Journalist and editor of Economic and Political Weekly, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, while speaking in a panel discussion organised by the Centre for Policy Analysis talked about the current state of media and its impact on democracy. He pointed out that with the entry of hundreds of new players in the market, news broadcasting has become anarchic. The main reason behind this anarchism is the lack of regulation on broadcast channels. Most of the regulatory bodies are either not performing their duty, or have witnessed the appointment of people affiliated to a certain ideology. As a result, some newsrooms have been granted the authority to say whatever they want, to the end that “some of our television anchors have become akin to lynch mobs. They are baying for the blood of their own fellow journalists. How are they different from the vigilante groups, who want to lynch somebody because [they] don’t like their religious beliefs, the meat they are eating,” he asks.
