Reporters Without Orders

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalist Srishti Jaswal and Dainik Bhaskar’s reporter Vaibhav Palnitkar. The discussion starts with Srishti’s cover story for the Caravan magazine on how “crimes of superstition” thrive in India. Giving examples, such as the Kathua rape case, she says, “Superstitions are not about lack of education. It’s about unawareness and embedded fear. It’s not recognised, it’s normalised.”Vaibhav talks about his report on “targeted” killings in Kashmir. “These are specific to minorities,” he says, explaining the prevailing fear in the valley and how it’s “more terrifying with the kind of media portrayal it is getting”.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in.RecommendationsSrishti A Passage NorthVaibhavHaiderBasantRitual KillingsChasing Bollywood dreams: How Noida’s Film City became a media hub Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A reporters’ podcast about what made news and what shouldn’t have. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Shivangi Saxena. The discussion begins with Shivangi and Nidhi’s reportage on the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri. Shivangi says communal tension was rare here before but the violence has changed that. “All the communities are silent but there is a constant tension and fear among them,” she says. “It’s basically a social boycott among the groups.” She also says there are a lot of unanswered questions on the role of Ashish Mishra.The conversation shifts to Basant’s report on how Dainik Jagran, the best selling Hindi newspaper in Uttar Pradesh, runs advertorials often “disguised” as news reports. He says the bylines of these “reports” have “no connection with reporting whatsoever”.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in.RecommendationsBasantLet Dainik Jagran teach you the art of disguising ads as newsRehan Par Ragghu by Kashinath Singh Kashi Ka Assi by Kashinath SinghShivangiGodfathers of Crime: Face to Face with India's Most WantedAyushAn Engineered DreamLakhimpur Kheri Violence  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by journalist Tabeenah Anjum and Newslaundry’s Diksha Munjal. Diksha talks about her report on how the media gave the recent Mumbai “drug bust”, which involved Aryan Khan, way more coverage than the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri. “Clearly it was very sensational for the mainstream media to cover the drug bust as they deployed all their resources to that story, instead of focusing on Lakhimpur,” she says. She also points out how sections of the media used vocabulary to delegitimise the farmers’ protest, saying, “All of them were trying to play visuals that would put farmers in a bad light.”The discussion shifts to Tabeenah’s report for Article14 on the Muslim bangle seller who was attacked in Indore in August. Months later, he’s in jail and Tabeenah explains the impact of the incident on the livelihoods of his family and other Muslim bangle sellers. “They are very reluctant to go out,” she says. “They are scared.”This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and independent journalist Anand Dutt.Anand starts with his BBC Hindi report on a ration crisis in Jharkhand, where people have to travel 30 km to reach ration distribution centres. “Mobile networks play an important role in this distribution,” he says, “as sometimes, the dealer can’t give rations because the machine doesn’t administer a recipient’s fingerprint because of bad network. And then, they are asked to come again later.”He also describes undeveloped Adivasi areas in Jharkhand, where basic amenities and facilities are lacking. Nidhi talks about her experience reporting on the farmer protest at Singhu on the day of the Bharat Bandh, and how it was so different from the early days of the protest. She mentions a pattern of using barricades as a political tool and what the farmers had to say about the mainstream media. She also explains how sections of the media reported on the violence during an eviction drive in Assam.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Nidhi Suresh is joined by Arun Singh of NDTV and Akanksha Kumar of Newslaundry.The panel talks about their experience reporting on the Hathras case, where a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gangraped last September in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. She died soon after and her body was forcibly cremated by the Uttar Pradesh police. Four Thakur men have been arrested so far, and the trial is ongoing. Arun recalls being at the crime scene and wonders how the case received widespread attention, saying it “exposed reality on so many levels”. Nidhi asks if it’s because of the way the woman’s body was cremated, and Arun says, “Definitely. I think it became what it became because of that incident as well.”Akanksha talks about her interactions with the woman’s parents. She adds that a “common refrain” from the victim’s father and brother was how they’d tried to reach out to the media but “no one is hearing us”. Nidhi remembers that TV channels at the time were focusing on the Sushant Singh Rajput case. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in.RecommendationsArunमाई तेनु फिर मिलंगिAkanksha Kanshiram: Leader of the Dalits by Badri NarayanNidhiAlmost Famous: The First Report Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Kashif Kakvi of NewsClick and Ashwine Singh of Newslaundry.The conversation begins with Kashif's story about how the BJP is using the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan as a tool to counter the anti-incumbency against its government in Madhya Pradesh. To this end, Kashif notes, the Hindu supremacist party organised a seminar for their IT Cell workers in Bhopal on September 9 titled, “The political rise of radical Islam and challenges to India’s security”. Ashwine talks about his report on how the pandemic has affected the learning of schoolchildren aged 10-14. A survey conducted by the School Children’s Online and Offline Learning in 15 states and union territories, Ashwine says, found only eight percent of the children in rural areas were studying regularly while 37 percent were not studying at all. Nearly half the children surveyed could read only a few words. Online learning is no substitute for offline learning, he concludes. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Avdhesh Kumar.Basant talks about his report from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, where thousands of farmers organised a Kisan Mahapanchayat on September 5 to protest against the Narendra Modi government’s new farm laws. He recalls seeing a lot of the people climbing into trees to listen to their leaders and covering their heads with green leaves to beat the severe heat. Avdhesh talks about the alleged assault on a Dalit journalist in UP’s Jaunpur. Santosh Kumar, 33, has alleged that he was attacked for reporting on atrocities committed on Dalits by a BJP leader which led to his arrest. Avdhesh pieces together what happened.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by freelance journalist Mandeep Punia and BBC Hindi journalist Rajnish Kumar.The conversation begins with Rajnish’s report on widespread corruption in the Modi government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) scheme. Rajnish explains that there was a “deep nexus” between public representatives, touts, and the government. Mandeep then talks about his report in Gaon Savera on a farmer, Sushil Kajal, who was injured during a police lathicharge in Karnal and subsequently died. Sushil’s son had told Mandeep that his father had refused to go to the hospital and that “there were marks of sticks on his neck and body”.This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar of Newslaundry.The conversation begins with Prateek’s report where he talks about the Hindu mob assault on a Muslim bangle seller in Indore, narrating the sequence of events that led to the attack and how the police ended up booking the poor victim for allegedly molesting a young girl. Basant discusses his report on Uttar Pradesh minister Shriram Chauhan’s comment about restricting the construction of new mandis and how it has deepened the apprehensions of farmers who have been protesting for months now against the Narendra Modi government’s new farm laws. This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.