A study on mergers and accusations in Indian mass media scenario

Pages: 1251-1256
Debraj Deb (Department of Mass Communication, Assam University, Silchar, Assam)
Deepak Upadhyaya (Department of JMC, Tripura University, Tripura)

This paper is an attempt at understanding the rather under-explored area of Indian media ownership, mergers, and acquisitions and the effect it has on the prospects of free choice of content among the audience. It is a historical study and deals with secondary data from a number of sources that include RNI, FICCI-KPMG reports, media analysts’ statistics, and relevant literature. The core idea of this study consists of examining the attempt of perpetuating a constructed perception of free choice over content through multiple media avenues while the same media continue to be rallied under lesser media corporations and conglomerates every year, thus, obliterating possibilities of divergent ideology and opinions. The study tries to offer critical comments on the growing integration of mass media ownership in India and foreign investments into them as well. This study is essentially a review of data and literature on media ownership in India. It tries to problematize the subject in the context of Chomsky’s idea of necessary illusions, Ben Bagdikian’s media monopoly theory and the counter-arguments of Ben Compaigne.