際際滷

際際滷Share a Scribd company logo

Crony Journalism

Download as PPTX, PDF
A
arch1978

This document analyzes the political affiliations of news media organizations in Kashmir Valley, India. It finds that while direct political ownership of media is not widespread, some newspapers and television channels show influence from political parties and ideologies through indirect means. Through interviews with journalists, the document identifies a few newspapers and one TV channel that are directly or indirectly linked to political parties and tend to reflect those parties' views in their content. However, it also finds examples where politically-linked media outlets have maintained impartiality. The document concludes that political parties are interested in influencing media to shape public opinion but that this phenomenon is not yet highly prevalent in Kashmir compared to other parts of India.

1 of 18
Download to read offline
Archana Kumari, Assistant Professor Department of Convergent Journalism Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190004, J & K, India E-mail: archanaiimc@gmail.com
Abstract: Political affiliations to news media is not a recent phenomenon, rather it had been practiced in global media since the power of media was realized. However, it used to be a covert phenomenon keeping in mind the credibility of news media. With the proliferation of news media in India and growing realisation of its power in shaping public opinion, the politicians and media barons started mutually comforting each other (Thakurta, 2012).
Abstract: According to Vanita Kohli-Khandekar (2012), in India, more than a third of news channels are owned by politicians or politico-affiliated builders. An estimated 60 percent of cable distribution systems are owned by local politicians. These have influenced and funded several local elections. There are dozens of small and big newspapers owned by politicians or their family members that influence the course of several local elections. In the wake of such trend in media ownership, this paper tries to list the politically owned regional newspapers and regional channels in Kashmir valley and its repercussions on the news content by interviewing the senior most journalists of the valley.
Objective: In the backdrop of above mentioned scenario, it is pertinent to investigate empirically whether political leadership really dominate the newspapers industry in the Kashmir valley and moulds it according to their own interest.
Research Questions: This research would examine the following research questions: Which newspapers in Kashmir valley are under direct political ownership or the owner of which newspapers are indirectly or directly associated with any political party? How far the content of politically owned newspapers is influenced by the ownership?
Methodology: This study uses hybrid of methodologies, but the most prominent one is free flowing interviews. Informations were collected by meeting and discussing thoroughly with senior editors and working journalists which allowed the researcher not only to gather informations but also to observe their work minutely. Apart from this, personal communications on phones and by e-mails were also used. The informations have also been gathered from their official websites. All this helped in understanding the impact of ownership on the Kashmiri media.
Media Companies with Political Links in Kashmir Valley: There are 18 English regional newspapers, 27 Urdu newspapers, 3 regional television channels and three regional magazines in Kashmir valley as on August 2, 2012, according to the media list provided by the Press Information Bureau. Most of them are influenced by either political parties or the political ideologies as per the statement given by a senior journalist of a national newspaper.
Media Companies with Political Links in Kashmir Valley: On the basis of the free flowing talk with senior editors of some of the reputed newspapers of the valley, the following list of direct and indirect relations of the political parties and the influence of their ideologies has been prepared:
Political delineation of news media in Kashmir S. N o. Politician/Peopl e with political connection Political Party/Position Media Outlet Name of the Company/ ideology 1. Shujaat Bukhari Brother of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP Newspaper Rising Kashmir in English Kashmir Media Group 2. Ghulam Rasool Kar Former President of State Congress Newspaper Khidmat Urdu Mouthpiece of the Congress 3. Bashir Ahmad Bashir Brother of Late MLC, Sofi Ghulam, Mohammad Congress Newspaper Srinagar Times in Urdu 4. Farooq Andrabi Member of Congress Party Newspaper Indian Times Pro-Congress 5. Syed Rafi-u-Din Bukhari Father of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP Newspaper Buland Kashmir, Urdu version of Rising Kashmir
