What does the sudden laying off last week of over 120 employees of a prominent national news television network tell you? That media managements, like their peers in the corporate world, are totally ruthless and completely unconscionable? Right, without a doubt. But it also conveys something else: the disintegration of a model of journalism practiced by the overwhelming majority of news television houses, most markedly since May 2014 when Narendra Modi flew into Delhi on an Adani aircraft to take over the reins of the country. This journalism of cower-age, hallmarked by unquestioning acquiescence to political authority, has had an impressive run but the excessive verbal ethanol in the fuel is causing its machinery to splutter leading to a sharply declining viewership and ad revenues. It seems the nation no longer wants to know. Or at least no longer wants to know what the government wants it to know through the journalism of cower-age. There are early signs that cracks have developed on the smooth, deceitful surface of this medium and all the uncle-jis and aunty-jis that keep chat shows running won’t be able to put it together again should it fall off the paywall. Shehzad Poonawala, as BJP’s chief content creator on prime time, seems to have been clever enough to discern the impending great crash and has chosen to walk into the sunset before that happened.Over the last few weeks, a spectre has been haunting television news media, that of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). At first it was easy to pretend the disparate, meme-reeling, blattodea-loving gaggle of 20-somethings who had assembled at Jantar Mantar just did not exist. But slowly it became apparent that the CJP was striking a chord with viewers in a way that they themselves, with all their wealth of experience and glamorous anchors, could not achieve. An early comment that appeared in the Wire (‘How the Cockroach Janta Party Transformed From Meme to a Student Movement’, July 9) explained why this was the case: “The Gen Z, self-described as ‘lazy, unemployed, chronically online, possessing an ability to rant professionally’ transformed into fearless critics of a regime that had effectively created a climate of acquiescence and silence.” The media’s cold-shouldering of the movement did not undermine it. As prize-winning novelist and Wire-commentator Arundhati Roy observed, “Unlike the Anna Hazare movement which had weeks of frenzied, non-stop 24×7 coverage on hundreds of hysterical, corporate owned TV channels, the Cockroach Janata Party has only itself and the internet to bank on” (‘Cockroach Democracy: Unarmed and Dangerous’, July 22). Television news media, so full of its own self-importance, did not even realise that it was not being missed; that its lack of response to what, after all, was the only news in town – and even country – was leading to a serious dent in its credibility. It also did not perceive that its place as conveyor of news, views and entertainment had temporarily come to be occupied by the meme-makers and the parody purveyors of Jantar Mantar who like magicians had transmogrified into their own reporters, analysts, photographers.The first signs of life exhibited by television news media during this entire interregnum was 20 days after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke came to town. It was raining hard that day but that could not stem the tide of young women and men making their way to Jantar Mantar and subsequently to Parliament, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The cameras of the mainstream television media were not at hand to record the quiet resolve on the part of thousands of youth who converged to the heart of the Capital from across the country, knowing that they were going to make history. Mainstream cameras only rushed in when pitched battles between the police and protestors broke out, creating headlines designed to send shivers down the spine of New India. Sudhir Chaudhary, editor in chief of DD News, signalled that he was well worth every rupee of his monthly salary Rs 1.25 crore that he drew from the government exchequer. His programme was headlined: ‘Sansad se sirf 100 metre door the updrevi’ (the rowdies were only 100 metres from Parliament). It was a popular script and many other channels jumped in. India Today’s Marya Shakil, using CCTV footage provided by the police, asked ‘How Did Student Protesters Get So Close To Parliament On July 20?’ (July 30).The Wire carried an interesting assessment of the channel’s coverage from a think tank (‘One Week, 25 Broadcasts, 58,941 Words: How Republic TV Manufactured Conspiracies on Youth Movement’, July 29): “The claim (made by Republic TV) is repeated relentlessly that these are not students. Selectively edited street interviews are run and rerun, in which people say they are not sitting the examination. From this the network empties the category of the authentic student and refills it with its own creation, the professional gunda paid to attend.”While most of such coverage blocked any references to the police assaulting the protestors by every means possible, from nail-studded lathis to tear gas and pellet guns, they played up injuries of police personnel. AltNews noted: “As the day progressed the focus of ANI’s coverage shifted almost entirely to injuries sustained by police personnel, while there was no mention of the number of students injured” (‘Eyes wide shut: On July 20, ANI didn’t share a single X post on students injured in Delhi’, July 29).The always irreverent yet relevant Newslaundry’s ‘Newsance’ had some perspicacious insights on the tool kit used by Godi media to cover the CJP (‘Godi vs Cockroaches: The TV media campaign exposed’, July 25). It included the well-honed technique of grabbing one foolish statement made by one random person from the CJP crowd, and running with it forever in order to discredit the entire movement. Only occasionally was there awareness among television news editors that this desperation to paint the CJP movement in a bad light could backfire on their own credibility. They couldn’t but be made aware that Gen Z has demonstrated how dissent could make for compelling viral content; that fearlessness built credibility and that diminishing returns have begun to mark worn-out tropes like Muslim bashing.So what did the cockroach tell news television during the CJP movement? Switch off, you’re so yesterday!