“Today, every moral outrage on Malayalam social media is an excuse for political leaders and their cyber warriors to target journalists” | Image source: Getty Images/Istockphoto
IN Politics, the official version is most often quickly separated at the seams. When it dissolves, the first reaction of the party is usually to blame the media for “misunderstanding”, accusing its biases, and in some cases, release cyber warriors to journalists who reported the story.
It is not about freeing the media from flaws, but rather a hydra head like the media, which is often collectively branded as an entity and whipped, whether at fault or not. Today, every moral outrage on Malayalam social media is an excuse for political leaders and their cyber warriors to target journalists. “Imagine if one of our leaders said that? These trips (using derogatory terms) would rush to him on him.”
Politicians, parties and their aides have a love-hate relationship with the news media. But some of them punish the news media for their “erosion of value” and “the impact of decline”, too, hope it becomes flexible. This desire cuts the entire political scope. When not satisfied, the reporter is on the shooting line.
A recent discussion in Kerala in Kerala was triggered and nurtured by the UDF, led by Congress, after the 2026 General Assembly elections, whose remarks have increased the rumor of Mills. But when this imagined scenario leads to a full-scale controversy in the league, and when some minor league partners express their dissatisfaction, all the blame is attributed to the media. Leaders are prohibited from informal briefings to the media, a move that is unrealistic and self-deception.
Union Minister and BJP leader Suresh Gopi seems to have realized that even bad media can be beneficial as long as there is polarized social media. He was an actor and first angry when asked about reports on the working status of women in the Malayalam film industry last August. He filed a police complaint to the media because he blocked his way.
Last November, the BJP’s losses in Palakkad’s by-election led to rumors of change in the state’s party leadership. Naturally, there are a lot of news reports. When the rifts within the party were revealed, the party’s governor exclaimed in the media and warned journalists of consequences. The basic work of the media is usually the basic work of legal questions, but answers to legal queries often range from mild intimidation to your face-to-face intimidation to open threats on social media. That’s what makes political coverage difficult to drive.
CPI(M) is the head of the Kerala Council and has never tried to cover up its uneasy relationship with the media. Even during regular interactions, the party was aggressive. The state meeting of CPI(M) in Kollam recently represented the party’s distrust of the media. As always, it has a media center in a separate shell outside the venue. However, the Media Center is not popular, except during press conferences and special interactions with leaders. If journalists want to be key in their story or hold their breath, they have to go out and take refuge, under a few trees next to the nearby parking lot, on hot days. While this is not a major inconvenience for you, it still points to the larger “tokenism” problem that most political parties embrace.
Every political formation in India seems to focus on the state of the media, but few have taken concrete steps to promote journalism. This may be why the tribes investigating political journalists are declining. However, journalists must realize that difficult times often produce quality news.
anandan.s@thehindu.co.in
publishing – March 14, 2025 01:32 AM IST