Political delineation of news media in Kashmir S. No. Politician/People with political connection Political Party/Position Media Outlet Name of the Company/ ideology 6. Meraj-ud-Din Wani Editor, Not any direct linkage Newspaper Srinagar News, Urdu Newspaper Highly influenced by National Conference 7. Nusrat Shaban Editor, Not any direct linkage Newspaper Alsafa News Under Soz (Congrss) influence 8. Ahmad Ali Fayaz Chief Reporter, Not any direct linkage to political party J&K correspondent for Daily Hindu, Take I, Urdu electronic channel Highly influenced by National Conference
Findings: Out of 18 regional English newspapers, only one is linked with a political party and that too indirectly. Out of 27 regional Urdu newspapers, only four is directly linked with political parties, while two are influenced by political parties. Out of three regional news channels, only one Take-1 is influenced by a political party. This shows that there is no dominance of political ownership in Kashmiri news media, however except one the content of the other newspapers which are linked to a political parties are in favour of their owners.
Findings: Apart from these listed newspapers and channel, there are many other newspapers which are allegedly funded by either Indian government or separatist parties to mould public opinion in their favour. The newspaper Rising Kashmir is owned by Syed Rafi-u- Din Bukhari. Shujaat Bukhari, son of Rafi-u-Din is its Editor and he is the brother of Syed Basharat Bukhari MLA of Peoples Democratic Party. Still, its content is said to be impartial and neutral as per the statement of a senior journalist of a different regional newspaper (Personal communication). He also cited many instances when the newspaper could favour PDP, but it chose to remain neutral.
Findings: In case of Khidmat, there is nothing more to say, as it is mouthpiece of Congress. So it highlights and presents the achievements and views of Congress prominently. The founder of the daily Urdu Srinagar Times was late Sofi Ghulam Mohammad, who was nominated and voted as a Member of Legislative Council by Congress. The same daily is now run by Bashir Ahmad Bashir, a famous cartoonist and the brother of late Sofi.
Findings: Newspaper Indian Times, owned by a member of the Congress Party, Farooq Andrabi, always reflects pro Congress views in it. This newspaper is said to be pro congress. Again in case of Urdu newspaper, Buland Kashmir, the owner is Syed Rafi-ud-Din Bukhari, son of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP. Still it has maintained impartiality and neutrality in its content. While Urdu newspaper Srinagar News, not directly owned by any political party, but highly influenced by National Conference and produces content in favour of NC. Similarly, newspaper Alsafa in Urdu is not owned by any political party but reflects the views of Prof. Saifuddin Soz, State Congress leader. In case of electronic channel Take I, it is under the influence of NC.
Findings: However, there are examples that the life of such newspapers or channels which are biased towards one or other political party is very small. In Kashmir, there is an example of newspaper Ittalad, owned by PDP leader Maulavi Iftekhar Ali Ansari. It was pro PDP and got a number of advertisements from government when PDP was in power. Soon it was counted in one of the top newspapers of the valley, but as soon as there was power transfer, the survival of this very newspaper became difficult and it crumbled with the same pace as it rose.
Conclusion: Public opinion is the most powerful factor in a democracy and it is very important to win peoples opinion to run a democracy. Also the power of media in making and shaking public opinion has been clearly visible during Anna Hazares anti corruption movement and emergence of Aam Aadmi Party as an alternative to Congress and BJP. This is the reason, why each political party is willing to own media vehicle too.
Conclusion: This ownership is sometimes direct and sometimes indirect. The parties in power facilitate the media houses by providing them advertisements and in return the media group supports the party by positive coverage. The power of media has been realized in Kashmir valley too, but this phenomenon is not so blatant here till date. However, there are apprehensions that few journalists and media groups are moving towards such mutual comfort and in near future even in Kashmir valley the political ownership would be evident on large scale.
Archana Kumari

