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What Future for the Media in India?
India's largest company now controls India's largest media conglomerate. The country's media could therefore well be perceived henceforth to be a little less independent or, for that matter, trustworthy.
This article was earlier posted on EPW’s Web Exclusives Section.
The decision by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to wrest full managerial and editorial control over the Network18 group was not unexpected given the fact that two and half years ago, RIL, the country’s biggest privately-owned company, had invested heavily in Network18, India’s biggest media organisation after its virtual amalgamation with the Eenadu group. The country’s richest man, Mukesh D Ambani, is now, formally, also India’s biggest media baron. However, what took some by surprise was the speed with which the core team led by the Network18 group’s principal promoter Raghav Bahl quit – rather, was ousted – within a fortnight of the declaration of the results of the general elections on 16 May.
Rationale
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