedha reported on Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India. She says he’s still seemingly at work at the WFI office, and how he’s a close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:32 - Vinod Tomar
00:10:34 - ABP layoffs
00:34:13 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Avdhesh
Titanic submersible accident
Sumedha
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold
Basant
The Enforcers How the ED became a political tool
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and Pratyush Deep. They delve into the details of two cases of “love jihad”, a Hindutva conspiracy theory, that gained traction in the media.
The first was the abduction of a minor girl from Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, and the second was in connection with the murder of BJP leader Jonali Nath in Assam.
Pratyush and Anmol explain how they developed sources, discovered narratives, and the perils of reporting from the ground. They also point to the eerie similarity with which cases are given a communal spin and the media’s role here. As Pratyush says, “The victim’s family suffers the most.”
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:32 - Uttarakhand communal tension
00:10:08 - Assam murder case turned into love jihad
00:38:35 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Anmol
How the ‘love jihad’ fuse was lit in Uttarakhand
Pratyush
Scoop
Gurmehar
Derry Girls
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Shwet Pandey and independent journalist Saurav Das.
Saurav this week reported on how the government “blocks” requests for information and how a case filed by satirist Tanul Thakur might change this. “If the judgement is in favour of Tanul Thakur, then it could change censorship practices in India,” he says.
Shwet, who wrote on the three-year anniversary of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, explains the media frenzy surrounding the case. The assembly election was held in Rajput’s home state of Bihar soon after his death, and Shwet says, “Five percent of the political vote bank is the Rajput community. So it was a very effective ploy to politicise his death for their own agenda.”
The panel discusses nepotism, mental health awareness, self-censorship among journalists, and a lot more. Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:28 - Government censorship
00:09:36 - SSR’s three-year death anniversary
00:40:52 - Law Commission's sedition report
00:45:10 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Saurav
The Indian Conservative: A History of Indian Right-wing Thought
Shwet
Kai Po Che!
Sonchiriya
PK
Tanishka
Surviving a media trial: The story of Disha Salian’s family
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar, who went to Odisha to cover the horrific three-train accident of June 2. The official death toll is 288, but Basant says his experience on the ground suggests the toll might be much higher.
“The Odisha government is handling the aftermath of this crisis rather well,” he says. “I remember the Balasore district magistrate was present all night.”
Tanishka and Basant also discuss the communal misinformation that spread on social media about the accident, and why journalists must report sensitively during times of tragedy.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:48 - Odisha train accident
00:33:58 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
बालासोर ट्रेन हादसा: हिंदू-मुस्लिम रंग देने की कोशिश, पड़ताल में पाया गया झूठ
ओडिशा ट्रेन हादसा: शवों का ढेर, मेरे अंकल का नंबर 72 है, बॉडी नहीं मिल रही
ओडिशा ट्रेन हादसा: 'हमारा कोच खचाखच भरा था... हम सिर्फ 6 ही बचे!’ओडिशा ट्रेन हादसा: “जिनमें सांस थी उन्हें पहले निकाला गया ताकि वो जिंदा बच सकें”
बालासोर ट्रेन हादसे में मरने वाले ज्यादातर बिहार और बंगाल के, अब डीएनए के जरिए होगी अज्ञात शवों की पहचान
Tanishka
Scoop
NL Interview: Hansal Mehta, Karishma Tanna on Scoop, Indian newsrooms and the real vs reel
Produced by Tehreem Roshan and Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Tanishka’s story of the week investigated the online trolling of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud from January to April this year. It involved morphed photos and accusations of being “anti-Hindu”. Tanishka explains the significant role played by digital influencers in driving this social media discourse.
Shivnarayan talks about his interview with Jamngaihkim Gangte, a 20-year-old from Manipur who lost her mother and brother to the ongoing violence in the state. On mainstream media coverage of Manipur, Shiv says, “With a few notable exceptions, there haven’t been any genuine stories produced in contrast to the stories about the Delhi riots that have received sufficient coverage.”
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:18 - Manipur violence
00:07:47 - Online trolling of CJI
00:35:42 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
Jailed, suspended, fired: How teachers in UP have paid a price for Hindutva campaigns against a song
Shivnarayan
‘Can still feel the blows...Imphal murdered my family’: Manipur violence survivor recalls escape
Basant
Anti-Hindu, woke feminist: Inside the unprecedented online trolling of CJI Chandrachud
Sophie Ka Sansar
जहरीली शराब से हुई मौतों पर एनएचआरसी का दोहरा रवैया
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Sumedha Mittal.
The discussion begins with Prateek’s story on Sonu Mansuri, a 21-year-old law intern in Madhya Pradesh, who was accused of being a “PFI agent” and spent 50 days in jail on cheating charges.
Prateek recounts his interview with Sonu, in which she described her ordeal and opened up about the line of questioning during the interrogations. He delves into the timeline of events that led to her arrest and the impact of one-sided media coverage.
“The media portrayed her as a ‘terrorist’, while all she was doing was her job as an intern and learning things,” Prateek says. He also spotlights how she was targeted because of her religious identity.
The conversation then moves to Sumedha’s experience of reporting from poll-bound Karnataka and her understanding of electoral politics. She talks about the good and the bad of reporting on the high-stake elections in the southern state. “Language was the biggest hurdle,” she says, shedding light on how she overcame it.
This and a lot more, Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:30 - Sonu Mansuri’s story
00:10:50 - Karnataka Elections 2023
00:32:26 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prateek
Viduthalai: Part 1
Sumedha
Subhash Chandra’s collapsing house of cards
Tanishka
Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar.
The discussion begins with Avdhesh’s report on the wrestlers’ protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, and the late-night scuffle that broke out between the protesters and the Delhi police officials.
In the conversation, Avdhesh reflects on his first-hand experience of covering the protest, also shedding light on the alarming prevalence of sexism and misogyny within the Indian wrestling landscape.
Drawing parallels with the farmers protest that garnered worldwide attention, he says that the BJP government has repeatedly ignored voices of protest, and snubbed the concerns that deserve urgent attention.
“Whether it’s the police or the authorities, their behaviour towards the protesters is as bad as it can be. This is not how you treat your heroes,” adds Avdhesh.
This and a lot more, Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:02 - Wrestlers Protest
00:23:08 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Avdhesh
कैंसर और ज़िंदगी जीने की ज़िद
Akanksha
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by The Quint’s reporter Himanshi Dahiya, founder of Main Media Tanzil Asif and senior journalist from ETV Bihar Umesh Pandey.
In view of the World Press Freedom Day, the panel discusses the state of media in India, and the challenges staring it. The conversation is stirred by an acknowledgement of the recent decline in India’s press freedom ranking and the government's subsequent denial on the subject.
Himanshi takes us through her experiences as a mediaperson and emphasises that media spaces only have a faint presence of women, while men still dominate the landscape. “The male gaze and dominance are still pervasive in the media.”
Tanzil shares his experience of doing hyper-local journalism, and its hazards in contrast with the mainstream media. He recounts the fears that accompany matters involving local representatives, who often pressure journalists. While Tanzil talks about the onslaught on press freedom, Umesh explains his circumstances as a local journalist in Bihar and how his ground reports led to the filing of FIRs against him.
This and a lot more, Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:36 - Press Freedom
01:02:42 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Himanshi
NCERT textbook revision: Why it happens every few years & what makes it controversial
Umesh
14 साल बाद भी 38 हजार घरों में नहीं पहुंचा शुद्ध गंगाजल, 2009 में ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट का हुआ था शिलान्यास
Tanzil
बांग्ला भाषा का मतलब ‘घुसपैठ’ कैसे हो गया दैनिक जागरण?
Basant
Delhi riots: Inside the ‘Kattar Hindu’ WhatsApp group that planned, executed murders
Umar Khalid Arrested: What Delhi Riot Charge Sheets Say About Him
No Nation for Women: Journalist Priyanka Dubey on her searing reportage on rape in India
How Varun Gandhi Silenced The System
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi.
Tanishka’s story of the week was a deep-dive report on the journey of media mogul and Zee group founder Subhash Chandra Goenka. In the conversation, Tanishka revisits her excursion of gathering credible, exhaustive information on Mr Chandra and how he refused to speak to her directly as it wasn’t a “completely positive story”.
Tanishka goes on to talk about the aspects of Mr Chandra’s character that led to his rise and an eventual fall from grace. She also spotlights his ventures that contributed to his debacle. “He is ambitious and loves a new challenge, but his impatience is the key factor in his downfall,” she says.
This and a lot more, Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:24 - Subhash Chandra’s Profile
00:36:26 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
The Diplomat
WFI’s ‘sexual harassment panel’ flouts POSH Act, headed by a man instead of a woman
Akanksha
India takes a distressing retreat from democracy
India’s democratic backsliding
In Madhya Pradesh, 3 Muslim Academics Face Criminal Cases Filed By Hindu Right, Backed By State Govt
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Basant Kumar.
Sumedha had interviewed journalists who witnessed the shooting of Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Prayagraj. They told her they still had to report on the story despite the horrors of what they went through. “I would have frozen and taken a backseat if a shootout took place in front of my eyes,” Sumedha says. “I would not have been able to report.”
Basant’s story of the week was on how a cow was killed in Agra as part of a conspiracy to falsely implicate some Muslim men. “It would have been a big issue. There could have been riots in the area,” he says. “But because of the detailed and quick investigation by the police, no major incident took place.”
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - Cow slaughter in Agra
00:14:04 - Atiq Ahmed shootout
00:25:27 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
Jubilee
Basant
Wah bhi koi desh hai maharaj
Tanishka
Sita sings the blues
Produced by P Madhu Kumar and Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Hasan Bilal.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal.
Sumedha’s recent story underlines the government’s hack of employing the CBSE to further Modi campaigns and widen the BJP’s voter base.
She delves into how seeing a G20 logo on the admit cards of Class 10 and 12 CBSE students spiralled into a story idea. As she circled back to the years of 2013-14, she found that every time the Modi government released a campaign, the CBSE would plan an activity around it.
“These schooling years are formative for the children. So, by pushing them to accept particular campaigns including the Modi campaigns, the schools are not allowing them to be critical at all,” says Sumedha. “As far as the government is concerned, Mr Modi has influenced his probable voters' mindset 10 years in advance, and that is very clever.”
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:45 - CBSE promoting Modi campaign
00:25:27 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Sumedha
Bottle of Lies
Akanksha
Why Men Rape
Harlem
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and freelance journalist Snigdhendu Bhattacharya.
Snigdhendu had reported on the Ram Navami violence in Howrah and how the Hindutva outfits that had organised rallies “went against the set guidelines” issued by the police. He says large-scale celebrations of this sort intensified in the state only in the last five or six years, coinciding with the rise of the RSS and BJP.
Prateek then explains his report on how the Madhya Pradesh government skipped procedure to recruit people close to the RSS for government jobs. The authorities feigned ignorance, he says, even as the chief minister attended a training programme for these new recruits.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:23 - Ram Navami violence in Bengal
00:09:10 - Madhya Pradesh scam
00:26:14 - Ram Navami violence in Bengal
00:42:56 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prateek
Caught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket.
Snigdhendu
Bells of Shangri-La
Basant
Madhya Pradesh hired people close to RSS for govt jobs, skipping actual applicants
The dreamers in danger at Gujarat’s gateway to US
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Gurmehar Kaur and Sumedha Mittal.
Gurmehar was in Punjab, reporting on the police’s manhunt for radical leader Amritpal Singh. She explains how Singh rose to prominence and the situation on the ground. Sumedha adds, “Punjab has seen so much since Partition that it has created a vacuum. And people like Deep Sidhu and Amritpal Singh act as the ones who will rescue the state and fill that void.”
The discussion shifts to Sumedha’s story on suicides at IITs and how casteism plays out on campus.
Tune in!
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:50 - Search for Amritpal Singh
00:25:50 - IIT suicides
00:42:01 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Gurmehar
Small Acts of Freedom
Young and the Restless
I’m Not a Monster, Season 2
Sumedha
Sparsh
Akanksha
The Family Man - Season 2
Every Woman Is A Potential Witch
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Basant Kumar is joined by Tanishka Sodhi and Anmol Pritam.
Tanishka this week reported on women in India being denied access to vaginal ultrasounds if they’re unmarried. She explains how doctors are hesitant to perform these vital procedures due to patriarchal notions about sexual activity among young, unmarried women.
The panel then discusses two stories by Anmol on two journalists struggling with very unique sets of circumstances. Tune in for more.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:40 - Women denied healthcare
00:12:35 - Journalist’s poha stall
00:27:05 - Journalist’s arrest
00:35:43 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
Seven murders, one confession and missing evidence: The 'Ripper' story
Anmol
Inventing Anna
Basant
Caught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket
ज़ी न्यूज़ से निकाले जाने के बाद पत्रकार बेच रहा पोहा-जलेबी
‘Are you married?’: Across India, unmarried women are denied access to an essential ultrasound
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Basant Kumar and Ashwine Kumar Singh.
The discussion begins with Basant’s report on an auditing firm associated with the Adani Group that was flagged in the Hindenburg research report. Basant explains the timeline of events and how mainstream media, particularly television, has not fully covered the story.
Ashwine talks about how the I&B ministry in 2002 gave permission to Doordarshan to build a TV tower in a village in Amritsar. Crores and decades later, the tower still hasn’t come up. “It’s a classic example of corruption and delay of government projects,” Ashwine says.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:57 - Hindenburg report
00:19:12 - Amritsar’s DD tower
00:30:18 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
Patrakarita ka Andha yug
Ashwine
The Night Manager
Akanksha
Borgen - Power & Glory
Secret City
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Basant Kumar is joined by Avdhesh Kumar and Anmol Pritam.
The discussion begins with Avdhesh’s report on a cobbler from Delhi’s Mayur Vihar who has been allegedly pressured by a lawyer to change his surname to a word decreed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Avdhesh points to caste discrimination and how the “emotional as well as financial trauma faced by this person is huge”.
The conversation moves to Anmol’s report about two residents of Mewat allegedly set afire by cow vigilantes. He talks about how these vigilantes were working in collaboration with the local police and how such activities are illegal according to court observations. He says there is a nexus between the Gau Raksha Dal and the Haryana Police, and the police work with bias against a particular community.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:06:52 - Cow vigilantism
00:24:02 - Caste-based discrimination
00:42:17 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Anmol
House of Cards
Avdhesh
The Night Manager
Basant
Banjare Ki Chitthiyaan
Patrakarita Ka Andha Yug
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Ashwine Kumar Singh.
The discussion begins with Shiv’s story on how foreign correspondents in India have been reeling under pressure in recent years. They struggle with threats, visas and access while the government believes they have a “bias” against India. Akanksha points out how there has been a “concerted effort on restricting reporting in Kashmir”.
Later on, the discussion moves to Ashwine’s report on the AAP’s protest against the arrests of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, and how their resignations will impact governance in the capital. How will the party, which proclaims to be against corruption, defend itself when two of its most important ministers have been jailed on corruption changes?
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:35 - Foreign press in India
00:23:30 - AAP protest
00:42:17 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Ashwine
Farzi
Shivnarayan
Cunk on Earth
Akanksha
Once Again
How to wrestle with gender norms and winProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Sumedha Mittal of Newslaundry and Pallavi Pundir, South Asia correspondent for Vice.
Sumedha explains her report on how there’s been a sharp drop in budgetary allocations to the ministry of minority affairs and the impact this has on education. Educational schemes have been scrapped, she says, including the pre-matric scholarship for classes 1 to 8.
Pallavi then talks about her report on land grabbing crimes where victims are declared dead, the role played here by caste, and how the media played a major role in spotlighting this issue. The report also tells the story of Lal Bihari, who was first declared “dead” in the 1970s. Pallavi says she was “fascinated by his desperation to be taken seriously in the eyes of the law”.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:03 - Budget allocation
00:06:12 - Land of the dead
00:30:49 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Pallavi
Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir
Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh
Sumedha
The Romantics
Tanishka
Bengaluru’s new surveillance plan will match faces on CCTV visuals to cop databaseProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Satish Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Freelance award-winning journalist Srishti Jaswal.
The discussion begins with Shiv’s report on the surveys at the BBC offices. They talk about the reasons behind the survey and what could possibly come out of it. Shiv also talks about the experience on ground and the media coverage on the subject.
The discussion then moves on to Srishti's story which is the first part of a large investigation done by an International organisation ‘Forbidden Stories’, on Bangalore based journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder.
They talk about the idea behind doing such an investigation and then goes on telling about the instances in the report that revolves around the murder of Gauri, including her 2012 video which has been linked to her case directly. Srishti explains that the video is a perfect example of how ‘Hindu Far-Right’ functions in India, where Gauri Lankesh gave a speech on ‘Ethos of Hinduism’ and a part of the speech was taken and uploaded on YouTube, with the title ‘Why I hate Secularism’. This portrayed her in a false manner and was shown to her assassins.
The panel ends the discussion with the harassment faced by female journalists online. Even after Gauri’s assassination, people don’t talk about online and offline persecution seriously and how it’s a threat to other journalists as well.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:11 - Forbidden Stories
00:08:42 - BBC surveys
00:38:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Srishti
All About LoveShivnarayan
The Truth Pill
Tanishka
The Last HeroesProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Satish Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Freelance award-winning journalist Srishti Jaswal.
The discussion begins with Shiv’s report on the surveys at the BBC offices. They talk about the reasons behind the survey and what could possibly come out of it. Shiv also talks about the experience on ground and the media coverage on the subject.
The discussion then moves on to Srishti's story which is the first part of a large investigation done by an International organisation ‘Forbidden Stories’, on Bangalore based journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder.
They talk about the idea behind doing such an investigation and then goes on telling about the instances in the report that revolves around the murder of Gauri, including her 2012 video which has been linked to her case directly. Srishti explains that the video is a perfect example of how ‘Hindu Far-Right’ functions in India, where Gauri Lankesh gave a speech on ‘Ethos of Hinduism’ and a part of the speech was taken and uploaded on YouTube, with the title ‘Why I hate Secularism’. This portrayed her in a false manner and was shown to her assassins.
The panel ends the discussion with the harassment faced by female journalists online. Even after Gauri’s assassination, people don’t talk about online and offline persecution seriously and how it’s a threat to other journalists as well.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:11 - Forbidden Stories
00:08:42 - BBC surveys
00:38:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Srishti
All About LoveShivnarayan
The Truth Pill
Tanishka
The Last HeroesProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Satish Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Alenjith K Johny and Avdhesh Kumar.
The discussion begins with Alenjith’s report on human-wildlife conflict in the village around Kottiyoor wildlife sanctuary. Alenjith elaborates that farmers migrated to the region from the southern part of Kerala; the conflicts began recently. Akanksha and Avdhesh recall while covering the UP assembly election, a similar ‘awara pashu’ issue was on people’s minds and wherever they went, they found people complaining about it.
The discussion then moves to Avdhesh’s report on the claim of Hijab ban in UP's Moradabad college. Avdhesh clarifies that a new dress code was introduced by the authorities at the Hindu College to prevent the entry of outsiders. It was just an allegation by Samajwadi Party’s youth wing.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:40 - Human-wildlife conflict
00:18:53 - Hijab ban in UP’s colleges?
00:31:38 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Alenjith K Johny
Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam
Avdhesh
'Musahar Chandeshwar Manjhi'
Akanksha
In Rajasthan’s battle against illegal sand mining, violence wins
Inside Indonesia's Deadly Street Gangs
How blind-friendly is India’s capital Delhi? | BBC News India
References
Bundelkhand farm deaths belie Yogi govt claims on ‘no suicides due to agri distress’
‘Didn’t come to check on us’: CAA protesters weigh up poll choices in Mau
Produced by Ashish Anand, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week the host Basant is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Newsreel Asia’s Tej Bahadur Singh.
The discussion begins with Bihar’s Mushar community and Tej explains the narrative of his video report. Prateek elaborates on how Madhya Pradesh is the epitome of Hindutva where the Home Minister himself protests and criticizes any new film release. Basant also talks about a video that went viral last week with an individual representing a religious group in Madhya Pradesh and how Mushar Samuday still lags behind on social and other parameters.
Tej’s report shows why people of the Mushar community still lack opportunities after 75 years of independence. The narrator dons a character named Chandeshwar Majhi of the Mushar community, who voices the anguish and hardships of the community through his own sufferings. He highlights that the community has received no facilities promised to them despite the fact that Mushar Samuday was recognized as Maha Dalit, with 23 other communities, by none other than the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The discussion moves to Prateek’s report , where he talks about how people are harassed in the name of Hindutva and the mechanics of interfering in a consensual relationship between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy, through the trope of love jihad. He recounts one such case where a Muslim boy from Khandwa, MP, ran a cyber cafe and used to chat with a Hindu girl, and was harassed by local Hindutva supporters because of it.
Produced by P Madhu Kumar, recorded by Anil Kumar and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Basant Kumar.
The discussion begins with Tanishka and Basant’s experience at Jantar Mantar as they covered protests against the Wrestling Federation of India and its President, Brij Bhushan Singh. The protests stemmed from allegations of sexual harassment and corruption within the WFI.
As they discuss their report on WFI’s ‘sexual harrasment panel’, which is in clear violation of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (POSH) Act and power dynamics around sexual assault cases, Tanishka recalls how a journalist next to her claimed, “how is sexual assault possible in such cases…these women are wrestlers, they are physically strong”.
The discussion moves on to Basant’s report on Brj Bhushan’s rise to power, his political career as a BJP Member of Parliament and whether the allegations against him would harm the party’s politics. They further talk about the postponement of the Delhi Mayor’s election and election of the members of the standing committee for the second time.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:47 - Wrestlers’ Protest
00:30:54 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Basant
उत्तराखंड का जल शोक, बांधों की बलि चढ़ते गांवTanishka
Why aren’t we listening to our scientists?
Akanksha
The hills suffer: Joshimath and beyondAlaska Daily
The Chair
Meet the most powerful Uber driver in India
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Main Media founder Tanzil Asif.
The conversation begins with Shivnarayan’s ground report on the posters in Northeast Delhi asking Hindus not to sell their properties to Muslims. He recalls his conversations with Pradeep Sharma, the lawyer on whose behalf the posters have allegedly been issued.
Sharma, interestingly, has rented the first floor of his house to two Muslim families. “If a Muslim offers me Rs 1.3 lakh per gaz against Rs 1 lakh by a Hindu, I will surely sell it to the Muslim. It is not a small transaction. It’s a question of lakhs of rupees,” Shivnarayan quotes Sharma as saying.
The discussion then moves to Tanzil Asif’s report, which fact-checked a report on the front page of Dainik Jagran which claimed that Hindus have been migrating from Bihar’s Seemanchal region.
Tanzil recalls most Hindus living in these villages were shocked at such claims and angry over the failure of legacy media to report on real issues.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:16 - Dainik Jagran Investigation
00:26:40 - Brahmpuri communal posters
00:41:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanzil
Farha
The Swimmers
Shivnarayan
Twitterati timesBasant
The hollow cult of Sidhu Moose Wala Keeda JadiProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash and Satish Kumar.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep and freelance journalist Devendra Pratap Singh Shekhawat.
The conversation begins with Devendra’s report on sexual blackmail schemes spreading from the upper echelons of Indian society to the poor and working class. As Devendra recalls his conversations with victims and perpetrators, the panel discusses the problem of under-reporting of sextortion cases due to social stigma, outdated legislation, and insensitive law enforcement machinery.
The discussion then moves to Pratyush’s analysis of the apprehensions linked to Assam’s delimitation exercise among Bengali origin Muslims, tribes, and other minority groups. They also talk about how these are linked to a narrative pushed by the governing party in the state
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:38 - Sextortion Report
00:24:45 - Assam Delimitation
00:33:57 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Devendra
Baahubalis of Indian Politics
My Encounters with the Three Lals of HaryanaPratyush
Tripura: Its History and CultureAkanksha
Rubaru Roshni
Pregnant and desperate in post-Roe AmericaProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Basant Kumar is joined by Avdhesh Kumar and Prateek Goyal.
The conversation begins with their recent reports. Avdhesh points to his experience in UP’s Bareilly, where a principal and teacher were booked after students at a government school recited ‘lab pe aati hai dua’ – an iconic poem by Allama Iqbal. Prateek then talks about his coverage from Koregaon Bhima. “Koregaon Bhima seems to be a point of inspiration, identification, unification and consolidation for Dalits today,” he says.
Avdhesh also mentions how Vishwa Hindu Parishad members told him that students should be asked to chant the Hanuman Chalisa and ‘Jai Sri Ram’ instead of such poems.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:04:14 - Bhima Koregaon
00:21:10 - Bareilly school controversy
00:37:17 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Avdhesh
Khakee: The Bihar Chapter
Prateek
TV Newsance: Ramnath Roenka Awards 2022 are here to recognise the worst of TV journalism
Basant
Dua-e-Reem
Kisan Andolan : Ground Zero 2020-2021
Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s a full-house this week as Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar host all the other NL reporters.
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:51 - Punjab and Gujarat coverage
00:10:31 - Rajasthan’s Caste violence
00:18:09 - Smriti Irani and Disha Salian reports
00:31:17 - Pawan Jaiswal’s death
00:35:37 - Caste based garveyards
00:47:26 - Wire vs Meta
00:53:08 - Kerala Protests
00:59:38 - Swaraj Show and NDTV debacle
01:10:26 - Yogi who has it all
01:17:03 - ICHR
Akanksha
The 2000s
The Crown
Does Secularism Have A Place In Ritualistic India?
Shiv
The Great Indian Fraud
Prateek
Khakee
Aditi
Qala
Top Gun: MAverick
Glass Onion
Alen
Ariyippu
Anmol
Monalisa Hans Rahi Thi
Tanishka
Good Bones
Our Last Week
Ashwine
Doctor G
Qala
Ayush
Bilqis
Understanding Caste
Basant
Doctor G
Qala
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Alenjith K Johny and Prajwal Bhat from The News Minute.
The conversation begins with Prajwal’s investigative report on the theft of voter data by an NGO that was tasked with raising awareness about voter rights in Bengaluru. “They were asking for ID proofs and marital status. Moreover, they were mapping out constantly, marking out areas covered by the polling booths in incredible detail,” says Prajwal, talking about the joint investigation by six journalists from TNM and Kannada outlet Pratidvani.
Alenjith chips in, pointing to the failure of the Congress in raising this issue as the primary opposition party in BJP-governed Karnataka.
The discussion moves to Alenjith’s report on a series of fatal accidents on Rohtak road near Peeragarhi in Delhi. “They are blaming the poor citizens for living there and not considering the irresponsible behaviour of the government at this point,” he says while talking about the response of local officials.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:26 - Voter data theft
00:22:23 - Rohtak’s road accidents
00:34:24 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prajwal
She Said
Alen
Delhi: A Soliloquy
Akanksha
The Navy Accused Him of Arson. Its Own Investigation Showed Widespread Safety Failures.
Guns, Jutts, Glory
Switch your phone off for a dayProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, edited by Umrav Singh.
Watch the conversation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It is an all-Newslaundry panel this week as Basant Kumar is joined by Ashwine Kumar Singh and Akanksha Kumar.
Ashwin talks about his story on layoffs in the news industry, specifically at Zee Media, and the reasons for it. He points to the role of India's weak labour laws and Big Tech in rendering media jobs precarious.
The discussion then moves to Akanksha's story about a missing DDA official. Akansha explains the chronology of events and the still unresolved mysteries. "Puzzles are solving but not forming a clear picture," she says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:04:44 - Media layoffs
00:09:25 - Missing DDA Worker
00:26:50 - Media layoffs
00:43:19 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Akanksha
India: A day at Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
The Bharat Jodo Yatra allows Rahul to be himself
Bharat Jodo Yatra: History In The Making
Saurabh Kirpal on media trials and the government ‘sitting tight’ on his HC elevation | NL Interview
Ashwine
Today’s Truth
Khakee: The Bihar Chapter
Basant
KISAN ANDOLAN : GROUND ZERO
Produced by Madhu Kumar, recorded by Anil Kumar, edited by Tehreem Roshan and Parikshit Sanyal.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Ayush Tiwari is joined by Basant Kumar and Akanksha Kumar.
The conversation begins with the Gujarat poll results as Basant recalls his observations in Gujarat, including his visits to villages which have declared themselves a part of “Hindu Rashtra”.
The discussion moves to the MCD election as Akanksha dissects the mandate and how voting preferences differed according to voters’ age and socio-economic status. They also talk about the unprecedented attention to the civic polls in Delhi, and whether it’s a dry run for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:17 - Gujarat wrap
00:24:28 - Delhi MCD Elections
00:40:54 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Akanksha
An Ordinary Man's Guide to Radicalism
Killing Eve
Basant
Today’s Truth: The submission of India Today Group
Diu
Ayush
Today’s Truth: The submission of India Today Group
The Intellectual Foundations of HindutvaProduced by Parikshit Sanyal, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Tehreem Roshan and Hasan Bilal.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Akanksha Kumar is joined by Prateek Goyal and Anmol Pritam.
The conversation begins with Prateek’s report on hundreds of undertrial prisoners who are languishing in Maharashtra’s prisons despite bail. Many don’t have the money or social connections to fulfil bail conditions. They talk about how there is a lack of data even though the government has issued directions to find a way to expedite bail for such prisoners.
The discussion moves to the MCD election campaign as Anmol and Akanksha share anecdotes from the ground. They discuss how a civic poll has turned into a high-stakes battle for both the BJP and the AAP.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:57 - Jail despite bail
00:18:37 - MCD Election
00:36:51 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Akanksha KumarNo Country For Women - Rape And Its Many Dimensions
2022 gujarat elections
Prateek Goyal
Shivaji: India' Great Warrior King
Anmol Pritam
जूठन
Produced by Parikshit Sanyal, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Chanchal Gupta.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Akanksha Kumar is joined by Basant Kumar and Ayush Tiwari.
Basant kicks off the podcast by talking about the ongoing election season in Gujarat, the ground realities of the Gujarat model, unemployment, Narendra Modi’s image, and unkept promises such as those surrounding the sugar mill in Kodinar. He explains how the closing down of one mill has compelled farmers to grow less profitable crops as compared to sugarcane.
Ayush then details how the Yogi Adityanath government gave Republic TV a plot in Noida for a new studio, and how this land was leased during the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, on a day Arnab Goswami interviewed the chief minister in Ayodhya. He says the deal is not illegal but raises questions.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Watch the conversation here
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:59 - Gujarat Elections
00:16:37 - Basant’s Recommendation
00:17:33 - Republic TV land deal
00:28:29 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Akanksha Kumar
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
‘स्वराज’ सीरियल: न देखने वाले, न खरीदने वाले फिर भी पानी की तरह बह रहा करोड़ों रुपया
Ayush Tiwari
Chasing Bollywood dreams: How Noida’s Film City became a media hub
Reports on Twitter by Casey Newton
Basant Kumar
Exclusive: Yogi government gives Republic TV Noida plot for new studio
‘स्वराज’ सीरियल: न देखने वाले, न खरीदने वाले फिर भी पानी की तरह बह रहा करोड़ों रुपया
Fund our Election Coverage
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Ayush Tiwari is joined by Tanishka Sodhi and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
The conversation begins with Shiv’s report on stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana as he details how the latter is performing better in tackling the problem. “If you ask officials from either states, they will obviously say they are strict about it, but it’s what we witnessed on ground with the farmers,” says Shiv about what he noticed in Haryana.
They then discuss Tanishka’s analysis of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra. “This may have a long term effect on the party, Rahul Gandhi’s image and the energising of the party workers,” she says, adding that her perception of the yatra changed when she spoke to participants.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:09:39 - Stubble Burning
00:30:35 - Bharat Jodo Yatra
00:50:20 - Recommendations
Recommendations
TanishkaNL Interview with Supriya SuleShivnarayan
Hardik Patel: “मैं Hindu हूं इसलिए मुझे Love Jihad पर बात करनी चाहिए”Ayush
JP Nadda vs Anurag Thakur: How high command hostility stoked a BJP rebellion in HimachalProduced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Rajnish Kumar of BBC Hindi and Hindustan journalist Akhilesh Singh.
Akhilesh talks about Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren being summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to alleged illegal mining. He also tells the panel about the raid on Congress MLAs and how one of the cars had a BJP sticker on them.
The conversation moves to Gujarat elections as Rajnish sheds light on how the Aam Aadmi Party is trying to make inroads with its promises of free water and electricity in the state. They also discuss whether a BJP ticket to Hardik Patel can influence a section of voters.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:01 - Gujarat Elections
00:03:21 - Jharkhand CM Summoned by ED
00:08:28 - Gujarat Elections
00:24:56 - ED Raids on Jharkhand Congress MLAs
00:42:34 - Recommendations
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Ashwine Kumar Singh of Newslaundry and freelance journalist Vidheesha Kuntamalla.
Vidheesha talks about her report on how the Andhra Pradesh government is collecting sensitive data from citizens, including income and Aadhaar details and asset ownership, and how it is an exercise in profiling citizens and invading their privacy.
Ashwine sheds light on the searches conducted by the police at the Wire’s office as well as residences of their staff in Mumbai and Delhi, following the retraction of their reports on Meta and the complaint filed by Amit Malviya. He further explains how the hash value of the seized equipment wasn’t shared and why the police haven’t registered an FIR against Devesh Kumar, the researcher named by the Wire in its complaint.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:05 - Andhra Pradesh government collecting sensitive data from citizens
00:14:06 - Raids at the Wire
00:37:08 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Vidheesha
Inventing Anna
The Bear
Ashwine
“देख रहा है बिनोद”: Panchayat से कल्ट-कथा बनने की दास्तान | NL Interview
‘Bareilly Ki Barfi
Akanksha
Snowden
One Mississipi
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by freelance journalists Neeraj Priyadarshy and Prashant Pandey.
The conversation begins with Prashant’s report as he details the flood situation in 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh. "For many years, these people won't be able to forget the pain of their destroyed homes,” says Prashant, adding that villages near the Ghagra and Sharda rivers witness such scale of damage every year.
Neeraj then briefs the panel on his report about the drought-hit districts of Bihar and the difference between the IMD and state agriculture department weather reports. Neeraj tells Basant that skewed data compounds a problem that’s already politicised.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:58 - UP floods
00:09:02 - Bihar drought
00:51:40 - Recommendations
Recommendations
NeerajPratinidhi kavitayen : Gopal Singh NepaliPrashant
Rag DarbariShort Stories by Munshi PremchandBasant
तीसरी फसलProduced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry reporters Ashwine Kumar Singh and Aditi Agarwal.
Aditi discusses her report on the Wire versus Meta feud and explains what it was all about, what was at stake and went wrong for the Indian news website. Speaking about her experience reporting this story, Aditi says, “It’s very difficult as a tech reporter to come up with stories as major tech giants are international. And, if something like this happens, It gets harder for people from outside to believe us in giving further statements.”
