Reliance is telling CNN IBN journalists how to cover the Aam Aadmi Party
Journalists at CNN IBN say that they have received instructions in recent days
from the channel’s editors.. Most notable of these instances is one pertaining to July 9,
when Amit Shah was named president of the BJP. According to two newsroom
staffers with knowledge of developments, CNN IBN’s bulletin at night as well as
the graphics on air, were edited to remove references to the criminal charges faced
by Shah.
It’s been more than a month since industrial
giant Reliance Industries took over Network18 Group, which runs a suite of
television channels including the CNN and CNBC affiliates in India. Everyone
has wondered if the company owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani would interfere
in the news-gathering operations of its new properties. The answer appears to be yes.
Last week, a day after founding editor Rajdeep Sardesai
emailed his resignation to the staff, a small group of executives from
Reliance (RIL) held a town hall in the suburban New Delhi offices of
CNN IBN, the English news channel. Journalists from sister channels, such as
CNBC TV18, Hindi news channel IBN7 and the Marathi version IBN Lokmat,
were also present, according to at least two accounts of that meeting.
Until that day—the meeting was held on July 7 around
5:30pm—RIL’s takeover had been notable for a transition that was unremarkable,
very much business as usual. Now, employees gathered to hear the new
management’s vision.
When the floor opened to questions, a few journalists raised
their hands, according to the two attendees. One question from a CNBC
reporter was about how they were expected to cover new owner RIL, a vast
industrial conglomerate with interests in energy, materials, defence, retail,
telecom, and media. Rohit Bansal, an RIL official now named non-executive
director at Network18, answered. He said staff would be expected to cover the
new owner in the same manner that the channel used to cover the previous
owner Raghav Bahl and the company Network18. The company’s channels typically
carried very little coverage about its owners.
The next question was from CNN IBN anchor and journalist
Karma Paljor. He asked the group how the channel was expected to cover the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP), the independent political movement devoted to
India’s “common man.” Paljor declined to comment for this story.
It’s important to understand the context of this question in
order to understand the answer. Reliance Industries and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam
Aadmi Party have something of a contentious relationship. Kejriwal, who became Delhi chief
minister riding an anti-corruption wave, has publicly made
allegations against RIL and Ambani. When he was Delhi chief minister, Kejriwal
asked the state’s
anti-corruption bureau to register cases against Ambani as well as
serving and former petroleum ministers for allegedly colluding to raise gas
prices to benefit Reliance. The company, in turn, has slapped legal notices on
television channels that broadcast the footage of press conferences in which
Kejriwal raised these allegations.
With Delhi set to go to elections once again, Kejriwal would
be back in the news. That is why the CNN IBN journalist wanted to
know the expectations from the new owner, RIL...
