NL Hafta

Journalist Maya Mirchandani, senior fellow at ORF and an assistant professor at Ashoka University joins Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Meghnad in this week’s episode of Newslaundry Hafta. Maya, who recently visited Kashmir, begins by shedding light on the ostensible state of normalcy in the Valley. She has much to say about the hopelessness and dejection Kashmiris are experiencing right now. The mainstream media’s unchecked and relentless narrative of the so-called normalcy in Kashmir seems to have birthed a crisis of real reportage from the Valley. Maya narrates how Kashmiris who feel let down by mainstream media are in a state of ‘civil-disobedience’ where they’re even avoiding talking to the media. The discussion moves to the government’s recent ban on e-cigarettes and how it is being executed. The panel simply does not buy the reasons provided by the government for the same, and everyone tries to read between the lines. They move on to discuss Modi’s birthday and the unprecedented importance it was given by some TV news channels. Apart from talking about present trends in broadcast media and its future prospects, the panel also discusses the violence at Jadavpur University and the death of protest culture.