Billionaire Modi ally on verge of taking over independent Indian news channel
GuardianNov 26, 2022
Popular Indian TV Host Resigns After Billionaire Takeover of NDTV
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Image copyright: YouTube Channel Ravish Kumar Official
The Facts
On Wednesday, Ravish Kumar, one of India’s most popular television journalists, announced his resignation from New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) amid billionaire Gautam Adani’s imminent two-stage takeover of the network.
A day earlier, NDTV founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy resigned as the directors on the board of Radhika Roy Prannoy Roy Holdings Private Limited (RRPR) – NDTV’s promoter company.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
The resignation of Ravish Kumar – an icon of press freedom in India – proves that values and ethics are more important than money for some. It also sends the important signal that, in a world where you can be a bootlicker and earn millions or speak truth to power and stand your ground at a personal cost, one must choose to be the latter. Unfortunately, Adani’s takeover will soon transform NDTV into another lapdog of the Modi government, purging dissenting voices and stifling real journalism.
Pro-establishment narrative
Adani’s takeover of NDTV is a perfectly legal business move. It’s not a hostile maneuver and there is no victim, perpetrator, or martyr in this situation. In addition, the ever-sanctimonious Ravish Kumar was a propagandist-in-chief in NDTV, who peddled his agenda, propelled divides, and misled his followers on Prime Time. With Adani taking over NDTV, he must have realized he could no longer push his hypocrisy and biases through his brand of fake journalism.
