Narendra Modi has been a divisive figure not just in India but also within his own party. Has that polarisation rubbed off on the Indian media too? CNN-IBN's deputy editor Sagarika Ghose joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Do you the media has the required influence to make or break political career of any leader? Asked by: Rohit
A. Not really. The more a political leader relies on the media to either make him or break him, the more he runs the risk of delusion. Mayawati is very badly treated by the media, she is mocked, caricatured, but it makes no difference to her voters. But as electorates mature, the media can make a difference and shape opinions. Most leaders in western countries make it a point to give interviews. The difficulty with our politicians is that they want the media to do propaganda for them but will never come out and do a hard no-holds-barred interview.
Q. Media had Demonised NaMo as an individual who went on a killing spree.The fact was that the emotions of the common men were high and that resulted in mob fury in the looting & killing which was retaliated also. Why was this missed out by the media? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. The 2002 Gujarat riots were the first riots that were covered by 24*7 news television. In 1984, or in the early 90s, there was no electronic media, so communal riots in those times were not covered as vividly and in so much detail. As a result of the coverage, the images of 2002 have haunted the public in the way no other riot has. Modi's government naturally has to be accountable for what happened, as it was a government that prides itself on governance and efficiency. What is the meaning of good governance without justice and fairness? Yes, crowds did go on a looting spree but the accusation is that the administration allowed the mayhem to go unchecked.
Q. Why is the media so obsessed with Narendra Modi? Why even his developmental works are viewed with suspicion? Can media debate on topics when its sub-judice? Will it be wrong to say such debates influences the impending judgements? Asked by: Birabrata
A. I agree, there is a great deal of polarisation in the media on Modi, some journalists praise him to the skies and some can see nothing good about anything he does. To quote Rajdeep, journalism can't be public relations nor can it be character assassination.I believe journalists have to report on Modi fairly, this means looking at his failures as well as his successes.
Q. Did you read Swapan Das Gupta's column - Who's the Rambo? Modi or media? - last Sunday in Pioneer? Your thoughts? Asked by: Manish Sharma
A. Am a great fan of Swapan dasgupta. I disagree totally with his political views, but I admire his courage to go out on a limb, say what he feels and argue with passion and erudition. I don't want to really get into the controversy over what the Times od India reported, but I do believe that any journalist who seriously writes Modi flew out of Uttarakhand with 15 thousand Gujaratis is a fiction writer and not a reporter!
Q. The question repeated time and again why Modi did not apologize for 2002. Hasnt he repeated his regret that he could have handled better? Open wounds, understandable. Keep bringing it up and they will always remain open, so will 84, 92 and so on. Asked by: Abhinav
A. You know I really think that if Modi wants to take a shot at being prime minister he has to express some remorse for 2002. Some apology, some words of regret, comfort for the victims, some words of sorrow will have to be expressed--such words would be the mark of a statesman
Q. It is interesting. Everyone agnging up against Modi, the latest by Mayawati. Is every one scared of Modi who s a stong person and would try and ensure good governance which would be detrimental to the unscruplous politicians who have made politics their money making business? Dont you feel this ganging upwould split the votes and Modi would emerge triumphant? Asked by: AKS
A. Good question.A polarising leader who attracts strong feelings can either create a "wave" of support or end up dividing the electorate. If someone is polarising then it means that there will be a section that will be dead against him, and that would give the anti Modi forces an advantage. I think Modi is too strong and domineering a personality to be a coalition builder or a consensus candidate..most politicians would be threatened by such an aggressive personality
Q. Why media targets Modi? Media should target corrupt government who spoiled the economy in corruption. Asked by: Ashish
A. Media targets Modi?! Hello? There are sections of the media that are cheerleaders of Modi, that are totally in support of Modi, as is the social media. When there is so much chest-thumping support of a particular politicians, and those who are critical of him are called "traitors", "anti-nationals" "pseudo-sickularists" "libtards" etc, there are bound to be those who refuse to submit to this kind of bullying.