They also talk about Ashwine’s report on the alleged role of TV news channel India Ahead and Telugu daily Andhra Prabha in the "Delhi liquor policy scam".
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:04:05 - Meta vs Wire
00:36:32 - India Ahead and Delhi liquor scam
00:55:50 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Aditi
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Ashwine
Skandal
NL Interview: Sudha Bharadwaj on trade union activism and why Chhattisgarh will always be homeAyush
What’s the Wire vs Meta fight all about?Expert take: Why was the Wire compelled to pull down its Meta stories?The Wire will ‘suspend’ its Meta stories until it carries out ‘thorough internal review’: Siddharth VaradarajanProduced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Pratyush Deep from Newslaundry and Kritika Goel, deputy editor at the Quint where she leads a fact-checking initiative.
Kritika explains her report on how #BoycottBollywood hashtags are closely linked to Facebook pages that were once part of the #JusticeforSSR campaign. “It’s very evident from the kind of activity we see online, the kind of activity we see on their pages, that they do subscribe to the right-wing ideology,” she says.
Pratyush then details his report on how nearly 200 children in a Delhi village were out of school, until a government official stepped in. He also talks about similar issues in remote areas.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:48 - Boycott Bollywood factcheck
00:21:14 - Delhi children struggle for school
00:32:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Kritika
Tehran
Pratyush
If BJP’s Amit Malviya reports your post, Instagram will take it down - No questions asked
Akanksha
Colors of the Cage: A Prison Memoir
The Booming 'Boycott Bollywood' Trend: Who Are the Players Behind It?Inside the online cult of #JusticeforSSRProduced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar. Akanksha discusses her report about two Muslim men in Uttar Pradesh who were arrested last year and accused of having links with Al Qaeda. “The only evidence in this case is digital and it is normal messages and calls,” she says.She also discusses her report about a Dainik Jagran journalist who was allegedly assaulted for reporting on the functioning of Lakhimpur Kheri municipal corporation chairperson Nirupama Bajpai and her husband. Basant talks about his report on Pulkit Arya, who is accused of killing 19-year-old hotel receptionist Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand. Basant details Pulkit’s life and history. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in.
Contribute to our ongoing NL Sena project, The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:50 - UP men accused of terrorism links
00:31:55 - Assault on Dainik Jagran journalist
00:35:53 - Pulkit Arya’s profile
00:47:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Akanksha
The Windrush Betrayal: Exposing the Hostile EnvironmentDelhi Crimeपढ़ाई में फिसड्डी रहे पुलकित आर्य के सर चढ़कर बोलता था सत्ता का नशा
Basant
दिल्ली सरकार का कहना है कि राज्य में एक भी हाथ से मैला ढोने वाला व्यक्ति नहीं है, फिर कैसे मर गए लोग?The Media Rumble
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Chanchal Gupta.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry reporters Pratyush Deep and Prateek Goyal.
Pratyush talks about his report on Delhi’s efforts to eradicate manual scavenging, and how its claim that it has “no manual scavengers” isn’t quite true. “The situation on the ground is different,” he explains. Prateek then discusses the world of illegal loan apps in India, and how those offering these “quick” loans use violent, illegal methods to get their money back.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our ongoing NL Sena project, The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:28 - Loan apps
00:13:00 - Manual scavenging
00:47:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prateek
Anatomy of a Scandal
Pratyush
Spy Stories
Ayush
The Vinoo Mankad Appreciation Society
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Chanchal Gupta.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Host Basant Kumar is joined by freelance journalists Anand Dutta and Umesh K Ray.
They talk about Anand’s report for BBC on loan sharks in Jharkhand, including how one pregnant woman was run over by a cartel of debt collectors. Anand explains how poverty is rising in the state and how people who took out loans before the pandemic are now trapped in huge debts.
Umesh talks about his story about the persecution, even murder, of RTI activists in Bihar. “Bihar was the model state in the days soon after the Right to Information Act passed,” he writes in the story, titled “Pending”. “Then began the slow slide into intimidation, chaos, silence – and much worse.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our ongoing NL Sena project, The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:17 - Jharkhand’s loan sharks
00:23:10 - Persecution of RTI activists in Bihar
00:41:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Umesh
Teesri Fasal
Anand
India Today Hindi
Basant
RTI Kaise Aayee
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry reporters Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar.
They discuss Ayush’s report on billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s investment in TV news channel News Nation. “Only reason people know about it is because at one point Deepak Chaurasia was a primetime anchor on the channel and all he used to do was spread fake news and hate,” Ayush says of the channel. “Out of all the media houses, why News Nation? This is the biggest question and we are still looking for answers.”
Basant talks about his report on TV news channels spinning tales about a video from Siwan, Bihar, which shows a young man raising awareness about bootlegging. The young man was arrested after ABP, Prabhat Khabar and News18 falsely accused him of selling alcohol.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our ongoing NL Sena project The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:13 - Ambani’s investment in News Nation
00:23:00 - False media reports lead to Bihar youth’s arrest
00:33:52 - Recommendations
Recommendations
AyushThe Big Five: The Media Companies That the Modi Government Must Scrutinise To Fulfill its Promise of Ending Crony CapitalismBasantKachchh KathaKachchh Katha: ‘कच्छ को दिखाकर Gujarat को चमकाया गया, लेकिन वहां के लोगों को क्या मिला’|NL InterviewNidhi
The Story of a New Name
Siddique Kappan ChargesheetSiddique Kappan
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an inhouse panel as host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Nidhi Suresh and Prateek Goyal.
They discuss Nidhi’s story on Siddique Kappan’s bail hearing and the Uttar Pradesh government’s affidavit arguing why he should stay in jail. “They have basically taken pamphlets found with Kappan during his arrest as the base for all this which are as normal as any other pamphlets you will find if you know what protests are about,” says Nidhi.
Prateek talks about his report revealing that Delhi's lieutenant governor Vinai Saxena’s daughter was brought in to design the First Khadi India Lounge facility when he was chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission between 2015 and 2022. “She said it was all on pro bono basis,” Prateek says, referring to Vinai’s daughter Shivangi Saxena, “but the matter goes deep.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:53 - Siddiqui Kappan’s bail hearing
00:10:30 - Delhi LG’s ‘favour’ for daughter
00:38:50 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Prateek
Thirty years later, how a son helped nab his mother’s rapistsNidhi
Siddique Kappan ChargesheetThe Victim Who Became the AccusedAyush
Red DustProduced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Basant Kumar is joined by Nidhi Suresh and Ayush Tiwari.
They discuss Ayush’s report on the Adani group’s takeover of NDTV. Talking about the 2009 loan agreement between NDTV and Reliance-linked Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited that paved the way for the Adani takeover, Ayush says, “It was kind of silly for NDTV to assume that such a big loan with no interest will not lead them here at one point…The interesting bit is how Adani came into all of it while everyone had eyes on Ambani. This will still be a very crucial part of the whole plan to explore.”
They also talk about Nidhi’s report on how a son helped the police arrest his mother’s rapists 30 years later. “Yes, it feels like a story straight out of a movie, but with all that, we fail to realise that if society wouldn’t have been so cruel to the victim, she might have gotten the deserved justice then,” Nidhi says.
The panel also discussed Nidhi’s interview with journalist Siddique Kappan’s wife and the family’s struggles while he remains incarcerated.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:32 - Adani’s takeover of NDTV
00:26:42 - Son helps nab mother’s rapists after 30 years
00:44:14 - Interview with Siddiqui Kappan’s wife
00:47:55 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
Public Secrets of Law: Rape Trials in India
Kya Hua Jo Laaree Chhuti
Ayush
In the Light of What We Know
O Meri Laila
Basant
The Yogi Who Has It All
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Nidhi Suresh is joined by Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Pratyush Deep.
They discuss Shiv’s report on Delhi’s new excise policy and allegations of irregularities against deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. “The problem with the policy lies where the government should have held consultation with all stakeholders, but it didn’t,” Shiv says.
The conversation shifts to Pratyush’s report on the plight of Rohingya refugees in light of union minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s U-turn on an announcement that triggered speculation about government housing for the community. Speaking about how children from the community are affected, Pratyush says, “It’s a dream for them to be taught in a school but with no shelter and security, It might just be a dream.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:51- Delhi’s new excise policy
00:28:08 - Rohingya refugee crisis
00:45:40 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
The IT Crowd
Pratyush
Malayankunju
Nidhi
Lots Of Speeches, But No Action In Cases Of National Importance: The Legacy of Chief Justice RamanaCJI Ramana’s Supreme Court inherited crucial cases. How has it dealt with them?Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar.
They discuss Basant’s first report in the NL Sena series on yoga guru and business tycoon Ramdev. Basant speaks about Ramdev’s background and the allegations of nepotism and exploitation against him and his family. “People from his own family and town resent him but there are some people who are still proud of him for how far he has come,” Basant says.
They also discuss Nidhi’s report on how the Adityanath government has backtracked on its promise of a job and a house to the family of the Hathras rape victim. “There is no explanation from the government’s end. It’s like they never said it,” Nidhi says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:57- Ramdev’s life and times
00:29:40 - Yogi’s promises to family of Hathras rape victim
00:48:39 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
'The “E-Pimps” of OnlyFans'
Basant
Bihar Ke Mere Pachchis VarshAyush
James Baldwin vs William F Buckley: A legendary debate from 1965Baldwin vs. Buckley Cambridge Debate
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
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Basant Kumar is joined for this episode by fellow Newslaundry reporter Prateek Goyal.
They discuss the NL Sena series by Prateek and Ashwine Kumar Singh about Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s “bulldozer campaign”, and who it’s targeting. “The government says that they are fighting the mafia by bulldozing their houses but if you look closely that isn’t the case,” Prateek says. “It’s an excuse to target the minority community and weaker sections of the society.”
They also talk about Basant’s report on the Delhi government’s student loan scheme and how it has done poorly. Basant explains how the Arvind Kejriwal government has spent vastly more money advertising this scheme than it has given the beneficiaries.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:26 - Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s bulldozer politics
00:29:16 - AAP government’s student loan scheme
00:36:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
PrateekIndian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi
Basant
Darlings
Bulldozing a New Image in MP
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry reporter Tanishka Sodhi and writer and journalist Aishwarya Subramanyam.
Aishwarya discusses her interview with actor Ranveer Singh on the set of his now-controversial nude photoshoot. Speaking about how interviewing styles have evolved, Aishwarya says, “Back in the day there was a process of observing the person for days before writing about them, now it’s all public relations and you hardly get a few minutes. I wanted to observe, talk and write to know a little more than what we have already seen so I sat down for his shoot.”
Tanishka talks about her report assessing media baron Subhash Chandra’s Rajya Sabha term, which ended early this month. “It was interesting to see him as a parliamentarian rather than a media person,” she says of the founder of Zee media empire, “and talk about some common issues in a different capacity.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our NL Sena projects, Bulldozing a New Image in MP and The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:50 - Ranveer Singh in nude
00:27:05 - Subhash Chandra as MP
00:42:39 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Aishwarya
Marry MeTanishka
From print to primetime: The making of Navika Kumar
Sweet Bobby
Nidhi
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh and Chanchal Gupta.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Nidhi discusses her report on the Delhi police allegedly assaulting transgender people from a shelter home in Sitapuri. They had gone to a local police station after the police, some apparently from across the border in Uttar Pradesh, had taken away a trans man from the shelter against his wishes.
Shivnarayan talks about his report on the scrutiny the Delhi Gymkhana Club is currently facing by the government for allegedly violating norms to fast-track membership. “The club has a waiting period of 30 years, so you can understand the exclusivity,” Shivnarayan says. He explains why some members are anxious about what the scrutiny would entail for their membership.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:05 - Sitapuri assault case
00:28:50 - Delhi Gymkhana Club
00:44:10 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
Frances Ha is All Grown UpFrances Ha
Shivnarayan
NL Interview with Zubair: ‘They said India is so poor, why would anyone donate to you for fact-checking?’
Ayush
Nehru and the Spirit of India
Book Excerpt: What Nehru's Stance on Muslims Returning from Pakistan Tells Us
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh and Tehreem Roshan.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Pratyush Deep.
Pratyush discusses his report from Assam, where a student was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly backing banned separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom on social media. “The one line which led her to jail was apparently read by the police in the sense that she wanted to join ULFA at some point,” Pratyush says. He also discusses ULFA and notes much of the legacy media's apathy towards such stories.
The discussion then shifts to Tanishka’s report on Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair’s bail hearing, and what transpired in the Supreme Court.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:50 - Assam students arrest
00:14:10 - Mohammed Zubair’s bail
00:32:41 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka And Vernon’s letters to his sonPratyush
Land of Jade: A Journey from India through Northern Burma to ChinaNidhi
Out of Cash and Out of Fuel Sri Lanka Runs on Patience
Yo-Yo Ma - Bach: Cello Suite No. 1
Produced, recorded and edited by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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Basant Kumar and Ashwine Kumar Singh of Newslaundry are joined by freelance journalist Anand Dutta in this episode. They discuss Anand’s BBC report on how a school in Jharkhand’s Korwadih village became the subject of fake news. Headlines suggested that Muslims in the area had pressured the school to change its manner of praying. Anand said the principal of the school denied the claim. “The news that went out was fake and was written with the writer’s own perception of the situation and not facts,” Anand says.
Anand also discusses his video report on how an athlete, Supriti Kashyap, from Jharkhand was close to missing a competition in Columbia because she didn’t have proper running shoes. Anand’s report helped her get help from not just civil society organisations, but the state government as well.
They also discuss Ashwine’s story on a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report claiming that the Aam Aadmi Party government has spent only five percent of the money it received for the welfare of the labour community.
“It shows the lack of transparency and responsibility from the Aam Aadmi Party, even though they know about the degrading situation of the labour force,” Ashwine says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:50 - Fake news on Jharkhand school
00:26:10 - Athlete Supriti Kashyap’s struggle
00:34:15 - AAP government’s expenditure on labour community
00:48:52 - Recommendations
Anand
Indian Comrade : A.K.Roy "Hero of Ground Politics"
Ashwine
गुजरात के गंगाभाई ने पांच कुएं खोदकर पानी निकाल दिया
भारतीय न्यायपालिका : न्यायिक विवेक पर हावी जातिवादी पूर्वाग्रह?Basant
For ‘influence in govt’, Uber pitched tie-ups to Centre & states – most remain on paperHow local reporters, state government thwarted Delhi media’s efforts to peddle #FloodJihadProduced, recorded and edited by Tehreem Roshan.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Ashwine Kumar Singh.
They talk about Ashwine’s story on Sudhir Chaudhary and what led to his resignation from Zee News. “Subhash Chandra’s biggest issue with Sudhir was that he got bigger than the channel and that bothered Chandra to an extent that he asked Sudhir to host his own show alternate days a week,” says Ashwine.
Ashwine also discusses his report on the money spent by the Punjab government on their campaign advertisements in the last two months. “There have been times when the AAP government in Punjab has spent more on the ads of the event than on the event itself,” he says.
They also discuss Nidhi’s report on how cofounder Mohammed Zubair’s arrest has affected those working in the Alt News newsroom. “The absence of the person who everyday goes through social media and websites to identify fake news and then assign projects to his colleagues can affect the environment majorly, but Alt News is still trying to stand strong,” Nidhi says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our NL Sena projects, Bulldozing a New Image in MP and The Yogi Who Has it All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:28 - Sudhir Chaudhary’s resignation from Zee News
00:08:12 - Mohammed Zubair’s case
00:23:20 - Punjab government’s ad spend
00:54:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
Something Amiss In Zubair Case; Worrying That Many Judges Are Scared To Grant Bail : Justice Deepak Gupta
Ashwine
‘I support Nupur Sharma’ — how a single WhatsApp forward ‘led to Amravati chemist’s murder’
Basant
India Today: Literature segment
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash and Umrav Singh.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Prateek Goyal.
They discuss Prateek’s report on the political crisis in Maharashtra which culminated in the fall of Uddhav Thackeray's coalition government and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde's installation as the chief minister.
Prateek traces Shinde’s rise from a corporator to MLA and now chief minister. “Shinde has a very strong hold in the party politics even though he was never in the limelight,” he notes.
They then talk about Tanishka’s report on Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana and how it has stayed relevant even after 35 years. Tanishka takes a dive into the reports and workings of the newspaper, noting that “Saamana is a part of the city and not just a paper, it has a character of its own''.
“If you read a piece which is not related to politics from the paper, you can’t tell that its coming from a mouthpiece so I guess balance is the key,” Tanishka adds.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:00 - Political turmoil in Maharashtra
00:26:00 - Saamana
00:42:50 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Tanishka
Millions Of Children Will Soon Need Aadhaar IDs To Access Their Right To A Nutritious Meal
Prateek
Hindu Hriday Samrat
Ayush
Winter has come: The arrest of Teesta Setalvad
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Parikshit Sanyal.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
They discuss two reports by Shiv, including a profile of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and how her remarks against prophet Muhammad on a Times Now debate triggered her downfall. “You have freedom of speech but it isn’t absolute so you can’t say anything and get away with it,” Shiv says, adding that Nupur has seen a “sudden rise and fall in a very short time”. He speaks about her academic record and political career.
The second report was on a viral video showing prominent TV news anchors walking out of a POCSO court. The case is linked to a 2013 broadcast containing inappropriate visuals of a minor. They talk about the updates in the case as the trial goes on.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Contribute to our NL Sena projects – bulldozing a new image in MP and the yogi who has it all.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:40 - Nupur Sharma
00:17:30 - Journalists at POSCO court
00:32:00 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
Trailer Park Boys
Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled
Nidhi
Why the Gulf matters for India
The Broken News Sacrifices Engagement At The Altar of Lurid Entertainment
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Ashwine Kumar Singh and freelance journalist Umesh Kumar Ray.
They talk about Umesh’s story on liquor trade in Bihar where alcohol is prohibited. “The liquor prohibition act has left manufacturers helpless," says Umesh, pointing to those who are forced to manufacture and sell booze due to lack of employment. “The government has not compensated anyone despite its promise," he says, adding that “villagers haven't been able to reap the benefits of any government welfare scheme”.
They also discuss Ashwine Kumar Singh's report on the ED investigation against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress’s protests. The Congress says that “the investigation is taking place now to distract people from other issues, including inflation, unemployment and rising communal tensions," says Ashwin.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our NL Sena projects – bulldozing a new image in MP and the yogi who has it all.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:41 - Umesh Kumar’s report
00:32:34 - Ashwine’s Report
00:52:19 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Umesh
Mofussil Junction: Indian Encounters 1977-2012
Ashwine
Love, Death & Robots
‘It Could Happen To Any Muslim Family’: A Student Activist On Her Father’s Arrest & Demolition Of Her Home
Basant
The Warrior Queen: Kangana Ranaut’s role in the BJP’s battle for Bollywood
Main Pakistan Mein Bharat Ka Jasoos Tha
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh.
Nidhi talks about her reports on Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s death. Apart from his contributions to music, the singer had also set up cancer camps at his native village Moosa, which has been ravaged by the disease. On his identity and music, Nidhi says, “His music seems to have a very different personality.”
The conversation then shifts to Nidhi’s profile on Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan. Given AAP’s change in outlook towards the Muslim community, the perception of Khan has changed too. “There was a time when he was in politics when they didn't see him as a politician but as someone from their community, so they do feel a distance,” Nidhi says, referring to Khan’s supporters.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our NL Sena projects Bulldozing a New Image in MP and The Yogi Who Has It All.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:15 - Sidhu Moosewala
00:30:48 - Amanatullah Khan
00:49:13 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Nidhi
Nupur Sharma hate speech row: Beware of half victories
The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Verdict Is Chilling
Ayush
An Ordinary Man's Guide to Radicalism
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.
Shivnarayan talks about his experience attending an event organised by the RSS, where the highlight was a conclave on the state of the media, with awards handed out to a series of journalists.
“You expect some good discussions on press freedom, while India is sliding down the press freedom index, but there was no discussion as such,” says Shivnarayan of the 11-hour event. “...These awards show that there are rewards also if you speak in favour of the government.”
He also explains his report on three journalists allegedly attacked in Rajasthan – their arms and legs fractured after they reported on a “land grab”. Considering the spike in attacks on media personnel, he says, “It will be very difficult to convince the masses that we are journalists and we are for public interest.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:30 - RSS awards
00:05:35- Rajasthan journalists assaulted
00:22:17 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Shivnarayan
Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India
Akanksha
The Trial of the Chicago 7
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Aishwarya Iyer of Scroll who talks about her series on the Hindutva campaign around the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
In her series, Aishwarya talks about the five Hindu women whose petitions demanding permission to pray at the mosque have propelled the campaign. She examines their links with a former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sohan Lal Arya who had filed a similar plea in 1995. “One common point for these women was their desire to attend prayers together in the premises,” Aishwarya says, “Their petition did not have anything regarding the Shivling but now it has motivated them to go deeper into the case.”
Nidhi and Aishwarya also discuss the sociocultural fallout of the communal campaign against Gyanvapi. “Only a person born and brought up in Varanasi can understand the loss of its beautiful culture,” Aishwarya argues while explaining how the targeting of the mosque has caused unease among the city’s Muslims.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:36 - Gyanvapi mosque
00:17:10 - Sociocultural fallout
00:43:25 - Recommendations
Recommendations
Aishwarya
Lovesick
Tour of Duty model could add to majoritarian violence and affect army efficiency
Nidhi
The Worst Person in the World
Educated
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and freelance journalist Vishnu Narayan.
Tanishka talks about her recent report on the death of rural journalist Pawan Jaiswal and how he struggled to pay for his cancer treatment. Noting that his death underlines grave problems with the journalism industry, she says, “Pawan was considered a star reporter but he was earning barely enough to survive. We cannot point fingers at others when we ourselves don’t see a fellow journalist’s plight.”
Vishnu discusses his report on the viral video of a young child named Sonu and his encounter with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Sonu asks Nitish to fund his education as his father is an alcoholic, which is quite ironic given that a ban on liquor is one of Nitish’s pet policies.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
Tune in.
Contribute to our NL Sena projects Bulldozing a New Image in MP and The Yogi Who Has It All
Recommendations
Tanishka
First responder: Meet towaway truck driver who saved many workers from Mundka fire
Vishnu
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
Basant
Deadly Force
Timecodes
00:00 - Introduction
01:07 - Pawan Jaiswal's death
20:55 - CM encounter by Bihar Kid
47:00 - Recommendations
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by journalist Cris from the News Minute.
Nidhi and Cris talk about Malayalam actor Dileep being accused of sexual assault, how the case has unfolded, and how it turned into a massive movement within the Malayalam film industry.
Cris, who has tracked the case since 2017, says, “Dileep is not just an actor but plays a much bigger role in the industry. So, even if this was such a sensitive case, he still had backing from within the industry. The idea of power is very clear.”
They also discuss rape charges against actor Vijay Babu, the work done by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, the Justice Hema Commission report, and News Minute’s report on how there’s a “Weinstein-scale #MeToo movement in India”.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:30 - Case against Dileep, state of Malayalam film industry
00:36:18- Recommendations
NL Sena projects: Bulldozing a New Image in MP and The Yogi Who Has It All
Recommendations
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Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Nidhi
Educated: A Memoir
Why did Kerala HC dismiss Dileep’s plea to quash conspiracy case?
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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Timecodes
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Disha Salian’s media trial
21:00 - Nepotism in IIMC recruitments
35:26 - Recommendations
This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Prateek Goel.
Prateek begins by talking about his story on Disha Salian’s media trial, an incident that showed Indian news channels at their unethical worst, and maligned and devastated a family grappling with the loss of their daughter.
Basant then talks about his report on how the professors recently recruited by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication allegedly have links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Violence and the Burden of Memory: Remembrance and Erasure in Sinhala Consciousness
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Inventing Anna
Demolition, Bulldozer, Law & Empathy
Basant
Aadhi sadi baad bhi aadhi-adhuri
Tippani Ep 103
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Timecodes
00:00 - Introduction
01:22 - Sri Lanka crisis
28:23 - Jahangirpuri violence
50:37 - Recommendations
This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar and Dainik Bhaskar special correspondent Poonam Kaushal.
Poonam was in Sri Lanka reporting on the economic crisis. “I understood the real situation there,” she said. “People didn’t even have enough food for one meal. The basic needs are not fulfilled.”
Basant asks if a change in government might help. “People want change,” Poonam says. “They are saying, ‘We don’t want this government. We don’t want the Rajapaksa family. We want to get rid of them.’”
Akanksha then talks about her report on the Jahangirpuri violence. She had focused on the story of 40-year-old Ansar, the main accused, whose wife had told Akanksha her husband was home when the violence began. Akanksha explains how Ansar is described in different ways by different people – as a good samaritan, a criminal, and a riot “mastermind”.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Laasya Shekhar.
Laasya talks about her report on the violence in Jahangirpuri and how, when she visited the area a day later, the fear on the ground was palpable. “People were afraid and also a bit hesitant to trust me because of the language barrier,” she says on her experience.
Tanishka talks about her story on the Gurugram namaz row, a follow-up to the events of October last year. She says she wanted to revisit the spot to see if anything had changed. “There are people who have stopped going out for Jumma namaz due to fear,” she says. “I have understood the privilege of a bindi or just a name after all this.”
The panel also talks about their experiences in reporting on violence, and how it has helped in shaping their mindsets.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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The thing around your neck
Tanishka
Making headlines: A news site in J&K is putting out daily bulletins in lesser-known languages
Nidhi
Iram Siddique articles
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Laasya Shekhar and the Wire's Saahil Murli Manghani.
Saahil discusses his investigative report about the campaign against Urdu through the Haldiram’s controversy on Sudarshan News, and the products sold by the company abroad. “Even if you want to spew hate, I think Sudarshan News did not do their research properly,” he says.
The panel goes on to discuss Laasya’s report on the JNU violence, where six students were injured as members of Left groups and the RSS students’ outfit ABVP clashed on the day of Ram Navami.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Recommendations
Akanksha
Are caste colonies furthering the divide in Rajasthan?
Truth behind Dalit man’s murder ‘over moustache’ and a village bitterly divided in Rajasthan
Operation Finale
Sahil
Watch | Sudarshan TV 'Hates' Urdu, Arabic. But Here's What the Company, Its Advertisers Are Doing
Laasya
The Last Kingdom
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivangi Saxena and Ashwine Kumar Singh.
Shivangi discusses her first person account of the sequence of events at the Hindu Mahapanchayat, where several journalists including herself, were manhandled. “No police personnel did anything to stop or arrest the mob who were beating the journalists,” she says.
The panel goes on to discuss Ashwine’s report on Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia, where journalists were allegedly arrested for publishing news about the class 12 English paper leak. They also discuss Ashwine’s other report on Delhi’s meat shop ban during the Navratri festivities.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Shivangi
Nightcrawler
Ashwine
Badhaai Do
Intertwined Lives: P.N. Haksar and Indira Gandhi
Basant
1984
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Laasya Shekhar and Tanishka Sodhi.
Tanishka talks about her detailed report on why Umar Khalid’s bail plea was dismissed after eight months of hearings. “The attention to this case has reduced, even though it’s considered a special case under UAPA,” she says of the media’s dwindling interest.
The panel then discusses Laasya’s report on non-Brahmin priests appointed to Tamil Nadu’s temples, and how they are being sidelined and harassed because of their caste.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Recommendations
Laasya
Outlander
Kalatheetha Vyaktulu
Tanishka
'Why? Why? Why?' Ukraine's Mariupol descends into despair
Nidhi
‘I Don’t Have the Right to Cry’: Ukrainian Women Share Their Stories of Escape
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by journalists Kumar Sambhav and Shreegireesh Jalihal from the Reporters’ Collective.
They discuss Sambhav and Shreegireesh’s four-part series, along with journalist Nayantara Ranganathan, for Al Jazeera on how Facebook allowed “surrogate advertisers to secretly fund BJP’s election campaigns”.
“The Election Commission needs to take into consideration these social media ads,” says Shreegireesh, “and not just print and mainstream.” They also explain how “ghost advertisers” hide behind pages posting content on social work and fundraising, but while actually advertising for political parties.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Sambhav
The Art Of Conjuring Alternate Realities
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Shreegireesh
Naruto
MUBI
Abbas Kiarostami
Kar-Wai Wong
Akanksha
Why I Left Being A Gangster
Madam Chief Minister
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry's Nidhi Suresh and the Quint’s Fatima Khan.
The panel looks back at their reportage on the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Fatima explains how the Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra “evidently put in effort” in Uttar Pradesh “while the rest of the party lacks touch from the ground”.
Nidhi takes listeners through her reports from Goa, including the role of the church in the election process, explaining that faith is a big part of politics in the state. “The church works very closely with the votes,” she says, “but it’s concealed very cleverly.”
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Recommendations
Fatima
Modern Family
Shark Tank India
Nidhi
Cissi Wallin and the Case That Killed #MeToo in Sweden
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Ayush
Amitava Kumar Finds the Breath of Life
Everyday Communalism
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Basant Kumar is joined by Ashwine Kumar and Prateek Goyal.
As the conversation starts with the assembly election results in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa, Basant asks Ashwin and Prateek if they found the mandate shocking. “For an individual party to tackle BJP, whether in UP or any state in India, is impossible as of now,” says Prateek. They wonder how the BJP won in Lakhimpur Kheri where four farmers were run over by a car allegedly driven by union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son.
Basant talks about Prateek’s report on the Prashasak Samiti and how it propagates misinformation and hateful propaganda online, at times to the benefit of the BJP.
Prateek asks Ashwin if there was any polarisation on ground in Punjab after the farm protests. They also discuss Bhagwant Mann’s victory, and how the BJP won in Goa.
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and Supriti David.
Tanishka talks about her report on the aftermath of the Delhi riots 2020, and how people are still living with trauma while waiting for compensation from the government. With the Covid lockdown following the riots, she says, the compensation was inadequate to help those affected rebuild their lives.
Supriti has been reporting on the plight of Indian students stranded in Ukraine, and how they’re struggling to return home. She explains the role of social media and how the students’ stories contradict the Indian government’s self-prase. “These students have no help within Ukraine,” she says. “They are having to risk their lives and find ways.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Recommendations
Ayush
Ukraine crisis: Black and Indian students allege discrimination for border
Tanishka
Hate speeches and Hindutva heroes: The making of a saffron shawl protester
Supriti
How Russia’s Nobel-Winning Newspaper Is Covering Ukraine
‘Disappointed’, embassy advisories ‘delayed’: Indian students stuck in Ukraine
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Umrav Singh.
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Ayush Tiwari and Akanksha Kumar.
They start by discussing Ayush’s report on youngsters being framed in UAPA cases in Punjab and shoddy police probes falling apart in court. “From 2009 till date, Punjab has seen 112 UAPA cases evoked on youngsters and conviction has happened in only three of them,” says Ayush, detailing the legal aspects of UAPA and how people in Punjab have become more careful about their social media use amid all this.
They then talk about Akanksha’s piece on the issue of women’s safety in Unnao – in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh – where the mother of a rape survivor has decided to contest elections in a bid to fight for the cause of justice for women. “She hopes to bring justice for her daughter by helping the others not meet the same fate,” says Akanksha, quoting Asha, the Congress candidate. She also mentions how politicians are talking about women’s safety in the state.
This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Recommendations
Ayush
Ranas vs Congress: Inside the party’s most damaging infighting in Punjab
Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines
Akanksha
Unnao: As BJP banks on ‘safety’, rape survivor’s mother fights for ‘justice for women’ on Cong ticket
Mirzapur: In Apna Dal (S) bastion, disquiet among Kurmis over jobs, caste census
Banking on BJP’s development, will UP’s deputy CM be able to wrest control of Sirathu?
Nidhi
Hijab row reaches Urdu school in Karnataka, students face classroom segregation
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Ashwine Kumar Singh and Tanishka Sodhi.
Ashwine, who is in Punjab covering the assembly election, talks about his report on unemployment in Doaba. He also explains how a large part of the state’s population moves abroad, while drug abuse has impacted a majority of the youth left behind.
Tanishka talks about her report on the anganwadi workers’ protest in Delhi, explaining that they’re demanding an increase in honorarium and to be recognised as government employees instead of volunteers. “They don’t mind doing the hard work,” she says, “but they want dignity in their work.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein
All of Us Are Dead
Tanishka
Assembly Elections 2022
Mirzapur: In Apna Dal (S) bastion, disquiet among Kurmis over jobs, caste census
Inventing Anna
Akanksha
Assembly Elections 2022
Mirzapur: In Apna Dal (S) bastion, disquiet among Kurmis over jobs, caste census
‘Politicians want us divided’: In Prayagraj, a wait for jobs amid poll promises
In spite of the Gods
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Shivangi Saxena.
Nidhi, who is reporting on the assembly election in Goa, talks about how Goans “vote for a personality, not a party”. Her report on women’s issues covered how Goa has more women voters than men but their representation in politics is still a problem. “There are 301 candidates [across] all the parties,” she says, “and only 27 women candidates.”
Shivangi, who is in Uttar Pradesh with Akanksha Kumar for the election, explains her report from Prayagraj. She talks about the state of unemployment, saying, “Students are so frustrated. Just saying we will roll out more government jobs or just bringing out application forms is no longer enough for them.”
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Written on the Body
Assembly Elections 2022
Shivangi
Seeing Like a Feminist
Basant
Mathura के Vikas Nagar में लोग तलाश रहे 'विकास' l UP Elections 2022
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Samrendra K Dash.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Nabeel Ahmed and Basant Kumar.
Basant, who is reporting from Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming assembly election, talks about his report from Mathura. A colony in Vikasnagar is refusing to vote, he says, since residents are dealing with multiple issues, from open sewage to crumbling roads. He explains the irony of a colony named “vikas” seeing no vikas, or development. Basant also talks about his other report from Jewar, which is getting a new airport, and how locals lost their farmland and homes.
Nabeel explains his report on political ads online. He defines “micro-targeting” on search engines as “subgrouping individuals in certain areas based on their leanings”. Companies use this data for targeted ads, he says, though it’s disallowed for political ads in particular.
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Nidhi Suresh is joined by Supriti David and Laasya Shekhar.
The discussion starts with Supriti’s report on the pandemic exacerbating issues within the health infrastructure. Looking at two major hospitals in Delhi, she details how the problems have stacked up for doctors with barely any steps taken to resolve them. “From an overworked environment to basic necessities like scrubs are now a tremendous crisis for them,” says Supriti, pointing out how these doctors are also dealing with mental health issues. “The harassment is severe.”
The conversation moves to Laasya’s report on the controversy surrounding hijab across Karnataka, in light of the continuing standoff at an educational institute in Udupi. “Girls who did wear the head scarves were thrown out of classrooms and mocked,” says Laasya while referring to the role of Hindutva outfits in such controversies within the state.
“Representing one’s religion is not about faith anymore but more about establishing a power dynamic,” comments Supriti.
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Karuku
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The Odd Woman and the City: A Memoir
Cheer
Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan; edited by Satish Kumar.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and freelance journalist Saurabh Sharma.
