“Every bit of moral indignation on Malayalam social media these days is a pretext for political leaders and their cyber warriors to target journalists”
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In politics, the official version most often comes apart at the seams quickly. And when it unravels, often the first response of political parties is to blame the media for ‘misreporting’, accuse it of bias and in some cases, unleash cyber warriors on the reporters who covered the story.
This is not to let the media off the hook for its flaws, but something as hydra-headed as the media often gets collectively branded as one entity and flogged, whether or not someone was at fault. Every bit of moral indignation on Malayalam social media these days is a pretext for political leaders and their cyber warriors to target journalists. “Imagine if one of our leaders had said this? These journos — described using a pejorative term — would have pounced on him” has become a familiar refrain.
Politicians, political parties, and their acolytes have a love-hate relationship with the news media. But some of those who chastise the news media for its ‘value erosion’ and ‘waning influence’ also want it to be pliable. This desire cuts across the political spectrum. When it is not met, journalists are in the firing line.
A recent discussion in Kerala about who the Chief Minister would be if the Congress-led UDF came to power following the Assembly elections in 2026 was triggered and fostered by some senior Congress leaders whose statements added grist to the rumour mills. But when this imagined scenario led to a full-blown controversy within the alliance, with some minor alliance partners expressing their discontent, all the blame was put on the media. Leaders were barred from unofficial briefings to the media, a move that impractical and self-defeating.
Union Minister of State and BJP leader Suresh Gopi seems to have realised that even bad press is beneficial so long as there is a polarised social media. An actor first and foremost, he was irked last August when he was asked about the K. Hema Committee Report on the working condition of women in the Malayalam film industry. He lodged police complaints against mediapersons for blocking his way.
Last November, the BJP’s loss in the Palakkad byelection led to rumours about a leadership change in the party in the State. Naturally, there was a slew of news stories. When the rift within the party was out in the open, the party’s State chief vented his anger on the media and warned journalists of consequences. While asking critical questions with civility is the media’s fundamental job, often, responses to legitimate queries have varied from mild intimidation to in-your-face intimidation to open threats on social media. This is what makes political reporting a tough terrain to navigate.
The CPI(M), the lead party in the governing LDF in Kerala, has never tried to conceal its uneasy relationship with the media. The party is combative even during routine interactions. The CPI(M)‘s State conference in Kollam recently epitomised the party’s distrust of the media. As always, it featured a media centre in a separate enclosure outside the venue. But journalists with passes to cover the event were unwelcome at the media centre except during press meets and special interactions with leaders. If reporters wanted to key in their story or catch a breath, they had to go out and take refuge under a few trees lining the parking ground nearby for the remainder of the scorching day. While this was not a major inconvenience, it still pointed to the larger issue of ‘tokenism’, championed by most political parties.
Every political formation in India seems concerned about the state of the media, but hardly anyone takes concrete steps to facilitate journalism. This could be why the tribe of probing political journalists is dwindling. Nevertheless, journalists must realise that tough times often spawn quality journalism.
anandan.s@thehindu.co.in
Published – March 14, 2025 01:32 am IST
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