Editors' Access Baggage

So the mafia is angry. The mafia is frustrated. It is all starting to show. They want the PMO to be friendlier to the “Editors” mafia and open up communication lines with them. On any other bright day I would have said it’s a fair demand but not when it comes to our media mafia. It is not a big secret that we have some of the most corrupt and incompetent editors in the history of our media, especially TV. Ever since Narendra Modi formed the new govt he has kept this crooked bunch of thugs at a safe distance and rightly so. Just as he has shut down the privilege pipelines of many Babus he has also shut down some “privileges” of many media crooks. Let’s read what the demand of the Editors Guild of India is (Report):

“A statement issued by the Guild said that a "top-down, one-way interaction in a country with limited internet connectivity and technological awareness cannot be the only answer for large masses of readers, viewers, surfers and listeners. Debate, dialogue and discussion are the essential ingredients of a democratic discourse… By delaying the establishment of a media inter-face in the Prime Minister's Office, in restricting access to ministers and bureaucrats in offices and in reducing the flow of information at home and abroad, the government in its early days seems to be on a path that runs counter to the norms of democratic discourse and accountability," it said.

Hmm! So our crooked editorialists who crawled all these years as slaves of a dynasty suddenly talk about democratic discourse and accountability. Let us ask these people what accountability they have. You know, if there are riots in Saharanpur or Moradabad they scream Modi is responsible, Modi should act when it’s the State govt that is in charge of law and order. Take the case of Barkha Dutt, the alleged group editor of NDTV, and their recent nonsense (I prefer to stick to the recent instead of going into the history of NDTV crimes):

Now, NDTV has regularly and consistently trashed Modi and BJP with fake news and twisted news items. Whenever people point this out to Barkha she grandly claims she is not in charge of their website or Twitter account. So what exactly is an editor responsible for? In a newspaper, the editor is responsible even for the content of advertisements that appear in the paper. That’s the law. But Modi is responsible for Saharanpur or Pune but SoniaG or MMS were never responsible for even rapes in Delhi. This political pimping by “Sickular” editors has not gone unnoticed by people. Under the Sonia-MMS decay, all these editors had been “Durbaris” who enjoyed all the luxuries in the world while accusing everyone else of abusing their official positions. How did MMS operate with the media? Here’s a shameful Durbar he conducted with only FIVE editors of select newspapers in June 2011 (mostly made up of Congress cronies like Kumar Ketkar):

Does that look like a formal or regular press meeting or a private “Durbar”? I remember that because I called it PM's Press Meet - 'Friendly Fire' and here is what I wrote back then:

“I believe it’s very unfair to call it a ‘press meet’. It looked like a luncheon meet of the ‘mob’ for a friendly discussion on the state of affairs of their turf. It’s strange you would think. A Prime Minister holds a press meet with five select editors from the print media and then needs to be defended by his own spokespersons. That is precisely what Manish Tiwari and Ambika Soni were doing on  June 29.

Some of the firm assertions of Manmohan Singh at this meet were “I am not a lame duck PM” and the media is an “accuser, prosecutor and judge”. I agree with the media part though. That is their general approach to all issues. Other than that, the PM generally blamed the opposition for the lame duck tag. These statements were made when most of the ‘chosen’ editors were ones who are known to be friendly to the Congress.”

Is this the same nonsense that the Editors Guild is demanding now? Don’t forget, the same MMS held a previous meeting with only TV editors (in February 2011) as if they are some privileged class of royal durbaris. I am sure many will remember Harish Khare snubbing Arnab Goswami in that private meet telling him it is not an “inquisition” of the PM”. Barkha, who didn’t honour the PM with her presence then, later lamented that none of the editors talked about Pakistan. iRudali! It should also be remembered that on both the occasions MMS called editors only under the heavy burden of scams which he had to whitewash and not as a “routine” interaction. Unfortunately for the editor-mafia, Modi does not have any scams so far that he has to wash or defend. And Modi is absolutely right in keeping this mafia at a good distance. They are known to have twisted every word he has uttered in the past. Therefore, it is proper for the PM to speak directly speak to the people or communicate through social media. Some of these editors have also wanted the same social media dead or regulated.