Ayush talks about his report on how the “Hindutva takeover” of the Indian Council of Historical Research is fuelled by nepotism. “The brothers, relatives, nephews related to Hindutva organisations are being hired on temporary jobs by ICHR,” he says. “And within weeks, they are promoted to posts like deputy manager. They are giving government jobs for free.”
The discussion moves to Saurabh’s Newsclick report on youths migrating out of Bundelkhand in search of jobs, and how this will influence voters in Uttar Pradesh. “Unemployment issue is too big to be avoided in the state,” he says. “There hasn’t been a single week without lathicharge...on people protesting regarding jobs in UP in the last one month.”
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Saurabh
Newsclick
The Hindu’s election coverage
Basant
One big family: The Hindutva takeover of ICHR is fuelled by nepotism
Ayush
Omprakash Rajbhar Interview में Saurabh Dwivedi से CM Yogi, Akhilesh Yadav, UP Election पर क्या बोले
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Prateek Goyal.
The conversation begins with this piece by Basant and Ashwine Kumar Singh on an Uttar Pradesh election show – Kya Bole UP – on Doordarshan which features BJP affiliates passed off as “common citizens”.
“The show has crossed the line of ethics and is presenting more of a campaign for the current government,” Basant says. “Doordarshan surely runs on taxpayer money but it serves the government, not the people, in the current scenario.”
Prateek takes the panel through his report on the “Bulli Bai” app, and what it reveals about “Trads” and “Raaytas” in the right-wing ecosystem. He also talks about how young people are drawn into the cycle of internet abuse: “They find it fun and amusing to troll and abuse people on the internet. But what they don’t see is the hate that has been embedded in them from an early age which leads them to such online crimes.”
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Plunder of the Aravallis
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उत्तर प्रदेश चुनाव विशेष: भाजपा, आरएसएस और विहिप कार्यकर्ताओं को पहचान बदल कर दिखा रहा डीडी न्यूज़
Ayush
Em and the Big Hoom
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh, independent journalist Arshi Qureshi, and Alt News senior editor Pooja Chaudhari.
The discussion surrounds the fake “auction” of Muslim women on an app called “Bulli Bai”. “They are targeted attacks on Muslim women,” says Arshi. “First, it was only social media trolls and abuse. But now, it’s much more than we can ever imagine...It’s a way of trying to shut up those active Muslim women who speak up against the government.”
Pooja spotlights the incompetence of social media platforms in taking action against issues like these. The panel agrees with Arshi when she says, “This can’t be an act of some young minds sitting in front of their laptops, auctioning women. But this is something really big which is yet to be discovered.”
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Farm laws: Sikhs being targeted by fake social media profiles
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Sulli Deals 2.0: “They target us because they know our faith is stronger”
My Mom's Photo Was Misused on Bulli Bai, No Daughter Should Be Writing This
Sulli Deals: Organised attempt to blame a Muslim youth for the app
Ritesh Jha aka ‘Liberal Doge’: The man behind the livestream spewing hate against Pakistani women
Nidhi
How Jon Stewart Became a Fierce Advocate for 9/11 Responders
Do Indian Courts Face A Dilemma in Interpreting Hate Speech?
Nilotpal Mrinal: Meet the man behind ‘Justice for SSR’ storm
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel with host Nidhi Suresh being joined by Ayush Tiwari, Akanksha Kumar, Basant Kumar and Prateek Goyal for a discussion on the year-long journey of reporters at the organisation.
The conversation begins with events they found the most difficult to cover; from Ayush and Basant reporting on the Covid crisis to Akanksha travelling across eastern Uttar Pradesh to find stories of the pandemic toll increasing by the minute. Prateek points to another aspect where Maharashtra saw an increase in child marriages by four times due to economic distress amid the lockdown.
The panel also discussed the nuances of reporting; finding a story and finishing the process over months.
They also spoke about the hardships faced on the field, things that kept them motivated and the toll on a reporter's mental health. “I think it’s important to take time off from work at times just for yourself, especially when your work takes you to a point where you have seen people dying,” Akanksha comments. They also talk about how important it is to document what’s happening around these days. “As journalists, we are the living documents of our time and we have to do our job right,” says Ayush.
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Loving Lies
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Akanksha:
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Laal Chowk
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Nidhi:
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
LongForm Podcast
Mind Hunters
Prateek:
Laal Chowk
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Basant Kumar is joined by Diksha Munjal and Anna Priyadarshani.
The discussion begins with Diksha’s report on the implications and complexities of the POCSO Act in India. Detailing lapses in the system, she says trials which are to be completed within the stipulated one-year period have been pending for even five years in some cases. “Either the judge is on leave or the prosecutor is not available…and most of all the police does not care,” she says, reiterating the need to highlight such cases as “it hinders the lifelong functioning of a child who has been a victim to the abuse”.
They then talk about Anna’s ground report on the security concerns in and around courtrooms, especially focussing on the Rohini court and the recent incidents of fights, shootings and a blast in the area. Anna points out a few glaring gaps. “There are cameras installed in the courts but they aren’t working so the proof of the further shootings, fights and court proceedings is never on evidence,” she says. She also talks about gang rivalries in the vicinity as another example of security breach around the court. “The security and police just stand there to watch all this happening.”
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Shootings, murders and an explosion: Why isn’t Rohini district court fixing its security problem?
Caravan: Media Segment
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Srishti Jaswal, independent writer and journalist, and Oishika Neogi, a human rights researcher and writer at Karwan-e-Mohabbat.
Oishika talks about her story in Article14on the widows of three people lynched in Jharkhand. On her responsibility as a reporter, she says, “We do report hate crimes, talk about it, but what after that? We forget. But these people have to live with it.”
Srishti talks about her Al Jazeera report on the “human cost” of the farmer protests. “They won and it had been a great journey for them, but at what cost?” she says. “They have to live with this pain.”
The panel agrees that the government fails at giving out data on everything from farmer deaths to lynching records. “The data collection is very weak within the government in every case,” Srishti says. “They don’t realise how crucial it is.”
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Beware of Pity
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A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Diksha Munjal and Supriti David.
The discussion begins with Supriti’s report on a teacher who was suspended from a school affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh because she refused to donate for the construction of the Ram temple. Supriti says the teacher “wasn’t just harassed but had to face some hostile situations”. “This teacher was forcefully asked to donate money by the Sangh which is contradictory to the statement that they gave out stating that the teachers are voluntarily donating to the cause.”
The conversation then shifts to Diksha’s ground report on the AAP government’s bio-decomposer drive to check stubble burning and if the effort finds favour among farmers in north Delhi. She spoke to farmers in five villages who said the solution made no difference and came too late. “Timing is the biggest issue. Farmers can’t delay the sowing process while waiting for the chemical to be sprayed,” Diksha says. “The policy works great on paper...but if it’s not seen on the ground then it’s nothing,” she says.
This, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by IndiaSpend’s principal correspondent Ranvijay Singh and Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi.
Ranvijay explains his report on Uttar Pradesh’s initiatives to protect cows, and how caretakers of the cattle in reality receive inadequate funds to run shelters, leading to the animals being abandoned. “Dying cows is more like a routine now,” he says, “and not news.”
The conversation shifts to Tanishka’s report on Zee News chief Sudhir Chaudhary being invited to speak at an event in Abu Dhabi, and the controversy that followed. Tanishka explained that some sections, including UAE princess Hend Al Qassimi, found “Sudhir’s coverage Islamophobic and inciting communal tension on many levels”. She also talked about her coverage of the Gurugram namaz issue.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari.
They discuss the violence in Tripura and Ayush’s report on how the state is encountering a communal clash that has never been an issue in their history.
“Religious differences were never an issue in Tripura, it was always regional differences that created clashes in the past,” Ayush says. “So, it’s all new for the state as well.”
He also details the arrest of two HW News journalists in Tripura and how he sympathises with them on professional grounds. “They were doing journalism, that’s what led to their arrest,” he says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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A podcast that gives you a burst of the day's news.
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A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalist Srishti Jaswal and Dainik Bhaskar’s reporter Vaibhav Palnitkar.
The discussion starts with Srishti’s cover story for the Caravan magazine on how “crimes of superstition” thrive in India. Giving examples, such as the Kathua rape case, she says, “Superstitions are not about lack of education. It’s about unawareness and embedded fear. It’s not recognised, it’s normalised.”
Vaibhav talks about his report on “targeted” killings in Kashmir. “These are specific to minorities,” he says, explaining the prevailing fear in the valley and how it’s “more terrifying with the kind of media portrayal it is getting”.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Shivangi Saxena.
The discussion begins with Shivangi and Nidhi’s reportage on the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri. Shivangi says communal tension was rare here before but the violence has changed that. “All the communities are silent but there is a constant tension and fear among them,” she says. “It’s basically a social boycott among the groups.” She also says there are a lot of unanswered questions on the role of Ashish Mishra.
The conversation shifts to Basant’s report on how Dainik Jagran, the best selling Hindi newspaper in Uttar Pradesh, runs advertorials often “disguised” as news reports. He says the bylines of these “reports” have “no connection with reporting whatsoever”.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by journalist Tabeenah Anjum and Newslaundry’s Diksha Munjal.
Diksha talks about her report on how the media gave the recent Mumbai “drug bust”, which involved Aryan Khan, way more coverage than the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri. “Clearly it was very sensational for the mainstream media to cover the drug bust as they deployed all their resources to that story, instead of focusing on Lakhimpur,” she says.
She also points out how sections of the media used vocabulary to delegitimise the farmers’ protest, saying, “All of them were trying to play visuals that would put farmers in a bad light.”
The discussion shifts to Tabeenah’s report for Article14 on the Muslim bangle seller who was attacked in Indore in August. Months later, he’s in jail and Tabeenah explains the impact of the incident on the livelihoods of his family and other Muslim bangle sellers. “They are very reluctant to go out,” she says. “They are scared.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and independent journalist Anand Dutt.
Anand starts with his BBC Hindi report on a ration crisis in Jharkhand, where people have to travel 30 km to reach ration distribution centres. “Mobile networks play an important role in this distribution,” he says, “as sometimes, the dealer can’t give rations because the machine doesn’t administer a recipient’s fingerprint because of bad network. And then, they are asked to come again later.”
He also describes undeveloped Adivasi areas in Jharkhand, where basic amenities and facilities are lacking.
Nidhi talks about her experience reporting on the farmer protest at Singhu on the day of the Bharat Bandh, and how it was so different from the early days of the protest. She mentions a pattern of using barricades as a political tool and what the farmers had to say about the mainstream media. She also explains how sections of the media reported on the violence during an eviction drive in Assam.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Arun Singh of NDTV and Akanksha Kumar of Newslaundry.
The panel talks about their experience reporting on the Hathras case, where a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gangraped last September in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. She died soon after and her body was forcibly cremated by the Uttar Pradesh police. Four Thakur men have been arrested so far, and the trial is ongoing.
Arun recalls being at the crime scene and wonders how the case received widespread attention, saying it “exposed reality on so many levels”. Nidhi asks if it’s because of the way the woman’s body was cremated, and Arun says, “Definitely. I think it became what it became because of that incident as well.”
Akanksha talks about her interactions with the woman’s parents. She adds that a “common refrain” from the victim’s father and brother was how they’d tried to reach out to the media but “no one is hearing us”. Nidhi remembers that TV channels at the time were focusing on the Sushant Singh Rajput case.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Kashif Kakvi of NewsClick and Ashwine Singh of Newslaundry.
The conversation begins with Kashif's story about how the BJP is using the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan as a tool to counter the anti-incumbency against its government in Madhya Pradesh. To this end, Kashif notes, the Hindu supremacist party organised a seminar for their IT Cell workers in Bhopal on September 9 titled, “The political rise of radical Islam and challenges to India’s security”.
Ashwine talks about his report on how the pandemic has affected the learning of schoolchildren aged 10-14. A survey conducted by the School Children’s Online and Offline Learning in 15 states and union territories, Ashwine says, found only eight percent of the children in rural areas were studying regularly while 37 percent were not studying at all. Nearly half the children surveyed could read only a few words. Online learning is no substitute for offline learning, he concludes.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Avdhesh Kumar.
Basant talks about his report fromUttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, where thousands of farmers organised a Kisan Mahapanchayat on September 5 to protest against the Narendra Modi government’s new farm laws. He recalls seeing a lot of the people climbing into trees to listen to their leaders and covering their heads with green leaves to beat the severe heat.
Avdhesh talks about the alleged assault on a Dalit journalist in UP’s Jaunpur. Santosh Kumar, 33, has alleged that he was attacked for reporting on atrocities committed on Dalits by a BJP leader which led to his arrest. Avdhesh pieces together what happened.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by freelance journalist Mandeep Punia and BBC Hindi journalist Rajnish Kumar.
The conversation begins with Rajnish’s report on widespread corruption in the Modi government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) scheme. Rajnish explains that there was a “deep nexus” between public representatives, touts, and the government.
Mandeep then talks about his report in Gaon Savera on a farmer, Sushil Kajal, who was injured during a police lathicharge in Karnal and subsequently died. Sushil’s son had told Mandeep that his father had refused to go to the hospital and that “there were marks of sticks on his neck and body”.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar of Newslaundry.
The conversation begins with Prateek’s report where he talks about the Hindu mob assault on a Muslim bangle seller in Indore, narrating the sequence of events that led to the attack and how the police ended up booking the poor victim for allegedly molesting a young girl. Basant discusses his report on Uttar Pradesh minister Shriram Chauhan’s comment about restricting the construction of new mandis and how it has deepened the apprehensions of farmers who have been protesting for months now against the Narendra Modi government’s new farm laws.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Supriti David and independent journalist Samrat X.
Samrat discusses his piece analysing the recent violence in Shillong, Meghalaya. He details how the police’s killing, allegedly in a fake encounter, of a surrendered militant leader sparked widespread protests that culminated in violence on the streets. Samrat also analyses the trajectory of insurgency in the state and how a militant group that had not been heard of in Shillong for over a decade and a half appears to come alive again.
Supriti talks about her report on what journalists in Afghanistan are saying about the ongoing crisis in the country. There is a deep sense of fear and uncertainty among these journalists, she explains, and quotes Afghanistan’s ministry of information and culture as saying that at least 51 media houses have closed owing to the violence.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined byShivangi Saxena and Ashwine Kumar Singh of Newslaundry.
Shivangi talks about her report on an August 8 gathering at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar where the participants called for the wanton killing of Muslims in India. She recalls speaking with Uttam Upadhyay, one of those shouting for murder. “The Muslim community is a danger to the Hindu dharma,” Shivangi says Uttam told her. “For Hinduism to continue Islam needs to be eradicated. And in order to eradicate Islam we need to boycott the Muslims financially.”
She reflects on how scary it was to report in such an environment and how she had to keep her personal feelings in check to report. She was shocked, Shivangi says, after learning that the mob had cornered another reporter, Anmol Preetam, and demanded that he shout the slogan “Jai Shri Ram”.
Ashwine and Basant discuss their story about how some people burst firecrackers near Indian hockey player Vandana Katariya’s family home in Uttarakhand after her team had failed to earn a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. They found that the incident was likely rooted in personal animus and casteism as sections of the media had reported, Basant says. “We did not meet anyone who told us casteist comments were made, though some speculated that the bursting of firecrackers was done out of jealousy,” adds Ashwine.
They also talk about the tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar and the Hindi paper’s journalism, how the Delhi police have acted in the last two years, and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Akanksha Kumar.
Nidhi discusses her report on the alleged rape and murder of a Dalit child in Delhi Cantt area, reconstructing the timeline and narrating what the victim’s mother told her. Nidhi says the media mustn’t overlook the fact that this is also a case of caste violence.
Akanksha discusses her report on the alleged “mass conversion racket” that the Uttar Pradesh police claim to have busted early this year. She talks about how the case of Umar Gautam and Jahangir Kasmi, two of the Muslim men arrested in the case, is equal parts political stunt and equal parts media witchhunting.
Akanksha points out how the constitutional right of religious conversion has been demonised and how she tried to tackle it in her report. She recalls her conversations with a few people who changed their religion and how they are angry with the media for scrutinising their personal decisions and even vilifying them.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by the Wire reporter Dheeraj Mishra and Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari.Dheeraj talks about his report on the Ken-Betwa link project in Bundelkhand. The project aims to solve the region’s prolonged issue of water scarcity.
Dheeraj explains that the problem lies with the government’s claim that the Ken river has surplus water at all – a claim that “isn’t backed up by any independent researcher or independent institute”. He also tells the panel that the project will require over 6,000 hectares of forest land, which will include the Panna tiger reserve.
Basant and Ayush talk about their report on the Adityanath government spending Rs 160 crore on advertisements on TV news channels between April 2020 and March 2021. Ayush expresses his gratitude to journalist Umashankar Dube, who had filed the RTI that revealed this information. He also says he was “surprised by the results”.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Aishwarya Iyer, a reporter with the Quint, and Monika Mondal, an independent journalist.
They talk about Aishwarya’s documentary Silencing Rape, which tracks the lives of four sexual assault survivors for over a year in Uttar Pradesh’s impoverished Bundelkhand region. Reflecting on what she gathered from this reporting experience, she says, “As a society we have a long way to go. I honestly don’t have much hope.”
Uttar Pradesh is also facing a “hidden water crisis”, particularly in Muzaffarnagar. In this context, Akanksha highlights Monika’s report on the Third Pole that tells us how sugar mills are responsible for the degradation of groundwater in the region.
Monika collected water samples from a Muzaffarnagar home which the Third Pole had analysed in a lab. The water was found to contain the Coliform bacteria and very high levels of inorganic salts such as calcium, magnesium, sodium. “There are so many patients with tuberculosis there, so many patients who have gastrointestinal diseases, so many patients with kidney diseases. So if you go there, every house has some problem, every house has a patient,” Monika says.
This and a lot more as Akanksha, Aishwarya and Monika talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Ayush Tiwari and Sidharth Singh of Newslaundry.
In February 2021, the I&B ministry’s Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity presented, in the parliament, data on the Narendra Modi government’s ad spending. It shows that Republic TV and Times Now, the most watched English news TV channels in the country, got fewer ads than NewsX, India Today, and BTVI. This data doesn’t match the numbers the government had previously released under the Right to Information Act, however, nor with those maintained by the channels themselves. Ayush discusses his report on this discrepancy.
Nidhi asks Ayush why he thinks the Modi government is hesitant revealing its actual expenditure? Ayush has no answer to why but says, “The fact that they gave numbers that didn’t reflect the actual expenditure raises several questions because, at the end of the day, this is money collected from taxpayers.” Ayush adds that the ministry is conveniently blaming news channels for whatever discrepancies there might be in how it is calculating spending.
Sidharth talks about his report on gender representation in Indian newsrooms. Two years ago, Newslaundry published a report in partnership with UN Women, Gender Inequality in India Media, which found that women held barely five percent of newsroom leadership positions. According to preliminary findings from Gender Inequality in Indian Media 2021, the numbers have not really changed for 2019-20.
Comparing the two reports, Sidharth says, “Unfortunately, we aren’t really seeing great leaps and strides as far as gender representation is concerned.”
Ayush weighs in by talking about gender representation in Newslaundry compared to other news major organisations.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry reporters Nidhi Suresh and Tanishka Sodhi.
Nidhi discusses her report on Ayesha Alvi, who was compelled to move court after getting threats for converting to Islam. In this context, Nidhi talks about Deep Shrivastava, a reporter at News 18 who was allegedly mentioned by Alvi in her petition and who filed a criminal defamation case against Nidhi after her report was published.
Tanishka talks about her report on a protest outside St Peter’s Church in Mumbai where Stan Swamy’s funeral took place on July 6. The Jesuit priest, an undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case, died while in police custody.
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This week, Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry reporter Akanksha Kumar and freelance journalist Anand Dutt.
Anand discusses his report on the alleged killing by the security forces of an Adivasi youth in Jharkhand and details the plight of the state’s Adivasi communities. On the media coverage of the killing, he explains why such atrocities rarely get wide coverage.
Akanksha talks about her reports on the Uttar Pradesh police arresting five Muslim men and accusing them of running a “racket” to mass convert Hindus to Islam. Emphasising the viciousness of the mainstream media’s reporting on the case, she points out that the Muslim men have been subjected to a media trial.
Basant links the rhetoric around alleged conversions by Muslims to the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, hosted by Nidhi Suresh, Newslaundry reporters Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar discuss their investigation into the shady land deals of the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya.
Talking about the involvement of Harish Pathak, an absconding fraudster, in one of the deals, Ayush says, "This man sells the land in front of the mayor, who should have actually done something for the absconding happening in his presence.”
Basant details the history of land deals in Ayodhya involving disputed property.
Concluding the discussion, Ayush says, "This is plain corruption in the name of faith."
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Diksha Munjal, Tanishka Sodhi and Shivangi Saxena of Newslaundry.
Diksha and Tanishka talk about their report on sugarcane workers in Beed district of Maharashtra and how the pandemic has affected them. They talk about a woman who had to resume work just a day after her husband’s death to repay their debt, a rise in hysterectomies and the local government’s help through “guidance or margdarshan”.
Akanksha and Shivangi talk about their ground reports from Dausa and Alwar in Rajasthan about vaccine hesitancy, lack of health infrastructure, increase in child marriages, and the revival of "nata pratha" where a woman is married to a man from the same family after her husband’s death.
Comparing the Rajasthan government's response to Covid to Uttar Pradesh's, Akanksha argues that the Ashok Gehlot government made smarter policy decisions which found appreciation in the mainstream media. The UP government’s centralised approach and local policy decisions, in contrast, attracted criticism.
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In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Sidharth Singh of Newslaundry.
On May 31, Ramdev claimed he had scientific evidence to prove the legitimacy of ayurveda in “curing” hypertension, cancer, arthritis, thyroid issues, liver sclerosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver. He gave a slew of interviews to TV news channels to further attack modern medicine over alleged abuses of the pharmaceutical industry. He also made unproven claims about ayurvedic solutions to longstanding medical conundrums.
In Sidharth’s report, he answers the question: what expertise does Ramdev actually possess? He spoke to many ayurvedic practitioners for the report and asked if Ramdev represented them or if he represented ayurveda. “Many said he doesn’t and made a distinction that he’s a yoga guru so why should he be speaking about ayurveda and that he’s not even qualified to be talking about yoga,” he recalled.
Ramdev has often claimed to possess cures for all sorts of diseases. Patanjali’s Divya Mukta Vati Extra Power, for instance, claims to cure hypertension and high blood pressure. Patanjali’s website even says the efficacy of the concoction has been proved by “successfully experimenting with millions of patients”.
Nidhi asks what exactly Sidharth found problematic with such claims? Sidharth says this claim of “successfully experimenting with millions of patients” isn't correct. He found that the sample size wasn’t a million, but barely 50 patients.
“The idea of ayurveda has power in India, I don’t think it's right to say that it is neglected," Sidharth argues. "Going ahead, we have to think about where exactly the general bar is now when it comes to scientific literacy. We have to know what kind of space we can give to traditional medicine?”
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In this episode, host Ayush Tewari is joined by Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar of Newslaundry.
The conversation begins with Nidhi Suresh talking about her report on the Muslim staffers of a Bengaluru municipality Covid war room who were removed from their jobs at the behest of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. She narrates the process and the possible reasons which led to the event.
Basant Kumar talks about his story on Dainik Jagran’s report that claims the new farm laws have been beneficial to farmers. Further, he explains why mustard has actually been sold at a higher price than the MSP. He also talks about his report discussing the revelation of the wastage of vaccines by the Rajasthan government and how the controversy is escalating.
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In this episode, host Basant Kumar is joined by freelance journalists Mandeep Punia and Ranvijay Singh.
Mandeep begins with the farmer protests, which marked six months at Delhi’s borders this week. Explaining the role of the youth and women, he says that despite all odds, “this protest has become a process for intensifying what is right”. Mandeep and Ranvijay both criticise how legacy media has highlighted the protest, and the impact of Covid.
Ranvijay explains how Covid has been “mismanaged” in rural Uttar Pradesh, pointing out how local bodies are hiding the true numbers. Comparing reports submitted by regional management committees with the ground reality, he says the healthcare system has collapsed. “Without any testing, how can we expect cases to be detected?” he says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Prateek Goyal of Newslaundry to discuss his series on the rise of Jaggi Vasudev, known to his devotees as Sadhguru, as one of India’s most influential godmen, and is dubious business and “spiritual” dealings.
Prateek explains how Vasudev’s rise was enabled by politicians and the media, how he used this influence to build a sprawling yoga centre in an ecologically sensitive elephant corridor near Coimbatore in blatant violation of laws, and how he makes a lot of money selling products and “spiritual” services a good deal of which his foundation shows as donations to evade paying taxes.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without political backing, Prateek argues.
He also touches upon Vasudev’s cultivation of the media and his shady dealing involving the Cauvery Calling project.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry's Shivangi Saxena and Tanishka Sodhi.
Shivangi talks about her experiences with Akanksha in reporting on Covid from eastern Uttar Pradesh. At Gorakhpur’s Sadar Hospital, she says, they watched people coming in from villages 200 km away. Despair was all around them, as family members were unable to procure beds and oxygen cylinders, or even get a doctor to see the patients.
“They were afraid that if they speak against the administration, they might refuse their families’ treatment,” she says. She herself was denied entry to the hospital as people were worried that negative news reports would lead to a backlash from the government.
Shivangi also explains how rural areas face the additional burden of poor connectivity and a crumbling healthcare infrastructure.
Tanishka talks about her report on why Modi is getting such negative coverage from the international media. On the increasing number of editorials criticising India’s handling of the pandemic, she says the international press doesn’t hold back in the way the Indian media does.
“Modi’s silence over the past two weeks about what’s happening is also very embarrassing,” she says. “Because even Donald Trump had conferences everyday.” On why everyone’s reporting on India, Tanishka says, “This virus doesn’t care about borders. If something’s going wrong here, it’s also going to impact how the rest of the world is dealing with the crisis.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry reporters Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar.
Ayush and Basant, who are currently reporting on the Covid crisis from the western parts of Uttar Pradesh, shed light on the ground realities of the ongoing disaster. They explain the underreporting of deaths by the state, the shortage of oxygen cylinders in hospitals, people’s reluctance to get tested, and the general sense of helplessness among citizens. All this is taking place in the backdrop of chief minister Adityanath claiming that there is no shortage of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode of Reporters without Orders, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Akanksha Kumar and Tanishka Sodhi of Newslaundry.
Akanksha talks about her coverage of the unfolding Covid catastrophe in Delhi, narrating how hospitals in North Delhi are dealing with a shortage of oxygen supply and how, with the death toll rising, the crematoria are struggling to conduct funerals.
Tanishka discusses her report on why journalists are showing grisly visuals of Covid funerals. She recalls her conversations with several reporters photojournalists, Indian and foreign, who are covering the crisis and what they have to say about criticism of their work. She also explains why it is misleading to claim that the international media didn’t cover the death and devastation from Covid in the West the same way they are in India.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This episode is hosted by Basant Kumar, who is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and independent Journalist Sourabh Sharma.
Saurabh talks about his recent reports on Uttar Pradesh’s pandemic situation. In the capital Lucknow, he says, there’s utter helplessness and the main reason is the unpreparedness of the Adityanath government. "All of them were busy with elections, nobody paid much attention to Covid, it was as if it was gone,” he laments.
It’s a similar situation in Madhya Pradesh, says Prateek, where “the healthcare system has completely collapsed”. Yet, in both the Hindi heartland states, Saurabh and Prateek point out, the governments are fudging the data.
The panel also discuss how, owing to the failure of state and central governments to tackle the dire situation, social media has emerged as a helpline for those seeking help for Covid patients. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This episode is hosted by Nidhi Suresh, who is joined by Newslaundry’s Parikshit Sanyal and Akanksha Kumar.
Akanksha talks about her follow-up story on the Delhi riots; she had interviewed a Muslim boy who had been forced to sing the national anthem while being assaulted by the police.
“His entire story is of gross neglect, not just by the police but also the hospital staff – both of whom were supposed to save him,” she says. “The sense of marginalisation, because he belongs to a certain religion, is going to stay with him.”
Parikshit shares his first-time experience of reporting on the ground during the Bengal assembly election, particularly a ground report on the Cooch Behar killings. He explains how multiple witnesses said it was an unprovoked attack. He also describes the tense communal situation in Nandigram’s Boyal constituency, where people were referring to “the Hindu booth” and “the Muslim booth”.
“Because of Suvendu Adhikari, the levels have gone too far,” he says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This episode is hosted by Akanksha Kumar, who is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal, Tanishka Sodhi, and Diksha Munjal.
The conversation starts with the recent gunfight in Chhattisgarh between security forces and Maoists. Prateek had interviewed Bastar police chief P Sundarraj on the attack, and says, “The army had clear input that battalion number 1 of Naxals has movement in the South Bastar region.” He thinks the incident cannot be blamed on an intelligence failure and adds that the attack shouldn’t be compared to the 2010 Dantewada attack.
Tanishka and Diksha discuss their report on daily wage workers employed on the sets of Mumbai’s film city. The workers had described their lockdown ordeal last year and how they’re worried about a second lockdown. “Since it was not work from home, the workers had to be present on the sets, be it spot boys or assistants,” Tanishka explains.
Diksha says there’s a need for a “database of migrants” or “at least a recognition that we have so many people that we have to cater to in case such an emergency comes”. She adds: “A lot of them are invisible, they are not counted anywhere.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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This episode is hosted by Akanksha Kumar, who is joined by Ashwine Kumar Singh of Newslaundry, and Ayan Sharma, a freelance journalist based in Assam.
Ayan is currently covering the Assam election for Newslaundry. Talking about his recent reports from the ground, he argues that the BJP wave doesn’t seem to be as strong as in the last election. “That doesn’t mean the BJP doesn’t have an advantage,” he adds. Ayan also talks about the politics of recurrent floods in the state and its ethnic diversity, and how that affects election outcomes.
Ashwine was recently in Indore’s Tarpatti Bhagal area, where health workers out for Covid screening had been attacked in April last year. The violence, he recounts, was instigated by fake Whatsapp rumours.
“Messages were spread with rumours that these health workers were going to take the local Muslims to the hospital and butcher them and make them infertile,” Ashwine says. So when they went into Tarpatti Bhagal, they were attacked. The reaction to the Covid outbreak at the Tablighi Jamaat’s headquarters in Delhi’s Nizamuddin played a role as well, he adds. Read his report.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and BBC’s Jugal Purohit.
Commenting on how Narendra Modi arrived at the decision to impose a national lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Jugals refers to a recent report by BBC that tried to find an answer to this question. “Neither the National Disaster Management Authority nor the prime minister conducted and chaired meetings with any concerned departments before declaring lockdown. Additionally, there was no evidence found that specialist bodies and institutions were taken advice from before declaring lockdown,” BBC found. He also talks about the difficulties the news organisation faced in getting information under the RTI Act.
Talking about his recent report related to the Delhi carnage, Ayush shares that “a documentary, backed by a political party, cannot be accurate and unbiased". The documentary in conversation is Delhi Riots: A Tale of Burn and Blame, directed by Kamlesh K Mishra. BJP leader Kapil Mishra had publicised the documentary by tweeting the details of its screening. “The line of argument of the documentary is pro-government and pro-police, with no variety of opinion and dissenting opinion,” Ayush adds. The panel also talk about the misinformation regarding the carnage being spread on social media and news channels.
A recent TV Newsance episode about a misleading ad of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna published in Hindi and Bengali newspapers, was coordinated by Basant. “A local journalist had covered this story but it was not allowed to be published as the media house had some BJP influence. So they shared the details with me.” The panel also discuss the article by Newslaundry on the misleading ad.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Supriti David and Basant Kumar.
The conversation begins with the reporters sharing bizarre news stories of the week, from a customer asking for refund on receiving only 12 masks when she had ordered a dozen, to fact-checking India Today’s fact-check of Gajendra Chauhan’s tweet.
Supriti then talks about her report on a temple in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, which had been demolished in January only to be rebuilt not long after. Supriti explains how the temple has become the focus of a political saga involving AAP and the BJP. "This temple seemed rather exceptional than others that were there," says Ayush.
How is the Modi government’s promise of doubling farmer incomes by 2022 going? "Narendra Singh Tomar has been asked for data on farmer incomes several times in the Lok Sabha, but he has never given an accurate answer," Basant says, referring to the union agriculture minister, while discussing his story about how the National Statistics Office hasn’t released its report on farmer incomes since 2013.
Ayush and Basant also discuss the story of Sajid Khan, a rickshaw puller who was shot during the communal carnage in northeast Delhi last year only to be arrested by the police in his own FIR.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Akanksha Kumar.
The conversation starts with Nidhi asking how Ayush feels about going back to reporting on the Delhi carnage of last year and also asks both if they think that doing the same thing over and over again and being exposed to this sort of violence desensitises them or equips them handle it with more empathy?
Ayush and Akanksha agree, “It equips you better to handle the emotional outbursts no matter what story you’re working and also you go with a better approach,” says Akanksha
The discussion moves on to Akankha’s report on hundreds of aspirants in Uttar Pradesh yet to get appointment letters in spite of clearing their village development officer exam a year ago. Akanksha explains how she got a lead to the story, explains the hiring process and gives more insight to the situation. Nidhi also asks whether the aspirants thought of #ModiRozgarDo as a reflection of a successful social media movement or a disappointment.
In June 2020, the Narendra Modi government reached out to “prominent persons from the media field” to help identify strategies to effectively communicate “10 big narratives of the government”. Ayush talks about his report and tells us what the initiative is, who were involved, what were the discussions and the aim of such an initiative. Ayush said, “They were not willing to come on record and speak on what was going on. If you’ve not done it then why do you need to stay anonymous. Just remove that skirt of anonymity and come out in public and say.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by freelance journalist Srishti Jaswal and Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh.
The conversation starts with a report by Srishti and Shreegireesh Jalihal on a Hindu vigilante group, which calls itself the “Hindu IT Cell”, and its network of cyber volunteers. Srishti was targeted by the group last July over a tweet, and she explains how it operates. “This targeting in turn activates and hosts a very toxic wave of trolling,” she says.
The panel then talks about the death of Ambreesh Sharma in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. Ambreesh was killed by a man who had been arrested for sexually harassing Ambreesh’s daughter.
Nidhi, who reported on the case this week, says: “I feel the story here is the fact that there was a father willing to stand up for his girls, willing to not be threatened and revoke a case of sexual assault on his daughter. And the price he paid for that was literally his life.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tewari and Supriti David.
The conversation starts with Ayush and Basant’s report on Dainik Jagran running a disingenuous PR campaign for the UP government’s farm policies. Ayush points out the “questionable relationship between media houses and governments” and describes how impactful these campaigns can be.
