Republic TV: Difference between revisions

''Republic TV'' was funded in part by [[Asianet News|Asianet]] (ARG Outlier Asianet News Private Limited), which was primarily funded by [[Rajeev Chandrasekhar]], a then-independent member of [[Rajya Sabha]] who had intricate links with [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) and was vice-chairman of the [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] in Kerala.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/arnab-goswami-republic-rajeev-chandrasekhar-accuses-wire-of-congress-conspiracy|title=What the Nation Wants to Know but Arnab's Republic Won't Tell You|work=The Quint|access-date=2018-09-02|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Among other major investors were Goswami, his wife, educationists [[Ramdas Pai]] and [[Ramakanta Panda]]—all of whom invested through SARG Media Holding Private Ltd.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kaushik|first1=Krishn|title=Kerala NDA vice-chairman Rajeev Chandrasekhar investor, director in Arnab Goswami's Republic|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/nda-mp-rajeev-chandrasekhar-investor-director-in-arnab-goswami-channel/|accessdate=27 April 2017|work=The Indian Express|date=13 January 2017}}</ref>

The channel has been noted for its opinionated reporting<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/10/29/peeing-human-is-waging-a-war-on-modia-heres-how-and-why|title=Peeing Human is waging a war on 'Modia'. Here's how, and why|last=Verma|first=Ramit|date=29 October 2019|work=Newslaundry|access-date=}}</ref> in support of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/heres-why-you-will-watch-arnab-goswami-navika-kumar-long-after-election-results-are-out/310364/|title=Here's why you will watch Arnab Goswami & Navika Kumar long after election results are out|last=Bajpai|first=Shailaja|date=2019-10-24|website=ThePrint|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-02}}</ref> and [[Hindutva]] across a wide spectrum of situations,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/10/30/indian-journalists-got-a-chance-to-grill-controversial-meps-touring-kashmir-they-asked-about-pakistan-western-media|title=Indian journalists got a chance to grill controversial MEPs touring Kashmir. They asked about Pakistan, western media|last=Pande|first=Manisha|date=30 October 2019|work=Newslaundry|access-date=2019-11-01|url-status=live|language=en-UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/10/21/bloodlust-tv-calling-out-indias-hate-media|title=Bloodlust TV: Calling out India's hate media|last=Pande|first=Manisha|date=21 October 2019|work=Newslaundry}}</ref> including by presenting political opponents in a negative light and avoiding criticism of figures from ruling parties.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/07/04/rahul-gandhis-resignation-allowed-tv-channels-to-do-what-they-do-best|title=Rahul Gandhi's resignation allowed TV channels to do what they do best|last=S|first=Meghnad|date=4 July 2019|work=Newslaundry|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Drabu|first=Onaiza|date=2018|title=Who Is the Muslim? Discursive Representations of the Muslims and Islam in Indian Prime-Time News|journal=Religions|language=en|volume=9|issue=9|pages=283|doi=10.3390/rel9090283|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/podcast/big-story-podcast-questions-arnab-goswami-didnt-ask-modi-in-republic-tv-interview|title=Podcast {{!}} Questions Arnab Goswami Didn't Ask Modi|date=2019-03-29|website=The Quint|language=en|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altnews.in/sham-republic-tvs-twitter-polls/|title=The sham of Republic TV's Twitter Polls|last=Jawed|first=Sam|date=2018-01-22|website=Alt News|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/india/1570899/how-narendra-modi-has-almost-killed-indian-media/|title=How Narendra Modi has almost killed the Indian media|last=Inamdar|first=Nikhil|website=Quartz India|language=en|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altnews.in/one-month-republic-tv-fare/|title=One month of Republic TV – How did they fare?|last=Jawed|first=Sam|date=2017-06-08|website=Alt News|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altnews.in/republic-claims-rahul-gandhi-owaisi-asked-people-not-stand-national-anthem-true/|title=Republic claims Rahul Gandhi and Owaisi asked people not to stand up for National Anthem. Is that true?|last=Jawed|first=Sam|date=2017-10-27|website=Alt News|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/912779/the-daily-fix-why-the-fir-ordered-against-arnab-goswami-is-a-blow-against-free-media|title=The Daily Fix: Why the FIR ordered against Arnab Goswami is a blow to free media|last=Venkataramakrishnan|first=Rohan|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil-in-narendra-modis-india|title=Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi's India|last=Filkins|first=Dexter|journal=The New Yorker|date=2019-12-02|access-date=2019-12-03|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>}} It has also been alleged that the channel popularized the neologisms of "[[Vivek Agnihotri#Urban Naxals|Urban Naxal]]" and "anti-national" to denote those critical to right wing sentiments and evoke [[hyper-nationalism]] among the audience.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Mishra|first1=Samarth|last2=Kumar Shukla|first2=Aditya|date=2019|title=Balancing Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech: Case of India|url=https://www.pramanaresearch.org/gallery/prj-p1189.pdf|journal=Pramana Research Journal|volume=9|issue=6|pages=1414|issn=2249-2976}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/on-the-run-4/|title=On the run|last1=Bajpai|first1=Shailaja|date=11 May 2017|work=The Indian Express|accessdate=17 May 2017}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Attempts to quell communal tensions through irresponsible reporting containing religious overtones have been alleged.<ref name=":2" />

The channel has been compared to [[Media of North Korea|North Korean media]] for its extreme pro-government affinity and muzzling of dissent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/india/2017/06/08/tale-of-two-republics-arun-shourie-indian-media-north-korea|title=Tale of Two Republics: Why Shourie Compared Our Media to N Korea's|date=2017-06-08|website=The Quint|language=en|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian Democracy: Origins, Trajectories, Contestations|last=Varadarajan|first=Siddharth|date=2019|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=9780745338927|editor-last=Nilsen|editor-first=Alf Gunvald|location=|pages=59–60|chapter=The State and/of the Media in Modi’s India|editor-last2=Nielsen|editor-first2=Kenneth Bo|editor-last3=Vaidya|editor-first3=Anand|jstor=j.ctvdmwxfb.9}}</ref> Noted political scientist [[Christophe Jaffrelot]], journalist [[Dexter Filkins]] and others compare it to [[Fox News]], an American TV channel that practices [[Fox News controversies|biased reporting]] in favor of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=Edward|last2=Jaffrelot|first2=Christophe|date=2018-10-02|title=Hindu nationalism and the 'saffronisation of the public sphere': an interview with Christophe Jaffrelot|journal=Contemporary South Asia|volume=26|issue=4|pages=468–482|doi=10.1080/09584935.2018.1545009|s2cid=150328837|issn=0958-4935}}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTyVp-sAXT4|title=Brash and bigoted: How Arnab Goswami changed India's TV debate|website=The Listening Post|publisher=[[Al Jazeera English]]|host=Meenakshi Ravi|date=18 February 2020|time=04:55-05:02|access-date=18 February 2020|last=|first=}}</ref>