There was a time when turning on the news at 9pm meant watching a reporter stand outside a government building and ask a minister an uncomfortable question. The minister would dodge, the reporter would follow up, the viewer would feel informed. That time is over.
What replaced it is something new in the world — not propaganda exactly, because propaganda at least acknowledges it has an agenda. What replaced journalism on Indian prime time is performance. It is a nightly theatrical production in which the anchor is the hero, the panelists are props, and dissent is treated as treason.
The Ownership Problem
Two corporations own the majority of India's most-watched news channels. Both corporations have significant business interests that depend on government approvals, contracts, and policy decisions. This is not a conspiracy theory. It is a matter of public record. When the organisation that pays your salary needs the government to approve a port, a spectrum bid, or an infrastructure project — the evening news becomes a negotiation, not a public service.
The Anchor as Weapon
The modern Indian news anchor is not a journalist in any traditional sense. They do not report. They do not investigate. They convene a panel, assign roles (patriot / anti-national), and then shout until the hour is up. The louder the shout, the higher the TRP. The higher the TRP, the larger the advertising revenue. The larger the revenue, the more the network needs to keep the government happy. It is a closed loop with no exit for the viewer.
What Independent Media Looks Like
It still exists in India — in newsletters, in YouTube channels funded by viewers, in long-form investigative pieces published by outlets that have chosen subscription models over advertising dependency. It is smaller than it should be. It is more important than most people realise.
The CJP's fourth demand — cancellation of licences for corporately captured media — is not about silencing voices. It is about making room for ones that have been drowned out. A democracy requires a press that is afraid of the truth only when it publishes falsehood, not when it publishes fact.