Reporters Without Orders Ep 20: Media's Karnataka tale, Varanasi flyover collapse, fuel price hike

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.”

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