Emerging Trends in Political Ownership of Media

Abstract

Media and politics have a symbiotic relationship. Politicians need media to get the oxygen of publicity and the exposure they need to woo electorate and mould public opinion. With many a media house turning indifferent to their needs an ever increasing number of political parties and leaders are setting up their own small and big media shops to propagate their views, cover up their shortcomings, or to settle scores with their rivals. The Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry broadly consists of four segments i.e. Television, Print, Radio and other media platforms (such as Internets, Film, Out of Home Advertising (OOH), Music, Gaming and Internet Advertising).In today‘s technologically fast moving environment, media plays a significant role. Its inherent ability to reach the masses implies that it has a crucial role in building public opinion and creating awareness among the masses. It also plays a very important role in delineating the economic, political, social and cultural characteristics of a country. Thus, media pluralism is a cornerstone of democracy and this fact should be reflected in the plurality of an independent and autonomous media and in diversity of media content. Print, television, radio and new media such as Internet are the most popular media. The Indian media landscape is witnessing several changes that may have far reaching consequences. Major players are looking for expansion of their business interests in various segments of the print and broadcasting sectors. Many of the Indian media houses are either owned or controlled by political leaders or parties. This paper is an attempt to highlight and understand the political ownership of media in India, its implications for the readers. viewers, listeners and other media users as also the society and polity at large.