The editors are demanding that the new PM and the PMO restore the old “coterie” through which Barkha ate “Golgappas” at PM’s parties and relay to us when SoniaG was happy or unhappy as advised by Ahmed Patel or through which juniors like Pallavi Ghosh reported planted gossip from the PMO or Congress office. Of course, all this is in the interest of “Democracy” as they dramatically claim. Access Journalism is a curse on journalism itself. Access Journalism, which is what our editor-mafia is seeking shuts out genuine reporters and their work and replaces it with bogus soundbites and “breast-fed” reports. How criminal are these Access Journalism specialists? Let me replay an old video from 2009 of Jon Stewart and it should  shock you how the “Access” journos lie to you, don’t care to ask real questions and suck up to criminals (Video edited to relevant portions – 6-17 mins):

There is nothing that I need to add to the video. All these “Access” editors do the same thing. They chummy-up and don’t bother verifying any reports or any information but base their entire reporting on political-swing and gossip. Every single day they troll Narendra Modi with something or the other; with fake news and deadly headlines. Take a look at these:

NDTV (Hindi) apologised for their nonsense in the first pic. This is a routine with NDTV and other channels as they play mischief with headlines concerning Modi (or BJP). I call it deliberate mischief  because I have never seen such a mistake happening with SoniaG, RahulG or Congress. The motivation is obvious for the Hate-Modi brigade. And these same editors now beg for a durbar? What about the second pic above on dates of Modi’s US/UN visit? Why in the world would morons at CNN-IBN tweet about a forthcoming speech on September 17 on September 25? Do they have any logical explanation? None! What about the other three rogues – ABP News, NDTV (again) and TimesNow? All of them uniformly concocted the date of October 27 and then some engagements on October 28 and 29. How? I tweeted MEA India to seek a clarification and Syed Akbaruddin tweeted back stating the dates given were very clear:

With all the nonsense that these editors can spin on their own why do they want “Access” to PM or PMO? They anyway write all the crap in the world about the PM without any relevance or truth. They have been doing so for over 12 years now. Lies, filth and absolute trash is what they peddled and they are still doing so with many G-37 morons as accessories. There can be a new beginning only if they acknowledge and do penance for their crimes (Like Tarun Tejpal decided he would do). I have a small, modest suggestion. These editors can start by writing Modi a small letter of penance:

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I forgot the infamous “Puppy” episode with which these same editors spread a mountain of lies implying Modi wanted Muslims dead. Well, I have saved that in case I have to write a sequel. Before I leave, I would like you to take a look at the newly constituted Working Committee of the Editors Guild:

“According to Ajay Upadhyay, General Secretary, Editors Guild of India, the 15-member Working Committee includes Sachidanand Murthy, Raj Chengappa, Shravan Garg, Barkha Dutt, Coomi Kapoor, Shekhar Gupta, Jaydeep Bose, Sanjay Narayan, MK Razdan, Vijay Naik, Seema Chishti, Sheela Bhatt, and Kumar Ketkar, among others”.

Some of these members belong in a rogues-gallery and not in any working committee of editors. They don’t deserve “Access” but the “Axe”.

PS: You can now buy the book "Social media as watchdog" with Credit/Debit cards.. Please click on the image link of the book on the right margin of this page to follow the process..

The Editor's Delivery Vehicle

What’s a cigarette? Ever heard anyone giving the most accurate definition of a Cigarette? You might hear “it’s something people smoke” or “it’s a tobacco product” and so on. In the movie “The Insider” (a true story) Jeffrey Wigand is a Tobacco industry insider who turns whistle-blower on CBS News’ highly popular programme “60 Minutes”. His decision to speak the truth about the corrupt tobacco industry wrecks his life. CBS gets scared and doesn’t telecast the actual interview but a truncated one in the end. But in a moment during the interview where Wigand describes how the tobacco industry creates addicts, he provides the best definition of a cigarette I have ever heard. He calls it “a delivery vehicle for nicotine”. A delivery vehicle for the addictive and harmful nicotine! In the end the Tobacco companies had to collectively pay damages over 2Bn dollars for their ‘excessive nicotine delivery’ misdeeds.