Q. A common perception has been created that Modi supports on internet are "internet hindu" and i have heard you also putting emphasis on this in a debate on Al Jazeera tv..what does this internet Hindu mean? Asked by: Ankur
A. I am proud to say that I actually coined the term Internet Hindu! LOL. To me internet Hindus are organised groups of rightwing "nationalist" Hindus who target you in a concerted campaign on social media, the minute you speak of Modi, Pakistan, Muslims, Kashmir etc etc..
Q. His fame is created by the media. He should have taken up leadership and party before trying take up the leadership of the country as many leaders are not wholeheartedly not supporting and he should have proved his mettle in non BJP states? Asked by: Prathap
A. Not sure how much support Modi has even within the BJP. For the moment, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and others are keeping very quiet. Plus, this is the age of coalitions. And for the moment I don't see any regional leader apart from perhaps Jayalalithaa tying up an alliance with Modi, that too post poll.Everything will depend on who has the numbers in this coming election
Q. Good Governance and efficiency has been the motto of Modi govt on last few years, but during 2002 riots, he had been in office for just 2 months, so is it fair to blame a then novice CM for riots, has any riot happened after that? Asked by: Yogesh
A. Not sure the argument of a novice CM works. On 2002, the Modi government was either incompetent or inefficient, or simply allowed the riots to go on. The fact that a senior minister in the Modi government, Maya Kodnani has been convicted in the riots sends out a very chilling message. Having said this, must also be said that much more justice has been delivered in the Gujarat riots of 2002, than in the anti Sikh riots of 1984.
Q. How do you rate Narendra Modi? Why is the media so biased against him Asked by: sree
A. This media bias theory against Modi is just so so wrong. Its a myth in fact. I believe journalists should not support any politician, our relationship with the political class is by definition adversarial. We have done so many stories against the Gandhis on our channel, I have written columns sharply critical of the Congress. At CNNIBN, we are not "activist" or "nationalist", we are only journalist!
Q. I think the media is going too soft on Hindu fanatic who was responsible for killing of many people instead of making him confront the media is projecting him pm for no reason. In recent years the media is fed of UPA and Gandhi family and pm for not giving interviews so the media believe's modi is a better replacement. the media is naive there is no polorisation just 2 percent of population in namo does not make him a PM. Asked by: karan singh
A. The biggest crisis to have hit UPA2 is the implosion of Rahul Gandhi. So far the relative failure of the Gandhi yuvraj to win elections, to lead from the front, to enthuse the party, to give the impression of a leader, has all come to nought.Sonia herself is an astute politician and I believe she senses that as far as politics is concerned, her son simply does not cut the mustard. Because Sonia never talks, Manmohan Singh never talks, Rahul never talks, there is a sense that this govt is remote and weak. In the babble of a 42*7 news environment, silence always becomes weakness. Its quite incredible that Rahul has so far never given a proper interview, refuses to take questions, refuses to spell out his vision for India..no wonder, in the resultant vacuum, Modi does loom large. All said and done he is out there, talking to people, interacting at FICCI etc. But his political model remains problematic, lets not forget that for all the good governance, Gujarat is also a highly religiously divided society
Q. Does Modi has the capacity to get 180-200 seats on his own? Asked by: Madhav Banerjee
A. Haha, good question! But where will the seats come from. So far the BJP can only count on Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and MP for its seats, (C-garh is too small) it is practically non-existent in all the other states..if the BJP falls short of the 200 mark, others could become contenders, such as Rajnath Singh.
