Wooing the media

IF one desires to enter politics or get married, the easiest way apparently is to join a newspaper or TV organisation. It is well known that media management has become a tough job for political parties and its leaders. The media fraternity also knows that every party needs them desperately to reach to the masses. Top political parties are wooing journalists by distributing all kind of freebies. Some Chief Ministers are distributing free houses, cars and high-end telephones. The new rage is to appoint journalist at constitutional posts. Mulayam Singh Yadav has appointed four journalists as information commissioners. One of them is his son Prateek Yadav’s father-in-law, Arvind Singh Bisht, a retired journalist from The Times of India. The others are Raj Keshar of Dainik Jagran, Delhi; Sudesh Kumar of Dainik Jagran, Lucknow; and Vijay Sharma of Charchit Rajneeti, Lucknow. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also appointed three journalists as information commissioners in the state. Sukhbir Singh Badal has similarly obliged. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has nominated Harivansh, a veteran journalist, for Rajya Sabha. One should not be surprised that the Aam Aadmi Party’s nickname in Delhi is “Media Party”. Except for Arvind Kejriwal, most of the leaders, be it Manish Sisodia, Yogendra Yadav, or Ashutosh, are in one way or the other connected to the media. It is also learnt that one of the channel heads has been offered the South Mumbai seat by a national party. It is interesting to observe many politicians have married TV journalists in the last five years. A young and prominent Chief Minister of North India is reportedly having an affair with a renowned TV anchor. But, things got a bit sour when an MP from Bihar proposed to an agency reporter; the young lady just smiled and moved away to do her professional duty.