If you observe newspapers or news websites, lately almost every one of them carries a small disclaimer at the end in case of articles written by columnists. This disclaimer usually says “the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not the newspaper”. There may be a lot of such articles that are essential to be put out for the public but the disclaimer was created because our media has now developed a practice of putting out a lot of opinions that suit its own political or ideological preferences. Excessive nicotine for your brains! Political pursuit constantly demands excessive opinions to be peddled. Most of these opinions through columns are not backed by 100% facts, can spin truths and can consistently aim to cause damage to a particular individual or group. The news site (I will use the term news site for both digital and print for convenience) is therefore “a delivery vehicle for slanted and planted opinions”. Er… much like the cigarette is a delivery vehicle for the harmful nicotine.

Certain news sites are delivery vehicles for character assassination. With the disclaimer, the Editor could then claim he is not responsible for the crap he peddles in his news site. But a recent Supreme Court ruling could change all that. We could probably now call the nonsense of the “disclaimer” of opinions being personal and hold the Editor responsible. Of course, I am stating this as a matter of “interpretation” but not as an actual event that happened. Legal experts will tell us better. Here’s what the SC, while dismissing the plea of the Editor, ruled in an old case from 1999 concerning Sandesh newspaper of Gujarat (Full report at Lensonnews):

"A news item has the potentiality of bringing dooms day for an individual. The Editor controls the selection of the matter that is published. Therefore, he has to keep a careful eye on the selection. Blue-penciling of news articles by any one other than the Editor is not welcome in a democratic polity. Editors have to take responsibility of everything they publish and to maintain the integrity of published records," the bench said… "It is apt to remind ourselves the answer of the Editor of the Scotsman, a Scottish newspaper. When asked what it was like to run a national newspaper, the Editor answered, 'run a newspaper! I run a country'. It may be an exaggeration but it does reflect the well known fact that it can cause far- reaching consequences in an individual and country's life,"… The court passed the order on a appeal filed by the then Executive Magistrate in Vadodara who approached the apex court against the Gujarat High Court's verdict for quashing proceedings against the Editor.

Please note that Editors are liable for even advertisements published in newspapers and not just other content. There are some basic precautions that Editors need to take even for advertisements. Most newspapers now carry “disclaimers” and “buyers beware” warnings on ad pages as well. The Editor has a tough job and cannot be hanged for content he hadn’t considered malicious to the best of knowledge. But in current times Editors have shifted to being Editorialists whose job is to primarily swing opinions. Shekhar Gupta recently mentioned on CNN-IBN that lately Editors have become Business Managers cum Editors and play dual roles. This is hardly a good sign for the media and consumers. The case of SpeakAsia which collected a lot of funds from the public later became controversial and has since disappeared from sight.

A certain newspaper has recently hired a columnist to write an exclusive weekly series on Narendra Modi. This ‘opinionist’ is a known Modi-baiter. There’s ample chance that this writer, in his pursuit to malign Modi, will use a lot of spurious figures and incidents to garnish his articles. The newspaper’s Editor shouldn’t be allowed to escape with the disclaimer that it’s the writer’s personal opinion. He should be made liable for every untruth and half-truth that his newspaper carries. The writer was in any case a “specialist” in targeting Modi in all his previous writings for quite some time. Or for that matter Justice Katju writes about a lot of things as “personal opinions” which newspapers carry with a disclaimer. In case there are damages to any individual or entity the newspaper’s Editor too should be made liable. The Editor specially chooses certain writers to drive his newspaper’s ideology and writers aren’t always picked on merits or analytical skills. But that is much about newspapers where are crimes are far less these days.

