Government Forcing Media to Speak in Their Support: Mrinal Pande

Renowned journalist Mrinal Pande is unhappy with the Press Council’s attitude towards the Kashmir issue

‘Government is forcing media to speak in their support’

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Varun Sharma

Renowned journalist and writer Mrinal Pande is upset with the Press Council of India’s attitude towards the Kashmir issue. She says their stance staggered several seniors because Press Council had protested against terrorism in Punjab, and moreover, had shamed newspapers which supported terrorism.

However, regarding the Kashmir issue, the PCI chairman put forward his opinion that he welcomed the government's decision, without having discussed it with the Council. All this, when "the press is being muzzled, which is against the freedom granted to us by our Constitution," and the matter being tried in court, is pervaded with a sense of unease.

She added that this has caused internal resistance in the Council.

“This is the time when the media shows unity, and media-related organisations give them the umbrella that they need but aren’t getting.”

Mrinal Pande, Journalist

On the topic of news media, Pande remarked that Hindi media in particular received a huge boost under the BJP government which came at the price of reportage being one-sided.

“If newspapers starting doing one-sided reporting then their power and credibility in the market dips,” she added. Pande also noted that Hindi news media made several agreements with those in power so as to not put their current position in jeopardy.

“People’s perception has been influenced by the media in several ways. Especially during the elections, the way news was misreported against secularism or the resistance against neutral media reinforced the perception in people.”

Mrinal Pande, Journalist

Pande says that ministers and political leaders have been attacking the media since 2014, calling them ‘prestitute’ or ‘sickular' media whenever there were reports against them. But they never boycotted the media. What they did was get the media heads on their side and force them and the organisations to report in their favour.

‘Hindi Has a Greater Political Strength But a Weaker Structure’

With eleven states constituting the Hindi heartland and some of the crucial parliamentary seats coming from those areas, Hindi as a language enjoys immense political strength.

Pande says, “Google and media-monitoring organisations have predicted that by 2020, 85 percent of the audience will be reading in Indian languages and 50 percent among them will be reading in Hindi.”

“The problem is that its basic structure is weak. Several factors are responsible for this: First, is that the lords or the rulers emphasised on English. Political opinions were excluded in Hindi newspapers.Their quality should have been tested from time to time and their design should have been improved. The market distribution should have been good but that did not happen either.” 

Mrinal Pande, Journalist