On the toolkit case and Disha Ravi getting bail, Supriti talks about her report, her experience in court, and the case itself. When Disha got bail, she says, “you could see that she was perhaps smiling, but couldn’t really see it because she had her mask on. She was constantly cracking her knuckles and she looked really, really tired.” She also reads out specific parts from the judgement.
Ayush talks about how the media and the establishment are now targeting young female protesters. Supriti says, “I view it as part of this larger trend of how women, incarcerated or not, are always represented in the media...It’s very disturbing and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to change.”
The panel also discusses memories of the Delhi riots. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Ayush Tewari is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar and Anna Priyadarshini.
The conversation starts with the reporters sharing the bizarre news stories of the week, from an Indonesian woman claiming a gust of wind made her pregnant to the Indian higher education regulator UGC asking universities to encourage students to write a “cow science” examination.
The discussion begins with Anna’s report on the verdict in BJP leader MJ Akbar’s defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani. Akanksha then talks about her experience covering the ongoing farmer protest at Singhu on Delhi’s border. On how the farmers plan to adjust their protest to the approaching summer and their apprehensions about the new agriculture laws, she says, “Another fear they have is that with the entry of private players contract farming may result in some sort of exploitation. Their fears are not completely unfounded, they do have a basis.”
Akanksha also talks about her story on Dilbag Singh, a farmer from Pubjab who cycles around the Singhu protest to lift spirits.
Ayush then moves to Anna's report investigating Rinku Sharma’s death at Mangolpuri which the Hindu nationalist ecosystem has sought to communalise. Anna shares her experience covering the story and what the people there felt about the reporter’s presence in the area.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, Nidhi Suresh takes over as host and she’s joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari.
Nidhi asks Ayush about his coverage of the farmer protests at Ghazipur and Singhu. Ayush notes that in Ghazipur, the resentment of sugarcane farmers is “driving them” to protest sites. “The andolan, the movement, has very successfully sucked up all the resentment and turned it into energy to run these protests,” he says.
Ayush also talks about his reports from western Uttar Pradesh, the role of the Tikait brothers, and the mahapanchayats organised to discuss the farm laws.
Nidhi spotlights the protests in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, saying: “The sort of resentment is coming from the way the law was pushed in as an ordinance, the way they haven’t been heard. This sort of movement is also really asking the government to fix their relationship with the farmers.” She and Ayush also contrast the protests with what it was like to report on the Delhi riots.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari, Basant Kumar, and Nidhi Suresh to discuss the ongoing farmer protests and the events that unfolded after the tractor rally on January 26.
Basant describes the absurdity of the police barricading Singhu border. “What can be more bizarre than being there, and feeling as if we’re standing at India’s international border with so many BSP and CRPF officers guarding it?” he asks. “Tall, newly-constructed cement walls and ghastly nails affixed on the road..."
Nidhi explains how the police have barred journalists from entering the protest site. She then talks about a help desk set up by a lawyers’ collective under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha that tracks protesters who have gone missing since Republic Day. “It’s a really big task,” she points out, “because it’s such a large protest.”
Nidhi also talks about how a lawyer was reportedly told by the police to file an RTI to get a copy of an FIR filed in the context of the protest. “As per law, you are supposed to be handed the FIR copy,” she says. “And if you are a lawyer, you have to get it.”
The panel also discusses the attacks on journalists, the citizens’ march in support of the farmers, the internet shutdown at protest sites, and how the government is using Covid as a “double standard”.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry correspondents, Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar, along with producer Aditya Varrier to discuss their experiences while reporting from the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day.
Nidhi, Basant, and Aditya begin with a chronological lowdown of how events unfolded on January 26. Nidhi describes the confusion on the ground succinctly when she says, “ We were receiving news on social media that tear gas shelling has started but protestors on ground were still appealing to the larger group to maintain peace.” Having been to the protest over five times, Aditya talks about the changing geography of the protest sites over time, and new developments such as markets and museums.
Basant, meanwhile, highlights the ineptitude of the Delhi police saying, “Police preparedness on the Delhi borders was marked by just a few barricades.” He also describes the events that led to the first direct violent interaction between the police and the protestors. He witnessed the clashes unfold first-hand as tractors rammed into barricades.
He also shares his account of the violence at the Red fort where journalists were attacked and police and protestors were injured. While doing so Basant reaffirms that Indian flag was not insulted in any way whatsoever.
For Nidhi the change in the nature of the tractor rally was simple but unpredictable as she navigated through it. She expresses how, given the size of the rally, it was unfair to expect protestors to have consensus on all aspects of the protest. However, the panel agreed that while the violence was condemnable, it cannot be a metric to delegitimise the demands of the farmers.
The panel also discusses the circumstances and consequences of the death of a protestor at Delhi’s ITO, the lack of responsibility amongst stakeholders, and the future of the farmer protest.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, the host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari to discuss the television ratings scam and the WhatsApp chats between Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
Ayush begins by pointing out that the chats revealed something that everyone already suspected—that behind all the nationalistic clamour on Indian television news, there is nothing but a network of opportunists and middle men who line their pockets and buy influence.
Through the length of the discussion, Ayush cites his recent media reports and goes on to highlight how BARC, a government-mandated body, has been compromised at different levels. From Republic TV and Zee reaching millions of viewers illegally to a former minister in the information and broadcasting ministry allegedly “keeping aside” a multi-crore complaint against Republic TV, Ayush explains just how deep-rooted the corruption is.
The duo also discuss the most shocking and the funniest bits of the WhatsApp chats.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, the host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Ayush Tiwari.
From a buffalo’s funeral in Meerut to BJP MP Hema Malini’s ignorant comments about the farmers -- the trio share a few laughs talking about the most bizarre news stories they heard during the week.
The conversation then moves to the farmer protests. Snigdha shares the latest updates including the Supreme Court-appointed committee to resolve the crisis, which in turn brings her to the objections raised against it.
Based on their report, Ayush and Basant highlight how each of the four members of the committee appointed by the apex court have, in the recent past, publicly expressed their support for the three contentious farm laws. Basant also talks about the Bhartiya Kisan Union and its various factions. The trio discuss how the state and a section of TV media has pushed farmers into a corner.
Apart from the farmer protests, the panel also discusses Uttar Pradesh government’s advertorial in TIME magazine’s India edition and how a section of Indian media ran it as a report. In relation to the same, Ayush and Snigdha also discuss the evolving use of press releases over the years.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, the host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Akanksha Kumar.
The conversation starts off with some bizarre news stories and quickly moves to Basant’s report on the association of right-wing groups with most cases registered under the new anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh. The discussion then shifts to Akanksha’s report on how a local right-wing body disrupted a consensual interfaith marriage in Lucknow. The triad discusses the role of local fringe groups before and after the new law came to be.
The three also talk about the farmers' protest and Basant’s report on the 12 farmer groups who extended support to the new agriculture laws. “Five out of 12 farmers associations were directly connected to BJP,” says Basant.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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Not a single year goes by when some part of our country is struck by a natural disaster. This year was no different, with floods, cyclones, droughts, and wildfires. Add to that the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this episode, the host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Assam correspondent, Supriti David, to discuss the devastating annual floods in Assam caused by the Brahmaputra river. Supriti covered a stretch of over 1000 kms across the banks of the treacherous river to document the aftermath of the floods. She begins by giving some background on the nature and duration of the floods.
On the government’s outlook towards the annual floods, Supriti points out: “What the government and the people affected have in common is that they’ve accepted this for what it is: a natural disaster. They think that because it cannot be prevented, the damage that accompanies it cannot be mitigated, but that’s not true.” Supriti recounts how among the villages that she visited, none of the residents had a good word to say about the government response to the annual calamity.
The duo also discuss the consequences of the floods in multiple villages across Assam’s districts. In case of Borphalang village, Supriti describes how it remains submerged and cut off from the rest of the region for half the year.
Supriti’s in-depth ground reports, which are a part of the Newslaundry Sena ‘Disastrous Consequences’ project can be found here.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, the host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and The Hindu’s Uttar Pradesh correspondent, Omar Rashid.
The conversation starts off with the panelists sharing the strangest news stories they heard during the week.
They then move on to discuss what the bogey of Love Jihad really means? “Basically it’s a political lie created by the right-wing to criminalise the behaviour of Muslim men when it comes to their interaction with Hindu women,” says Omar.
The trio also discuss, in detail, the recent case in Moradabad where an interfaith couple were held under Uttar Pradesh’s new anti-conversion law despite repeatedly stating that the marriage and conversion was consensual. Nidhi and Omar, who covered the story from the ground, describe their experience and highlight the lapses and contradictions in the case.
On the role of the media in propping up the narrative of ‘love jihad’, Omar says: “I feel the media really plays a big role to send a message to the larger audience that something like this exists and to define their biases, their prejudices and conservative practises into a very well formulated idea called Love Jihad.”
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Anna Priyadarshini.
The conversation hits off with the bizarre news stories, from a fisherman finding the world’s biggest blob of whale vomit worth 2.4 million pounds to a wife of a dead Patiala man receiving a ‘sample-collected’ SMS on her husband’s phone.
The discussion begins with Anna and Ayush’s report on ex-soldiers at the farmer protests denouncing the Naxal jibes at them by Union Minister Piyush Goyal. Last week, the minister had alleged, without evidence, that the ongoing protests against the new farm laws had been infiltrated by “Naxal and Maoist elements”. A section of the media too had claimed the protests had been “hijacked by anti-national forces” and “foreign powers”. The most apt response to the allegations was from a 75-year-old former subedar of the Indian army, Joginder Singh, who said “Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were children when we fought wars for this country. So if they call patriots like me Naxali, then why should we even answer them? It is like mocking a priest about his mantra. Or lecturing a farmer about agriculture, as they’re doing. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
With the fall in Delhi’s temperature and the subsequent rise in the number of deaths associated with the farmer protests, Snigdha moves to Basant’s report. Basant gives the example of Shri Krishnalal, a 65 year-old accountant who died in front of Niranjan Singh Dhola, the Punjab Secretary of Indian Farmers Union (Rajewal). So far, at least 20 people associated with the protests have died.
Based on his interaction with the agitating farmers on the ground, Basant says they are prepared for anything coming their way. He adds, “The farmers don't mind dying. They’ve taken the issue to heart.”
Anna weighs in and says, “When we spoke to these ex-servicemen, they described it as their last war. One of them said, we don’t have anything to lose ‘ab toh jeet ke hi jaana hai.’ That's what they said and that was obviously echoed throughout.”
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Supriti David and Scroll’s Arunabh Saikia . Through the length of the episode, the panel discusses the Baghjan oil field fire in Assam, its consequences and the role of Oil India Limited.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Nidhi Suresh. Through the length of the episode, the panel discusses several aspects of the farmers’ protest. They shed light on the media’s coverage, the farmers’ perspective, the role political parties are playing, and the steps taken by the government to resolve the issues.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Akanksha Kumar
“if you give birth to a girl, we will not let you or her stay alive.” This is what young Pappi Devi’s in-laws told her before she and her newborn baby girl died in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district. The conversation begins with Akanksha narrating the young woman’s story and the mysterious circumstances surrounding their deaths. Questioning why no arrests have been made in the case till date, she talks about how the victim’s family had to file 15 complaints before an FIR was registered four months after the incident. Akanksha and Ayush both term Uttar Pradesh as an “absentee state”.
Next, Ayush talks about his report on the sudden shut down of HuffPost India. He labels it as “dramatic” and goes on to add that the website may be the first “casualty” of the new FDI scheme launched by the current government for digital media organisations. The new policy restricts foreign investment in Indian digital media to 26 per cent. Snigdha points out how this further reduces the space for independent media in the country.
Lastly, the panel discusses Ayush’s second story, on Sudarshan News’s show ‘UPSC Jihad’. Ayush explains how the show propagated a conspiracy theory on the infiltration of Muslims in the Indian bureaucracy. He talks about how the Supreme Court ordered the show to be taken off air, saying it is “in bad taste and there is a likelihood that it would produce communal attitudes.” The panel also calls out the government for deflecting responsibility and unfairly restricting the digital news space instead.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Nidhi Suresh.
The conversation begins with Ayush’s report on the Broadcast Audience Research Council and why its audience measurement system is “rotten”. The panel discusses how BARC’s functioning and systems are “highly manipulative” and “not accurate”. On the organisation suspending TV news ratings for three months while it “reviews protocols”, Ayush says: “India’s premier TV audience measurement agency needs to put its house in order, and a three-month suspension of TRPs will not cut it.”
The discussion moves on to a report by Nidhi and Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar on the rape and murder of a three-year-old in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri. Nidhi brings up the flaws in the system, such as how there’s only one forensic lab in the entire state. On covering three rape cases in Uttar Pradesh, she says, “What struck me was that no one there was as shocked as I was after hearing about these cases, as if it happened a lot, or it was normal.”
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and BBC’s Neeraj Priyadarshi.
The conversation begins with the Bihar election results, and Basant describes his experience of covering the election on the ground. Throughout the election, he says, people made their discontent clear against the Nitish Kumar government.
“I was wrong when I thought that this time, the election was just about real issues. But no, this year again, it was about caste,” he adds. “Despite so many issues remaining the same in Bihar for the last 15 years, people did vote on the basis of caste.”
Neeraj explains how women votes helped the NDA gain a majority in Bihar. Though people were not happy with Nitish, he says, Bihar’s women voted for him because of the reforms Nitish brought in for them.
“Women have Nitish’s back,” he says. He also believes that after Nitish’s tenure, Bihar has good youth leaders, ready to step in.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Prateek Goyal
The conversation hits off with the arrest of Arnab Goswami by Mumbai police. For the first time in the country, some of the most important ministers of the union cabinet came together and called for press freedom to condemn the event. Considering the numerous incidents of journalists being harassed for doing their job that did not see public denouncement from anyone from the government, Snigdha asks if press freedom in India is selectively applied.
In the same context, Snigdha brings up a recent case involving two reports by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal about one of Maharashtra’s leading media houses Sakal Media Group and how it had sacked its employees in violation of a government directive to not terminate workers during the pandemic. After the publishing of two reports, Newslaundry was slapped with a sixty five crore rupees defamation notice along with an FIR against Prateek.
Prateek goes on to divulge the details of the case and how the Pune police have been harassing him, visiting his home unannounced and attempting to seize his laptop. Snigdha asks Prateek about press freedom in India, and he says, “No matter which political party it is, they react if someone opposes them or raises their voice against their wrongdoings.”
Snigdha then moves on to discuss Basant’s coverage of the Bihar elections, focusing on the second phase of the polls. Basant talks about his report on the sugar mill of Motihari, where farmers and workers have been waiting years for their pending dues. Highlighting the problems that farmers face, Basant says, “All the farmers in Bihar are worried. If the going of grains is Rs 1800 per quintal, here farmers can’t even sell it for Rs 1100-1200 because there’s no MSP system in Bihar.” He also talks about how agriculture, one of the most important concerns for voters in Bihar, has barely featured as a key issue during these elections.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar and Ayush Tiwari.
From a warmongering senior politician from Uttar Pradesh to a recently-formed “nationalist” digital media association, the conversation hits off with some bizarre news stories.
The discussion moves on to Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri--a place that has recently gained notoriety for crimes against women, especially minors from socially disadvantaged communities. In the month of August, within a span of twenty days, at least three incidents of rape and murder of minors belonging to the Dalit community were reported from the region. Newslaundry reporters Akanksha Kumar and Nidhi Suresh visited Lakhimpur Kheri to report on the issue.
Referring to her report on the first case involving a 13-year-old girl, the most heart wrenching part, Akanksha says, was when the victim’s mother said, “I was sleeping, otherwise I would’ve gone with her.”
Akanksha goes on to talk about her report on the second case involving a 17 year-old victim. She draws parallels and points to the differences between Hathras and Lakhimpur Kheri cases in terms of caste divide. Joining the conversation, Ayush observes, “Covering such stories like Hathras and Lakhimpur Kheri, it seems that the field (agricultural), khet jisko kehte hai, in rural India is such an unsafe space for women.”
Snigdha then moves on to discuss Ayush and Sukriti’s NL Sena report on Delhi police’s probe into the murder of Ashfaq Hussain, Mehtab Khan, and Zakir Ahmed. Snigdha asks Ayush what he, as a reporter, draws from the experience of consistently following one story as in this case. He says, “So when we look at these riot stories, they are all different in their own ways. But they all say something about the kind of world we live in. Talking further, Ayush points towards the lack of substantial evidence against Mohammad Arif, the accused in the case. He adds, “It was pretty clear through these eye witnesses that this man is being framed in this case. But what everyone would tell you about Arif in Brijpuri is that he is a BC. I didn't know what this BC was so I asked them. BC refers to ‘Bad Character’ or history-sheeter, in other words.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar.
The conversation begins with Basant’s coverage of the Bihar assembly election. Despite the incumbent government’s claims of making bihar free of open defecation, Basant points out how, barely 500 meters from the deputy chief minister’s house, the residents of a Dalit colony are forced to defecate in the open. Basant goes on to explain how big a role caste plays during elections in Bihar. He also points towards the neglected health infrastructure in the state with an example of a government hospital in CM Nitish Kumar’s home district, Nalanda.
The discussion then moves to Nidhi's report from Delhi's Model Town, where a Dalit girl was found dead in her employer’s home. Just like in the Hathras case, her body was cremated forcefully by the Delhi police at night, against the family’s wishes. Nidhi sheds light on the police’s abominable behaviour and why the victim’s relatives have been alleging rape and murder.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Gaurav Sarkar, Senior Reporter at Mid-Day, along with Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar.
The conversation hits off with the bizarre news stories, from Jeff Bezos’ New Shephard to the Tanishq ad controversy.
The discussion then moves on to the TRP scam. Gaurav says a certain section of the media, however small, including Newslaundry, should pat themselves on the back for calling out big brands for finding hate-ridden news. He says, pointing to the broader picture, that the TRP scam is an offshoot of the events that preceded the entire fiasco: the SSR case. He talks about how some news channels turned SSR’s death into a joke, politicised it and then came their “Trump card, “miss loose cannon Kangana.”
Then comes the latest in the Hathras case and how the family of the victim is being hounded by the media. Akanksha tells Snigdha about the ugly exchange that happened between the victims' relatives and the media. Referring to her report, she says, “One must also remember that there are certain media houses who have been looking for some or the other conspiracy theory in the case and also trying to rule out the caste angle. Whereas when you go to the ground, the build up to the crime can be explained only through the prism of caste.”
Snigdha moves on to discuss Gaurav’s report on Tarun, a 17-year-old autistic child from Colaba who got lost in a crowd and never returned. Gaurav highlights the gross negligence by the police and the Railway Police Force in the case. After a year, as the case gets colder, the family still has not given up hope. “It’s a story that, I think, social media can eventually solve. My faith in this particular case lies in the power of social media because we’ve seen what it can do from the Baba Ka Dhaba case” he says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Damini Kain, a student activist and academic researcher on issues related to caste and gender, along with Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Nidhi Suresh.
The conversation begins with UP government’s denial of rape in the Hathras case. Nidhi begins the discussion by highlighting, on the basis of medical records and other evidence, how the no-rape claim does not hold.
“Something that's become very evident through the research is that firstly this was not an inevitable death. This was simply not prevented, it was just not taken care of, nobody was there for her, nobody attended to her on time,” says Nidhi.
While the incident has shockwaves throughout the nation, Damini who hails from western Uttar Pradesh herself, tells Snigdha about how government’s and the police’s response when it comes to crimes against the Dalit community are evasive to the extent of being oppressive . She says that the nexus of upper caste dominance even in the Hathras case is a reflection of how Dalit women are treated, even by law-makers.
Ayush draws out the ridiculousness of Uttar Pradesh Police’s “international plot to defame UP government” claim. He adds more context to the discussion on crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh. In a recent report, he pointed how the Adityanath government has trying to protect bureaucrats who in turn were accused of protecting Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the former BJP MLA from Unnao sentenced to life in prison for raping a minor.
Coming back to the dynamics of caste in rural and urban areas, Damini says that we shouldn’t reduce the discussion just to atrocities against Dalits but also how caste functions on a day-to day basis. She shares a recent report that shows how caste dominates Indian cities. “We need to come to a meeting ground that can be established when enough representation is given to people from all marginalized communities,” she adds.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Akanksha Kumar.
This time, the trio skip the bizarre news section to discuss the most horrific story of the week: the Hathras case. A 19-year-old Dalit woman succumbed to injuries at a hospital in New Delhi after she was gangraped by four Thakur men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.
Nidhi brings up that the victim’s body was cremated by the Uttar Pradesh police without a single family member being present. “Her family was deprived of even one intimate moment with her body,” she says. In the context of medical shortcomings and administrative blunders, she adds: “The family has to ask the doctors again and again, to take a look at her.” Nidhi also explains how the family, afraid they might lose the woman, tried at the time to get the media’s attention.
On how the story was covered by the media, Akanksha talks about how “empathy was missing in the reporters” while they were speaking to the victim’s family. “Initially, no media house reported this story, but after they did, I wished that they didn’t,” she says. “Every inch of the house was occupied by journalists and relatives.”
Nidhi and Akanksha explain the caste divide in the village, and how they asked Thakur residents if they participated in Valmiki weddings. The Thakurs said no, Nidhi says, but said the Valmikis would come for their weddings “for cleaning”. The Valmiki families are also treated differently in shops, and nobody wants to touch anything that they have touched.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and former Newslaundry reporter Rohin Verma.
The discussion begins with Rohin’s report on Laungi Manjhi from Bihar’s Gaya. The man worked alone for thirty long years and dug out a three-kilometre-long canal to bring water to his village in southern Bihar, a region prone to severe drought. While most media houses pegged his story as one of inspiration, Rohin, through his report, highlighted the extreme poverty and government apathy that led Manjhi to take the task upon himself. “Even if reporters would have pitched these stories, I know the editors wouldn’t have found it worthy enough to be covered,” says Rohin talking about how no one noticed what Manjhi had been doing for three decades. “But now when all is done, everyone wants to do a story on it.”
The discussion then moves on to Basant’s report on the right wing’s obsession with the idea of ‘Love Jihad,’ especially in Uttar Pradesh. Panchajanya, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s mouthpiece, recently published a story on Love Jihad called ‘Pyaar ka Islamic katal’. All it took was a little digging for Basant to discover the glaring loopholes in the story. He also talks about how a committee has been formed in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur to look into cases of Love Jihad. “UP has so many cases of rape and many other issues, and all they can care about is Love Jihad,” says Basant.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Supriti David and Ayush Tiwari.
The conversation hits off with the most bizarre news story: Sudarshan TV’s show on ‘UPSC Jihad.’ Last month, the Delhi High Court had put a stay order on the hate-mongering channel after the notorious #UPSC_Jihad promo caused an outrage on social media. In his show, the channel’s editor-in-chief, Suresh Chavanke tried to convince his audience that Indian Muslims have launched a ‘jihad’ on the coveted civil services examinations. Ayush talks about his report on the matter and contrasts the Supreme Court’s reaction to the show with that from the I&B Ministry.
The discussion then moves on to Supriti’s report on the Baghjan oil well blowout in Assam. Supriti relates her experience of visiting the site, and how just a few minutes of exposure to “the roaring noise of the flame” and the smell of gas left her feeling nauseous. Imagine what the people who live there are going through, she says. She talks about the long-term ecological repercussions of the disaster and the response from Oil India Limited. She goes on to elaborate on the plight of villagers displaced by the fire who currently reside in relief camps. “Four months in a relief camp is a long time.” The people there want closure, acknowledgement of their suffering, and a concrete plan to ensure their rehabilitation,” says Supriti.
Snigdha moves on to discuss Ayush’s report on Umar Khalid’s arrest and his interview of the arrested human rights activist, not long before he was arrested. “He was mentally prepared that he will be arrested,” says Ayush. He also points out the glaring loopholes in the Delhi Riots investigations.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this edition, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and Basant Kumar.
The trio begins with the most bizarre headlines they came across this week. Basant and Nidhi think the tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP via Kangana Ranaut is quite strange while Snigdha can’t get over ‘Faux-Bama.’
The discussion moves to Nidhi’s report on #JusticeforSSR groups online. “People on these groups want the worst for Rhea Chakraborty, they want her to be arrested, dead and hanged,” says Nidhi. But what drives them and why have they taken the actor’s death so personally? “The answers I got were surprising, yet very human,” says Nidhi.
The panel also discuss the role of the TV news media and the brutal race for TRPs. The conversation then switches to an issue that has been conspicuously absent from TV news for a while: the novel coronavirus. Basant relates the details of his report on the dismal healthcare infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. “Every day we watch new channels and newspapers reporting how the UP government is handling the coronavirus really well, but the reality on the ground is very different,” he says. From false test results to the lack of hospital beds and doctors refusing to treat non-Covid patients, Basant’s story paints a worrying picture of the pandemic in the fifth-worst affected state in India.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this edition, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Supriti David.
The trio first look back at the most bizarre headlines they came across this week. Supriti chooses an awful new TikTok craze, in which certain users dressed up as and pretend to be Holocaust victims, while Snigdha briefs us on U.S. President Donald Trump’s contentious trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where incidents of police brutality and vigilantism occurred this week.
Prateek tells us about a story closer to home, wherein Times Now anchor Rahul Shivshankar berated a panelist who tried talking about India’s GDP slump instead of the frenzied media ‘investigation’ into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. This prompts a conversation about Rhea Chakraborty’s unending trial by media. As Supriti puts it, “The media, which is supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy, has been adding fuel to fire.” Prateek spent a day observing reporters outside Chakraborty’s house, and describes what he saw in distressing detail.
The media’s recent indifference to ethics extends far past Bollywood, Supriti explains. Her recent investigative piece details how in Assam, journalists are accused of driving a survivor of child rape to attempt suicide. Local reporters repeatedly evaded legal procedure and invaded the victim’s privacy.
All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayan Sharma and Nidhi Suresh.
The episode begins with the trio sharing bizarre news stories. While Snigdha talks about an AYUSH Ministry secretary asking attendees of an online training session to leave if they did not know Hindi, Ayan shares the story of a 92-year-old Vietnamese man who never cut his hair, and Nidhi talks about Supreme Court’s peculiar advice to Prashant Bhushan during his contempt case hearing. Nidhi, who wrote a report on the hearing, explains the proceedings in detail.
Then the trio moves on to discuss another report of Nidhi’s on Facebook’s stance on hate speech and human rights, and why it has always been ‘hypocritical’. She adds “Facebook always accepts it is guilty of all the charges they have ever been accused of, they never deflect from that. But they don’t take action against it either.” The world’s largest social network is facing tough questions regarding its soft approach to the regulation of hateful content, especially after the Wall Street Journal report. “From Myanmar to the Philippines, the internet giant’s record speaks volumes about its commitment, or the lack of it, to tackle hate speech and violence,” says Nidhi. The trio also discusses Maria Ressa’s case. Ressa has consistently been critical of Facebook, holding the social media giant responsible for the spread of disinformation and hatred.
Then the discussion moves on to Ayan’s ground report on railway porters and their plight. When he spoke to them about how the pandemic has affected them, all of them had one thing to say--that nobody cared about their plight. The Railways has not provided any support to these porters, some of whom have been working at railway stations since generations. Ayan also highlights how “uncertain and clueless the railway officials” were when questioned them in this regard. “The porters need an answer from the government or the officials because they don’t know what is going to happen,” says Ayan.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar and Basant Kumar.
The discussion begins with Akanksha’s report on the discourse over whether it was toxic TV news debates that resulted in the death of Congress spokesperson, Rajiv Tyagi. Discussing the manner in which debates are conducted on national television, Akanksha says, “Yes, TV debates are toxic, but linking them to Tyagi’s death has to stop.” She draws attention to how Tyagi made a space for himself as a TV commentator known for his theatrics and as the only person who could “take on BJP’s Sambit Patra.” Basant also points out how “Tyagi knew how TV debates are conducted, he knew what he was getting into.” The panel agrees that while it is about time we rethink the toxicity on display on news channels every night, it is unfair to blame the anchor Rohit Sardana or Sambit Patra for Tyagi’s untimely demise.
The discussion then moves on to Basant’s report, a follow-up on the attack on Caravan journalists. A day after the attack, Basant attended a press conference by The Caravan team. The number of people who showed up speaks volumes on how much people actually care about journalists and press freedom in India, says Basant. Snigdha and Basant also bring up the statement issued by Editors Guild regarding the attack which they feel was “disappointing” to say the least.
Basant also talks about his conversation with Arundhati Roy, who was present at the event, about the attack and the slow strangulation of dissent across the country.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar.
They discuss Ayush and Basant’s report about what happened in Northeast Delhi on the night of Bhoomi Pujan for the Ayodhya temple. “Residents told us that people at night were raising obscene slogans like ‘Mullo bahar jao’, ‘Suaron bahar jao’, they called them pigs,” Ayush says, adding that Muslim residents were scared and nervous. “All this sloganeering had set off a panic attack in the area.”
A lot of saffron flags were planted in the locality,” Basant adds. “A couple of the flags were removed by the police in the morning. The police said they removed the flags to avoid tension.”
The trio also discusses the SHO’s response to the situation in Northeast Delhi. On being questioned about the flags, the SHO responded “why is there a problem in putting up flags? They weren’t put up on their homes.” “How can a police officer dismiss the fear and concern of the citizens,” says Ayush.
They also discuss how a Hindu mob attacked three Caravan reporters, again in Northeast Delhi. The journalists were out reporting on the harassment of the neighbourhood’s Muslim women. They were “harassed” and “manhandled” by the mob.
Basant and Ayush recount their own experiences reporting in Northeast Delhi. “I definitely felt a little uneasy there,”Ayush says.
Basant points out that such attacks on journalists are not a new phenomenon. But what is surprising now is the response of the police.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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For this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Supriti David, a new recruit at Newslaundry and Jahnavi Uppuleti, an independent journalist who writes on caste, politics, and culture.
The episode begins with the trio sharing bizarre news stories. While Jahnavi talks about a repulsive story involving a sadhu and his saliva, and Supriti shares the story of a drug-smuggling cat, Snigdha talks about how her bizarre news story is about how bizarre news itself has become in India.
Following this, Jahnavi gives listeners a brief introduction to her report on the Dappu, a musical instrument that holds immense socio-political significance amongst not just the Madigas, but the Dalit community at large. Talking about how the Dappu is perceived as an ‘untouchable’s instrument’ that continues to be associated with ‘shame’ by other communities, she says, “Many avoid playing or acknowledging it in public, to avoid unnecessary stares and complications with upper caste communities.”
The discussion then moves on to Assam floods and Supriti’s article on the difference between the coverage of the calamity by mainstream media and local media. “Local papers and news channels gave the tragedy a human face,” she says.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar
They delve into the second report of the NL Sena series by Ayush and Basant on the deadly communal carnage that engulfed the national capital in February this year. The new report deals with the murder of Shahid Alam on February 24 during the riots. The crime branch arrested six Muslim men for the murder based on eye-witness statements by three migrant workers, all of whom told Newslaundry that their statements are fabricated.
The conversation begins with details of the statements of the arrested suspects and eyewitnesses and moves on to discuss the glaring discrepancies in the chargesheet. Basant tells Snigdha how the chargesheet says Mukesh, the primary eyewitness, had identified Raees Khan, but the case diary has no mention of the name. In fact, even Mukesh says he doesn’t know any Raees Khan or the suspects who were brought in front of him at the police station for identification. Ayush goes on to shed light on how the Delhi police have not been very responsive to Ayush and Basant’s questions.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari and Ayan Sharma of Newslaundry.
They begin with a discussion on Ayush and Basant’s report on the Delhi police’s investigation into February's communal carnage. They explain how the police allegedly fabricated and distorted witness statements to shield the Hindu killers of a Muslim electrician and how they stacked up vague evidence against four men Muslim arrested for the murder.
Ayan talks about his report on the arrest of a journalist in Assam who had reported on timber and cattle smuggling rackets in the state.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Revathi Pogadadanda, an independent journalist and former CEO of Mojo TV, and Newslaundry’s Anusuya Som.
The episode begins with a discussion on the temporary but unexplained disappearance of Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, that fuelled the #WhereisKCR trend on Twitter. The episode revolves around Revathi’s report on the state’s perplexing response to the pandemic and the diminishing press freedom there. She talks about her own arrest post her eye-opening reports on the multiple student suicides in Telangana. Revathi brings up instances of journalists being threatened for questioning KCR government. She also talks about KCR’s hostile relationship with non-Telangana Rashtra Samithi-owned media.
They also discuss the continuous protests by healthcare workers in Telangana, mainly at the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. The conversation ends with Anusuya’s recent report on the plight workers and businessmen at one of India’s most famous flea market, Sarojni Nagar.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar in a discussion dedicated entirely to the Delhi riots and the recent charge sheets filed by the Delhi Police.
Ayush and Basant recently wrote a report titled: Delhi riots: Inside the ‘Kattar Hindu’ WhatsApp group that planned, executed murders. The duo speaks to Snigdha about their approach when it comes to reporting on an issue like this. They also discuss the background of the members of the group, and how hatred towards the minority community was a common denominator amongst them.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayan Sharma and Prateek Goyal.
Prateek begins with a discussion about his four-part NL Sena series on the plight of Adivasis in Chhattisgarh. He describes the beautiful geography of Bastar and the many tribes that are indigenous to the area. In what can only be called a cruel irony, these inhabitants have been suffering the worst end of the never-ending struggle between security forces and Naxalites. Thousands of Adivasis have been arrested and thrown in jail, often without a trial, for years. Prateek talks about how little it takes for an Adivasi to be jailed. He also explains why the locals of Bastar are unhappy with security forces.
The discussion then moves on to Ayan’s report on Delhi’s Covid catastrophe. Ayan explains the various factors that contributed to the situation getting out of hand in the capital, despite the lockdown. The trio also discusses the cooperation between the Centre and the Delhi government.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Ayush Tiwari.
Basant tells the panel about his recent report on Patanjali’s claims of having found a cure for coronavirus. He illustrates the dubiousness behind the claim based on his conversation with the Chief Medical Officer of Meerut who clearly called it a “false claim.” The trio also discusses the coverage of the so-called cure on TV news channels. In fact, many TV news anchors almost acted as cheerleaders for Patanjali with their shows sponsored by the brand.
The panel moves on to discuss Ayush’s report on OpIndia. They talk about why advertisers have been pulling out from the hate-fuelling website. Ayush even spills details of their funding and their undisclosed connection to the Bhartiya Janta Party.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Meghnad S and Basant Kumar.
They discuss mental health in light of the actor’s Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide and its coverage by the media. They talk about the condition of mental healthcare in India and the steps taken by the government to address this invisible pandemic.
The discussion then moves on to the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladhak’s Galwan Valley that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Meghnad talks about his piece detailing how TV news channels calling for a boycott of Chinese products are taking Chinese ad money.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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We want to keep you posted about one of the most ignored regions of the country. So, in this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Times of India correspondent Shradha Chettri,and East Mojo’s Sikkim correspondent, Pankaj Dhungel.
