Over 50 of the national and regional news channels in the country have come together to form a News Broadcast Federation (NBF) and the Lutyens media is quite perturbed. It’s the first time that the media organizations have allied together to form a federation that is not centered in Delhi and one that is not controlled by the Lutyens circle in Delhi. The federation is based out of Delhi and involves Republic TV, the most popular news channel in India, not indebted to the Lutyens circle of journalists, politicians and other political lobbyists.
'More than 50 news channels, including @republic , have come together to form the News Broadcasters Federation – the largest-ever federation of news channels.'
With this, monopoly of Lutyens's #MSM comes to an end.— Kanchan Gupta (Hindu Bengali Refugee)🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) July 25, 2019
The NBF is the first organization of news channels to be based out of the Delhi, essentially breaking the monopoly of the Lutyens circle. It is an amalgamation of several national and regional news channels, including, Republic Media Network (Republic TV and Republic Bharat), Puthiyathalaimurai and V6 News (Tamil Nadu), Orissa TV (Orissa), IBC24 (MP and Chhattisgarh), Asianet News Network (Asianet News and Suvarna News, Kerala and Karnataka), TV9 Bharatvarsh, Newslive and Northeast Live (Assam and Northeast), First India News (Rajasthan), Kolkata TV (West Bengal), CVR News (AP & Telangana), Polimer News (Tamil Nadu), Khabar Fast (Harayana), Living India News (Punjab), Prag News (Assam), NTV (AP & Telangana), Maha News (AP & Telangana), TV5 News (AP & Telangana), MKTV (Tamil Nadu), Vanitha TV (AP & Telangana), DNN and IND24 (MP), Shri Sankara TV & Ayush TV (Karnataka), A1 TV (Jaipur), Power TV (Karnataka),Raj News (Tamil Nadu), Flowers TV (Kerala), CVR News Network (AP&Telangana), National Voice (Uttar Pradesh), Nirman News (Gujarat), Anaadi TV (MP&Chattisgarh), VRL Media (Karnataka), Calcutta News (West Bengal),News 7 (Tamil Nadu), DNN & News World ( MP & Chattisgarh), M H One ( Haryana), Mantavya News (Gujarat), Gujarat Television ( Gujarat), S News ( West Bengal) Bansal TV ( MP) and Onkat TV (West Bengal).
The fact that Republic TV national and regional news channels have come together, clearly as a front to biased news media, is unique as it is the first time they have come together to form a body that represents their combined interests. The government is extremely positive on this approach and are appreciating the fact that the news channels have come together to discuss their common perspectives.
Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javdekar said, “I am very happy today that more than 50 news channels have come together to form the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF). These members of the NBF are from various regions and broadcasting in various states of India. India has more than 700 channels and if more associations are formed in genres like news, then it is a very positive development. We don’t believe in censorship but believe in self-regulation. I am very sure and confident that the News Broadcasters Federation will be a platform to discuss matters relevant to the TV News Industry. I also hope that NBF gives its recommendations and ensures discipline in broadcasting where truth does not become a casualty. I wish the NBF all the very best.”
Apart from national and regional news allying together with Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV in the lead, this is the first time that Lutyens media has been left out of the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF). Since the past many decades, the power circle was dominated by certain journalists from select organizations, including Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghosh, Rajdeep Sardesai, Ravish Kumar and Nidhi Razdan. These, amongst many other were known as the Lutyens journalists. The NBF, being the largest ever federation of news channels shall put an end to the hegemony of Lutyens news media.
A couple of years ago, Republic TV broke challenged monopoly by setting up the head office in Mumbai instead of Delhi, as was the usual case. This had effectively challenged the Lutyens’cartel’s fake narratives and things started going downhill from there, for the cartel. The NDTV, which was the most prominent of these continued to lose its prominence and integrity and was rejected by the public. The NBF shall deal a final blow to this cabal.
Now, with the NBF coming into force, dominated by media organizations all over the country including Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV, the disproportionate influence of the Lutyens media has ended. The federation is welcoming new members to make it all inclusive and powerful. The Lutyens media has ceased to monopolize the media industry.
