Bought and paid for
Politicians can pay for good news in India. But not at The Wire.
Siddharth Varadarajan is determined to challenge the downward spiral of India’s media industry.
His concern that the Indian media has become increasingly contaminated galvanised him to found The Wire, his non-for-profit online news platform.
“The response of the big media sector to the financial pressure has been to cut corners, even if that means giving in to editorial credibility,” he says.
Varadarajan noticed the link between economic pressure and the abuse of power as politicians began striking deals for paid gushes of coverage. “The need for a robust media to confront those officials is critical,” he said.
This phenomenon of paid news is becoming an increasing issue in Indian media. As politicians exploit financially vulnerable news organisations, the editorial standards have dropped dramatically.
Varadarajan believes that by sourcing revenue from his readers, he can ensure that The Wire’s content remains high quality—and editorially and financially independent from those they hold accountable.
“The Wire is to survive as a vibrant voice, in a situation where the big media is shunning responsibility.”