The podcast begins with the trio talking about the number of Covid-19 cases in each region, the number of healthcare facilities available for infected patients, quarantine centres, etc. The conversation soon leads to a shocking revelation: the entire region of North Bengal including Darjeeling and Kalimpong, and the state of Sikkim had only one testing centre until the end of May when Sikkim got its own testing facility. They talk about the backlog in test results due to the immense pressure on the lone testing lab at the NBMCH which still caters to Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts, apart from Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
They also discuss the government’s lack of transparency in these testing times, and the impact of the pandemic on the tea and tourism industry.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Ayush Tiwari.
The podcast begins with Basant talking about his report on the Covid-19 outbreak at TV9 Bharatvarsh and the channel’s apathy towards its own employees. The discussion moves to press freedom in India. The context is Ayush’s report on how News 18 edited its report on low-quality N-95 masks at Delhi’s AIIMS beyond recognition. The AIIMS doctor quoted in it was also expelled from the Resident Doctors’ Association.
The trio also discusses the Delhi Police’s chargesheet in the Delhi riots case. Basant and Ayush also share a quick recap of their detailed report on the carnage.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayan Sharma and Hameeda Syed.
Hameeda begins the podcast with a discussion on her extensive report on Narendra Modi’s redevelopment plans for Delhi’s Central Vista. She talks about various aspects of the project including its very need, cost, clearances, public consultation, and aesthetic. Ayan talks about his report on Prag News, an Assamese news channel that forced one of its pregnant employees to quit, saying they needed “agile people” at the workplace. The trio also discuss the layoffs at The Telegraph, and the glaring contrast in how the newspaper covered the COVID-19 response by the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar.
While Basant tells the panel about his report on Opindia communalising the death of a boy in Bihar’s Gopalganj, Ayush talks about his reports on the layoffs in the Times group. The trio also discuss journalists in Himachal Pradesh facing FIRs for reporting on government failures, and the News Broadcasters Association and the Indian Newspaper Society’s response to a PIL challenging layoffs by media companies.
This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Makepeace Sitlhou, an independent journalist based in Guwahati, Assam, and Ri Kynti Marwein, editor of Highland Post, a newspaper published in Shillong, Meghalaya.Ri Kynti begins with a hilarious story about the kind of comments made on the Meghalaya chief minister’s Facebook lives, leading to a conversation about the lack of official information available from the government. Makepeace shares a brief account of how Northeastern states are managing the pandemic, based on a report she wrote. She talks about how the relatively low rate of infection recorded in the region could be due to low testing. Ri Kynti talks about a recent report in her newspaper on how an entire village almost starved due to non-renewal of ration cards by the government. She also explains the function of a Dorbar Shnong, or the village headman, under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, one of the 25 autonomous regions in India; and their role in assisting the government to contain the pandemic. On being asked about cooperation between different tribal communities during the crisis, Makepeace is of the view that while there are many such instances, everything is not as hunky-dory as a section of the mainstream media tends to make it out to be. She sheds light on how authority is perceived differently by different communities across the Northeast. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar, Ayan Sharma, and Nikita Bishnoi. The panel, through the length of the podcast, discusses several aspects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.While Nikita talks about her report on how India has tested less than one per cent of its population, Ayan tells the panel about his report on how private coaching institutes are dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. The panel, further, goes on to discuss Basant’s report on a group of auto drivers who drove close to 1400 kilometres to reach their home in Bihar’s Katihar district. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari, and Hameeda Syed.Ayush begins by discussing his reports on Arnab Goswami quitting the Editor’s Guild of India, the FIR’s filed against him by the Congress, and the fiasco that followed. Hameeda tells the panel about the strange events that led to the alleged arrest of an Andaman based journalist. Further, Basant enlightens the panel about his report on the migrant workers who died while walking back to their native places, amidst the lockdown. This inevitably leads to a discussion surrounding the mental health of reporters who have been covering the pandemic and its effects from close quarters.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Prateek Goyal. They discuss various aspects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. While Basat talks about his report on the Tihar prisoners who were released and left to walk a hundred kilometers home, Prateek sheds light on the gathering of migrant workers in Bandra, Mumbai, which he covered in this report. They also talk about Basant’s report on the condition of migrant workers working at roadside dhabas in Murthal, Haryana, and Prateek’s experience reporting from Pune’s Sasoon General Hospital.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Hameeda Syed, Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar. The discussion kicks off with Hameeda’s report on a petition that sought the nationalisation of private hospitals and labs, until the pandemic subsides. The panel talks about Ayush’s report on media layoffs with The Quint furloughing 45 of its staffers, and Basant’s report from Manesar, where migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were attacked by locals.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar, along with independent journalist Anumeha Yadav. The panel, through the length of the podcast, discuss several aspects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Anumeha talks about her report from Bhilwara in Rajasthan, one of the first districts to go under lockdown in the country. From how the district administration dealt with the situation to the success of the Bhilwara model, she shares details of her impressions as a reporter.Prateek tells us about his report from Indore on how a misleading WhatsApp message led to an assault of a team of medical and police personnel in Tatpatti Bhakal. The panel goes on to discuss Basant’s report on more than 40 migrant labourers from Bihar, who are stuck in Ahmedabad—helpless, hungry and unable to make ends meet. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari, Hameeda Syed and Basant Kumar. The panel, through the length of the podcast, discuss several aspects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. While Hameeda talks about her report on how the pandemic might pan out, based on her conversation with Indian experts, Ayush and Basant describe the multitude of hardships faced by migrant workers attempting to return to their native states due to lack of planning by the government.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!PS: Apologies for the sound quality. We are working on making it better.
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Snigdha Sharma is joined by Ayush Tiwari and Ayan Sharma of Newslaundry. Ayush kicks the podcast off with Basaant and his report on the victims of the Delhi riots, who ended up in Delhi's 'drains of death'. They also talk about Ayan’s report on the journalists who were attacked during the lockdown and the suffering of migrant workers across India.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!PS: Apologies for the sound quality. We are working on making it better.
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Snigdha Sharma is joined by Hameeda Syed, Basant Kumar and Ayan Sharma of Newslaundry. They discuss Hameeda’s report on how a peaceful protest against the citizenship law at Khureji, one of the “other Shaheen Baghs of Delhi”, was shut down by the police after the Delhi riots started. They also talk about Basant’s report on how residents of a slum in Ganga Vihar, which was burnt down during the violence, are not being allowed to rebuild their homes. Ayan shares the details of his story from the Delhi airport, where coronavirus screening led to over 500 flyers being stranded for up to nine hours.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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Host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Ayush Tiwari, Basant Kumar, and Anusuya Som of Newslaundry. The panel begins the podcast with Basant’s report on the life of riot victims in New Mustafabad’s Eidghah relief camp followed by Anusuya’s report on what the Aam Aadmi Party is doing to help Delhi carnage victims. Ayush shares details of his article on how no one is holding Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath accountable for their pre-election vitriol in Delhi.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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Host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar of Newslaundry. They discuss the situation in Delhi in the wake of last week’s communal violence. They also talk about their experience reporting from the ground and documenting the sheer scale and horror of the tragedy.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this special episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Aishwarya S Iyer from The Quint and Newslaundry’s Ayan Sharma, Anusuya Som and Veena Nair—all of whom covered the violence that broke out in Northeast Delhi last week. From sharing their first-hand experiences on the ground to the emotional toll of reporting such horrific events, the reporters talk about it all in this candid conversation.Tune in!
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A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have.In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Ayush Tiwari, Ayan Sharma and Veena Nair of Newslaundry. Ayan shares his experience covering Arvind Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony. He met tens of AAP supporters at the event who told him what they expect from the new government. Veena discusses her interview with Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, who is the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and Ayush talks about how he braved a programme organised by OpIndia and My Nation and lived to tell the tale.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have.In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Basant Kumar, Ayan Sharma and Prateek Goyal of Newslaundry. While Basant and Ayan discuss the Delhi election, Prateek talks about his series on the status of the Koregaon Bhima controversy.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari and Ayan Sharma of Newlaundry. Ayush and Basant discuss their report from the village of Kapil Gujjar, the Shaheen Bagh shooter. Ayan talks about his experience reporting from Jewar, hometown of the juvenile who shot at protesters outside Jamia Millia Islamia University. The panel also talk about Ayush’s factcheck of the Shaheen Bagh “sting” in collaboration with Jignesh Patel of Alt News. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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For the 100th episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari, Veena Nair and Ayan Sharma of Newslaundry, and the former host of this podcast, Cherry Agarwal. They begin with some bizarre news stories and briefly talk about the impending Delhi assembly election. And in a special segment, they discuss their most memorable ground reports. Ayush’s picked his first report from Kashmir while Veena shared her experience of being detained by the Delhi police. Ayan’s chose his ground report from Chabua, Assam; and Basant talked about his report from Kurukshetra as well as the report on the killing of Mohammad Suleman, a protester against the new citizenship law, in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, that he co-reported with Ayush.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in.
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Basant Kumar and Ayan Sharma of Newslaundry, and Vijayta Lalwani from Scroll. The panel talks about the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, the star campaigners, how the Congress is losing relevance, the significance of Purvanchali voters, and the social media tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in.
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari, Meghnad, Anukriti Malik, and campus reporter, Ismat Ara. After sharing a few laughs over some bizarre news they read, the panel begins the discussion with the Shaheen Bagh protests. Ismat shares her experience of covering Shashi Tharoor’s Jamia Millia Islamia visit. Then comes India Today’s JNU Confession Tapes. Ayush sheds light on the fake news that did the rounds about an India Today reporter, right after the sting. Anukriti and Meghnad bring perspective to their story JNU violence: Inside the WhatsApp group that ‘coordinated’ the mayhem.
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by our correspondents Ayush Tiwari, Basant Kumar, Veena Nair, and Ayan Sharma, who were on the ground reporting on the mob attack at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 5. They talk about what they witnessed.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in.
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by our reporters Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari and Ayan Sharma who have just returned from covering the protests against the citizenship law in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, and the police brutality against the protesters. Ayush and Basant talk about how the Uttar Pradesh police are getting away with murder; they are refusing to file FIRs and making contradictory statements on the killings of protesters. Ayan explains how the citizenship law protests in Assam are different than elsewhere in India. He also talks about how the nuances of the Northeast’s sociopolitical issues are ignored by the Indian mainstream media. There’s this and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Meghnad S and Veena Nair of Newlaundry and Amit Bharadwaj, an independent journalist. Snigdha, Veena, Meghnad, and Amit discuss the future of CAA protests, who gets to lead a movement, and deaths due to the violence in Uttar Pradesh. Meghnad elaborates on the discrepancies in PM Modi’s previous statements on NRC. He also breaks down the complicated procedure and heavy jargon surrounding NRC, NPR, and census. Amit shares revealing insights about Jharkhand elections which he extensively covered on-ground. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s special episode, host Snigdha is joined by Ismat Ara, Basant Kumar, Ayush Tiwari, Anusuya Som and Veena Nair--all of whom were on the ground covering the protests in Delhi and elsewhere. Beginning with a reconstruction of the events that occured on the fateful night on Sunday, each of them talk about what they saw first hand.Tune in!
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In this week’s episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Meghnad S, Basant Kumar, and Veena Nair. While Meghnad explains the nitty-gritty of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Veena updates everyone about the JNU students’ protest march to Rashtrapati Bhawan. Basant talks about the pathetic living conditions of migrant labourers in Delhi as he recounts his visit to the Anaj Mandi that was gutted by a massive fire recently. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha is joined by Ayush Tiwari, Basant Kumar and The Quint’s Aishwarya S Iyer. While Aishwarya talks about the Hyderabad rape case and her experience of reporting on the same, Ayush gives us a break down of everything that was wrong with the maps depicting BJP’s supposed electoral decline across states. This and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and somethings that absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha is joined by Newslaundry correspondents Ayush Tiwari, Prateek Goyal, Chahak Gupta and Basant Kumar. While Prateek clears the air about the entire Maharashtra madness, Chehek talks in detail about the JNU protests and the situation that persists. This and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and somethings that absolutely shouldn’t have. Tune in!
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In this week’s episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha is joined by Newslaundry correspondents Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar. Also joining the podcast is Mid-day's Gaurav Sarkar. They discuss at length the post-election drama in Maharashtra, electoral bonds, media's coverage of JNU protests, the EU Disinfo Lab’s report on fake local media outlets serving Indian interests and some very most bizarre news.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha is joined by Omar Rashid, Uttar Pradesh Correspondent for The Hindu and Newslaundry reporters Basant Kumar and Ayush Tiwari to talk about the politics of Ayodhya and the drama in Maharashtra among other things.The podcast begins with the usual bits of bizarre news stories. The discussion quickly moves to Ayodhya with Omar who shares his experience of reporting from Uttar Pradesh for the last seven years. He goes on to narrate the reaction of both Hindus and Muslims of Ayodhya to the Supreme Court verdict. Ayush, who is just back from Ayodhya describes in detail what he calls "the market of TV news." Basant has some insightful observations about mainstream media's coverage of the Ayodhya matter. Apart from Ayodhya, the trio also discuss the unfolding drama in Maharashtra, Arnab Goswami's awkward episode with Baba Ramdev on Republic Bharat and the government's response to air pollution in Delhi.For this and more, tune in.
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For this episode of Reporters without Orders, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry correspondents Basant Kumar and Veena Nair to talk about important, and bizarre, news stories of the week, and media activism in India. Basant talks about the Haryana Assembly election, “Kingmaker” Dushyant Chautala, and the erosion in the support of the once formidable Indian National Lok Dal. Veena analyses the political drama in Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena is insisting that the BJP agree to rotating the chief ministership between the two allies.They also discuss US President Donald Trump’s cryptic message – “something very big has happened” – to announce the death of the ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and his description of the involved in the operation as “a beautiful, strong dog who came back”. As to the bizarre news of the week, the panel mention the headline of The Washington Post's obituary of al-Baghdadi – “An austere religious scholar at the helm of Islamic State” – and the hashtag trend #wapodeathnotice where Twitter users began writing obituary notices for infamous historical characters such as Adolf Hitler. The India media’s coverage of Hindutva leader Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder, the failure of a section of the Kerala media to abide by journalistic ethics in the Allen Stanley case, and media activism in India are other topics of discussions in this episode.For this and more, tune in.
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Host Snigdha Sharma and Newslaundry correspondents Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar are joined by Siddharth Singh, an energy, mobility and climate policy expert and author of the book The Great Smog of India for this episode of Reporters Without Orders.The panel extensively discusses the persistent matter of air pollution. Snigdha thinks the issue does not get its fair share of coverage by the Indian media. Siddharth talks about his book and what led him to write it. He explains how India’s use of outdated technology and fossil fuels, together with its geographical conditions, compound the problem of pollution. He bemoans the lack of a consolidated approach in dealing with the issue. In this context, the panel talks about China’s Blue Sky Initiative and the immediate need of making climate a political issue.The panel discuss the important news stories of the week. Speaking about his visit to Haryana to cover the elections, Ayush explains how ground issues were absent from both the campaign and media’s coverage. In the same vein, Basant says he is disappointed with the media’s coverage of the Ayodhya dispute.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha Sharma and Newslaundry correspondents Meghnad S and Basant Kumar decode the PMC Bank crisis, the “real issues” in the upcoming Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plogging on the Mamallapuram beach on October 12. They start off by discussing the news that rightfully made news. Meghnad explains how cooperative banks function: “Cooperative banks, in general, are a scam.” Basant notes the sacking of 25,000 Home Guards in Uttar Pradesh, arguing that it should not have happened. “Instead of giving jobs, they’re snatching them away,” Basant complains of the government.What didn’t make news this week but should have? A party for journalists at I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar’s Delhi home which was paid for by the taxpayer, says Meghnad. Basant points to the “invisibility of real issues” in the Maharashtra and Haryana polls, adding, “Nationalism, Ayodhya and Article 370 are the only three issues being raised.” Snigdha shares the news of tea garden workers in Darjeeling going on strike after they were refused their bonuses.This week’s selection of bizarre news includes the same “exclusive interview” of Home Minister Amit Shah on different TV news channels and a funeral prank in Ireland.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Ayush Tiwari and Newslaundry correspondents Meghnad S and Basant Kumar discuss the shastra puja “Hindu spin” to the delivery of the first Rafale fighter aircraft, the incendiary speech by a CRPF constable and its controversial broadcast by India Today, and the morbid murders that shook a small Kerala town. Speaking about the viral speech of the CRPF constable at a debate competition organised by the National Human Rights Commission late last month, Basant says he heard the speeches of other debaters in which they emphasised how the Army has committed human rights violations in the past. They offered many examples of areas where the Army has tackled terrorism and Naxalism without human rights violations.On the information deficit regarding the status of mental health in India, Meghnad says, “Unless you have data or, as Basant says, an adequate number of mental health professionals to handle cases, it’s just absolutely worthless to even expect anything really.”What made news this week that shouldn’t have was the exaggeration of Hardik Pandya’s birthday tweet for Zaheer Khan, among others.
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Snigdha Sharma hosts Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari and Bibek Bhattacharya, deputy editor at Mint Lounge. They discuss whether the climate strike protests around the world could prove effective in changing government policy, the Uttar Pradesh government’s inquiry clearing Kafeel Khan of wrongdoing in the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy, among other subjects.Bibek notes the role of class and privilege in protests and movements. “There is an inability to bridge the gap between concerned urban citizenry and people who live outside of our radar, in forests etc who are way poorer.” Ayush points out how the media was quick to make Kafeel Khan into a villain after the tragedy but has been largely quiet about the report clearing him. Sharing their “bizarre news of the week”, Bibek talks about the “funeral” of the Pizol glacier in the Swiss Alps while Ayush mentions a fashion student’s photoshoot amid floodwaters in Patna. Snigdha’s bizarre news was about an animal social media influencer.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, Snigdha Sharma hosts Gaurav Sarkar, Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar to reflect on the extravaganza that was Narendra Modi’s ‘Howdy, Modi’ rally in Houston, United States, and its wall-to-wall coverage by the Indian media. Why would the media think the rally warranted such fawning coverage? And why were the same channels that had labelled Donald Trump a serial liar singing his praises for sharing Modi’s stage? By the way, a major protest, dubbed “Adios, Modi” was held right outside the stadium where Modi was holding audience, but you could be forgiven for having missed it on primetime TV news -- they barely covered it. No points for guessing why.Among the people who dominated the news this week was the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. She delivered an impassioned speech at the United Nations Climate Summit, urging world leaders to act to save the planet before it is too late. Sadly, for her advocacy, the teenager became the object of a barrage of hate on social media. So, what does our panel make of her advocacy?Tune in.
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders has Newslaundry correspondents Gaurav Sarkar, Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar discussing a range of topics with the host Snigdha Sharma.So, what was on their minds this week? The crisis in Indian journalism, that’s what. The last few months have seen several media outlets shut shop and dozens, if not hundreds, of journalists lose their jobs. That’s only half the story, though. What plagues Indian journalism runs deeper, to its fundamental work. Take for instance an article published by India Today ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday which, as Newslaundry showed, was a textbook example of How Not To Do Journalism.Thanks in no small part to the pearls of wisdom offered by Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, India’s dire economic situation dominated the news this week — until Modi’s birthday came along, that is. Our panel offers an overview of what exactly is wrong with the economy and how it affects the common man.If you dig sports, this episode offers insight into the new season of the UEFA Champions League. Tune in!
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders has host Snigdha Sharma, Newslaundry correspondents Gaurav Sarkar and Ayush Tiwari and Aishwarya Iyer, a reporter at The Quint, discuss the Tabrez Ansari and Pehlu Khan lynching cases, Swami Chinmayanand, MJ Akbar vs Priya Ramani and a lot more.The podcast begins with everyone sharing the most bizarre news they had heard all week. Gaurav talks about the Vice President of Goldman Sachs who has gambling problems while Ayush talks about a case in Florida where a burglar broke into a house and ended up cooking breakfast for himself. Aishwarya talks about the recent developments in the Tabrez Ansari case. Ayush and Based on their personal experiences while reporting from the ground, Aishwarya and Ayush tells Snigdha how police and society deal with such incidents. Aishwarya talks about how some people even avoid rearing cows in their homes after incidents like this occur in their village.Gaurav follows up with the Priya Ramani case with juicy details from the courtroom. “You could see a lot of strategy coming into play,” he says. Ayush discusses the Chinmayanand case he has been covering. Talking about Shahjahanpur where he went to cover the case, Ayush says, “There is an industry of misogyny in small-town India.”The podcast ends with the panel discussing stories that shouldn’t have made news at all. For this and more, tune in!
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha Sharma gets into a candid conversation with Newslaundry Hindi correspondent Basant Kumar, Newslaundry reporter Gaurav Sarkar and policy-expert, Meghnad S.They begin the podcast with some of the most bizarre news they heard during the week. Basant begins his ‘khatarnaak’ news story of a man seeking a divorce from his wife because she wasn’t shy enough on their nuptial night. Even more bizarre is when Gaurav talks about Bihar’s Deputy CM, Sushil Kumar Modi attributing the slump in India’s GDP to the months of savan-bhadon.The discussion on GDP continues and takes a hilarious turn when Meghnad attempts t explains GDP using ‘baingan ka bharta’ as an example. They talk about the merging of Public Sector Banks, its effect on the economy, employment, and even GDP. The panel also talks about the story on Mirzapur’s mid-day meal, the journalist receiving flak for reporting it and the gradual shift of attention from the mid-day meal crisis to the journalist himself.The conversation then shifts to Chidambaram’s arrest and the complexity surrounding his trial. Gaurav explains the nuances of police and judicial custody in this case and shares his experiences as a courtroom reporter while he driving the panel through the details of Chidambaram’s trial. He also speaks about the lack of coverage received by Vivek Doval’s defamation case against The Caravan.The podcast ends with the panel’s recommendations.
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, host Snigdha Sharma catches up with Newslaundry Hindi correspondent Basant Kumar, Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari and Meghnad S.The discussion kicks off with everyone on the panel sharing the most bizarre news they've come across this week including Donald Trump's desire to nuke hurricanes. Talking about journalists expressing grief both on TV and their personal social media handles after Arun Jaitley's demise, the panel thinks obituaries should involve truth and not just extensive admiration. Meghnad mentions a tweet by journalist Rohini Singh where she expressed sadness but also mentioned how Jaitley came in her way of practicing unbiased journalism on several occasions. When Meghnad wonders if landlines were working just a few days after the decision of August 5, as reported by mainstream media, Ayush provides a clear picture with actual facts. Ayush also talks about the experience of working with journalists in Kashmir, how absurd the daily press briefings were in Srinagar, why people are not sending their children to school, the probable reason behind forcing immigrants to leave the valley amongst other things. Meghnad then delves into why RBI's decision to transfer huge amounts of money to the government is suspicious and how Nirmala Sitharaman is clueless about where to spend it. Ayush expresses concern over the Finance ministry shutting its doors to transparency. The podcast ends with Basant wondering why farmers are still committing suicide in spite of so many agricultural policies being in place. He also mentions how strange it is that the National Crime Records Bureau has not released any kind of statistics after 2016. For all this and more, listen up!
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Snigdha Sharma wears the host's hat and sits down with Newslaundry Hindi correspondent Basant Kumar, desk writer Gaurav Sarkar and Meghnad S.The discussion kicks off with everyone on the panel sharing the most bizarre news they've read this week including the sequence of events involving P Chidambaram. Talking about under-reported stories, Gaurav mentions a BJP member allegedly raping a minor at gunpoint in Mumbai while Basant expresses concern over journalists' ignorance regarding several job cuts across the country. Basant says, "This is a slap on the face of journalists because if we were reporting about this, NITMA wouldn't have had to put out an advertisement."Talking about the state's attempt to link people's social media accounts to their Aadhaar cards, Meghnad thinks an Aadhaar card is not needed to find out about those spreading fake news. Snigdha feels the government is trying to make citizens choose between privacy and curbing fake news.The group then discusses the hashtag #ArrestShehlaRashid trending on Twitter and the relevance of Donald Trump's attempt to mediate between India and Pakistan. Gaurav updates listeners on the Priya Ramani versus MJ Akbar case, and wraps up the conversation with an interesting yet surprising snippet from the Unnao case hearing which went unreported.For all this and more, listen up!
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry Hindi correspondent Basant Kumar, desk writer Gaurav Sarkar, and Khalid Shah, an associate fellow at Observer Research Foundation.The discussion kicks off with Khalid expressing concerns over the clampdown in Kashmir and how that has affected the people living there. The panel discusses how the media covered the state after the big decision. Khalid says, "There are problems that are very unique to Kashmir and although people may have found a way to work around them, the normalisation of curfew in the media is itself problematic." Khalid adds, "The only leverage Pakistan really has is Afghanistan. They could derail the Afghan peace talks and arm-twist America to do something."he group discusses why Ladakh is happy about being made into a union territory but Kashmir isn't. The conversation wraps up with Gaurav talking about his experience while covering the Unnao case and the panel questioning the judiciary on the verdict in the Khan case.For this and more, listen up!
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari while Newslaundry's Gaurav Sarkar, and AltNews’ Jignesh Patel and Pooja Chaudhari join in from The Media Rumble 2019. The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about Ayush’s “hidden podcast skills” and Cherry’s under-recognition of the same. They talk about the abrogation of Article 370 and how it's been a historic week, even in the sense of how many times the word “historic” has been used in the news.The panel also discusses the Ranbir Penal Code, communication blockage in Jammu & Kashmir, and the latest developments in NRC in Assam. Cherry points out how the news reports on Sushma Swaraj’s death and the passage of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill were eclipsed by the Article 370 issue.The panel moves on to discuss fake news and misformation, and what goes into spreading and stopping it. Pooja explores how educational intervention is essential in curbing the spread of fake news.For this and more, listen up!
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari, Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar, and News Editor (Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast) of Scroll.in Ipsita Chakravarty.The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about a petition in the Bombay High Court that sought a ban on the phrase "Alibaug se aaya hai kya". They also talk about the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and why it is contentious. Speaking of the media's coverage, Gaurav says, “Legacy media or the mainstream media didn’t seem to give the issue that much importance but independent media like The Wire, The Quint, Scroll.in did a really good job.” Ipsita adds: “The only way one can really gaze what is going on is through reporting, by going to Assam, speaking to as many people as possible.”The panel discusses the Right To Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Gaurav says, “It’s a move to clamp down on what the government wants you to know and what they particularly do not want you to know.”For this and more, listen up!
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal is joined by independent journalist Kunal Purohit, who tracks right-wing politics, hate crimes, development and gender issues. Others on the panel include Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar and Newslaundry Hindi correspondent Basant Kumar who discuss media's coverage of Assam floods and Mumbai rains.The panel also discusses the political crisis in Karnataka, for which they are joined by Anusha Ravi, a journalist with the New Indian Express, over the phone. Weighing in on the media's coverage, she says, "Over this entire political news, real issues are being locked somewhere."The panel also discusses the spate of resignations by Congress leaders and Kunal says, "In order to stay relevant, the Congress was not doing enough to justify its space as the opposition."For this and more, listen up!
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Gaurav Sarkar, Ayush Tiwari and Business Standard journalist Somesh Jha.The discussion kicks off with Ayush talking about his ground reports from Jharkhand. On a larger question of diversity in reporting and follow-ups, Somesh says, “The first thing that any media organisation does is that they try to cut its cost through shutting down the regional bureaux and that has an impact on the reportage that goes in these areas.”The panel also discussed the highs and lows of the Budget 2019. Cherry asks the panel their opinion on government’s plan to recapitalise public sector banks to which Somesh says, “We cannot say that recapitalisation is not required at all but what is also required along with the recapitalisation is a larger set of reforms.”The panel also discusses the government's proposal to levy an additional surcharge on the super-rich. Gaurav says, “Taxing the super-rich will eventually be a good move because I think it will lead to a level playing field.”From crabs' role in a dam breach in Maharashtra to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 86-claps during the Budget speech to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's curb on journalists' entry into the North Block, everything is discussed. For this and more, listen in!
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In this episode of Reporters without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry Correspondent Ayush Tiwari and Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar to talk about the protests against clean chit to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, courtroom drama during the deposition of former Union Minister MJ Akbar, Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting in Delhi, Election Commission's social media team in Bhopal and more.Gaurav was covering the protest against the clean chit to Gogoi, while Ayush attended Congress president Rahul Gandhi's public meeting in New Delhi.Gaurav talks about how courtroom proceedings (in the MJ Akbar defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani) turned into a boxing ring. He also talks about enthusiastic support from the audience in the gallery for Ramani.Ayush speaks of his experience of attending a Rahul Gandhi election meeting. Cherry and Ayush talk about the atmosphere of the meeting, the loyalty of supporters and how ideology plays a driving force for the supporters of both parties. Ayush talks about his report from Bhopal on how the election commission's social media cell in Bhopal is keeping an eye on online campaigning of political parties in the state.For all this and more, listen in.
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This week on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry Hindi reporter Basant Kumar and Newslaundry Desk writer Gaurav Sarkar.The podcast kicks off with the panel discussing the heavy rains that lashed Mumbai. Speaking about the government's response, Gaurav said, "I don't think there is a lot that they can do because Mumbai has reached its saturation point." But do Cherry and Basant agree?Meanwhile, Basant points out that the water crisis in Maharashtra has received limited reportage.The panel also discusses the Chandni Chowk incident. Commending Delhi Police, Basant says, "We should praise the police for keeping the situation as calm as it is."The discussion moves on to the alleged firing of one of Canada's top cartoonists, Michael de Adder. The cartoonist's contract was terminated by a publishing company in New Brunswick after a cartoon he did on US President Donald Trump went viral on social media.The panel also talks about actor Zaira Wasim’s Bollywood exit. Was it religious indoctrination or an individual's choice. For this and more, listen up!
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This week, on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal is joined by Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari, desk writer Gaurav Sarkar and Newscentral 24x7's Abhinav Prakash.The podcast kicks off with Abhinav talking about the rising death toll in Bihar's Muzaffarpur due to encephalitis. He says that the death toll is now above 100 and the Opposition has not been questioning the government regarding this due to the elections. “People are coming in every hour and no parent is hopeful that their child will survive once they come in,'' says Abhinav. The panel also discusses the media's coverage of encephalitis-related deaths in Gorakhpur last year.The panel also discusses the doctors' strike in West Bengal. Gaurav and Ayush talk about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's response to the strike, the pan-India nature of the protest and how it impacted services throughout the country.Moving on to a bit of international news, Ayush talks about the death of an Indian girl in a desert near the United States-Mexico border. He also talks about the crisis in Sudan and what gave rise to the conflict in the first place. Ayush explains the recent developments and the power dynamics between Russia, China, and the US. Gaurav talks about fake Instagram pages that have exploited the crisis to gain followers.The panel also talks about cricket and the India-Pakistan World Cup match. They discuss how the reaction of Pakistani fans was much more measured after losing the match. Gaurav also discusses the post-match hungama and Shoaib Akhtar’s reaction on YouTube bashing the Pakistan cricket team.For all this and a lot more, tune in now!
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This week, on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari and Tarun Cherukuri of Indus Action to talk about the draft National Education Policy, Aligarh murder case, Akshaya Patra controversy and more.The episode kicks off with Ayush talking about his experience in Aligarh, a district where a two-and-a-half-year-old was murdered. Ayush talks about the issue's portrayal on social media and how the presence of a “vicious” mob was giving communal undertones to the whole issue. Ayush also weighs in on whether it is right to badger a grieving family into giving a media bite, and talks about how the media's coverage of the case spiked after the initial days. Moving on, the panel talks about the media's coverage of the education sector. Tarun says it is the media's responsibility to inform the society in a “discerning and tactful manner”. He also talks about the need to regulate information in the “post-truth and post-news era”.Tarun also talks about the draft National Education Policy (NEP). He talks about how the report is “ambitious”, but expresses his reservations about it being “translatable"—both administratively and financially. Ayush asks him about the improvements that is needed in the education system. Tarun talks about how the efficacy of a policy is “lost in translation” between “an aspirational policy and the National Curriculum Framework”. Similarly, speaking about the draft NEP, he says, while it looks great on paper, it remains to be seen how the ministries are able to integrate the plan. He appreciates the fact that the draft NEP talks about developing “core aspects” such as “social and emotional wellbeing” rather than being ambitious with the curriculum. The panel also discusses how the three-language issue was unwarranted.Next, the panel discusses the “arbitrary arrests” of social media comments. Ayush speaks about “thought policing” that is emanating from the top brass of the government, while Tarun talks about the responsibility of law enforcers. He adds that a law is as good as the people who can wield it.For all this and a lot more, tune in now!
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal is joined by the usual gang, Newslaundry's Ayush Tiwari and Gaurav Sarkar. Before getting down to business, Cherry decides to make the guys play a quick game of rapid fire where they must quickly respond with the first thing that comes to mind when certain words are thrown at them. Gaurav and Ayush react to a volley of interesting words including Modi, blockchain, dogs, Lays, Himachal and more.Getting back to the podcast, Cherry asks what news pieces they spotted which were under-reported or over-reported. Gaurav points out the news of Ajit Doval being reappointed as the National Security Adviser for five years with a cabinet position. While he thinks it’s an important piece, it “didn’t deserve to eat up the Monday news cycle”. He thinks the report on the ostentatious expenditure made by parties during the elections was under-reported.Ayush thinks that the news of the Congress expelling Kerala politician AP Abdullakutty for praising Modi was under-reported. He remarks that this news “shows a trend of how bitter things are”. He also thinks there's too much coverage of individual incidents in the ongoing tiff between BJP supporters and Mamata Banerjee. The panel agrees that the level of political debate needs to improve.Ayush brings up the Congress's decision to not send spokespersons to news debates for a month. He discusses the possible motivations behind this “temporary non-engagement”. While the Congress seems to be fielding the narrative that they feel victimised by the media, there is speculation that this is a “cover story” and that the party is actually in a “maze of confusion” and will return when they can “reconfigure their views” on issues. Gaurav disagrees with the Congress's decision, saying, "You cannot back out of a game just because you lost.” Ayush agrees. Cherry asks the pair whether they would attend a debate if they knew it was rigged. Ayush replies: “As an individual, I wouldn’t. But as a party that claims to be the oldest in the subcontinent, I would.”The panel moves on to discussing the ongoing cricket world cup. They discuss the episode on corruption in cricket on the Patriot Act by Hasan Minhaj and Minhaj's assertions. At the end of a long discussion, Gaurav, seemingly exasperated, opposes the “political scrutiny” that threatens to ruin the sport for the listeners. Ayush retorts: “Sleepwalk your romance off a cliff.”This and a lot more. Tune in!