§Pellet guns in KashmirThere has been a fair amount of angry press coverage on pellet guns fired by personnel of the Rapid Action Force on young protestors of the Cockroach Janata Party. But the coverage, apart from some honourable exceptions (‘PTSD, depression continue to haunt pellet victims in Kashmir for years’, The Hindu, July 31), ignored the manner in which this same weapon was unleashed on the youth of Kashmir during the stormy days of 2010 and 2016-2017 for allegedly pelting stones on Indian army personnel, leading to several people suffering permanent disability. Even at that time the pock-marked faces of young boys and girls were met largely by media silence. It was only the international media that spoke out. The Guardian even asked whether what was being done to Kashmir’s kids was the “world’s first mass blinding”. Ellen Barry of the New York Times described the searing scenes inside hospitals in a piece entitled, ‘An Epidemic of “Dead Eyes’. The fact that at least five young people (including a journalist with Outlook) are presently suffering pellet gun injuries in the national capital should have reminded the Indian media of the unconscionable use of pellet guns on hundreds of Kashmiri children not so long ago.§Readers Write InPlease make this change…Advocate Alok Prasanna Kumar sent in a correction…I am writing to you to bring to your attention a factual error In the piece published on The Wire website: It has been stated: “So, it is inexplicable that the bench presided by him can move with lightning fast speed to ban NCERT textbooks for a chapter on ‘Corruption in the judiciary’, directing stoppage of publication and distribution and also suspension of officers.”Please note that no officers were suspended. However, the three of the persons involved in preparing the textbook (Michel Danino, Suvarna Diwakar and myself) were blacklisted from being engaged by any government in textbook preparation. While the SC’s order has now been recalled, I would be grateful if the piece could be edited (with Mr Dave’s consent) to reflect the correct picture of the court’s order. My response: The desk informs me that this has been done.§A jobless future?Against the backdrop of the Jantar Mantar mobilisations, we received this mail from George Ninan which succinctly explains why India is facing jobless future…I am attaching links to our Government of India’s standard classification of occupations: three volumes; of particular interest is volume 2A [ II-A] and the NSQF skills qualification framework descriptors.We have 650 engineering colleges in Tamizhnaad, but not even 65 industrial, and technical training institutes to train young people to NSQF – 4. When talking of Make in India, we need skilled craftsmen, women for the shopfloor and to operate equipment, skilled workers for bridges tunnels, roads over unstable terrain. Yet nobody seems to have noticed the drought in professional blue-collar master craftswomen.https://webapps.ilo.org/ilostat-files/ISCO/newdocs-08-2021/ISCO-08/ISCO-08%20EN%20Vol%201.pdfhttps://www.ncs.gov.in/documents/national%20classification%20of%20occupations%20_vol%20i-%202015.pdfhttps://www.ncs.gov.in/Documents/National%20Classification%20of%20Occupations%20_Vol%20II-A-%202015.pdfhttps://www.ncs.gov.in/Documents/National%20Classification%20of%20Occupations_Vol%20II-B-%202015.pdfhttps://www.nqr.gov.in/level-descriptorsDuring the Nehru years we were described as a functional anarchy. Over the years we have morphed into that of a dysfunctional anarchy, and protected from any accountability by a general amnesty of guaranteed impunity. §Amazing headlines post-PradhanThe ever-vigilant Santosh Kumar came up with these…I am surprised Godi did not come up with a headline reading somewhat like this:‘Masterstroke by Modi; Pradhan quits, CJP silenced’. Though credit must be given to Arnab Goswami. He did say, ‘Modi checkmates CJP’. Meanwhile a friend posted an amazing banner headline in the high-circulating Gujarati daily, Gujarat Samachar: It read: ‘Modi’s timely action saves nation from grave crisis’. So all credit goes to Modi! Despite the humiliation they faced at the hands of young cockroaches they remain masters at keeping their tails up.§‘Misrepresentation’Nirpeksh Kumbhat, CEO of a tech company, has a complaint (excerpts).I am writing on behalf of the Academy of Vedic Vidya, operated by Skill Enable Edutech Private Limited, to lodge a formal complaint concerning an article published in The Wire: ‘Indian Institute of Vedic Science Becomes the First Institute in India to Teach an Akashic Records Reading Course Online’ (July 9).It is deeply disappointing that the Wire, which publicly advocates accurate, responsible and accountable journalism, has allowed such serious and commercially consequential claims to be published on its platform without adequate verification.The headline and article categorically state that the Indian Institute of Vedic Science was the first institute in India to teach an Akashic Records Reading course online. This assertion is false. The Academy of Vedic Vidya began offering its Akashic Records course online more than two years earlier. We possess documentary and digital evidence establishing the earlier launch, promotion, enrolment and delivery of our course…The article’s use of the expression “first institute in India” is not presented as an advertisement, opinion or claim made solely by the concerned organisation. It is presented in the headline and body as an established fact. Members of the public and prospective students may therefore reasonably assume that the Wire or PTI verified the statement before publishing it.This false claim directly undermines our prior work, market position, credibility and commercial interests. It