Since 1999, when the Sandesh case was first tried, the media has come a long way. As of now TV wields tremendous clout. The TV Editors call panellists and guests who throw wild allegations at people and even use defamatory terms to describe certain individuals. TimesNow was penalised 100 crores for carrying a wrong picture of a former judge in a corruption case. It’s not clear what happened to that case or if there has been some arbitrated settlement. Arnab Goswami carried out a 21-episode campaign against Nitin Gadkari. On CNN-IBN Rajdeep Sardesai repeatedly allowed Sanjiv Bhatt to call Modi a “common criminal”. In the first instance Rajdeep can be forgiven if he was caught unawares by Bhatt’s defamatory term. But when he didn’t stop Bhatt further or didn’t expel him from the panel or interview then Rajdeep as Editor is deliberately allowing defamation of a person and should be held liable. This is what TV Editors have allowed to continuously happen on their channels. The latest SC judgement should now be taken further to apply to certain TV channels who are behaving like dogs without a leash.

In another incident a few years ago an innocent school teacher was declared as a sex operator by TV channel in a fake sting operation. She was beaten up by the public. This had permanently caused damage to her. The then Editor in charge of the channel, Sudhir Chaudhary, who is now with another channel should have been permanently barred from any media operation. Like Wigand’s tobacco industry, much of the TV news and some print media have become mere delivery vehicles. And much of the media has become a delivery vehicle for propaganda, some poisonous stuff and a huge fix of malicious and willful character-assassination.

Disclaimer: This article represents entirely my own assessment and no Editor in India will ever be liable to agree with it.

The Union Of Snakes

Listen carefully: “..And when the twelfth largest company in the world controls the most awesome, god-damn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network…  So, you listen to me. Listen to me! Television is not the truth. Television's a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business. So if you want the Truth, go to God! Go to your gurus. Go to yourselves! Because that's the only place you're ever gonna find any real truth. But, man, you're never gonna get any truth from us… We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true! But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds. We're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube. You even think like the tube. This is mass madness. You maniacs! In God's name, you people are the real thing. We are the illusion”. Those are confessions and rants of a has-been but reincarnated TV anchor to his live audience. *

The Union of Snakes

Somewhere in a corner of Delhi is a building that houses a union. It’s called the Editors Guild of India. As far as I know, it doesn’t have any website or any information for the public. Once in a while the members meet, have coffee and lunch, and confess their sins and then go back to their regular world of creating illusions. You see, habits have a very strong gravitational pull about them. So they met again on July 6, 2012 to confess their sins and seek redemption. Speakers were editors who were wondering how to address various challenges to the media including paid news. I must make a small correction here. What they are referring to is the ‘news media’ and not any other form of media. Hmm! That’s like snakes in a pit discussing how their oil can be better refined for their snake-oil distributors. So let’s sample a few:

Shekhar Gupta: Anchors in the electronic media on the manner in which they have gone from "becoming inquisitors, have now become judges and executioners". He then cited reporting on the Adarsh as an example of how little the editors cared to cross-check facts which led to "a mythology being built…. senior journalists were embracing the government" and "speaking for the government". Ah well, there is no better mythology in recent history than SG’s Raisina Hill army concoction, a stale one too. It’s revolting to listen to a man who embraces the govt more than any other and whose paper survives on ad doles by the govt. He urged members not be "seduced by the government" by accepting RS nominations or becoming part of any govt panel.That sounds like Moses himself talking doesn’t it? With what moral authority does the man speak? I believe journalists should not only decline RS nominations but not accept any govt awards like the Padma during their active careers. Shekhar is guilty of that too. Forget accepting awards and nominations from govt. the media snakes actually dole out awards to politicians and ministers, the ones whom they are supposed to keep a watch on. How can the watchdogs be rewarding potential crooks? And still claim objectivity and fairness in reporting is their motive or goal?

