'Newest media' outmatches journalism's biggest names, so a Broadcasting Bill

The NATO definition of the word ‘propaganda’ is: ‘information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view’. 

In Old India, propaganda was managed by controlling Doordarshan. Or at least, that is what political parties assumed. The news segments in the evenings reported on the government and its agenda. The Opposition was given no space. This was accepted as natural. 

During elections, however, the Opposition would demand to be given as much screen time as the ruling party, especially in delivering their manifestos. Party leaders would read them out in front of the camera, and smaller parties would then ask to be given as much time as the larger ones. 

With the coming of private news channels a quarter of a century ago, this changed and, instead of Doordarshan (or perhaps along with it, at least in the initial years), senior party leaders would come to those new studios for panel discussions. Some of the senior journalists who are around today are the product of that time, particularly those who on Star News (which became NDTV). 

However, the phenomenon of Godi media, beginning in the months before 2014, reversed the clock on propaganda. This time, it was much worse than in Old India and more damaging.

On Doordarshan, the Opposition was merely ignored; it was not daily vilified, attacked and called 'anti-national'. On Doordarshan, even when it was in the hands of hypocrites, minorities were not a constant target and distraction was not the only game. In New India, this became the daily fare of the channels and remained so for a decade. 

But then, a third shift happened. While it is relatively recent, it is so fully established that the government is moving to try and control it. That shift is the rise of independent journalists, using social media to reach large audiences.

This newest of 'new media' includes a set of people known as 'content creators', who might not necessarily be journalists per their background, but who engage with current affairs with humour, and in particular, satire.

How large are their audiences? Have a look at the numbers.

On YouTube, independent journalists have as much reach as news channels. Punya Rathee Bajpai (47 lakh subscribers), Ajit Anjum (61 lakh), Abhisar Sharma (67 lakh)  and Ravish Kumar (1.1 crore) can rival entire news networks. Compare: Times Now (53 lakh subscribers), Republic (62 lakh) and India Today (93 lakh).

Dhruv Rathee (2.3 crore subscribers) has as much reach as Zee News (3.6 crore).

Indeed in many ways, the reach of independent voices is greater because of the concentration of their content on one specific issue, daily. The average Ravish Kumar video gets over 10 lakh views, while the average for Zee is a few thousand, because Zee has so many of them. Distribution of clips through WhatsApp further amplifies the reach of independent voices.

The sharing of advertising revenue by social media networks like YouTube also affords these individuals the opportunity to work successfully outside the corporate space.

In addition to journalists, a set of humourists has risen to comment on our times too. They are the product of the Godi media's stranglehold, the suffocation people feel from having propaganda thrust down their throats. A few names are worthy of mention: Bhagat Ram, Ms Medusa, Meghnad, Garima, Ranting Gola, Shyam Rangeela and Urvish Kothari, all of whom I follow and greatly admire.

Unfortunately for the government, there are few quality creators on the other side. This is because propaganda and sycophancy are not good ingredients for humour. Godi creators tend to produce content that is sullen and angry, and for this reason is generally ignored. 

It will take an academic paper or a book to examine the effect of independent voices on our democracy. But in my mind, there is little doubt that they have managed to loosen the Modi government's monopoly on the narrative. 

It is for this reason that the government has moved to throttle the voices of these creators and independent journalists. The government is also trying to go after independent websites like the Wire, Scroll, Newslaundry and the News Minute.  

This is being done through the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, a draft of which is being circulated. Essentially, it seeks to regulate everyone who is on social media because that is the only way in which the government can interfere, block and ban content it doesn’t want seen.

Because these creators are independent individuals on social media, they cannot be licensed or regulated in the way that news channels can. This is why the government is attempting to do this with the broadest of definitions — which will affect every single person using social media.

The intent might be to use the law in a targeted fashion but that’s not how it will pan out. Bad laws produce bad outcomes.  

Will the Modi government be successful in pushing the regulation through?

It will not. We are not the same place we were last year. There are too many obstacles and too many points of resistance. 

Even if it had been passed in the previous parliament through brute force it would have been a total mess in implementation. The prime minister and his cabinet will be compelled to do what governments in other democracies do: listen to criticism from citizens and not just tolerate it, even learn from it. Perhaps they can also get a laugh, as many of us so often do.