This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Manisha Pande are joined by Aunindyo Chakravarty, journalist and former managing editor of NDTV Profit, and independent journalist Vrinda Gopinath.

The discussion kicks off with recent data on layoffs and job losses in the media industry and what led to the losses. Aunindyo talks about how these layoffs are not related to Covid but have been happening since 2018. “Almost 78 percent of jobs were lost in the media and publishing industry in five years,” he says.

The conversation then shifts to the current political scenario in Punjab and what the sudden change in power implies for the state. Has Amarinder Singh’s popularity suddenly dipped? Manisha points out that Singh is the “only Congress minister who has got good press from all TV media”. Vrinda replies, “It is because he has always been anti-Congress.”

Listen.

Hafta letters: Newslaundry IT survey, state board language discrimination, defence of Islam