Here’s another gem from SG: "Indian journos are, afraid of their shadows, waiting for regulation". Simple fact is, no amount of regulation can ever be a substitute for the conscience of an editor or a reporter. Self-regulation is the mythical nonsense that these snakes offer as substitute while selling their soul to the devil at every opportunity. Rajdeep Sardesai, another of those editors, quotes SG: “journalists’ downfall is being caused by arrogance, greed and incompetence”. I wonder which part of that quote doesn’t apply to Shekhar or for that matter any other editor. If Rajdeep really understands that quote he should be looking at Sagarika Ghose on his own channel – arrogance and incompetence personified. In response to being scoffed at for his Raisina Hill blunder Shekhar and his team filed a 500 crore defamation suit against others. And talk about bad timing. SG makes this statement when veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar in his autobiography reveals about him: “He had become arrogant and abnormally affluent”. Abnormally affluent? Shekhar must feel like a schoolboy bunking classes after that remark.

Raghav Bahl, Network 18, said the media needs to regulate the content by itself and does not need "content filters", and criticized the way the media was "purveying virtually by rote half-understood government language. "Government is god, is the stance journalists are taking and end up magnifying what is a wrong hand-out by the government department" he said, putting the CAG report "in that category". Really? Talk about clever trickery by Bahl. Of all the govt departments, the one department that still retains a high level of integrity and trust by people is the CAG. The reason why Bahl cites the CAG report as a “hand-out” is because his channels somehow did not manage to prove the charges in the 2G scam were inaccurate and couldn’t be dumped by Rajdeep & Co. This is as third-rate a snake-oil sales pitch as you’ll ever get in a union meet. And as the rant in the opening paragraph indicates; a giant investment by a corporate giant is the best form of content filter that Raghav Bahl would endorse. Time will tell how Bahl’s media outlets will report on this corporate giant. 

Raghav Bahl? That's a laugh. Like politicians, media barons too think people have short memories. Here's an extract from Girish Nikam, which till date remains a mystery that Bahl has never answered:

What does Raghav Behl, the MD of TV 18(CNBC TV 18 and CNN-IBN), have to say about Manoj Modi (right hand man of Mukesh Ambani) claiming (on June 10,2009) in his conversation with Niira Radia that he told(threatened) him(Raghav) “your organisation is corrupt…. Even factual stories you don’t print about ADAG and you will work for us. I want to know who is the source, Mukesh(Ambani) ko personally attack karega toh main manoj modi hoon, chodega nahin kisiko.——-Raghav said in order to put pressure on me(Raghav himself)— send me(raghav) a legal notice”...... Did Raghav Behl ask Modi to send him a legal notice? If not true, did Raghav Behl get a letter from Modi, making such threats, as Modi claims in this tape and repeatedly asks Niira Radia not to disclose about it to anyone?

In one of the conversations(on June 13,2009) .......Niira Radia remarks that “Sebi investigations is on against Siddharth(Zarabi, Economic Policy Editor, CNBC TV 18), Udayan(mukherjee, anchor and MD CNBC TV 18)....they are getting their wives involved in the (stock) market), and the SEBI investigation is on”. She also goes on to say that Udayan Mukherjee “files the highest tax returns among journalists…… he pays Rs.6 crore as income tax, and he doesn’t even earn that much”. Now what has Raghav Behl and his colleagues named here done about these obviously serious charges? Is what she is saying true? If not what action are they contemplating or have taken? So much for Raghav Bahl's self-regulation.

After a lot of motherly talk about propriety, not pandering to govt, govt is not God and not eating hand-outs from govt, who do they invite? Well, they invite a minister Salman Khurshid and Opposition leader Ravishankar Prasad. Khurshid, the man known best for his smooth double talk! Inclusive growth and sustainable development are the two most abused terms in the 21st century by govts all over the world. So the minister, fond of quotas in every other domain, called for an "inclusive, collective approach" while debating on the criminal aspect of defamation. There you go: “Inclusive”! He said civil suits in defamation could be effective in dealing with the criminal element of defamation. Hmm! Let me interpret that for you. Whenever our current govt mentions ‘defamation’ it mostly refers to offensive material about the Gandhis or cartoons about the Nehru-Gandhi clan. Bad taste and offensive content may not be healthy but they’re certainly not criminal and most content that Khurshid, Sibal & Co. want to filter won’t exactly amount to defamation in a court of law. But he hopes the Union would get the hint. That’s another verbal hand-out that has passed over Raghav Bahl’s head I suppose.  