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In this episode of Reporters without Orders, Gaurav Sarkar takes over as host. He's joined by Newslaundry's Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar, as well as Jane Borges and Anamika Gharat, who are both reporters with Mid Day in Mumbai. The panel discusses the Budgam incident, where a Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by the Indian Air Force in a case of friendly fire on February 27, leading to the death of all six airmen on board as well as a civilian on the ground. Gaurav asks why this information was revealed only after the conclusion of the general election. While Ayush recounts other instances of friendly fire and the resultant deaths caused, Basant calls this a sort of "cover-up", saying if the information was revealed in real time, it might have adversely affected the election results for the governing party.The conversation moves to a story that Jane and Anamika reported from the village of Khopivali in Maharashtra, which faces severe water scarcity for a major part of the year. Community members here exclusively marry members only from outside the community, a tradition that is causing the village’s male residents to be stuck in a state of “forever bachelorhood” since no women from other villages want to get married and settle in Khopivali. “This is also a women empowerment issue,” Jane points out. Anamika explains how she discovered the story in the first place, and discusses how things played out in the political spectrum too.The panel also discusses the growing violence towards Muslims ever since the results of the 2019 general election were announced and “the curious case of Rahul Gandhi’s resignation”.For this and more, listen in!
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal speaks to Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari, Gaurav Sarkar and Basant Kumar about the exit polls and why they should be taken with a pinch of salt. They also discuss water scarcity, PM Modi's visit to Kedarnath, and more. Discussing Pragya Thakur calling Nathuram Godse a "deshbhakt", Ayush says the novelty of the scandal is what "really touched a nerve". The panel finds itself divided on whether the issue deserved the over-reporting it received, or whether it was a statement that should not have received any attention.Moving on to PM Modi's Kedarnath visit, Basant argues that it was over-reported and received a lot of unnecessary attention. He says it should have been considered a "dharm yatra", but the mainstream media turned it into a grand event. On the issue of water scarcity, the panel discusses how it should have been an electoral issue. “People are being forced to go and break the gates of dams,” says Cherry, arguing it should have been an important part of political dialogue in drought-ridden states.Talking about Kashmir’s representation in the news, Gaurav states: “Geographical boundaries are trumped by a certain section of people interested in particular things.” He also talks about his experience in the Supreme Court while covering MJ Akbar’s defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani.For all this and more, tune in!
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal speaks to Newslaundry correspondents Ayush Tiwari and Prateek Goel about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Delhi, the electoral climate in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and more. Ayush also speaks about his report on Atishi’s pamphlet. The panel discusses Modi’s interview with News Nation, a report on cyclone Fani and how Dalits in Puri were turned away from cyclone shelters. They also talk about Prateek’s ground report from Madhya Pradesh: #MadhyaPradesh: In this village, caste determines the distance you travel to fetch water.Prateek, while answering Cherry’s question on loan waivers in Madhya Pradesh, talks about how farmers in the state are unhappy with the Congress government as they've failed to deliver on their poll promise. Prateek also talks about how the regional media didn’t cover important issues in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. For all this and more, listen in
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari, Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar and Quint's Senior Correspondent Aishwarya Iyer to talk about the #Yeti, the Utsav Bains hearing, Elections 2019 and more.Aishwarya and Ayush were covering elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively. They were gauging support for parties and how people in these places are forming their electoral opinions.Apart from elections, the panel also talks about the Yeti sighting and its news value. The Indian Army had tweeted out a photo of a trail of footprints in the Himalayan snow, claiming to have found footprints of the mythical creature. The panellists are clearly divided. While Ayush gushes about its history and Gaurav hopes that Yetis exist, Aishwarya and Cherry cannot help but stress on the point that it gained way more attention than it should have. In all the Yeti news, the duo felt a recently-released UN climate report got very little coverage.Utsav Bains had filed an affidavit claiming that he was approached with a “huge bribe” of ₹1.5 crore to frame the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in a false sexual harassment case. Gaurav shares the details of proceedings, the courtroom drama and more.Although there is too much news to discuss, Gaurav points out that Game of Thrones didn't get as much hype as it should have.For all this and more, listen in!
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal with Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about the impact Sandeep Bamzai’s tutelage has had on IANS, a petition presented to the Supreme Court seeking permission for Muslim women to offer namaaz in mosques and Maneka Gandhi’s comments on the un-secret nature of secret ballots.Ayush kickstarts the discussion with his own article about how a news agency, IANS, that has off late become "a part of the larger trend of media layoffs" as it suffocates under the corporate ownership of Mr Anil Ambani. He reveals examples of reporters at IANS and establishes a growing pattern alongside other media organizations such as Vice and Buzzfeed. The panel goes on to discuss the intricacies of corporate ownership and the direct influence they exercise on editorial management. Ayush also talks about a Swarajya Magazine report about how the family of a minor Dalit girl who was kidnapped by a man that happened to be Muslim were denied the right to file an FIR by the police since they did not want it to flare up into a ‘Hindu-Muslim’ issue. The panel then went into discussing the implications of ‘pseudo-secularism’ that dominates the Indian narrative today.Gaurav discusses an archaic ritual that Shashi Tharoor made a mockery of himself participating in. The ritual, called ‘Tulabharam’, is one where a person’s “BMI is weighed in phool, phal and gold” and Tharoor fell off the scales having to endure 11 stitches afterwards. The panel delved into the problems associated with the endorsement by politicians of religious traditions such as these and the implications that such engagement had on the sentiments of the voting public. He also brought up a recent plea put before the Supreme Court by a Pune-based couple that sought permission to let women offer prayers in mosques. The discussion questioned the fast-paced nature of the proceedings as well nuances of religion such as the “contest between personal liberty and religion” and the stronghold of the religious orthodoxy.Cherry drives the conversation towards the larger question of the responsibility of the media. She references a specific tweet by Times Now that says, “A political leader has said something communal, listen in” and questions the ethicality of cashing in on hate in the name of journalism. While Ayush agrees that its ‘clickbait’ tone was questionable, it is not the place of the media to dictate whether something, communal or otherwise, should be censored or not. The media should contextualize information, is what the panel agrees on, irrespective of that content that is. Cherry goes on to talk about Maneka Gandhi’s comment on not helping Muslim voters if they didn’t vote for her and lays down the reality of contemporary times wherein the concept of secret ballots is conceptually dead. With the Election Commission now providing politicians with a constituency-wise break up of votes via Form 20, the panel dived deep into the vulnerability of voters today.The panel also brings up the ineffectiveness of the EC and the Supreme Courts backhand comments on its exercise of powers, the trend of the Supreme Court gaining an “inordinate amount of power”, as well as the oft-ignored details of Islam in terms of its various schools of law.This and more, so listen up!
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal, Head of Research Ayush Tiwari, Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar and Newslaundry Hindi reporter Basant Kumar. The panel talks the Enforcement Directorate's fourth supplementary chargesheet in the AgustaWestland chopper deal scam, increasing propaganda in daily soaps, the impact of communal violence in Western Uttar Pradesh, Congress' demonetisation sting operation and more.Speaking about the allegations that journalists "toned down" reportage on the AgustaWestland scam, Ayush says: “ Manu Pubby and Shekhar Gupta broke the story on the Augusta Westland scam and if they wouldn’t have done it we wouldn’t have known about it." He also makes a case for why there is a need to look at the full chargesheet, going beyond sections of the document that was leaked to the media. He adds these are baseless allegations and do not make a strong case against the three journalists who were allegedly named.Moving on, Gaurav points out political propaganda is increasingly being embedded in daily soaps such as Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain. He also talks of various such videos doing the rounds on Twitter. He questions the intent of such propaganda and says, “The Model Code of Conduct is in effect, is this (such content) even allowed during this period?”Basant speaks about his ground report from Western UP which focused on understanding the impact of communal violence in the area. He is surprised that many young voters have fallen into a communal trap and are in favour of divisive politics. He says, “Hindus have hatred for Muslims while Muslims are fearful." There's also talk about what UP politics and 2019 general elections.Gaurav talks about a sting operation shown by the Congress and raises questions about its credibility. He feels it's edited and says: “How do you get hard cuts in raw unedited video?”#AugustaWestland #Uttar Pradesh #politics #general elections 2019 #communal politics
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal with Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about the SSC paper leaks, Yogi Adityanath’s rally, the Congress manifesto and the newly launched NaMo TV.Ayush talks about the press conference he attended on the SSC paper leaks conducted by Yogendra Yadav and Kanhaiya Kumar, an SSC aspirant from Bihar. He explains what happened and how the government and authorities were hand-in-glove. He says: “The Chairman of the SSC should be taken into account because this incident has happened under his nose.”Cherry discusses the recently released Congress manifesto which made a slew of promises including some focusing on the media, like the amendment of Press Council of India Act to strengthen self-regulation of the media, and the empowering of the Press Council of India to fight the menace of fake news and misinformation. Most fake news is amplified by TV news on a daily basis, and Cherry says: “TV newsrooms have whipped up war hysteria, communal mongering ... Be it Ayodhya, Pulwama, Balakot—I mean TV newsrooms go insane.” She also discusses the Congress’s promise of making defamation a civil offence and the removal of the controversial sedition law.Gaurav tells us about Yogi Adityanath’s rally in Bisara village near Greater Noida where the prime accused in the Akhlaq lynching case were present in the front rows, attending the rally. Gaurav quotes one of the accused as saying “we are out on bail and nothing can happen to us”. Ayush adds, “When one of the accused died, he was wrapped in a tricolour.” The panel discusses religion and the caste system in the context of the beef ban, and its impact on people.Cherry also brings up NaMo TV—now renamed Content TV—and how most details about the channel are hidden. "The Election Commission should examine its funding, violation of the Model Code of Conduct, ownership and whether the broadcasting rules are being violated or not,” she says.This and more, so listen up!#NaMo #SSC #Congress #Manifesto #Yogi #Adityanath #elections
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal, Business Standard's Arup Roychoudhury, Newslaundry’s head of research Ayush Tiwari, and Newslaundry's associate editor Meghnad. The panel talks about the Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct, a recent study by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on Indian digital media, and Rahul Gandhi’s announcement of the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY).The discussion starts with the Reuters report with Ayush explaining the nuances of the survey. The panel discusses its important aspects like the sample size and type of questions, and examines why some news sites are more trusted by Indians. Arup says, "Times of India right now in this country is almost as synonymous as 'Xerox' versus 'photocopy'."Meghnad tells us about the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India with respect to social media for the conduct of political parties and candidates during elections. Ayush and Arup share their opinions on why the EC may face a lot of trouble in the absence of laws regarding political advertisements. On the EC's effort to keep a check on social media, Meghnad says, “Maybe they are just putting out reports of ‘we have taken action’, whereas there might be thousands and thousands which have just been ignored.” The panel also discusses the "ghost advertisers" on Facebook and the effectiveness of the EC’s guidelines.Cherry discusses the recent announcements made by the Congress as poll promises, focusing on the NYAY, which is the party's minimum income guarantee scheme. “This is a poll promise, how well this gets implemented—if it gets implemented—is what we have to see.” NYAY offers ₹12,000 per month for a family (up to ₹72,000 per year) as basic income. When it comes to how the scheme will be funded, Ayush says: “Till the coming election they won’t clarify it, because keeping it vague is the best idea.” Arup also gives an in-depth analysis of the basic structure of a minimum income guarantee scheme and ways to fund it.For all this and more, listen up!#Nyuntam#Aay #Yojana #ModelCodeOfConduct#Congress #BJP #media #trust
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, award-winning reporter Amit Visen, Newslaundry’s head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about gender pay gap across newsrooms, Rahul Gandhi's use of "ji" for Jaish chief Masood Azhar, Election Commission's presser, custodial deaths in Bihar, government advertisements and more.The discussion starts with Ayush talking about a YouGov poll on dwindling job opportunities in the country. He mentions that the females surveyed are conscious of the disparity in pay. Cherry mentions the BBC's gender pay gap story and asks Amit about his experience with different media organisations. Amit speaks of the prejudice against women journalist that restricts them to female-centric content.Reflecting on what was over-reported by sections of the media, Gaurav talks about the internet outrage over Rahul Gandhi using "ji" to address Masood Azhar. The panel also discusses the misuse of laws such as sedition.Amit talks about the announcements made by the Election Commission and what does no-go for simultaneous elections in Jammu and Kashmir mean. He also expresses his disappointment at the under-reporting of the custodial deaths in Bihar.Ayush and Gaurav share their opinion on the Huffington Post report about the Indian cricket team wearing camouflage caps. “…It's not difficult to see the emotion that they are coming from, post-Pulwama, but does it really require PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] …to say that you all are hurting our sentiments?” says Gaurav. Ayush remarks, “They [Indian government] have given patriotism a bad name by taking it to very irrational extremes but that shouldn’t limit our horizon of looking at things.”Cherry discusses the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and some of the announcements made by the Election Commission. Is monitoring the spread of fake news and disinformation across social media platforms within EC's jurisdiction? Is EC's reasoning for not holding Jammu and Kashmir's assembly polls tenable? For answers to these, some media updates and more, listen up!NL Sena: www.newslaundry.com/sena#Kashmir #Election Commission #Lok Sabha #polls
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal is joined by Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari, desk writer Gaurav Sarkar and Vijaita Singh from The Hindu. The panel talks about the reporting on the Balakot airstrike, ghost advertising for the BJP online, and more.The podcast kicks off with the panel talking about the reportage on the casualties caused by the IAF’s airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad's training camp. Discussing the varying numbers put out by the media, Vijaita says: “There was a precision strike ... even Pakistan has admitted ... but to give numbers, it’s very difficult for the IAF or anybody because Pakistan is very secretive about these things.” Cherry is concerned about the credibility of "anonymous sources", saying, "I am often fearful that once the report goes out, [what if] my source flips over and says I didn’t talk to you?”They discuss the I&B Ministry’s showcause notice to two TV channels for airing a Pakistan Army press briefing. Ayush pointing out its digital equivalent, says: “Many of these digital outlets carried stories on what the Pakistan newspapers are saying … would that also be considered against national security?” Cherry points out that the media is not a tool for the government to set the narrative—it's there to raise questions, which doesn't make them anti-national or unpatriotic.The discussion moves to Gaurav’s story on how Facebook's recently-released Ad Library Report lists "ghost advertisers"—who are Facebook and Instagram pages which often run ads for political parties without disclaimers. Gaurav explains, "You don’t know who has been funding that. So officially, if the BJP’s accounts are spending ₹6-8 lakh a week, then who are these guys pushing about a crore worth of advertising in a month?”For this and more, listen up!#Balakot #BJP #Facebook #National security #Media #India #Kashmir #Pulwama #Pakistan #airstrikes
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal, Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari, special correspondent Prateek Goyal and independent journalist Aruna Chandrasekhar. The panel talks about the Indian airstrike in Jaba, near Balakot, Supreme Court's order to evict more than 1 million tribals and forest-dwellers, the Kisan long march in Maharashtra and more.The podcast kicks off with the panel talking about IAF’s airstrike on Jaish-e-Muhammad's "biggest training camp" in Pakistan. They also talk about the Supreme Court's verdict which has the potential to impact as many as 1 million tribals and forest-dwellers. Cherry points how tribals are often criticised for occupying "illegal" land. To which, Aruna says, “The government is supposed to be a custodian of public land…the idea that they are illegal occupants or illegal encroachers is part of language that is still extremely entrenched in our bureaucracy.”The panel also discusses why Arunachal Pradesh has been on the boil and a section of the media's coverage of the ongoing agitation. Further, they discuss the Republic TV-AMU controversy and the reason why sedition is used with much ease. Talking about police's actions in the AMU case, Ayush says, “They didn’t make any arrests in that sedition charge case… there are robbery, murder, rioting (charges), besides the sedition charge.”Moving on, Prateek, who was at the Kisan long march that began from Nasik's Mumbai Naka, tells the panel what he saw on the ground. The panel also discusses the implications of association of the farmers' protest with AIKS. Prateek says, “Farmers are in distress… people above the age of 70 walked 20-25 km to take part in the march.” He says whether AIKS takes advantage of that or not is a separate issue, but such protests will go a long way in highlighting the agrarian distress.#Balakot #Supreme Court #Tribals #KisanLongMarch
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal, Newslaundry's Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar, journalist Safwat Zargar and the author of HRW's latest report, Jayshree Bajoria. While Zargar joined the panel from Kashmir, Bajoria joined over the phone from New York. The panel talks about the coverage of the Pulwama attack, where more than 40 CRPF personnel where killed. They also discuss Zargar's profile of Adil Ahmed Dar, the teen behind the Pulwama attack, Cobrapost's latest exposé and more.The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about the Pulwama attack and its reportage in Kashmir. Speaking of the difference in coverage between the local papers in Kashmir and a section of the national media, Zargar says, "There was this clear-cut misunderstanding, like the national media jumped on to Pakistan…local papers tried to contextualise it in a way...such as what led to his [Dar's] joining and so on." Cherry is also curious about how local reporters in Kashmir cope up with the challenge of conflicting narratives given the multitude of stakeholders such as the Army, Militants, residents etc. She asks Zargar, “How do you ensure that there is objectivity?”The panel also further discusses the closure Milli Gazette, a weekly newspaper, and Cobrapost’s Operation Karaoke in which more than 36 Bollywood celebrities were stung. Gaurav says, “When it comes to brazenly taking money in cash…obviously raises the question that there is a backdoor mechanism that converts this black money into white.”The discussion then moves to the report published by Human Rights Watch,Violent Cow Protection in India: Vigilante Groups Attack Minorities. Bajoria says, "What we are seeing is a political campaign to use this issue of cow protection for political purposes to gain Hindu votes, and therefore, we've seen these so-called 'cow-protection' groups spring up across the country."For this and more, listen up!#PulwamaAttack #Cobrapost #Gau #Raksha #CRPF #Zargar
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features Cherry Agarwal and Newslaundry's Head of Research Ayush Tiwari. Prateek Goyal, Newslaundry's special correspondent from Maharashtra, joins in later to report on police protection being given to Abhishek Mishra in Kamal Nath’s Madhya Pradesh. The conversation covers the hooch tragedy, Arnab Goswami vs Shashi Tharoor case, and more.Ayush and Cherry talk about the hooch tragedy in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, expressing shock at the politicising of such tragedies. Cherry asks why the government isn't clamping down on the entire business of hooch. Ayush says, "There is a whole shadow market for these things ... It is common knowledge that the main government, the security forces—they benefit from this shadow market. It is a quid pro quo among the people who produce this kind of liquor.”Cherry moves on to Shashi Tharoor’s charges against Arnab Goswami. She remarks: “If you are filing an FIR against a journalist for accessing documents which are not in the public domain, it sets a dangerous precedent.”Prateek Goyal joins in to report on the police protection being given to "fake news guru" Abhishek Mishra in Congress-led MP. He says, “This boy is not a high profile person. He used to do propaganda videos on YouTube and he still does that for the Congress. It is unusual that the entire state government is mobilised for his protection now, for a person who so blatantly generates fake news.”For all this and more, listen up!#Arnab Goswami #hooch #Uttar Pradesh
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features Cherry Agarwal, Business Standard’s Somesh Jha, Newslaundry's Head of Research Ayush Tiwari and Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about the NSSO employment-unemployment report, Harvest TV and its birthing troubles, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s new regulations and more.Somesh speaks about NITI Aayog's comments on the NSSO report. He says, “The fact that he says it was a draft report, is misleading, because the NSE member who had resigned, they are on record saying that the report was finalised by them and it was approved for release in the public domain. So clearly, it was not the draft report.”The panel discusses TRAI's new framework for Cable TV and DTH operators. Gaurav says, “Now, instead of buying entire package deals, you can opt to pay for single channels.” He adds, “In spite of this change in mechanism, there has been a lot of pushback from viewers themselves who have been calling Dish TV or DEN and saying ‘hey, I don’t know how to figure this out.’”The discussion then moves to the story behind Harvest TV’s license. Ayush explains why the past owner of Harvest TV cannot sue the showrunners of the new Harvest TV. He says, “He is not the richest guy in the world, as opposed to Veecon media based in Delhi, as opposed to Barkha, Karan, Kabil Sibal based in Delhi. These guys are from Trivandrum, they run a Christian platform. Most of their revenue comes from the Pentecostal Church of Kerala to which they sold their prime-time slots. ”
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses Cobrapost's recent exposé, Kapil Sibal's comments on Harvest TV, the ensuing controversy, CAG Rajiv Mehrishi’s alleged tax evasion and more. The panel includes Cherry Agarwal, Desk Writer Gaurav Sarkar, Head of Research Ayush Tiwari, and Special Correspondent Prateek Goyal.Gaurav kicks off the discussion with the Cobrapost investigation that he reported on. Ayush points out a lack of due process. “There were allegations that [Cobrapost] had sent its questionnaire with 64 questions to DHFL on the same morning as the press conference. That raises a lot of counter-questions from the perspective of DHFL.” Gaurav also notes: “What really stood out was that the presser started at 3 pm yesterday at the Press Club. Why hold it once the stock markets are shut?”Giving a background on the Harvest TV controversy, Ayush said, “What you can say of all these media houses, because HTN is not the only one coming out, there will be many more in the coming days. They are all trying to cash in on the 2019 general elections.” Cherry weighs in, “They were trying to get licenses for about year now, if the government was not issuing licenses then that is a problem.”Prateek joins the discussion over the phone. He speaks about his fact-check report on "cyber expert" Syed Shuja. Prateek said, “We checked with ECL, no one knows [Shuja]. What if he is also making up the names? His entire account is fake.”The panel also discusses the ethics of journalism. Cherry poses the question, “When you are reporting on dire issues you see people hanging by a thread, would you intervene?” Ayush, says that he would. He says that being a reporter/journalist is a label that comes later. Gaurav says he would not intervene when “the greater good is actually reporting the story, and knowing that it would probably have an impact.”For all this and more, listen up!#Cobrapost #Media #Kapil Sibal #Harvest TV
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, award-winning journalist and contributing editor at Business Standard, joins the in-house gang of Gaurav Sarkar, Prateek Goyal, Ayush Tiwari and Cherry Agarwal. The panel discusses the chargesheet filed by the Delhi police against the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others. They also discuss the challenges of beat reporting, the presser on EVM hacking, media’s coverage of land conflicts and more.Ayush begins the discussion by talking about the under-reportage of “Operation Lotus” in Karnataka. Gaurav adds, “Maybe one of the reasons it has been under-reported is also because Karnataka has been in shambles ever since the elections started...Maybe from an editorial point of view, it doesn’t hold water because it has been happening for quite some time.”Speaking about media’s coverage of #JNUSeditionCase, Gaurav dubbed media’s coverage as “over-the-top”. Cherry disagreed. “Sedition is a law that needs a lot of discussions—if someone is being slapped with sedition, it does deserve prime-time coverage,” she said. In this particular case, “the charge sheet is being filed after three years, the delay itself should have the journalists questioning what’s happening,” she added.Sambhav discussed the media’s reportage of the new agricultural package. He said, “There was so much anticipation that the government has come up with something extraordinary on farmer’s distress...but I could see journalists not being as critical about examining what exactly that package means for business economics and farmers...the reporting was also very superficial.” To which, Cherry asked, “Is it because newsrooms lack expertise?” It is rather due to a paucity of time, Sambhav explained. “When it comes to issues (sic) such as these, reporters need to spend time on deciphering the information, many reporters don’t get to do this. That’s the unfortunate part of how media functions,” he said.Prateek joins the discussion to talk about the excesses of security forces in Chhatisgarh’s Korseguda. He also speaks about why it is challenging for the media to cover such regions.For all this and more, listen up!#India news #JNU sedition #land conflicts #Chhattisgarh #Media #Operation Lotus
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In the latest episode of Reporters Without Orders Cherry Agarwal is in conversation with Arvind Gunasekar, a CBI beat reporter, Vakasha Sachdev, The Quint's associate editor-legal, Rohin Verma, former Newslaundry journalist, and Ayush Tiwari. The panel discusses the controversy surrounding the Central Bureau of Investigation, former Supreme Court Justice HS Bedi’s report on alleged fake encounters in Gujarat between 2002 and 2006, brutal gang-rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Gaya, JNU sedition case and more.The discussion kicks off with the panel sharing their thoughts on the media's recent coverage of pertinent news pieces. Speaking of Alok Verma's resignation and the larger CBI controversy, Arvind talks about the source of the conflict. The panel also talks about the role of the Central Vigilance Commission, Supreme Court-appointed supervisor retired Supreme Court judge Justice AK Patnaik, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection panel.Coming to the government's role, Vakasha speaks about how the government used on-paper transfer protocols to strip former CBI chief Alok Verma of his powers. He says, “The government is very clever here.” The panel also discusses how different decision-makers, in this case, seem to have a conflict of interest. Weighing in, Rohin adds, “Judiciary bohot zyada dari hui hai (the judiciary is very afraid)", when it comes to matters concerning the prime minister’s office.The panel also talks about the JNU sedition row, with Vakasha pointing out the dangers of the sedition law. For all this and more, listen up!#CBI #AlokVerma #JNUSedition
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This week Reporters Without Orders features Cherry Agarwal in conversation with Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari, The Print's Amrita Nayak Dutta and Economic & Political Weekly’s Tejas Harad. In this episode, among other things, the panel discusses the #QuotaBill, which allows for 10 per cent reservation for economically weak sections of people belonging to the general category in jobs and education.The podcast kicks off with Ayush talking about Greater Kashmir’s misinterpretation of Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s interview. Amrita speaks about media's coverage of the Indian Science Congress, where outlandish claims were made, while Cherry talks about media's coverage of the #CitizenshipAmendmentBill.Tejas doubts that the #QuotaBill “will stand judicial scrutiny”. He explains the long judicial and legislative process required to bring such a quota into effect. He says it is not being opposed by other political stakeholders because it would eliminate the upper-caste vote. The panel also discusses the Supreme Court's stand on an economic criterion being used for reservation and why this bill will involve amending Article 15 (4).The panel then goes on to discuss, in the context of caste, whether “people of a community being the torchbearers of the narrative” is necessary to rectify the discourse on caste. Ayush identified this to be a part of the larger debate on whether only those with the lived experiences of prejudice must be the dominant voices in the discourse.Amrita spoke about her story on the government’s attempts to monitor the media, as well as Information and Broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's response. Ayush argues that “it is not negative coverage, but real journalism at stake here”.For all this and more, listen up!#QuotaBill #Reservation #BJP #media monitoring #CitizenshipAmendmentBill
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This week’s Reporters without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal in conversation with Ayush Tiwari, Scroll staff writer Shoaib Daniyal, Newslaundry special correspondent Prateek Goyal, and Indian Express Digital correspondent from Kerala, Vishnu Varma. Conversations range from Triple Talaq to Sabarimala to Bhima Koregaon.Ayush starts off by expressing his disapproval on the lack of coverage on the recent Transgender Persons Bill and its flaws. Shoaib talks about his dissatisfaction over the lack of coverage of Bangladesh's controversial polls which took place last week. The panel discusses the "quid pro quo" relationship between Sheikh Hasina and the Modi government.The discussion moves to the Triple Talaq bill and its peculiar clauses. Shoaib says the Catch-22 is that “although 'talaq talaq talaq’ does not annul the marriage, it can put you in jail”. The panellists then analyse the motivations behind either side of the debate in relation to Muslim women vote banks and male victimisation. They discuss the historical developments within Muslim personal law and alimony regulations during the Shah Bano case.Prateek joins in to discuss Bhima Koregaon. He commends the way the Maharashtra Police handled the large crowds to prevent violence. They banned certain activist groups and performers and placed countless cameras in an attempt to mitigate chaos and rioting. Prateek says he's fairly satisfied with the ample coverage of Bhima Koregaon this year.Next, Vishnu reports on the latest developments at Sabarimala temple and how two women in their 40s entered it. Cherry asks if this incident will serve as an example for other women to break discriminatory pilgrimage rules.For all this and more, listen up!#Bangladesh #BhimaKoregaon #TransgenderPersonsBill #TripleTalaq #Sabarimala
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This week's Reporters Without Orders features our host Amit Bhardwaj with Rahul Kotiyal, special correspondent Prateek Goyal and Snigdhendu Bhattacharya from Hindustan Times.Amit starts the podcast by asking Snigdhendu about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rath Yatra in Kolkata, which was supposed to be hosted on December 7 but was blocked by the Trinamool Congress. They discuss how the whole thing was rebranded from a Rath Yatra to a "Save Democracy" programme.The panel moves on to the rumours surrounding Varun Gandhi leaving the BJP and joining the Congress and how news reports constantly feed these rumours. Rahul adds: “In the Congress, the sky is the limit for Varun Gandhi and he’ll be a threat to Rahul Gandhi if he joins.”Amit talks about Kamal Nath becoming the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and his race for the position. The panel also talks about the cut-throat competition between the two parties and how the BJP's anti-incumbency factor played out in the state. Rahul notes: “The BJP’s strategy is to praise the Modi-Shah duo and blame it on local leaders if they lose elections.”Next, they discuss the reason behind the strong win of the Congress in Rajasthan, and where Vasundhara Raje failed and Sachin Pilot succeeded. Amit says the unemployment factor amongst the youth and the farmer crisis contributed. Prateek quotes people of Rajasthan saying, “Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhra teri khair nahi” which the Congress claims was given by the RSS while the BJP blames the Congress. Nevertheless, the slogan claims that Narendra Modi still has a certain hold in Rajasthan, but Amit says Modi's charm has diminished as “voters of Modi are in a toxic relationship which you know is not working out, but you just don’t want to quit it”.For this and more, listen up!
