Democracy as Permanent Advertising: Indian Media and Elections

Based on the analyses of select elections coverage by five television channels – India TV, NDTV, Aaj Tak, ANI, and IBN– I argue that:

  • The way journalists pose questions to their favorite politicians are often already answers;
  • In pursuing a storyline, journalists subordinate, even sacrifice, actual responses or events/facts to bolster their pre-determined narrative; and
  • Electoral polity like India is heading towards a designer democracy marked by permanent campaigning-cum-advertising.

In short, I caution against the use of widespread phrase: ‘media and politics’. It is more fitting to say: ‘media as politics’ or ‘politics as media’.

 

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