gives a competing organisation credit for an initiative that our institution had undertaken more than two years earlier. Its continued publication and indexing are therefore causing serious reputational and commercial harm to the Academy of Vedic Vidya and Skill Enable Edutech Private Limited…We understand that the page contains a disclaimer stating that the press release was received through an arrangement involving NRDPL and PTI and was auto-published without editorial input from the Wire. However, the content remains published, distributed and indexed under the Wire’s name and domain. Once a specific factual inaccuracy and potential misrepresentation have been brought to your attention, the absence of initial editorial involvement cannot justify the continued hosting of the material without investigation or correction…My response: As you have noted, this is from our PTI feed, which does not see any editorial intervention on the part of the Wire. So this mail needs to be addressed to the proper source and any correction to its content can only be routed through the concerned news agency. §A Southasian trend?Dr. Roshmi Goswami, Co-Chairperson, and Dr. P Saravanamuttu, Bureau Member, South Asian for Human Rights (SAHR), highlight the media scenario in Pakistan (excerpts)…SAHR, is deeply concerned by the sudden removal of Spot Light with Munizae Jahangir from Aaj News. Veteran journalist Munizae Jahangir has hosted the programme for the past 11 years, reporting from across Pakistan, including conflict zones and other sensitive areas, while bringing independent, ground-level reporting and informed public discourse to viewers. SAHR views this development arises amid the rapidly shrinking space for media freedom and the continuing restrictions on freedom of expression in Pakistan. The abrupt removal of a long-running current affairs programme hosted by one of the country’s most respected journalists raises serious concerns regarding editorial independence, the ability of journalists to report freely, and the broader state of democratic freedoms. It is also critical to note that, over the past 3 years, several journalists have been forcibly removed from mainstream broadcast platforms, with Ms. Jahangir being the latest to be taken off air. SAHR has observed with grave concern the persistent and escalating efforts to stifle press freedom and freedom of expression in Pakistan. The Freedom Network has reported 22 cases of intimidation against journalists across Pakistan between April and June 2026…§Send the FCRA amendment Bill to a Joint Parliamentary CommitteeA letter from Rev Madhu Chandra, secretary, All India Christian Council (excerpts)…The All India Christian Council views with deep alarm the government’s evident determination to bring the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 — widely known as FCRA 2.0 — before Parliament in the current Monsoon Session for consideration and passage. We oppose this Bill, and we call on every political party that values the Constitution to resist it.The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, returns to the floor of the House without the widespread consultation with minority community leaders that was promised due the gravity of its demands. When serious objections were raised earlier by the Christian community and other minorities, the matter was set aside. It now reappears with those objections neither answered nor addressed. To move a law of this consequence past the very communities it most affects, without dialogue, is not the conduct of a government confident in its own case. We insist that the Bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee because it has widespread implications for minority institutions and other religious institutions and seriously damages to our global credibility about being a safe destination for foreign investments…At the centre of the Bill lies a provision that should trouble every citizen…Under it, the foreign contributions and the assets of an organisation whose FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered, or simply expires without renewal would vest with a government-notified ‘Designated Authority’.Consider plainly what this means. Properties lawfully purchased — schools, hostels, hospitals, clinics — built with funds legitimately received from within India and abroad, may be taken over by an arm of the state upon the lapse of a licence.……The government defends the Bill by pointing to foreign-funding laws in other democracies. This comparison misleads the Indian public, because it omits the one distinction that matters. No serious democracy requires an organisation to obtain the government’s permission in order to receive foreign funds for its work. What those laws require is disclosure – that you report the money you receive. The FCRA regime requires permission – that the state will decide whether you may receive it at all. Now, it may take what you have built if that permission is withdrawn. Information is not the same as permission, and a registration form is not the same as a locked door…Discretionary power of this magnitude — to cancel a registration and then absorb the assets that follow — is only as safe as the hands that wield it and the spirit in which it is exercised. When such power is concentrated in the executive, without constitutional clarity and without independent check, the question of who ultimately controls it, and to what ends, cannot be set aside. That question weighs heavily on every minority institution in the country since the role of the RSS’ influence (which itself is unregistered and not accountable to the government) is known to most people.The All India Christian Council therefore oppose this Bill in the strongest terms. We call upon all political parties, across every divide, to resist its passage, to demand that it be referred back for genuine consultation with the affected communities…Dear Readers: I will be travelling for the next couple of months. This column will be resumed shortly after I return in October. Write to ombudsperson@thewire.in.