Q. When whole of India is struggling with power, Gujarath is one state with surplus power, soloar energy, Gujrati cities has better infrastructure after Modi became CM. WHy Media ignores all these? Asked by: RG
A. Oh please, the media ignores these?! The Gujarat growth story has been tom-tommed by every media house, including the corporates. This entire myth of a "pseudo secularist" English speaking media which is targeting Modi is a mirage created by Modi and his followers themselves in order to build Modi's own image as someone "victimised" by a powerful liberal media establishment..there is no such thing
Q. Hi Sagarika, Do you agree that Mr.Modi has been focussed by Media very heavily and to certain extent biased in favour of him as he is supported by come of the countries major Industrial organisations? Or Do you think that Mr.Modi is getting his focus by Media based on his administrative skills to develop the economy? Asked by: Raaj
A. The media today is a ubiquitous beast, its everywhere, its 24*7, it reports on everyone and everything. 24*7 TV is a hungry beast--always looking for fodder. Every politician today feels the media heat, which in many ways is a bad thing because many say it hampers decision making and paralyses government, but the media glare also forces accountability and change..Modi is not the only one relentlessly covered by the media, Mamata, Jayalalithaa and others also complain of the same thing. But why not just be like a Chauhan and a Naveen patnaik and get on with the job at hand instead of always targeting the media?
Q. Do you see any chances of Narendra Modi becoming the PM. Will the BJP get the numbers as they are losing allies consistently? Asked by: sree
A. Getting allies is the most important thing in today's politics--unless you are able to create a wave just on a single personality cult. But if there was such a wave in favour of Modi then why did it not work in Karnataka? In order to get allies you have to be someone who can get along with people, to be a non-threatening personality. Also today any state with a sizeable minority population is unlikely to want to tie up with a BJP led by Modi. Vajpayee was able to create that wide coalition because he was an inclusive leader
Q. My Opinion is that Indian media is working more like a corporate entity rather than a service provider to the people! What's your? Asked by: M.S.Shyam sundar
A. The corporatisation of the media is a serious problem, and something we must all guard against. There is pressure to generate revenue and to create profit from media products. But that does not mean that all corporate owners want to interfere with journalists and prevent them from doing their job. I can openly state that even though we have a Reliance investment in N18, there is no interference whatsoever!
Q. Has any other political leader of this stature ever been so much scrutinized by the media for his each and every deed? Asked by: harsha
A. You ain't seen nothing yet! Have you seen how the western press covers their political leaders? The press there is ruthless, both mainstream media and social media.Increasingly political leaders will have to get used to the constant presence of the media. Everyone should learn from Barack Obama--he knows how to deal with the media extremely well, he interacts openly and is unafraid of any kind of questioning
Q. Why so much hue and cry when one he is not declared pm candidate.he has good track record and thr is no doubt about it. Just want to know how media project him when he would be declared pm candidate later this month. Asked by: anil
A. There is no "plan" to project any leader..the media will always cover every political leader relentlessly these days, that's the nature of the medium. Barack Obama is a good role model for politicians to learn from--he interacts with the media freely, is not afraid of any questioning
Q. "Badnaam Hue to Kya Hua..Naam to Hua." Will any coverage whether positive or negative only help Modi in his quest to move forward successfully or he really needs to be cautious in how he needs to be portrayed? Asked by: JK
A. Don't think a "I Me MYself" line goes down too well when it comes to media projections. Swaggering, boastfulness, aggressive stances and unparliamentary language get exaggerated on media and create the image of an overbearing person. Manmohan Singh actually comes across well in the media-shy, unassuming qualities work well on camera, but of course he never speaks or gives interviews!
Q. Do you think Media houses can create a popular opinion among people which will reflect in elections? especially in the case of Modi? Asked by: Krishna
A. Think a lot of people are sick of the scams and the weakness that are associated with the UPA govt, and most people are longing to change. Modi does come across as a do-er and he is someone beloved of the corporates at a time when the economy is in the doldrums.some believe there could be an "urban wave" in favour of Modi. But its also inescapable that as the Nitish Kumar episode has shown, outside Gujarat, Modi is seen as a divisive personality and in general elections Indian electorates tend to play safe and vote for people they feel comfortable with.
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