Mainstream print media “abhi jinda hai” (still alive). That’s the conclusion we can draw from the September 23 investigative report helmed by Ritika Chopra of The Indian Express on dissent within the Election Commission of India (ECI) over how the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being conducted. Also, those who thought the days of print media are over should pause and think again.
One of the biggest journalistic scoops has emerged towards the end of a year when we had every reason to ask whether mainstream media in India will ever find its spine. This is not just because of the paucity of serious reporting that “holds power to account” but also the nauseating obsequiousness evident on days like September 17, the prime minister’s birthday.
