The Indian news media industry: Structural trends and journalistic implications

Over the past two decades, India's media sector has witnessed profound and transformative change reflected in the expansion of both outlets and audiences. According to recent estimates, the country has over a 100 news channels that reach 161 million TV households, about 94,067 newspapers, as well as over 200 million Internet users. These developments have engendered a growing discourse that emphasizes the growth and dynamism of Indian media. However, this predictably celebratory narrative does not focus on the more troubling structural trends that increasingly characterize the country's media landscape. These include commercialism, rising levels of concentration and cross-media ownership, as well as the expansion of control by politicians and industrialists over the media. Employing a political economy perspective, this article explores the emergence and workings of these structural trends in depth. It challenges the popular perception that India represents a dynamic and pluralistic media landscape, and argues that contemporary trends in the Indian media landscape have significant and deeply negative implications for the production of news and the overall quality of journalism in the country.