For this special year-ender episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande and The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by columnist and media critic Santosh Desai.  

The conversation begins with a wrap of the Indian media ecosystem this year. Santosh says, “Institutions are struggling to retain credibility and resist pressure.” Dhanya argues that mainstream media exerts significant influence over people, but on social media, the results vary. Discussing the state of the media more specifically in Karnataka, Pooja notes that although it's “heavily compromised”, it can still be seen as a “lesser evil” compared to the Hindi and English media.

Manisha argues that, in terms of news consumption, the internet can be very ruthless – in contrast to legacy media, which does not have to face the crash and burn. She cites the example of Beer Biceps, whose rapid rise and fall illustrate this ruthlessness. Some influencers, Dhanya says, have also realised that “credibility comes with consistency”. 

On the economic front, Abhinandan explains, “It is the lethargy of legacy media that is reflected in their belief about how business is done – in large spaces and studios. Hence, sustainability and viewership become two completely different things.”

The panel also discusses advertisements that make them nostalgic. Dhanya says, “Now, we pay to remove ads. I cannot remember the last time I watched an ad.” Meanwhile, Abhinandan notes, “The death of ads is the death of jingles, which in turn traces to the death of radio.”

While discussing Arnab Goswami's recent shows that questioned the central government, Pooja remarks, “This man can damage the country by stooping so low, but all it takes for him to be viewed as a crusader is the targeting of a soft issue as a larger strategy.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Letters to NL Hafta and South Central: ‘Pointless’ Nikhil Kamath article, love for Dhanya and improving AQI

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions & announcements

00:02:16 - Headlines

00:07:30 - Brands vs individuals: Understanding news models 

00:33:15 - Karnataka Hate Speech Bill

00:38:00 - How has advertising changed?

00:59:00 - Santosh’s recommendations

01:00:00 - Arnab Goswami’s turnaround 

01:07:00 - Christmas violence  

01:12:00 - Letters

01:35:13 - Recommendations 

Song: Badumbaaa - Zumba Zumba

References

Prasar Bharati’s curliest tale: How taxpayer money was used for influencer content

Kiran Bedi Tapes: Does the law allow a ‘concerned mother’ to request a surveillance operation?

Read Santosh Desai’s columns 

Abhinandan’s interview with Dhruv Rathee

Abhinandan’s interview with Harvinder Kaur Chowdhury

Recommendations

Santosh Desai 

New India by Rahul Bhatia 

Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Pluribus

The Expanse

Abhinandan 

Believer's Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right's Path to Power, 1977–2018 by Abhishek Choudhary

Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right, 1924–1977 by Abhishek Choudhary 

Pooja Prasanna

A Controversial Judge 

Dhanya

The Dig: Keeladi and the Politics of India's Past by Sowmiya Ashok

Serial

The Muhammad Yunus government played with fire, now Bangladesh burns again

Believer's Dilemma

Manisha 

Shattered Lands : Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple

Gods Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity by Manu S. Pillai

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Lapgun DJ

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Recorded and produced by Priyali Dhingra. Production assistance by Megha Mukundan and Ajai. Edited by Saif Ali Ekram.