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This week's Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal along with in-house writer, Gaurav Sarkar. Today, we have three guests joining us on the panel: Mumbai-based Parth MN, Haryana-based Jyoti Yadav, and DNA’s Amrita Madhukalya.This episode focuses primarily on the agrarian crisis—including the Kisan Mukti March which took place in Delhi on November 29 and 30.The podcast kicks off with the panel sharing their experiences of interacting with farmers at the rally. Parth talks about how the presence of Opposition leaders in the rally was favourable for the farmers’ movement. “They (farmers) can use the platform to hold the establishment accountable. It is all about holding the establishment accountable. And if and when they come to power, as media we can hold them accountable for the speeches they have made at the rally,” he adds. Jyoti agrees and says it is crucial to politicise the issue as it makes the issue mainstream.The conversation then moves on to discuss how the media covered the Kisan Mukti March. Parth points out that though this particular rally was covered well by the media, the media has also been largely ignorant of the agrarian crisis that has been affecting almost the entire rural economy. “(The) spurts in farmer suicides happened largely after a drought, hailstorm or a natural calamity,” he said. “This is usually the last straw on the camel’s back. But why the farmer was sitting on the brink is something that we do not explore.”Talking about how the rally was covered by the Hindi media, Jyoti says it's time they stop romanticising the farmer crisis and instead focus on talking about the actual issue as it is. She feels that the pieces being churned out by various publications should be written as reports and not as literary articles.Gaurav draws a comparison between the first farmers’ march in Mumbai and the one that took place recently in Delhi. He points out that while political leaders were not allowed to make speeches at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, in Delhi, they were not only encouraged, but also expected to do so.The discussion then moves to how newsrooms were not very well prepared for the massive rally in Mumbai. Cherry points out that this shows the shortcomings of newsrooms. Amrita adds: “Newsrooms also need to invest in a sustained coverage of farmer crisis. Newsrooms need to take into account that this is going to be the biggest political conversation in the 2019 elections.”Summing up the discussion, Parth points out: “We need to ensure that the farming crisis becomes a part of our discourse and our daily conversations. Long story short—we should not be reminded of a farmer’s struggle only when they die.”For all this and more, listen up!#Kisan Mukti March #Agrarian crisis #Farmers #Agriculture #Delhi #Rajasthan
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This week's Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, Special Correspondents Amit Bhardwaj and Prateek Goyal, and Devesh K Pandey, Special Correspondent with The Hindu.Prateek, who is covering the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh shares his insights on core election issues, state politics and the farmer-centric Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana.Devesh tells us about the ongoing controversy within the Central Bureau of Investigation. He speaks about the genesis of the fallout, the significance of MK Sinha's petition, CJI Ranjan Gogoi's reaction to The Wire's report during a hearing on DCBI Alok Verma's petition and more.The podcast also discusses Manohar Lal Khattar’s statement on rape cases in Haryana and death of an RTI activist in Madhya Pradesh. For all this and more, listen up!#MadhyaPradeshElections, #CBIvsCBI #CJI Ranjan Gogoi #Alok Verma
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This week's Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, Special Correspondent Amit Bhardwaj, and Desk Writer, Gaurav Sarkar. The panel is joined by two guests over the phone: Chhattisgarh-based Kamal Shukla, editor of Bhumkal Samachar and Kerala-based Vishnu Varma from Indian Express digital.In the podcast, Amit talks about how sections of the media over-reported Tej Pratap Yadav's divorce. Yadav is the elder son of former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. Amit also weighs in on how stories of news value from Bihar such as the developments in the Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case have been eclipsed. Adding to the point, Cherry speaks about the repeated denial of bail to Delhi-based analyst and journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra.Speaking about the ground reality of Chhattisgarh elections, senior journalist Kamal Shukla tells the panel why the narrative of a larger voter turnout smells fishy. Moving on, Gaurav talks about his report on National Herald and the controversy around Herald House. He also talks about IndiaSpend's report on the rising number of hate crimes in the country.The panel is joined by Vishnu Varma over the phone. Talking about the Supreme Court's recent Sabarimala verdict, Varma speaks about how political parties like the BJP and the Congress are busy appeasing the voters. Then there is a discussion aboutCNN's lawsuit against US President Donald Trump and more. Listen up!#Chhattisgarh elections #Sabarimala #CNN #Donald Trump #Herald House #Abhijit Iyer-Mitra
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What is #RBIvsGovt all about? This episode of Reporters Without Orders with Business Standard's assistant editor Arup Roychoudhury, Newslaundry's Amit Bhardwaj, Gaurav Sarkar and Cherry Agarwal has the details. The panel is joined by Prem Shankar Mishra, senior correspondent with Navbharat Times Lucknow, to discuss discrepancies in teacher recruitment in Uttar Pradesh and the impact of his story.The discussion starts with Arup talking about the rift between the Reserve Bank of India and the government. Speaking about RBI's independence, Arup explains that RBI's autonomy is without any legal backing. Weighing in on media's coverage of economic policy, he adds, “The general channels don’t have the bandwidth or intelligence to cover this."Prem joins the panel to speak about developments in the teacher recruitment scam following his story. As matters stand, the High Court has taken cognisance of the issue.Speaking about an issue that got more attention than it deserved, Amit says that the Ayodhya dispute was over-reported in the media. He adds that sections of the media also misreported the issue, which was hyped without much context.Gaurav talks about a recent incident in Bihar, where an 80-year-old Muslim man was lynched and burned by a mob. This found little coverage in mainstream media, Gaurav tells the panel. Meanwhile, he says, the Statue of Unity got more coverage than it deserved.Cherry talks about how the New York Times' Pakistan edition skipped publishing a critical op-ed piece by Mohammed Hanif. The article was about Asia Bibi's acquittal. She also talks about Arnab Goswami’s appointment to the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library and killing of five Bengali-speaking men in Assam's Tinsukia.For this and more, listen up!#Ayodhya #RBI #Asia Bibi #Bihar #StatueOfUnity #ArnabGoswami
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features a complete in-house panel comprising our host Cherry Agarwal, Newslaundry's intrepid reporters Prateek Goyal and Amit Bhardwaj, Gaurav Sarkar from the Newslaundry desk.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on air pollution and Delhi's deteriorating air quality. The panel also discusses media's coverage of the issue. Gaurav says that had the media given enough attention to this issue, a solution would have emerged. "A knee-jerk reaction won't solve the problem, air pollution has to be tackled head-on. We need proper investigative reports on climate change, including reports that track air quality over 10-15 years of time to find long-term solutions," Gaurav says.Prateek tells us that the drought situation in many parts of Maharashtra has been under-reported and issues like Rakhi Sawant's dramatic press conference are being over-reported. Issues like migration from drought-hit areas and human trafficking of young girls from these regions remain under-reported, Prateek adds. "Will the election year force the media to cover farmer distress and related issues? Will the politicians try to please the farmers just because it's election time? Amit asks.The panel also discusses the death of eight-year-old Mohammad Azeem at South Delhi’s Jamia Faridiya Madrasa. Amit tells the panel that it was not a case of mob lynching, as was being portrayed by sections of the media. For all this and more, listen up!#Delhi #JusticeForAzeem #Pollution #CBI
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal along with Prateek Goyal, Gaurav Sarkar, and our guests, Rajeev Sharma, senior journalist from Amritsar, and Ranjeet Jadhav, a reporter from Mid-Day.The discussion kicks off with Rajeev recounting the Amritsar train accident which left 61 people dead and several others injured. Rajeev shares details about what happened, local media's coverage of the accident, among other things.Gaurav speaks about his recent article on allegations of tax evasion and money laundering that have surfaced against former TV 18 promoter and current owner of The Quint, Raghav Bahl. Bahl allegedly made ₹114 crore out of an investment of ₹3.03 crore made in a penny stock company called PMC Fincorp. Speaking about challenges he faced while reporting on the story, Gaurav says, “Crunching the numbers would be the biggest challenge and trusting the source as well."Prateek then speaks about his report where he has documented a disabled woman’s three-year ordeal at the hands of the Army. A deaf and mute woman was allegedly repeatedly raped and harassed by four Army jawans between 2015 and 2017 at Military Hospital, Kirkee, in Pune. “The Army says that it comes under the civil case, which needs an FIR and the police say that in order to prepare the FIR, they need the permission from the Army to do the enquiry," Prateek says speaking about the lack of action in the case.The panel also discussed media reports about ‘man-eater’ tigress Avni. Speaking about media's reportage on wildlife and environment, Ranjeet says, “In India, there is no reporting that is done by different news organisations on such issues on a regular basis, which results in minimal awareness on the same." He adds, “Sadly when something sensational like continuous human kill comes up, they cover it.”For other reports, discussion on media's coverage of different issues and more, listen up!#AmritsarTrainAccident #Quint #Wildlife Journalism #Army #Media
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This week’s edition of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with our special correspondent Amit Bhardwaj, Prateek Goyal, and our guest Somdutt Shastri, a senior journalist, who has formerly served as editor at Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran.The discussion starts off with Prateek talking about his exclusive story pertaining to an alleged illegal transfer of land involving Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The land belonging to Polysac Industrial Cooperative Society was allegedly transferred in order to acquire a loan for a company owned by Gadkari's sons.The discussion progresses to the recent cut in the daily wages of DTC labourers by the Arvind Kejriwal government, with Amit weighing in on different aspects of the issue. Sanatan Sanstha's branding of two India Today reporters as “terrorists” was also discussed.The discussion then moves on to media's coverage in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, with senior journalist Somdutt Shastri weighing in on topics related to election campaigns in Madhya Pradesh.Subsequently, the panel discussed several issues that the media missed out in the last week. Here, Amit talks about the recent protest by Kashmiri students at Aligarh Muslim University, Prateek points out the attack on the Additional Sessions judge’s wife and son by his gunman, while Cherry discusses the desertion of Rohingya refugee camp in South24Parganas. This and more. Listen up!#NitinGadkari #LandScam # #MeTooSanatanSanstha #DTC #Media
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Ashish Chauhan, senior correspondent with Times of India, Ahmedabad, Christina Thomas Dhanaraj, co-founder of #DalitHistoryMonth and a volunteer for the #dalitwomenfight campaign, Amit Bharadwaj, our special correspondent, and Prateek Goyal, latest addition to the team.The conversation starts with Cherry asking Ashish about the violence against migrant workers in Ahmedabad. Ashish explains the ground situation, reason behind the violence and the role of Thakur Sena in the incident. Ashish also adds, "This gave fodder to some leaders and they started inciting sentiments in name of migrants vs local."Christina Thomas Dhanaraj weighs in on #MeToo movement, its inclusivity, and whether the movement can be called India's #MeToo moment. Prateek and Amit also weigh in. Prateek thinks that had the #MeToo campaign taken place at an earlier, our current reality could have been quite different.Moving forward, Amit talks his ground report from Haryana's Titoli village. For this and more listen up!!#MeToo #migrants #Gujarat
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Reporters Without Orders is back this week to discuss what made news, what didn’t, and what should have made headlines. This week’s show features host Cherry Agarwal along with our guests Sruthisagar Yamunan, a Legal Correspondent at Scroll.in, Chitranshul Sinha, a Supreme Court Advocate, along with in-house panellists Rohin Verma and Amit Bhardwaj.The conversation starts with the discussion of dissenting voices in the Aadhaar, Sabarimala, and Bhima-Koregaon cases. The panel discusses how judges in courtrooms have a different opinion on the same topics that they come across.“The judges will keep their personal views out of the court,” expressed Sinha. He explains that this could be due to class, caste, or even economic or social background. The panel discusses the legalities of the Aadhaar case in detail and what they mean.“The assumption is that Aadhaar benefits the poor,” added Sinha. “It might if it is implemented properly. Fundamentally, people do not understand the opposition to Aadhaar.”Rohin sheds light on the preliminary report on the retrenchment at the Press Trust of India and talks about the number of employees who were sacked, while Amit talks about the protest that was organised by the Federation of PTI Employees in Delhi and the demands made.He also explains in detail about the farmer’s protest that broke out at the Delhi-UP border and elaborates on the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and the issues raised by the farmers. “Government after government have not paid attention to the agrarian economy. We have not made enough efforts to make it profitable. It remains a burden,” he said.Cherry goes on to ask Amit about how and why the details of the farmer’s protest remained underreported. Rohin says that the reports on the farmer’s protests are similar in nature and that the same pattern is repeated, thereby attracting a specific kind of audience. Sruthisagar agrees with Rohin but also adds that he found the recent reports on the protest better than the last one, but they still need to be better and a lot more.Tune in to find out.
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This week’s edition of Reporters Without Order features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Newslaundry Hindi’s Rohin Verma, our correspondent Amit Bhardwaj and our guest Prem Shankar Mishra, principal correspondent, Navbharat Times, Lucknow.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on a protest called by the Safai Karamchari Andolan. Can such protests make a dent? Amit thinks these protest may not make much difference. He says manual scavenging was abolished by the Supreme Court back in 2014 but it still continues. However, protests such as these keep the debate going. With one death every five days, these debates are important. Moving on, Rohin explains how one picture got people to come together and raise funds for 11-year-old Gaurav. His father, Anil, had died a couple of days earlier while cleaning a Delhi Jal Board sewer. Rohin also explains the complications that arose later. The panel also talks about media’s coverage of manual scavenging-related issues and its role over time. In light of these deaths, the panel talks about what the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has come to be.Weighing in on the Rafale controversy, Prem says that although the media is discussing former French President Francois Hollande’s claims about Rafale, the debates miss out on the major points. This and a lot more. Listen up!#Manual scavenging #Rafale #Francois Hollande #Media coverage
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Rohin Verma, Gaurav Sarkar and Mithun MK, senior reporter with The Newsminute.The conversation begins with Mithun telling the panel about the horrific murder of a Dalit man, Pranay Perumalla, that took place in Telangana. The 24-year-old was killed in front of his pregnant wife. Mithun tells the panel that it is 19th case of inter-caste marriage-related honor killing in Telangana since the state came into being. The panel also discusses national as well as local media’s coverage of the same.The recent murder of 43-year-old Kedar Singh Jindan, Dalit RTI activist, is also discussed. The panel also discusses media’s coverage of other caste-related issues. Does the media shy away from covering caste atrocities when victims are Dalits?The panel also talks about how newsroom composition influences media coverage. Mithun believes that the hiring policy of media houses should have affirmative action but Gaurav is not completely convinced.Rohin discusses media’s coverage of manual scavenging and the recent spate of sewer-related deaths. This, in addition to a discussion on upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana, the need for right-leaning newsrooms, need for sensitivity in reporting and more. Listen up!
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, our guest, lawyer-turned-journalist Vakasha Sachdev from The Quint, along with Rohin Verma and Amit Bhardwaj.The discussion starts with media’s coverage of Supreme Court’s landmark verdict -- decriminalisation of Section 377. Amit talks about the way in which reporters covered the event, while Rohan weighs in about media’s need to recreate the situation and things that should have been avoided. Vakasha says that being inside the courtroom on the day of judgement, hearing the judges and their unique responses, was an amazing and emotional experience. The panel also talks about the need to strike a balance between privacy and the need for media personnel, especially TV news, to capture the moment.Cherry also asks Vakasha about the problems with courtroom-related reportage in the absence of legal expertise among those covering the beat. “It becomes challenging as it creates new pressure, creates new confusion over what’s going on,” Vakasha says.Pointing out what the media missed, Cherry says stories on intersectionality of sexuality, caste, disability, mental health, gender identity and queer movement beyond 377 were given a miss.Amit points out that Hardik Patel’s hunger strike was still being under-reported. The national media has not been doing justice to this news, he says. [Patel has now ended his hunger strike].Amit and Vakasha also weigh in on media’s failure to cover the farmers’ march in New Delhi. Amit says, “These people have been failed by the government and nobody cares.”The panel also discusses the violence that broke out at Delhi University’s Zakir Husain College. This, and more. Listen up!#Section377 #Supreme Court #Media #Hardik Patel #Farmers' march #NSA
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The conversation kicks off with a discussion on the current media landscape of the Northeast. Cherry asks Paojel to provide an insight on the media culture in the Northeast with respect to access to politicians, political biases, and even media ownership. She asks whether it is similar to legacy houses that form a larger part in the mainstream and what is it that makes the Northeast media unique in nature?Paojel explains the difference between the Northeast media system and the rest of the country and goes on to talk about the challenges faced by investigative journalists in the Northeast region.Paojel suggested that there were many stories in the Northeast that have not been given importance; he also shares some specific examples of stories which have not been given any sort of significance by the mainstream media.The discussion then moves towards Amit Bhardwaj who talks about the eleventh day of Hardik Patel’s hunger strike that has not been covered by the mainstream media. He says: “These are the priorities; if there is violence and incidents of rioting, then the mainstream media will cover it, but if someone goes the Gandhian way and is on 11th day of their hunger strike, then they will choose not to.” Amit goes on to explain the entire hunger strike situation and the reason as to why it should have been covered.The panel then discusses the kind of news that deliberately doesn’t go on air and is not considered to be of grave significance owing to the prevailing power struggle in mainstream media.Rohin sheds lights on a story related to the Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari, Bihar, where, after the death of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a professor posted something on Facebook against the former Prime Minister. The next day, he was beaten up badly and still remains in a critical situation. After this incident, the CAG report on the university showed that a lot of financial irregularities had been found, but even in spite of this, the incident went unreported.The discussion then moves towards what made news—but shouldn’t have—and everyone agreed that Rahul Gandhi eating non-veg in Nepal shouldn’t have set the headlines on fire the way it did.Rahul goes on to brief us about Tushar Damgude’s FIR in relation to the Bhima-Koregaon incident, and more.Tune in to find out more.#Hardik Patel #NorthEast #Media #Rahul Gandhi
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Amit Bharadwaj, and guests Vishnu Varma and Prateek Goel. Varma is a Kochi-based journalist and a senior correspondent at Indian Express Digital, whereas Goel is a Pune-based reporter who covers crime and defence for a leading regional daily.The podcast begins with a discussion about the arrest of five human rights activists, including a unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, from different cities in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence. The arrests of five other activists in connection to an alleged plot to kill the prime minister three months ago is also discussed. Sharing details from history, Prateek tells the panel about the genesis of Bhima Koregaon and what led to the subsequent violence and arrests. The panel also discusses the inconsistencies and problems with media’s coverage of the same so far.In the course of the discussion, Prateek suggests that the letters discovered by the police were likely fabricated. He doesn’t think these activists could have been directly involved in the alleged plot to assassinate the prime minister.The discussion then shifts to rehabilitation efforts in Kerala, in the aftermath of the floods. The panel also discusses the accountability of states in such situations. Reporting from Kerala, Vivek Varma weighs in about the current rehabilitation measures that have been put in place to ensure a swift recovery.In relation to the Tamil Nadu and Kerala dispute, Vivek states that both the governments are equally responsible for the mismanagement of opening and closing of the dam shutters.Amit stated that the convictions in Mirchpur violence were underreported. Twenty people were sentenced to life Imprisonment by the Delhi high court for burning two Dalits alive in 2010. Amit also talks about the arrest of Barmer journalist and other developments in his case.This, and more. Listen up!
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Amit Bhardwaj, Rohin Kumar and Rahul Kotiyal.The discussion begins with the news of a woman who was beaten up and then paraded naked by a violent mob in Bihar’s Bhojpur district. The panel goes on to discuss the devastation caused by the Kerala floods, as well as the media’s coverage of the deluge.The topic then moves on to Uttar Pradesh’s ban on open sacrifice of animals ahead of Bakri Eid, wherein the state’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, said that this measure was being undertaken so as to not hurt the religious sentiments of other communities.“When two important news events take place simultaneously, how does a newsroom decide on which one to prioritise?,” asks Cherry, posing the million-dollar question to the guests. In turn, Rahul tells her that in this age of New Media and television, it is important to deem both pieces of news as “important” and run them efficiently.The guests also discuss how Navjot Singh Sidhu’s ‘hug’ controversy was quite overrated.The conversation then moves to a heavily-loaded ground report on the Naxal encounter case in which 15 people were killed in Sukma, Chattisgarh. Rahul narrates the story as experienced by him on the ground, and points out that it wasn’t just Naxalites who were killed—but innocent tribal people as well. He also talks about the disadvantages of covering left extremists as it is never certain who might kill you.The discussion culminates with the topic of different encounter cases in Uttar Pradesh anyhow these are against the Human Rights guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission.#Sukma, #encounters #Uttar Pradesh #Yogi Adityanath #Kerala floods #newsroompriorities
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders features our special correspondent Amit Bhardwaj and Newslaundry Hindi's Rohin Verma joining our host Cherry Agrawal, along with special guest Amandeep Singh. Amandeep is based out of Punjab and is currently with the Hindustan Times Group,The discussion kicks off with Amandeep discussing the regional and national media's coverage of 'Referendum 2020' organised by Sikhs for Justice. He also speaks about the challenges faced by regional journalists, especially those reporting from Punjab. In addition, Amandeep talks about the relationship between the mainstream media's and regional media's news cycle.Speaking about the protests in Nehru Vihar, Rohin speaks of the challenges faced by UPSC aspirants residing in the area. He also shares his experience of being a tenant in Delhi. Amit weighs in on the Delhi Rent Control Act and adds that there is less of regulation and more of exploitation.The panel also discusses media's coverage of the attack on Umar Khalid, Pallavi Joshi's video on Rafale deal, ABP News and C-Voter's survey predicting BJP's loss in three states and more.#nehru vihar #modi #WorldBiofuelDay #Referendum #2020
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Amit Bhardwaj, Rohin Verma, two-time Ramnath Goenka awardee Rahul Kotiyal, and Raghava M, Mangalore senior correspondent from The Hindu.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on the risks of reporting from a communally-volatile region like Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka. The Hindu’s Raghava speaks of his experience and how even small spats between members of two communities can flare up into a full-blown riot-like situation. However, he said, as he sticks to the bare facts while reporting, he has not received any threat from Hindu or Muslim fringe groups operational in the region so far. Raghava and the panel also discuss the acquittal of accused including the Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the 2009 pub attack case.Rahul discusses the row over the elevation of Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court and the stand-off between the apex court and the central government. The Chhattisgarh Police has gunned down Maoists in Sukma region of the state. Rohin points out the silence in the media over the Sukma encounter and the questions being raised by activists on the identity of those killed.
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our jugaad host Amit Bhardwaj along with Rohin Verma, two-time Ramnath Goenka awardee Rahul Kotiyal, and Aroon Deep from medianama.com.The panel discusses the Data Protection draft bill where Aroon explains how the draft bill will enable the users to give and withdraw consent for informational data on them. “The only reason this bill exists right now because the Supreme Court essentially nudged the government to setup data protection framework in the first place,” says Aroon. He added that India lacked the legal framework for informational privacy. “What is going to change with this bill is that the information collection won’t happen in darkness. Every data controller will be accountable for what it collects, whether it has got consent from you for the data it has collected,” he further adds. The panel weighs in to add that due to lack of internet literacy in the country, these legislations will make the least difference on the ground.The panel discusses Rohin’s exclusive report for Newslaundry Hindi which lists out 15 children shelter homes in Bihar where cases of alleged sexual and physical harassment were found by the audit report done by the TISS. “Accused Brajesh Thakur (in the Muzaffarpur children shelter home rape cases) was arrested by the police very late. Despite the arrest, he got admitted in the hospital for 15 days,” says Rohin. He points out the laxity displayed by the district administrations and the police in the cases pointed out by the TISS report. The administration of only three districts has acted on the findings of the TISS report that too after months. “Those running these shelter homes are not ordinary people. For instance, Nari Gunjan, in Patna, is run by Sudha Varghese. She is a Padma Shree awardee. Serious mismanagement was found in the centre run by her, and yet there is no action against it,” he added citing the reasons for a possible delay in the police action in these cases. Amit and Rahul discuss how the local media and civil society in Bihar has failed to outrage in the wake of the Muzaffarpur rapes reported at the children shelter home. Rahul points out the society in general often fail to outrage in the sexual abuse cases where the victims belong to weaker economic and social classes – as it happened with the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape victims.The panel also discusses how the stories related to the police raid and alleged assault of residents of Ahmedabad’s Chharanagar locality, where Chharas - a Denotified Tribes (DNT) lives, went under-reported. Amit also adds that TV media largely under-reported or ignored the stories concerning Delhi Lokayukta giving a clean chit to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the case based on allegations levelled by rebel AAP lawmaker Kapil Mishra.
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Amit Bhardwaj, Rohin Verma, two-time Ramnath Goenka awardee Rahul Kotiyal, and Anoo Bhuyan from The Wire.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on media's narrative around Akbar Khan's lynching in Alwar. “If you go through our story, we have actually demolished the police’s version of what happened that night, point by point," says Amit. He also points out the importance of the three hours that elapsed between the incident and the time taken to reach the Ramgarh CHC.Cherry adds, “What I found missing from the larger media narrative was that the two accused were moving around with the policemen.” Amit weighs in to add that the media's narrative changed on July 22 -- the blame shifted from the gau rakshaks to gau rakshaks and the police.Rest of the panel weighs in too. Anoo adds that she didn’t feel the issue had been obfuscated in the English print and online media, while Rahul emphasises the need for minutely questioning the police’s version of events.Amit expresses his concerns over the disturbing parallels that exist between Akbar’s case and Pehlu Khan’s case.Subsequently, the panel discusses media's coverage of #Section377. Anoo weighs in on the problems that exist across Indian news organisations and stresses upon the need for more inclusive newsrooms.Rohin concurs with Anoo, and points out that sometimes a callous attitude is adopted by the media in its reportage on LGBTQ issues.Speaking on the issue, Rahul points out the clear division that still exists between Hindi and English media's reportage of the issues related to Section 377. Nevertheless, he says, “things have gotten better”. The panel also discusses if reporters are equipped to handle sensitive conversations.The gang also discusses the state of health journalism in India. Anoo details the challenges faced by health reporters in India, with people still having regressive attitudes and at times, treating it as an extension of 'Lifestyle and Wellness' reporting.Rohin points out the hazards of what he calls “baba ji ki booti" reporting, which is reportage done at the cost of important issues like the death of children in Bihar from Japanese encephalitis.The panel also discusses how Muzaffarnagar case was under-reported. For this and more, Listen up!#Section 377 #Alwar lynching #health journalism
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Episode 28 of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Rohin Verma, two-time Ramnath Goenka award-winning Rahul Kotiyal, and Atul Dev of The Caravan.Atul begins by explaining the gist of his latest story -- a profile of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. “There are a whole bunch of charges against (Indian CJI Dipak Misra) in the impeachment motion that was eventually rejected by Venkaiah Naidu…I look at his entire career, I examine how these charges came to be, how these charges came to public light. Then I also look at his family history…There’s an analysis of his High Court and Supreme Court judgments and coming up to right now, with everything that has transpired in the Supreme Court in the past year…”Cherry then asks Rahul why he chose to explore the story of communal violence in Uttarakhand. "It’s been 18 years since Uttarakhand was created, and it was an area of Western UP which was never communally charged up. However, these increased in the past few years. Almost a dozen big incidents like that of shops being burnt and destroyed."“In the hilly districts of Western UP, no place has a Muslim population of higher than 3 per cent, but even there people have the fear that their sources are being taken over by a foreign other," explains Rahul. He then remarks on the Right-wing's tying of this mentality to the mass migration of Rohingya Muslims to the region. “If you look on-ground, you will hardly find any Rohingya over there. This narrative is spreading really fast on social media.”After Rahul remarks about the lack of analytical or critical local coverage of the event, Cherry comments, “It’s up to the local media to take a side.”On the writing process (a 23-page story), Atul says, “You just have to sit down and get done with it.” He also reveals the role of the newsroom in the creation of the story. “After I give them the story, I think 7 or 8 people are actively involved for a whole month…”“In the end, everything that I had found, I was able to put down," adds Atul. On being asked if he was fearful about writing on the sitting CJI, he comments, “There is no fear per se but it’s more difficult to find people who are going to talk to you.”The panel then moves on to the Hindi media’s coverage of a Dalit groom getting on a horse for the first time at his wedding procession. “What should have caught everyone’s eye is that even now someone has to fight to get a horse, just because they come from a particular community," a panelist adds.“Looking at this and the Chamandih story, it appears as though neither development nor weddings can happen without the caste angle," adds Rahul.The panel then discusses subscriber models and how to produce sustainable and constructive story-telling. For more, listen in!#Supreme Court #Chief Justice of India #Dipak Misra #Hindi media #journalism model #paywalls #Rohingya
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The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Rohin Verma, Amit Bhardwaj and our special guest Abhishek Dey from Scroll.in.Kicking off the discussion, Amit says Jio got quite some coverage. “Jio is like any other telecom network in the country, why do you have to show it [as much] or give wall-to-wall coverage to whatever is happening during the launch? I think a small package or a couple of online stories would do, unless Jio is paying a lot of money.”Cherry adds, “In that case, they should have been putting a disclaimer, if it was about money in return for coverage.”Speaking about an event that was under-reported, Amit says, “Around 14,000 political activists and bandh supporters were on the streets and were detained by Jharkhand police. Majorly, none of the news channels gave it coverage during the day.”Abhishek speaks about the media's coverage of mob lynchings fuelled by WhatsApp rumours about child-lifters in Assam. “There are two things which are operating [contributing], primarily, one is the fear of the outsider, and the other would be technology. The victims in all these cases are outsiders.”Abhishek also speaks about how the idea of a child-lifter that was traditionally used to control the behaviour of children is now manifesting into a mob culture. "When we look into these kinds of things, we should always correlate them with development indices," he adds. “The solution should be designed in the context of the people which it is aimed for," comments Cherry.Rohin feels that lynching doesn’t seem to be an issue for the general public. “Jo humare regional akhbaar hai, unme iss tarah ki khabrein aa nahi rahi hain, aur bohot kam aa rahi hain, toh logon ke liye lynching koi bohot badi samasya nahi hai.”He adds, “WhatsApp ka iss tareekey ka prabhav hai ki padha-likha aadmi bhi apni padhai ko galat manta hai aur WhatsApp ko sahi manta hai. [The impact of WhatsApp is such that even educated people attach more value to WhatsApp over their own learning].”To which Cherry states, “I think it underlines the importance of making media literacy a part of school curriculum.”Rohin then speaks about a report that no one seems to be covering -- a story about the displacement of villagers of the Mahadalit community from Chamandih village in Bihar’s Gaya. The villagers were evicted from their land by Indian Railways. The story received no local coverage, save for a small piece in Dainik Jagran.For this and more, listen up!#JIO #WhatsApp #mob lynching #Assam #Media
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders has our in-house reporter Amit Bhardwaj joining our host Cherry Agrawal, along with special guests Vishakha Saxena from Asia Times and Arunabh Saikia from Scroll.in.The discussion kicks off with Cherry asking the participants to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to extend the deadline to publish the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to July 30th. Arunabh comments on how the government is planning to establish the number of citizens in Assam and how it will affect them. “It’s a complicated process," he says, which necessitates one to “establish their connection to someone who was there before 1971...this could be anything from your father or grandfather’s name on a voter list before 1971.”Speaking about the verification processes, Arunabh explains that the process is long, as different states need to send in their data in the case of migrants. “It’s clear to everyone in the state that this could be horrific…because currently illegal migrants are being held in detention camps.” Arunabh remarks that it is a “bleak future ahead”.Citing a report by The Hindu on the Citizen Amendment Bill, Cherry asks if this Bill is the method by which the “government is trying to change the definition of illegal migrants”. She also asks about the possible impact of the Bill, if passed, on the NRC list.Arunabh responds, “They are kind of changing who a foreigner is in India. If the Bill is enforced, then the NRC process becomes largely redundant…what it does is, it makes six years of a gigantic bureaucratic process largely redundant.” He also remarks that it is “essentially an anti-Muslim Bill.”The panel also discusses the local and national media's coverage of the NRC.While Arunabh feels that the quantity of coverage was sufficient, he says that “the coverage could have been better” in terms of the quality. According to him, the issue of illegal migrants in Assam is an “immensely complex one. There are multiple academic interpretations." He adds, "It is definitely xenophobic to a certain extent, but there was also an element of class struggle."Amit joins in. He asks Arunabh if there is a tendency to cover bizarre comments made by leaders instead of covering issues of governance and the “morally corrupt” appointment of officials, citing the Tripura governor’s recommendation of a BJP member to be appointed to the government.Arunabh agrees, he adds that there is much more to be covered in Tripura other than Biplab’s statements. Perhaps its harder to find these stories as “covering corruption requires the reporter to be underground, go through paperwork…it requires real digging which a lot of us find hard to do”, he adds.Now over to Vishakha, who feels that the June 26 Thomson Reuters survey which found that India was the most dangerous country for women was “quite under-reported and the reaction to it was also quite conflicting". Cherry disagrees, pointing to prime-time debates about the survey on news channels such as NewsX and CNN-News18.While there can be some contention about the methodology, because of the small sample size of 550 experts, the report should rather have been used as a trigger for a larger debate, Cherry says.“We don’t need any Thomson Reuters report or any UN report to realise what is happening in our country," comments Amit.Vishakha, Amit, and Arunabh also weigh in on gender equality in the newsroom. Then there are Amit's remarks about PM Modi’s recent goof-up in his speech in Maghar which was under-reported. There's more, listen up!#Media #Assam #NationalRegisterofCitizens #Modi #WomenInNewsrooms
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This week Reporters Without Orders is celebrating its 25th episode. Our host Cherry Agarwal is joined by in-house reporter Amit Bhardwaj and Campus Politik editor Sumedha Pal, along with Sidhartha Dutta, Principal Correspondent, Indo-Asian News Service.The media coverage of Hapur lynching case is debated by the panel. Amit feels the “story developed slowly” but “got enough coverage”. He referred to the incident as “one of the slow-burn stories” that gain momentum in the media over a period of time. Cherry asks, “Why do you think this got coverage only after it developed to a certain stage?”Sidhartha talks about the incident being referred to as a case of road rage even though the evidence suggested otherwise. He adds, "I find it really alarming." Amit, following the meeting with the victim’s family, mentions the “the kind of horror they had gone through” and also shares other details of the incident. Sidhartha confesses, “Maybe so much of detail, I wouldn't have known had you not told me,” in support of his argument that the incident was not covered enough.Turning the conversation to another aspect of media criticism, Cherry asks, “We make comparisons to other events…do you think these comparisons are fair?” To which, Sumedha adds, “Such questions need a lot of self-reflection."Meanwhile, Amit impresses upon the prioritisation of stories in terms of media coverage. He says, “It depends upon news development on that particular day."As an agency reporter covering All India Congress Committee, Siddharth talks about Congress party’s relationship with the media. Sidhartha says, “It is imperative for reporters to always get the reaction of a principal Opposition party." Meaning to say that Congress' "position as the principal Opposition” is a probable reason for the party getting wider media coverage.Sumedha speaks about her report on sexual harassment allegations levelled against the NSUI national president by a former female party worker. She says, “Often stories of sexual harassment either end up becoming sensationalised or they are reduced to nothing." Amit says, “I am not drawing any conclusion about Fairoz Khan’s case”. He also mentions about the complexities of the case and the need for a thorough inspection into allegations. He also talks about media's possible reaction “had it been any ABVP member, from even a district member of the committee…Social media narrative would have been made by left-liberals,” he adds.For a third consecutive week, Amit says, stories from Jharkhand has been under-reported by the Big Media. For more details, listen up!
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This episode of Reporters Without Orders begins with a farewell to Nidhi, our Kashmir correspondent. We are sad to see her go but wish her the best for her future endeavours.Also on the panel, we have Cherry, Amit, Rohin and Sumedha. The discussion kicks off with Jammu and Kashmir's former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's press conference in the aftermath of Bharatiya Janata Party’s withdrawal of support.Nidhi, who was at the press conference, commenting on the nature of the relationship between the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP, says, “From day one, it has been a tough marriage. Especially, in the last few months, there have been mounting disagreements between the two parties, especially post-Kathua and the ceasefire, and Shujaat Bukhari’s killing. I spoke to one of the senior members of the PDP, and they basically said that it is not shocking.”Speaking of her own experiences in the aftermath of Bukhari’s murder, Nidhi says, “...today, I was going to Pulwama to cover another incident and three to four taxi drivers cancelled on me. Locals were unwilling to come with me because they don’t want to be seen with an Indian journalist.” She adds, “Other journalists have also been warned not be seen with a non-local out in the field because now you never know who is watching.”Assuming that the ‘Plot to Kill Prime Minister’ news story would be over, Sumedha watched TV news. She says, “What caught my eye was that there were these promos talking about this big exposé, telling you who the masterminds are. So I thought, I should definitely look for what the exposé has to bring to me.” She adds, “Unfortunately, even after an hour, I couldn’t find what the exposé was trying to establish. It was a hollow exposé, and a lot of noise for nothing.”Rohin shares the story of a medical student who left a shocking note before committing suicide. The victim was unable to pay high fees and was allegedly subjected to harassment on behalf of the college administration. He says, “The reason is that when the fees were raised, she had approached Jabalpur High Court, after which the college administration started harassing her on a personal level.” He adds, “Because she was a middle-class person and she couldn’t pay that kind of fees, she wrote a letter to her parents saying she didn’t want to trouble them, which is why she committed suicide. This is nowhere to be found in mainstream media.”Amit talks about Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to revoke his dharna. Voicing his opinions on Kejriwal’s supposed obstructionist behaviour, Amit says, “When the IAS officers are saying that there is no strike in Delhi, they are partially correct, because the AAP is saying the IAS officers are on ‘partial’ strike. All these officers are coming to work, they are reporting to the secretariat, but they are Amit asks, “Is there any sentiment amongst the locals that this whole idea of using violence to achieve your ultimate goal that is Azadi is useless...Even the voices like Shujaat Bukhari are being allegedly murdered by these gangs.”Cherry speaks about a report in The Hoot which revealed that the main accused in the murder of journalist Sudip Datta Bhaumik has allegedly threatened the prime witness in the case. Cherry also speaks about a plethora of hashtags floating around the BJP-PDP break up. She observes, “As soon as the news broke that the BJP was withdrawing its support from the PDP, hashtags like #BJPdumpsPDP or #BJPdisownsPDP were being circulated but #BJPabandonsKashmir was given a miss."Listen up!#BJPDumpsPDP #ShujaatBukhari #PlotToKillPM
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On this episode of Reporters Without Orders, Cherry is joined by Rohin and Amit. Parthshri Arora from Vice India also joins the panel.Informing the panel about Delhi government’s idea of statehood, Amit says, “When covering Aam Aadmi Party, there will be very dull days and there’ll be active days, and the days when the party or its leaders are active is the best as well as the worst day for any reporter covering that beat.”Speaking of media's coverage of the issue, Amit agrees with Cherry and states that for a news piece ‘breaking’ in the city, it [Delhi statehood] should have seen more coverage.Parth says that AAP does have a history of beefing up with Big Media. To which Amit replies, “Depends...there’ll be times when AAP will be cheering for news organisations and editors and there’ll be times when they’ll be completely harsh and the attack will be very below the belt.”Rohin speaks about the Aligarh Muslim University controversy where a couple of students are facing criticism and a case of blasphemy because of a picture circulated on social media. The picture showed these AMU students drinking beer at a bar during Ramazan. He expresses resentment against the university administration and says, “If a university cannot support its students by expanding their limited freedom, if it cannot encourage students to challenge established notions; then that university going on to produce meritorious PhD scholars won't matter -- because it won’t make a better society.”Amit and Rohin speak about the bias in media coverage. Rohin points out that sections of the media refrained from covering this incident despite our knowledge of their general viewpoint on such matters. He explains, “They do not want a debate on the issue. They are simply bent upon creating a demarcation. They won’t hold a talk on ‘blasphemy’. But they’d create a divide by saying things like why so much noise over a Muslim’s faith being hurt and not...(when a Hindu icon is disrespected...). This only emboldens the courage of fringe groups of all sections.”Parth speaks about Priyanka Chopra-starrer Quantico and Rega Jha's from Buzzfeed India. He says, “In terms of influence, which 26-year-old has ever wielded this much influence online, on discourse, on feminist issues, on anything really...And she has now built this empire, the biggest, most influential youth media company in the country and now she’s just quitting. I think that’s incredibly big news! And she will be a thought leader. She will be so many things for the next thirty years. And we’ll get to see it.”According to Amit, Akhilesh Yadav vacating his official bungalow was underplayed by sections of the mainstream media.Cherry discusses the issue of Puthiya Thalaimurai TV that was booked by Tamil Nadu police for statements made by its guest during a debate. Parth says that in online media, the op-eds are run with a disclaimer at the end. So maybe, you could run a disclaimer that panelist’s views are their own. "Even then it's a grey area," he adds.Amit brings the panel's attention back to the issue of Delhi's statehood and Parth discusses Kejriwal's media strategy. To know more, listen up!
