This week, we provide a point-by-point rebuttal of the legal notices sent to Newslaundry by Sakal Times, which is owned by the Pawar family, and Times Now, run by the Jain family. In the process, we imagine what the scenes might have been like in the offices of their lawyers when these notices were drafted.

We explain why TV news in India today is little more than reality television, and why we think “karare channe seller” is an apt description for Times Now editor Rahul Shivshankar.

Also this week, we see union minister Piyush Goyal go speechless when he is called out for his lies by a very unlikely questioner – Navika Kumar of Times Now. And we cringe as Rohit Sardana of Aaj Tak switches to his default mode – spewing bigotry.

Reading list:

‘They wanted to get rid of us’: Over 50 people laid off as Sakal Times closes down

‘The future is very bleak’: Sakal Times staffers say they have been sacked in violation of Maharashtra order

How the Pawar’s Sakal Media and Pune police have been harassing Newslaundry reporter

How Republic TV and Zee Media ‘illegally’ reached millions of viewers

Correction: The Zee television channels that benefitted by exploiting Doordarshan’s DTH service without paying a dime to the state broadcaster fall under Zee Media Corporation Ltd and not Zee News as a graphic in this video mistakenly suggested. The error is rectified. We regret the oversight.

***

If you like what we do, don’t forget to subscribe to Newslaundry. Make a one-time payment and power our work. It keeps us going. Seriously!