Journalism, not ‘cheerleading’: An ombudsman’s paradigm repair in the JNU sedition case in India

Abstract

With increasing expectations to be accountable in the digital era, some newspapers have appointed ombudsmen. This study examines the process of ‘paradigm repair’ undertaken by the ombudsman of The Hindu, a leading English-language newspaper in India. The study qualitatively analyzes The Hindu’s coverage of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition controversy case, its ombudsman’s editorials pertaining to the case, and the readers’ responses to them. The study demonstrates that in transitional societies paradigm repair remains incomplete, and the strategies employed to undertake the paradigm repair extend beyond those used by newspapers in the Western context. The study, furthermore, argues that newspaper readers also contribute to paradigm repair in limited ways, and the ombudsman’s role, as shown in the JNU sedition case, is more of an ambassador for the newspaper than an advocate for the reader.