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On this episode of Reporters Without Orders, the discussion kicks off with the issue of sale of swords and blades online, as reported by The Indian Express. Rohin says, “If we study the Arms Act (1959) and Arms Rules (2016), all non-fire arms that are over 9 inches in length and more than 2 inches in width require a license for both sale and purchase.” Rohin has also done a story on the same. For his story, Rohin also talked to a seller based in Jalandhar and tried to place an order for 1500 swords. He asked the seller if the delivery could be stopped on the way? To his surprise, the seller told him that a written note from a politician could be a good antidote. “You just get a written note from a politician. When the politician has given permission, who are the police to stop?” the seller told Rohin.He also speaks about the representation of the farmers' protests in TV media. “They are showing pictures that show farmers throwing vegetables and milk. They are trying to show that the viewer isn’t participating in the protests, but the farmers who are, are actually misbehaving, destroying the food supply.”Nidhi talks about the story of a woman who died of starvation as she did not have a ration card. This story was underplayed in the mainstream media, Nidhi says, adding, “In January this year, another woman died due to under nutritional exhaustion and the fact-finding team then said that she was denied the ration since October last year. This was because the Aadhaar-enabled machine in the local ration shop failed to authenticate her biometric.”The panel also discusses Nidhi's report on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle mowing down a young man during clashes after the Friday prayers in Srinagar. Cherry asks her, “Was there a sense of rage or fear among the locals when things started going out of hand?” Nidhi replies, “It was frenzy!” She says, “To just watch a man getting crushed under a vehicle like that is not fun.”Amit speaks about the tension brewing in Shillong, Meghalaya. Referring to an article by Scroll.in, Amit says, “These details were very important and somehow the national media ‘failed to report it’...until a delegation was sent by Captain Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab.” He adds, “It also shows...how alarming the situation is on the ground.”Our Campus Politik editor Sumedha talks about Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC). She says, “June 30th is the deadline for the National Register of Citizens. This is a news has only been covered in fragments over the months ever since the first list came in December.”She adds, “2.9 million women, who are trying to submit their documents so that they get themselves verified, are not able to do so.” She adds, “These women are also facing threat...and sexual harassment by local officials as well. There is a detailed investigation report that Al Jazeera covered. But I don’t see a lot of mention of this in the Indian media at least.”Cherry says that the follow-up to Cobrapost sting has been very weak in reference to the legal notices the website has been receiving. She also adds that Sudarshan TV also got a legal notice from Delhi Minorities Commission for allegedly airing a report where they referred to some locals from North Delhi's Bawana area as 'Rohingyas' and 'Bangladeshis'.Cherry says, “I went online to check the report...It was slightly disturbing to find both the anchor and the reporter agreeing and implying that the high crime rates in the area was because of the area being dominated by Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis.” All this was without actual evidence being cited. “You’re not giving any evidence! Have you done a population census!?” she asks.#Shillong violence #Kashmir #Violence in Bihar #Cobrapost
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Amit is back from Kairana to join Cherry in the latest episode of Reporters Without Orders. Rohin and Nidhi join us over the phone. We also have our Campus Politik editor Sumedha joining the panel.The podcast begins with Nidhi talking about her recent interview with a Kashmiri mother. She says, “As much as they want to believe in Azadi -- they do believe in Azadi as a collective sentiment -- but a lot of them might not host militants anymore.” Nidhi also shares the challenges she faced while pursuing and articulating this story.Furthermore, Nidhi speaks about Gurez valley, a village in Kashmir where the Kishanganga Hydro Electric project is located. She says, “There is no electricity in most parts. The main town has about four hours of electricity every day.” She says that despite the absence of basic amenities, the society seems fairly self-sufficient. There are new aspirations among local youth when they see outsiders, she adds.Rohin speaks about the upcoming farmers' protests which have been under-reported. He says, “From June 1 - June 10, a big movement of farmers is going to begin across 15-16 states. Named as ‘Gaon bandhi’, the farmers will neither send supplies to cities nor visit them.”Sumedha talks about the protests against land acquisition in Bhavnagar in Gujarat. She says, “It is about lignite mining that is going to happen in Bhavnagar. This land was basically acquired from farmers without due compensation.” She adds, “So there’s this long-standing struggle which is almost reaching a saturation point.”“I really hope that we don’t see a situation like Tamil Nadu where it brews into a violent agitation and it is only then that we hear about it," she says.Rohin mentions the apology letter written by Kumar Vishwas to Arun Jaitley that was talked about a lot on digital portals. Rohin says, “Kumar Vishwas hasn’t literally apologised but he has put all the blame on Kejriwal by stating that he was only following his leader’s footsteps. So whenever Kejriwal made comments, he simply followed him.”Amit says that the language used in the letter also seems demeaning. He says, “Words like kursi ke pissu, thook ke chaatna…is the kind of language that is expected from Kapil Mishra. Despite being an eminent writer, Kumar Vishwas has used such language which has surprised me.”Speaking of the letter, Amit adds, “That’s the easiest way to get out of this mess which he (Kumar Vishwas) was left in.”Amit talks about the recent encounter that happened in Jharkhand in which three naxals belonging to Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) were gunned down. He says, “Google three words: Naxal, encounter, Jharkhand...and what you will find is shocking as every month multiple encounters are happening in the state.” Amit explains a brief history of Tritiya Prastuti Committee.A state that was apparently neutralised in operations conducted by security forces two years back, he says, “In a way, the situation was under control and suddenly there is a rise in the number of encounters.”Rohin says that the Patthalgadi movement is being talked about in Ranchi. He adds, “There are rumours that two or three active members of the movement have gone missing. The issue has not gained the desired momentum.”Sumedha talks about the NL Campus Politik story on LGBT petition filed by students of IIT. She says, “Throughout the fight to decriminalise Section 377, over the last two decades we’ve seen that only very prominent, financially affluent figures have had the courage to come out and approach the court.” She adds, “I think it was extremely brave of these young people to come out and talk about this and to take the fight to the Court.”Cherry says that despite the doubts about the veracity of Cobrapost's sting, the entire episode has been underplayed.#Kashmir #Times Now #Tejpal tapes #Jharkhand encounters
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On this week's Reporters Without Orders, Cherry is joined by Rohin and Amit, the latter has just returned from Karnataka. Also, on the panel is NDTV's Shruti Menon.The podcast kicks off with some good news. A Newslaundry report on the Cauvery dispute authored by TR Vivek has won Mumbai Press Club's prestigious RedInk Award in the Environment category.The discussion begins with Cherry questioning media’s obsession with Karnataka elections. She asks, “Not all state elections get as much attention. What do you think was different this time?”Shruti answers, “What was different this time was the way the elections panned out. It demanded the kind of attention and coverage it was given.”Nevertheless, Shruti points out that various news events got overshadowed by the election coverage. She says, “One of them, of course, was the Varanasi flyover collapse.”“It did not get wall-to-wall coverage. One of the reasons for that was it happened on the day of the counting.” Explaining the lapse, Shruti says, “Even after the counting day was over, there were no follow-ups for what happened in Varanasi.”Amit disagrees with the argument that some of the state elections don’t get as much attention. He says, “Every election post-2014 has gotten an equal amount of coverage in news media.” BJP's electoral juggernaut is one of the reasons behind this, he says. “It’s also because of the kind of electoral juggernaut that BJP is running in the country," Amit says in reference to media's post-2014 election coverage.Adding to the discussion, Rohin points out the manner in which Uttar Pradesh's 2017 civil polls was covered by media. He says, “It was being shown to the audience in Delhi. It’s importance was projected to such an extent as if the elections were being held at a national level.” He adds, “And TV news journalists were making the analysis of its probable effects on the 2019 (general) elections.”Amit and Shruti recall their experience of dealing with ‘planted stories’ while they were on the ground covering Karnataka elections. Shruti says, “It’s very easy to fall for a plant because it is very alluring.” She adds, “As a reporter what you need do is to constantly try and check whether the kind of information you’re getting is credible or not.”Amit says that it is also about how long the reporter can hold out. “It’s also about at what point of time you fall for it or at what point of time you can hold your nerve.”Rohin talks about the dramatic increase in fuel prices -- a news piece that has received less coverage. Rohin gives a thorough breakdown of petrol's MRP if it’s brought under the GST tax slab. Doing so could reduce petrol's MRP substantially, he adds. Rohin also points out multiple reasons why rising fuel prices call for a serious discussion.Amit speaks about the march of Aam Aadmi Party leaders to LG’s office over CCTV project fiasco which found no space in national media. Amit says, “On a regular news day when you don’t have elections, I think this is the news for the entire country!” He adds, “Aam Aadmi Party is the best selling material.”Cherry mentions two news stories that found limited mention in the mainstream media. This includes the layoff of 34 people at ABP Ltd, reported in a brief by The Hoot. She also highlights the dissonance in media coverage between United States’ embassy shift from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the protests by Palestinians during which nearly 60 people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire at them.Shruti speaks about another international story that did not receive any coverage -- ‘The Royal Wedding’. Shruti says, “Mainstream media could not pick it up because it was the exact moment when Yeddyurappa resigned.”#Varanasi #Karnataka #Media coverage #Palestine #Israel
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We have a full in-house panel for this episode of Reporters Without Orders. Apart from Rohin and Cherry, we have Nidhi joining us from Kashmir and Amit reporting from Bangalore.Amit, who is camped outside the Raj Bhavan, is giving the panel latest updates on the Karnataka verdict. Oh! he also has a warning for the listeners.Speaking to the panel, Amit says that the BJP was looking at forming the government until the afternoon, however, soon after, the prospects began to diminish. While the Governor has agreed to meet the Congress and JD(S) leaders between 5:30 and 6:00 in the evening, “as per the convention, the Governor should ideally give a chance to Yeddyurappa as the BJP is the single largest party", Amit tells the panel.Amit also shares that the JD(S) supporters were wearing t-shirts with 'E Sala Cup Namde' which means, “this time the cup is ours”. Amit says, “This was their very famous and successful social media campaign where they claimed that this time Vidhana Soudha (Sabha) trophy is ours.” When Cherry asks Amit if JD(S) would play the kingmaker’s role, Amit responds, “It is not playing the kingmaker’s role but it is the king right now!”Nidhi also chips in on the Karnataka conundrum and how Kerala Tourism saw an opportunity in all this. On May 15, amidst the thrill of minute-to-minute political/electoral updates, Kerala Tourism tweeted out an invitation "to all MLAs to unwind at the safe and beautiful resorts of God's own country." Speaking of which, Nidhi tells that panel that the tweet also pointed to a strategy practised by parties to prevent horse-trading of leaders elected to the Legislative Assembly.Nidhi tells the panel that a news piece that was under-reported was the arrests made in the case of the murder of a 15-year-old girl in Ghaziabad that happened in December 2017. The Crime Branch of Ghaziabad police has arrested five people, including the father-son duo, who hatched the plot to kill the girl. Sharing the details of the case, Nidhi adds, “To ensure that she was dead, they drove over her body and then eventually dumped her in a field!”Nidhi says that since then the DSP in-charge of the case has been transferred, the police station in-charge has been suspended for neglecting his duties. Despite this, the news did not find enough space, apparently, because it does not involve any political leader.Rohin speaks about the murder of Bhim Army’s leader’s brother, Sachin Walia, which took place in Saharanpur. He points out that Walia was shot on the day when preparations for Maharana Pratap's Jayanti were being made. He also finds various inconsistencies in the police investigation that indicate that the police had foreknowledge of the mishappening. Rohin says, “It’s interesting that the deceased receives a phone call from the Saharanpur SSP on the day of his death who asks him if he’s going to contest elections. And then they talk about the Maharana Pratap rally, a day celebrated by the Rajputs.” Rohin adds that the SSP makes a strange, grave statement, “Kisiko bhi ragadne ka yahi waqt hota hai (It’s an opportune moment to eliminate anyone.)"Rohin emphasises that such an event can have consequences as elections are near. Even the BSP is aware and apprehensive of the Bhim Army. He adds that this is an important political development with serious implications as Bhim Army led by Chandrashekhar is a big force in the state politics.Cherry speaks about media's recent coverage. She says that the Karnataka elections overshadowed a lot of news pieces, including the namaz row in Haryana.Rohin also speaks about four high-profile weddings and the confusion created by Dainik Jagran's reportage. All this and more in this episode of Reporters Without Orders.
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, The Caravan's Nikita Saxena joins the panel to discuss her recent articles on special CBI judge Loya's death. The panel also discusses Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar-owned Asianet News and the change in its 'posturing' over time.Amit Bhardwaj, who is currently in Karnataka covering the upcoming state elections, joins the panel over the phone to talk about RSS' Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who is a key player in BJP's Karnataka election campaign. You can read Amit's detailed story on Bhat here.Amit also makes an observation about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) role in Karnataka. He says, RSS is furiously campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), something unlike before. He adds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign rally in Karnataka can severely impact Congress’ vote share despite the governing party's edge in the state.Rohin asks Amit if the remarks, circulating on social media, made by Prakash Raj, a popular, South Indian film actor, will have an effect on the voters’ choice. According to Amit, Prakash Raj has been able to galvanise only anti-BJP vote bank. He says, “Prakash Raj’s comments may reinforce the beliefs of an anti-BJP voter but will not affect neutral and BJP voter”.Cherry asks our guest panellist Nikita about the challenges she faced while following-up on judge Loya's death. Nikita explains how she investigated the case and gives a detailed breakdown of the events that lead to revelations indicating a foul play in the case. She says, "Here a judge has died. And he was staying at the guest house at that time, as we are told. And none of them find out, that’s very strange, none of them seemed to know what had happened with his belongings for example…” She adds, “Why the reception was not called?!...Why it was thought that it was a better idea to wait for two judges to come to the guest house and then take him to the hospital which I assume is going to lead to a lot of loss in time is something that was not clear at all.”To that, Rohin adds that a recent viral image which showed an auto rickshaw with “who killed Loya?” written on it, is a positive sign in the view of public perception. It suggests that the important, controversial issue had seeped into the otherwise obscure segment of the audience, especially the ‘hindi belt’, he says.Rohin talks about the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) controversy where installation of a photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah has sparked a row. Apparently, the photograph has been hanging there since 1938. Rohin also points out that several facts have been left out by the media while reporting on the issue. He adds that the matter of the ‘security breach’ of former Vice President Hamid Ali Ansari, who was present on the campus when the protesters created a ruckus, found less space in the media.Rohin also talks about the VK Dikshit committee report on the Banaras Hindu University controversy that happened in September 2017. “The BHU chief proctor said to the media that the protesters were sponsored in exchange for pizza and pepsi," says Rohin.Nikita examines the editorial stance of Asianet News. She speaks about the changes in the channel since Rajeev Chandrasekhar took over. Asked if the channel has been able to change its 'anti-RSS- stance, she says, "The opinion seemed a little divided but it seemed to me that it had been fractured enough for people to start having some misgivings.”Citing a previous Newslaundry report, Cherry adds, "Their new website that’s coming up will be positioned as a Centre-right news property and it will counter the left narrative."#Loya #AMU-Jinnah controversy #Karnataka Elections
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, we have a guest joining the panel. A reporter from Catch News, Priyata Brajabasi, joins the team to discuss recent remarks made by BJP leaders, fake news conviction in Malaysia, 2018 World Press Freedom Index and more.Cherry discusses the comments made by Biplab Deb, chief minister of Tripura, who was recently summoned by Modi for making controversial remarks. She also talks about the comments made by Kavinder Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir's deputy chief minister, who called the Kathua rape a “minor” accident. The media coverage given to insensitive and unsubstantiated remarks made by political leaders shouldn't be aired as much, she says. "While it is important to call them out, the media should abstain from giving them so much attention," Cherry adds.Priyata and Abhinandan agree that the media does serve as a platform for such leaders to draw the limelight, but Abhinandan adds: "I also understand the importance of a chief minister or deputy chief minister, their utterances kind of suggest or convey how their administrations will move or treat certain issues of governance."Furthermore, Cherry adds that it's a journalist's job to give context and background of a story. She points out that the 'fake news' conviction in Malaysia should have got more coverage. On April 30, a Malaysian court convicted a Danish citizen for inaccurate criticism of the police. The 46-year-old was the first person to be prosecuted under Malaysia's recent 'fake news' law.“In India, we are talking about internet regulations, so if these regulations are going to be used to crack the whip on people who criticise the police then it's problematic," says Cherry.Talking about Biplab’s comments, Rohin points out that, according to a source, whatever Biplab is saying is being told to him. "I don't think we should be shocked because when Modi, at a science conference, said Ganesh's trunk was a result of cosmetic surgery, then we shouldn't take ‘internet in Mahabharata times’ seriously," he says.Regarding media coverage, Rohin feels that Tripura is getting coverage because of Biplab’s comments. “Otherwise there is hardly any ground reporting of Tripura in mainstream media,” he adds.Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released the 2018 World Press Freedom Index with India slipping to the 138th position. As per RSF’s observation, Rohin reads: “Ever since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, Hindu fundamentalists have been referring to journalists in extremely violent terms. Any investigative reporting that annoys the ruling party or any criticism of Hindutva elicits a torrent of online insults and calls for the death of the reporter or writer responsible, most of it coming from the prime minister’s troll army.”Referring to the murder case of Ankit Saxena, who was in love with a Muslim girl, Rohin points out a new development that should have got media coverage - his parents are collaborating with an NGO to promote inter-religion and inter-caste marriages.The panel then deliberates on the Tamil Nadu governor touching a journalist’s cheek. "I think it does talk about how women journalists are seen,” says Priyata.Abhinandan further discusses the difference that he noticed in recent debates on TV channels. “There was an absence of Hindu-Muslim India-Pakistan kind of thing. I am wondering if this has anything to do with the Karnataka elections,” he asks.Rohin tells the panel that such issues are still being talked about on Hindi TV channels. “People are saying the Kathua case is being talked about because a Muslim girl is involved but nobody talks about the Ghaziabad case because a maulvi and a Hindu girl are involved,” he says.All this and more on this week’s podcast.
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, we have Ramnath Goenka award-winner Rahul Kotiyal joining the panel. Currently a freelancer, he has earlier been with Scroll.in's Hindi website Satyagraha and Tehelka. The panel discusses the issues of death penalty, the Dainik Jagran article on Kathua rape, Judge Loya verdict and more.Rahul describes the story that won him the Ramnath Goenka award for Hindi reporting under the print category. “It was a two-part series on organisations in north India that are running an anti-jihad campaign called Beti Bachao, Bahu Lao. This campaign stops girls from having an inter-caste marriage. I reported this from Dehradun,” he says.Nidhi Suresh, our in-house reporter on the ground in Kashmir, elaborates on her story about a 16-year-old minor girl from Kulgam who went missing and the chargesheet was filed a few days ago. Disappointed by the preliminary chargesheet, she says, “The girl said she was drugged. To establish that, they should have conducted a medical examination. It has to be done within 24 hours.”Abhinandan feels that the whole excitement about the death penalty for child rapists is “such a dumb celebration by dumb people for dumb policy and intervention by dumb policymakers.”Amit adds that the incidents that were in the news last week deserved to be covered. They include the sacking of Atishi Marlena, Judge Loya verdict and the impeachment process. On the other hand, “Swati Maliwal’s indefinite hunger strike was not covered by the mainstream media,” he says.On the issue of death penalty, Rahul points out that the media didn't take it the way it should have been taken. It took it as a welcome step. “It was brought in as an ordinance but an ordinance should come in emergency situations; this will bring a regressive change in our legal system.”Furthermore, he discusses that the Dainik Jagran front page article was a culmination of baseless allegations. The article claimed that the Kathua rape never happened. No evidence substantiated the claim. “They claim there were two post-mortem reports but they haven’t presented the reports anywhere. The major and only difference they found is that one had seven injuries and the other one six injuries.”Nidhi calls this as “reflective of our lack of understanding of rape.”The Loya case, Abhinandan believes, deserved more coverage. He points out that the reporting wasn’t dissecting the judgment page-by-page. “On one hand in the same order, they said a judge cannot lie. On the other hand in the same report, there is another judge who says the ECG machine was not working, so he was mistaken.”In the case of death penalty, Rohin argues that when the state cannot give life, how can it take life away? “Nobody is a rapist by birth. Social conditioning contributes to it largely. Even if you give death penalty to the rapist, whom will you blame for social conditioning?” he questions.He further points out that in remote areas, organisations such as Newslaundry, Boom Live, Alt News find it difficult to reach the masses. Hence, publications such as Dainik Jagran circulated a narrative in those areas. Now they feel people are unnecessarily blaming Modi in the Kathua case.While working on the Kulgam case, Nidhi shares that she was disappointed to see that there is interest in the case as long as there is a politician involved. “Let’s face it, Kathua caught fire only because two BJP leaders were involved.”Abhinandan adds: “From the news point of view, there are certain mechanisms that are outcomes of civilisation, governance, democracy, bureaucracy. When that process becomes a perpetrator of the crime, from a macro point of view, it is a failure of the system as opposed to a crime which like Anand Vardhan once said is ‘the banality of crime’.”All this and more on this week’s podcast.
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, we have a surprise guest joining the panel. A reporter from The Quint, Meghnad Bose, joins the panel to discuss the Kathua rape case, fire at a Rohingya refugee camp, Rahul Gandhi’s midnight march and more.Meghnad tells us about the story that he broke on CBSE class 12 exams wherein the marks were being unfairly moderated. “A data scientist had observed a very odd marking pattern that an unbelievably high number of students in CBSE were getting the number 95." The numbers like 91, 92, 93 and 94 were obtained by 60-70k people and 195k people got the number 95. We realised that CBSE adopts a moronic system, Meghnad tells the panel.Cherry talks about an article published by The Sunday Guardian, authored by Sushil Pandit. She says that the article should not have been published. “The editor is still defending the piece stating that it is the reporter’s right to write fiction and once you have given a disclaimer [that the story is a concotion] it's okay." But what the piece is doing, in reality, is using actual facts, actual events of an eight-year-old Kathua girl’s rape and murder to delegitimise an entire sequence of events, Cherry says.Abhinandan adds, “Some people are saying it's a satire. I don't see the satirical bit in it.”Cherry also spoke about that the fire at the Rohingya refugee camp where 50 shanties were burnt down. She says while it was reported upon, it did not get wall-to-wall coverage.Rohin, who covered this incident says, “People couldn't decide whether somebody started the fire or it happened on its own. As per the police, it could have been due to a short circuit but people are saying they don't have such wires that could lead to a short-circuit. Their Burmese IDs and refugee cards from the UN were burnt down, technically they are illegal now.”Talking about propaganda related to the Kathua case, Rohin says that it is very insensitive of people to raise questions like -- how come the girl was wearing the same clothes in pictures released before and after the death? Did she have only one set of clothes?Meghnad feels that despite Kathua and Unnao cases receiving wall-to-wall coverage, the questions related to political leadership have not been asked.He tells the panel more about a documentary that he made on rape culture in Haryana. He wanted to investigate why so many rapes happen. “Societal attitudes are so intensely patriarchal that it creates conditions where sexual assault against women is normalised, legitimised and justified.”He feels that the electoral bonds that were told to be anonymous by the government did not get enough coverage. “You have gone to the extent of putting numbers there but people can't see on the face of it. I am surprised that no one picked it up.”The panel discusses the midnight march by Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Amit calls it a “spontaneous” decision because around 9 pm, Rahul Gandhi tweeted that he will take out a march at the India Gate. Amit spoke to some members of the Congress party, who told him that they were informed about the march in the afternoon. He goes on to say that various TV channels and news portals covered it, but there was no reportage in the newspapers.Cherry says that the crime should be talked about and not just the protest. “I don't think it is right to use a protest which is now turning into a brand to peddle your own agenda even if subtle. It is absolutely necessary to talk about that heinous crime that was perpetrated when we talk about rape."To which Abhinandan adds, “There are certain tipping points and that tipping point is usually an incident or a specific event. "It's like the biggest problem that we had with the British was imposing a tax on salt but you can use that as a hinge to set off a bigger protest.”To read more visit: bit.ly/2qIvoao
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel is joined by Ishan Kukreti, a reporter from Down to Earth magazine, to discuss the Kathua rape case, Kashmir killings, Salman Khan’s conviction and more.Nidhi comments on how the mainstream media did not have any coverage on the lawyers’ protest in the Kathua case, "When the charge sheet was filed by the crime branch, the lawyers protested against the same. There was no front-page coverage in the mainstream media. Only Times of India reported it on the front page, everybody else carried it in the inside pages."She also puts forth the fact that 3 killings in the last 7 months in the Kashmir valley have gone under-reported. She finds it “bizarre” that they have only reported the incidents and there have been no follow-ups and investigations.Ishaan discusses the farmers protesting against the Cauvery issue outside an IPL match between CSK-KKR and media's doing "lazy reporting as it is giving attention to IPL through the Cauvery issue”.Cherry also adds on to the Kathua rape case and feels that it deserved more coverage. “Considering the coverage that Salman Khan got wherein at least 9 leading dailies put it on their front page, how does a girl's repeated rape for at least a week does not get a front-page coverage except one column in TOI?” she questions.Manisha states that the probable reason for less coverage could be the 8-year-old victim’s disadvantaged background. “I guess this is also to do with the fact that the girl is from the Bakarwal community. If it happens to a middle-class family and an upper-middle-class person, there is media outrage.”While Nidhi feels Salman Khan’s conviction was all over the media, Cherry discusses excessive coverage given to Congress’ 'chola bathura' breakfast.In the Salman Khan case, Nidhi points out that there was no Bishnoi community representative in the prime-time debate panels. To which Manisha adds, “As per a news report, two Bishnoi members came to stop Salman and he pointed his gun at them. Even under so much pressure, the Bishnoi members haven’t changed their testimony in 20 years. There should have been news of their struggle to get justice and not just Bandra people saying Salman is so great.”In relation to the non-filing of FIR against the SC/ST Atrocities Act (2015 amendment), Ishaan talks about how smartly mass land encroachment is happening in areas such as Raigarh.The panel also discusses, I&B ministry's April 4 order to set up a panel to frame regulations for online media. "Even if I want to express my opinion in a Facebook post or on Twitter, there are chances that the government might crack its whip it,” Cherry tells the panel.
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In this episode of Reporters Without Borders, the team engages in a conversation about the I&B ministry's order to regulate fake news as well as media reportage on the nationwide Dalit protest.While discussing Uttar Pradesh government's decision to officially include 'Ramji' in documents mentioning BR Ambedkar, Rohin points out the importance of adding historical context to debates. "Ambedkar's critique on Ram and casteism would actually scare the Hindutva forces," he tells the panel.Amit talks about media’s demographic bias, and how newsrooms highlight issues from certain states only. "Jharkand's government has drafted an amendment saving officers accused in the forgery of land sale and conversions...had there been a similar draft in Uttar Pradesh, it would have been covered by national media," he states.Discussions on Dalit agitation has Abhinandan questioning media's sympathetic coverage of the protesters, despite compelling evidence of violence. "Dalit protests are usually not covered by TV channels or newspapers. It was the narrative of this protest that led to such mass coverage," says Amit.Rohin points out how the protests have deepened class differences and talks about Savarna reporters looking at the protest with a biased lens.Cherry shares why I&B ministry’s amendment to journalists’ accreditation guidelines was problematic. The amendment threatens to take away a journalist's accreditation even before the journalist’s guilt is established, she says. She also speaks about the responsibility of verification being given to self-regulatory bodies. “The PCA and NBA have proved to be ineffective in the past...are we really expecting them to look into these cases in fifteen days and tell whether they are fake news or not ?" she asks. She also points out that the guidelines do little to curb the menace created by social media websites, which have widely contributed to the spread of fake news.Abhinandan tells us why Mayawati becoming a chief minister at her time was a bigger deal than Barack Obama, an African-American, becoming the President of the United States.
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Reporters Without Orders is early this week! And on this podcast, the panel gives you a lowdown on what made news and what should have. Abhinandan and Cherry talk about Big Media giving a miss to Cobrapost's exposé, while Cherry also speaks about media's coverage of Ovleno Business Intelligence's role in the Indian electoral process. Was the company put on a media trial? Rohin talks about Poonya Prasoon Vajpayee's speech at the Constitution Club and the JNU protests that took place last week. Amit talks about convictions in the Ramgarh lynching case and the limited coverage it received in Big Media. He also speaks about the attack on journalists from Hindustan Times and The Indian Express as well as Cobrapost's documentary. But that's not all. The panel also discusses glorification of Shambhulal Regar at a Ram Navami rally. Regar allegedly murdered a labourer from West Bengal. So, Listen up!#CambridgeAnalytica #Cobrapost
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In this episode, Manisha Pande debuts as host for Reporters Without Orders. The panel of reporters discusses limited media reportage on the multiple allegations made against JNU professor Atul Johari as well as Khonmoh encounter in Kashmir. Our Kashmir correspondent, Nidhi, also talks about her story on Tabassum Guru, Afzal Guru's wife. The panel also discusses the video that went viral following Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Sarfaraz Alam's victory in the recently-concluded Bihar bypolls. Cherry speaks about news organizations using unverified videos, often from WhatsApp/ social media as a source of news.Speaking about issues that were overplayed by the media, the panel discusses Bhagalpur communal tension and FIR registered against Union minister Ashwini Choubey's son. Rohin also talks about Dainik Jagran's story on Modi, where the paper claims that Modi might be the PM till 2029.This, and more. Listen up!#AtulJohri #TabassumGuru #DainikJagran
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the limited debate around the farmers' protest in Maharashtra, attack on a Mizoram journalist and more. They also talk about the overplayed news of the week, such as cricketer Shami's wife’s allegations against him. This and more. Listen up!
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While the last few days didn’t see sections of the media obsessing with a certain issue, the panel points out several reports that were underplayed. On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the limited coverage of the students’ protest against Staff Selection Commission, the killings in Shopian that has brought four districts in south Kashmir to a halt as well as the spat between Prasar Bharati and the I&B ministry. The panel also discusses the environment ministry’s U-turn in Adani's Mundra project.Speaking about the news that was overplayed, the panel talks about Malayalam magazine Grihalakshmi’s cover. This, and more. Listen up!
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the limited debate surrounding elections in Nagaland and Meghalaya, BJP leader's SUV running over 9 students and injuring 20 others, a 26-page affidavit submitted by Hadiya in the Supreme Court and an 18-year-old Dalit girl being burnt alive in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district. The panel also talks about the detention of Islamic preacher MM Akbar at the Hyderabad airport on Sunday, a story about Amit Shah's fever in the web edition of The Hindu as well as Jansatta. This, and more. Listen up!
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Abhinandan is back as host for episode 7 of #ReportersWithoutOrders. The panel discusses the limited debate surrounding incidences of the caste-based discrimination against Dalit students in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, NIA's new definition of "real journalism", the self-immolation of a Dalit farmer in Patan, Gujarat and double murder in Nagpur. They also talk about news packages including one on an Andhra Pradesh farmer using Sunny Leone's poster as nazar battu, communalisation of news narrative in a tribal girl's rape case in Kathua, Jammu and the missing nuance from debates on #PNBScam. This, and more. Listen up!#Kamran Yusuf #Dalit #Himachal Pradesh #Sunny Leone
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On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the limited debate surrounding the Kashmir Administrative Exams, Rajasthan Budget which has provisions for distribution of free sanitary napkins as well as the flawed coverage of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement on the FIR filed against Major Aditya Kumar. The panel also discusses a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch and The Caravan's follow-up story on judge Loya's death.The #ReportersWithoutOrders gang also discusses how the news about Priya Prakash Varrier was overplayed. This, and more. Listen up!
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In this episode of #ReportersWithoutOrders, the panel discusses sections of mainstream media’s narrative about Kashmir—how it has been reduced to terror and terrorists. The gang also discusses limited coverage given to the startling allegations made by Congress’ Kapil Sibal, political developments in Jharkhand and life of undertrials such as the youth arrested in the Bangalore blast case.The panel also weighs in on the #PadmanChallenge, what ails legacy media houses, problems with over-consumption of news and more. Listen up!#Kashmir #Congress #Politics #Jharkhand #Bangalore #PadmanChallenge
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In this episode of #ReportersWithoutOrders, Newslaundry’s illustrator Anish Daolagupu joins the regular gang to discuss the protests in Assam's Dima Hasao district. Also, hear Abhinandan share his experience of a particular shoot while weighing in on the media blind spot when it comes to the Northeast. The panel also discusses a Madras High Court order allowing conjugal visits for a man serving a life sentence and the national media’s limited coverage of Odisha’s political hot potato— the death of a class 9 girl who was gang-raped.All this, in addition to Nidhi’s learnings during her travel with Karwan-e-Mohabbat, Sahla’s jibe at the selection of panelists called on news debates and more. Listen up!#ReportersWithoutOrders #MadrasHighCourt #EconomicSurvey2018 #Odisha #Assam #DimaHasao
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In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the implications of Foreign Ministry issuing colour-coded passports and CCTV surveillance in schools. The panel also discusses the limited coverage given to the rape and murder of a minor girl in Jammu's Kathua city as well as the arrest of two journalists in Kerela's Ernakulam. The journalists, who were covering a protest led by Dalits, were arrested by the state police for allegedly "obstructing their duty". But that's not all. Amit shares his reporting experience from Kurukshetra, where he had gone to cover the #JindRapeCase. Listen up!#JindRapeCase #CCTV #Delhi #Passports #Jammu
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In the second podcast of Reporters Without Orders, the panel discusses the limited debate surrounding the agricultural distress, law and order situation in New Delhi, Dhanyashree suicide in Karnataka as well as encounters in Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh. The panel also weighs in on the sexual harassment allegations against American actor-comedian Aziz Ansari -- can the allegation be clubbed with the #MeToomovement or is there a need to draw a distinction? Also on the podcast are stories that our reporters would like to cover -- from Panchayat elections in Kashmir to an investigation into Islamic groups such as Popular Front of India and Social Democratic Party of India. This, and more. Listen up!
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A brand new podcast where Newslaundry reporters discuss stories that got eclipsed in the day-to-day reporting business, while others that got overplayed. In episode 1 of Reporters Without Orders, hosted by Abhinandan Sekhri, reporter Amit Bhardwaj gives a behind-the-scenes account of #YuvaHunkarRally. The panel including Sahla Nechiyil, Rohin Kumar and Cherry Agarwal discusses modification of Supreme Court’s #NationalAnthem order, the state of Central Universities, revised bank charges on cash transactions, Rs 100 crore civil defamation against The Wire and more. Listen up!
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