Breaking News Or Breaking India?

"A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, certainly, without freedom, it will never be anything but bad." -Albert Camus

Truth.

Once, it was a reason Indian media existed. The reason why ink flowed onto paper, the reason voices echoed the air. Truth was sacred. It was dangerous. It was what turned revolutions into history. And now? Now, truth is whatever they say it is.

I recently watched “The Sabarmati Report” and it led me to ponder onto the status of Indian media in this free country. Nevertheless, I think I have witnessed the transformation of Indian media through this film—not gradual, not subtle, but ruthless. I feel like this was not a decline; it was an erosion, a slow and silent replacement of substance with spectacle, of facts with fabrication. I gave seen what happens when the watchdog of democracy is trained not to bark, but to obey. If not one can always remember Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, and the person responsible for widespread of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.

Look at the state of our media today. Look at the shouting matches that pass for debates, the anchors who masquerade as warriors, the headlines crafted not to inform, but to provoke. Outrage is profitable. Fear is marketable. Sensationalism is currency. Maybe, Arfa Khanum or Rana Ayyub would argue, the mighty Barkha Dutt might not care, additionally, Ravish Kumar, Ajit Anjum or Rajdeep Sardesai would contradict on the same, but it won’t change the fact that they have applied all the aforementioned elements. (I watch Palki Sharma-Upadhyay personally, so I don’t really care for how their propaganda machinery works) And here, we as audience, sit before our screens, thinking we are informed, thinking we are engaged, when all we are given is illusion. A carefully constructed reality, designed not to challenge us, but to sedate us. To keep us angry, but never at the right things. To keep us entertained, but never enlightened.

Their top story tonight? Well, actually, they don’t have one. You see, real news is hard. It requires research, integrity, and worst of all… effort. So instead, they bring you with Breaking News: "A celebrity has unfollowed another celebrity on social media!" Shocking. Earth-shattering. "A government meeting ends without tea and samosa!" (To hell with it, the country has gone poor). This is what truly matters. And so, we will wonder why a celebrity’s personal life is a headline. Even a riot will be framed, not as failure of governance, but as a question of loyalty.  A journalist questioning the system will not be debated—no, that would require reason, facts, patience. Instead, they will be labelled. Branded. Declared a traitor, a foreign agent. Threat.

Headline Machine

Because, that is exactly the game now. The news is no longer about the truth. It is about control. And what controls the narrative? Who controls the headlines? Who decides what must be remembered, and what must be erased? Power is no longer about governance—it is about storytelling. (It’s imbibed in humans, because we also want a companion in our life, to whom we can sell our stories, our experiences, our lies, don’t we? Better not fight with your wife on this, lol). And so, what a story they have written.

India is a country where dissent is criminalized and hate is televised. A country where a journalist is arrested for speaking the truth, but a demagogue is given prime-time slots to spread venom. A country where the media, once the voice of the people, has become the mouthpiece to the powerful. I mean, do anyone of you read National Herald? (I don’t know about you guys, but Uncle Sam surely does. What a brilliant hacker, I must say! Ohh sorry, I meant whacker. Whacker of propaganda! Guys, y'all must have heard me wrong on the first instance. My bad!)

Now, let’s talk about TRPs. Ohh, you thought news was about truth? Cute. My friend, news is about ratings. Why report policy failures? God dammit, so old-fashioned. We will interview experts who are qualified in shouting louder than everyone else (Not the time to say “You should have seen the other guy!”) That is why I like Sanjay Raut so much. Calm, composed. He is the modern-day reincarnation of Adiyogi. Sad, exuberant, yet somehow seems always intoxicated, all at the same time. And his statements! They are like WhatsApp forwards—full of drama, zero impact, and everyone watches in utter confusion. (Huhh????) He definitely sets up a standard for Ekta Kapoor's set.

And let’s not forget—the most important part of modern day journalism—Sponsors! You see, news isn’t actually controlled by journalists (My bad x2), it’s more in the hands of businessmen, advertisers, and politicians. If a story upsets the wrong people, poof! It disappears faster than your salary in an election year. But fear not! We will always fight! Unless, of course, the truth is inconvenient. Then we will spin it, twist it, or ignore it entirely.

And here I want to ask: why do we still call it as free press? Free? Free from what? From responsibility? From ethics? From the burden of real journalism? (Might be from the gaze of that weird guy in Delhi metro).

I mean, it is certainly not from influence. Not when billionaires own newspapers that criticize wealth equality. Not when media houses depend on government ad for survival. Not when the press is free to report anything—except the truth.

We have mistaken noise for knowledge. We have accepted drama as dialogue. We have learned to look away when a voice is silenced, when a story is buried, when a lie is repeated until it becomes the reality. And so, I ask—who is truly at fault? The ones who spread falsehoods? Or the ones who believe them? The anchors who serve the foreign powers? Or the audience that keeps tuning in?

But, before I go, here’s a teaser for tomorrow’s breaking news: “Delhi man claims he found auto driver who agreed to meter fare—Investigation underway, girls from South Delhi demand CBI probe!” Until then, good luck, and remember—don’t think too much. Just think that what they do is real news. Because as long as you believe it, they can keep selling it.

Stay tuned!