Modi govt is losing grip on its narrative: Veteran journalist Josy Joseph

Thiruvananthapuram: Modi government is losing the grip on its narrative, said popular investigative journalist Josy Joseph during a session at the fourth edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) on Friday.

He was responding to a question in the session about the current political weather of the country in the wake of the ongoing "Adani avalanche and Rahul (Gandhi) snowfall". 

Speaking on the topic ‘The stories I had to kill’ shared his insights about present-day journalism. Journalists of today are waking up to find safe and mediocre stories to carry for the day, he noted. 

“For the mainstream media, investigative journalism is a trophy and a very convenient tool for glorified blackmail or for correcting their brand image. News is only to fill the gap in between advertisements,” he said. 

Joseph added that journalists of today are waking up to find safe and mediocre stories to carry for the day. 

On the other hand, the editor of the newspaper 'TheTelegraph' R Rajagopal said, "Nowadays, numerous stories are not killed, rather aborted or stillborn owing to pressure. Journalists are getting jailed even after they kill stories." He was commenting on a question about whether he has faced any political or social pressure to kill a story.

"In a blind country where a one-eyed man is the king, even the average sight gets wide attention," Rajagopal said in response to the question regarding the secret behind the success of Telegraph headlines.

Meanwhile, former editor at The Caravan, Vinod K Jose shared interesting insights about his journalistic experiences at the session.

Senior journalist B Sreejan moderated the session and it witnessed engaging discussions on various aspects of investigative journalism, the current state of Indian media, contemporary politics and impactful stories among others.

It came to a close with a question-and-answer session, which evoked mindful questions from the attendees.