These days the media grapevine in Lutyens’ Delhi is buzzing with the news of coming together of a certain brother-in-law of a recently disposed Chief Minister who used to be a familiar face on prime-time TV news once upon a time, a print journalist who is one of the blue-eyed boys of a senior editor known in the city more for his real estate deals than news breaks, and a former marketing man of a washed-out rag turned Mr. Moneybags with plans to launch a brand new newspaper.
It’s being said that this ambitious project has the backing of the powers that be at the Centre. Rumour has it that the print journalist is also very close to one of the most pretentious intellectuals of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who acquired quite a bit of notoriety in the north-east. So much that the RSS man was temporarily put out to pasture to cool down after the news of his colourful shenanigans reached the ears of the two most powerful bearded men in the country.
Until recently, the print journalist worked for a newspaper, where the senior editor has also been provided a comfortable perch in the ivory tower for being the chief lesioning agent for the owners. Trouble started for the print journalist sometime back after a no-nonsense lady boss took over as the editor of the paper. It’s being said that the lady boss managed to clip the wings of the duo, causing them quite a bit of discomfort.
The former prime-time TV news anchor had earlier tried his hands at launching a digital news platform, but it crashed after its promoter got into trouble with the Enforcement Directorate and funding dried up. Since then, he has kept a relatively low profile, except for posting hot takes on X (formerly twitter) that are intended for staking his claim in an increasingly crowded field of cheerleaders.
Mr. Moneybags is also quite a colourful character. Besides his colourful escapades, mandarins of India’s Fleet Street are full of stories of how this man acquired a small fortune by cutting side deals using the paper as a façade until it turned into a worn-out rag. Mr. Moneybag’s bank balance got fattened all the while even as the paper struggled to pay the salaries of a few good men and women who struggle on a day-to-day basis to keep the masthead alive.
The word on the street is that the troika has reached out to some journalists on WhatsApp hinting about “good news” coming soon. Seasoned news hawks in Lutyens’ zone say that the paper will be pro-establishment. That is hardly surprising given that the former TV news anchor and the print journalist turned into dyed-in-wool pro-establishment journalists since the birth of #NewIndia. Mr. Moneybags is also known to be close to some senior leaders of the party in power.