More Related Content

Crony Journalism

  • 1. Archana Kumari, Assistant Professor Department of Convergent Journalism Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar 190004, J & K, India E-mail: archanaiimc@gmail.com
  • 2. Abstract: Political affiliations to news media is not a recent phenomenon, rather it had been practiced in global media since the power of media was realized. However, it used to be a covert phenomenon keeping in mind the credibility of news media. With the proliferation of news media in India and growing realisation of its power in shaping public opinion, the politicians and media barons started mutually comforting each other (Thakurta, 2012).
  • 3. Abstract: According to Vanita Kohli-Khandekar (2012), in India, more than a third of news channels are owned by politicians or politico-affiliated builders. An estimated 60 percent of cable distribution systems are owned by local politicians. These have influenced and funded several local elections. There are dozens of small and big newspapers owned by politicians or their family members that influence the course of several local elections. In the wake of such trend in media ownership, this paper tries to list the politically owned regional newspapers and regional channels in Kashmir valley and its repercussions on the news content by interviewing the senior most journalists of the valley.
  • 4. Objective: In the backdrop of above mentioned scenario, it is pertinent to investigate empirically whether political leadership really dominate the newspapers industry in the Kashmir valley and moulds it according to their own interest.
  • 5. Research Questions: This research would examine the following research questions: Which newspapers in Kashmir valley are under direct political ownership or the owner of which newspapers are indirectly or directly associated with any political party? How far the content of politically owned newspapers is influenced by the ownership?
  • 6. Methodology: This study uses hybrid of methodologies, but the most prominent one is free flowing interviews. Informations were collected by meeting and discussing thoroughly with senior editors and working journalists which allowed the researcher not only to gather informations but also to observe their work minutely. Apart from this, personal communications on phones and by e-mails were also used. The informations have also been gathered from their official websites. All this helped in understanding the impact of ownership on the Kashmiri media.
  • 7. Media Companies with Political Links in Kashmir Valley: There are 18 English regional newspapers, 27 Urdu newspapers, 3 regional television channels and three regional magazines in Kashmir valley as on August 2, 2012, according to the media list provided by the Press Information Bureau. Most of them are influenced by either political parties or the political ideologies as per the statement given by a senior journalist of a national newspaper.
  • 8. Media Companies with Political Links in Kashmir Valley: On the basis of the free flowing talk with senior editors of some of the reputed newspapers of the valley, the following list of direct and indirect relations of the political parties and the influence of their ideologies has been prepared:
  • 9. Political delineation of news media in Kashmir S. N o. Politician/Peopl e with political connection Political Party/Position Media Outlet Name of the Company/ ideology 1. Shujaat Bukhari Brother of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP Newspaper Rising Kashmir in English Kashmir Media Group 2. Ghulam Rasool Kar Former President of State Congress Newspaper Khidmat Urdu Mouthpiece of the Congress 3. Bashir Ahmad Bashir Brother of Late MLC, Sofi Ghulam, Mohammad Congress Newspaper Srinagar Times in Urdu 4. Farooq Andrabi Member of Congress Party Newspaper Indian Times Pro-Congress 5. Syed Rafi-u-Din Bukhari Father of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP Newspaper Buland Kashmir, Urdu version of Rising Kashmir
  • 10. Political delineation of news media in Kashmir S. No. Politician/People with political connection Political Party/Position Media Outlet Name of the Company/ ideology 6. Meraj-ud-Din Wani Editor, Not any direct linkage Newspaper Srinagar News, Urdu Newspaper Highly influenced by National Conference 7. Nusrat Shaban Editor, Not any direct linkage Newspaper Alsafa News Under Soz (Congrss) influence 8. Ahmad Ali Fayaz Chief Reporter, Not any direct linkage to political party J&K correspondent for Daily Hindu, Take I, Urdu electronic channel Highly influenced by National Conference
  • 11. Findings: Out of 18 regional English newspapers, only one is linked with a political party and that too indirectly. Out of 27 regional Urdu newspapers, only four is directly linked with political parties, while two are influenced by political parties. Out of three regional news channels, only one Take-1 is influenced by a political party. This shows that there is no dominance of political ownership in Kashmiri news media, however except one the content of the other newspapers which are linked to a political parties are in favour of their owners.
  • 12. Findings: Apart from these listed newspapers and channel, there are many other newspapers which are allegedly funded by either Indian government or separatist parties to mould public opinion in their favour. The newspaper Rising Kashmir is owned by Syed Rafi-u- Din Bukhari. Shujaat Bukhari, son of Rafi-u-Din is its Editor and he is the brother of Syed Basharat Bukhari MLA of Peoples Democratic Party. Still, its content is said to be impartial and neutral as per the statement of a senior journalist of a different regional newspaper (Personal communication). He also cited many instances when the newspaper could favour PDP, but it chose to remain neutral.
  • 13. Findings: In case of Khidmat, there is nothing more to say, as it is mouthpiece of Congress. So it highlights and presents the achievements and views of Congress prominently. The founder of the daily Urdu Srinagar Times was late Sofi Ghulam Mohammad, who was nominated and voted as a Member of Legislative Council by Congress. The same daily is now run by Bashir Ahmad Bashir, a famous cartoonist and the brother of late Sofi.
  • 14. Findings: Newspaper Indian Times, owned by a member of the Congress Party, Farooq Andrabi, always reflects pro Congress views in it. This newspaper is said to be pro congress. Again in case of Urdu newspaper, Buland Kashmir, the owner is Syed Rafi-ud-Din Bukhari, son of Syed Basharat Bukhari, MLA of PDP. Still it has maintained impartiality and neutrality in its content. While Urdu newspaper Srinagar News, not directly owned by any political party, but highly influenced by National Conference and produces content in favour of NC. Similarly, newspaper Alsafa in Urdu is not owned by any political party but reflects the views of Prof. Saifuddin Soz, State Congress leader. In case of electronic channel Take I, it is under the influence of NC.
  • 15. Findings: However, there are examples that the life of such newspapers or channels which are biased towards one or other political party is very small. In Kashmir, there is an example of newspaper Ittalad, owned by PDP leader Maulavi Iftekhar Ali Ansari. It was pro PDP and got a number of advertisements from government when PDP was in power. Soon it was counted in one of the top newspapers of the valley, but as soon as there was power transfer, the survival of this very newspaper became difficult and it crumbled with the same pace as it rose.
  • 16. Conclusion: Public opinion is the most powerful factor in a democracy and it is very important to win peoples opinion to run a democracy. Also the power of media in making and shaking public opinion has been clearly visible during Anna Hazares anti corruption movement and emergence of Aam Aadmi Party as an alternative to Congress and BJP. This is the reason, why each political party is willing to own media vehicle too.
  • 17. Conclusion: This ownership is sometimes direct and sometimes indirect. The parties in power facilitate the media houses by providing them advertisements and in return the media group supports the party by positive coverage. The power of media has been realized in Kashmir valley too, but this phenomenon is not so blatant here till date. However, there are apprehensions that few journalists and media groups are moving towards such mutual comfort and in near future even in Kashmir valley the political ownership would be evident on large scale.