[icernet] Is media the new opposition?

[Arul Selvan]

Does the media play the role of the opposition in India? That was the 
subject of a high profile panel discussion held in Delhi. All the 
discussants, Editor of Outlook, Vinod Mehta, parliamentarian and 
Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Editor of The Asian Age, MJ Akbar and 
CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury, felt the thought the opposition was in way 
cornered into playing that role, it was one that they should be playing. 
The oppositions role is to inform and educate the public, felt the 
discussants. The lone dissenting voice was incidentally that of the 
moderator, Ram Jethmalani, who felt that as the opposition parties in 
India failed to do their duty, it was up to the media to keep Indian 
democracy live and kicking.


Source:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_225011,001100040004.htm


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Media must fill in for Opp

Setting the tone for the discussion, Mehta said the media was being 
forced by the public to play the role of Opposition but we should 
resist these follies of grandeur for it is dangerous for both democracy 
and for the free press. The medias job, he added, was to provide fair 
and accurate information that could serve as raw material for others to 
act on.

Congress MP Kapil Sibal said the media did not have the strength or 
the wherewithal to be the Opposition even if it wanted to. Conceding 
that the media played a far more powerful role than ever before, he 
maintained that its function should be to raise issues, bring data 
before the public, and provide fodder to the Opposition, which would 
take the battle forward. The lack of an Opposition was being felt 
because India as a polity had become fractured in recent years, he added.

Source:
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=47947