Reporters Without Orders Ep 218: Disha Salian’s media trial, RSS links of IIMC recruits

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Prateek Goyal.

Prateek begins by talking about his story on Disha Salian’s media trial, an incident that showed Indian news channels at their unethical worst, and maligned and devastated a family grappling with the loss of their daughter.

“It all started with gossip news websites publishing some inaccurate bits about Disha and how she was Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager,” Prateek says. “Media peddled all kinds of narratives – some even involving a gangrape by local politicians and film stars, as well as Disha’s parents taking bribes in crores to cover up the death.”

Basant then talks about his report on how the professors recently recruited by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication allegedly have links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “We learnt that even 14 to 15 years of experience in journalism was now being taken as the parameter to secure a professor’s job, when one needs a research background for it,” Basant says.

This, and a lot more, as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.

Tune in.

Watch a part of the conversation here:

Timecodes

00:00 - Introduction

02:00 - Disha Salian’s media trial

21:00 - Nepotism in IIMC recruitments

35:26 - Recommendations

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Recommendations

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Produced by Rounak Bhat, edited by Samrendra K Dash.