Toasted, then roasted by the media
Who were personalities and parties who enjoyed a rollercoaster ride with the media in 2014?
Here is ABHISHEK CHOUDHARY’s list of the top victims (Pix: Devyani Khobragade).
Arvind Kejriwal
The media in 2014 unmade Arvind Kejriwal just as it had helped build his image since the Anna Hazare protests of 2011. When Kejriwal finally became the chief minister in January, it turned out that no government at state or centre had ever been subjected to as harsh a 24x7 media scrutiny as his. But all seemed fine till January 20, when Kejriwal sat on a dharna protesting at Delhi Police’s lack of co-operation with his government and made his “I am an anarchist” remark. Suddenly, the favourable tide turned (read Not a worm's eye-view) and before long Kejriwal was written off. When he resigned from the chief minister’s post he was generally accused by the media, as an editorial in the Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran said, of “lies, deceit and hypocrisy” (read Arvind resigns, Hindi press opines).
Rahul Gandhi
The Congress prime ministerial candidate was hardly ever known for his engagement with the media but 2014 proved especially disastrous for him. When Gandhi finally agreed to his first election related television interview with Arnab Goswami of Times Now in January, it turned out to be counter-productive. Gandhi’s responses were vague, under-prepared, and demonstrated his political immaturity. A website counted some of the most common words Gandhi used in his responses: system (72 times); party (51); Congress (34); empowerment (23); he used the word economy only once.
Aam Aadmi Party
In an interview, Yogendra Yadav cited the ways in which the media worked against AAP in 2014. He named three channels which he thought had actually launched campaigns against the party: India News, India TV and Zee News. A doctored sting report on AAP was run by nearly every television channel for hours on end, he said, though it was proved within 48 hours that the CD had been doctored. Of course the responses to the Somnath Bharati Khirki episode and Arvind Kejriwal’s dharna also contributed majorly to AAP's unmaking by the media.
Gopal Subramaniam
It was easy to see why the Modi government didn’t want him as a Supreme Court judge. Subramaniam had been the amicus curae in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and generally has had a reputation of being a fearless lawyer. But the government, instead of exercising its legislative prerogative, played the selective-leaking trick in the media. The newspapers started using anonymous quotes from the Law Ministry as well as anonymous CBI and IB reports, embarrassing Subramaniam into withdrawing his candidature. In doing so, the media forgot that a free judiciary is also necessary to protect a free press (read How the media helped scuttle Gopal Subramaniam's appointment).
Ranjit Sinha
Less than two weeks before retirement, the former CBI chief Sinha suffered what may easily have been the worst blow of his career when the Supreme Court removed him from investigating the 2G scam case. The judgement came after the DNA newspaper claimed a scoop in “Diarygate” and handed over information to senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan indicating that Sinha allegedly met some of the people accused in the 2G scam at his house on multiple occasions. In his farewell speech, Sinha thanked the media for “keeping me in headlines for days and days together.”
Devyani Khobragade
Khobragade's case is the most curious in that it's hard to say if she was made or unmade by the media. While it was not the first time a notable Indian was arrested or humiliated in the US, her case made news for a long time because of its timing: it was election time in India, and it allowed the political parties, as Anand Teltumbde lucidly explained, to exhibit their jingoism. It also helped that Khobragade was a Dalit. This meant that Mayawati could accuse the Congress government of delaying the investigation. The Samajwadi Party even made her an offer of a Lok Sabha ticket. Later, in October, though, the MEA got miffed after she gave an interview to Times Now without seeking permission. After she gave another interview in December, this time to Barkha Dutt of NDTV, the MEA stripped her of duties and put her under “compulsory watch”.
(Abhishek Choudhary is with The Hoot. Twitter: @cyabhishek.)
Such articles are only possible because of your support. Help the Hoot. The Hoot is an independent initiative of the Media Foundation and requires funds for independent media monitoring. Please support us. Every rupee helps.