Do these snakes have the guts to face the real issues instead of spurious issues like regulation? Here are some important observations by Ajit Mohan: “The Rotten State of India’s Media”, in the WSJ December 2, 2011. Excerpts (Emphasis mine):

What is broken about the news media in India is self-evident on the front pages of the dailies in the mornings and on the nightly news on television in the evenings… Frighteningly, the situation is even worse on television channels. Most news channels just do not do reporting anymore. What counts for reporting is usually a small snippet of a roving ‘journalist’ talking to a few randomly chosen individuals on the streets of Delhi and Mumbai for their take on the big controversy of the day. This then segues to what has become the preferred format of all channels: a panel of six to eight ‘experts’, usually spokesmen of major political parties mixed with out-of-work politicians, newspaper and magazine editors, and the day’s representation from the roving celebrity class of lobbyist-PR agent-commentators (whose reason to be on the panel is never quite clear), ranting at each other while struggling to have their screeching voices heard above the incessant screaming of the anchor. All this while the viewer struggles to keep up with the multiple, disjointed layers of scrolling headlines perennially sliding on the screen below the screamers…

So, how did we get here? For a start, the crisis in Indian media does lend credence to the emerging wisdom around the world that objective and independent journalism can only thrive in a non-profit environment, perhaps with the benevolent support of wealthy trusts and individuals. Most major newspapers and television channels in the country are owned by for-profit corporations that understandably have an emphasis on the bottom-line. These organizations invariably have other business interests and relationships that may make objective journalism within their newspapers and channels difficult and inconvenient. Many media outlets are disproportionately reliant on their advertisers – a recent analyst report estimated that nearly 75% of print revenue in India comes from advertising – thus, the temptation always exists to pander to them, especially when these advertisers are the subjects of the reporting. The temptation must also exist to punish those advertisers who choose competing outlets. This drift towards seeking easy ways to pander to audiences and advertisers is exacerbated by the culture of incestuous self-serving relationships.

Go fix that!

I can go and on but I think the ‘real us’ get the message from the snakes every single day. The days of straight and honest reporting have long been buried in every news channel and newspaper. Honest reporters would be an oddity these days. Still, the last thing one wants is any govt intervention or regulation of the news media. It will take another huge Radiagate or a monumental scandal of the media to break to really see any true reforms. Till then the union of snakes will keep peddling snake-oil through their distributors and networks. As the anchor rants “We are the illusion”!

*Excerpts from the speech “We are the illusion” by Howard Beale from the movie “Network”

Quotes in this post are from NYDailyNews and FirstPost.

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Media Corruption: Indian Media Urgently Needs A Watchdog...

If there is one domain that seriously and urgently needs a watchdog like the CAG or the CVC it is the Indian media. It is easy to point fingers at politicians as the most corrupt but that is just half the truth. Politicians can be voted out, can be dismissed, can be prosecuted. What about the media though? Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi and others from newspapers like Economic Times happily continue at their jobs and happily continue to peddle influenced opinions.

Any effort to seek accountability and responsibility from the media has faced the most vehement protests from them. All this under the guise of protecting “freedom of speech and freedom of the press”. The Press Council Of India and the Editors Guild are nothing more than coffee shop organisations with no binding guidelines whatsoever. In effect, the media has an extraordinary free run to mis-report, spread lies, and indulge in corruption without any liability. For an industry wielding such extraordinary powers, ability to influence policies and the course of a nation who exactly is the media responsible and accountable to? Nobody!

There is hardly a single newspaper or TV channel which has not claimed credit for exposing all the recent scams. This in itself is a blatant untruth. And they don’t stop at that. They even claim “exclusive” reportage of scams. The media IS the scam. It is agencies like the CAG or the CVC which still have some honest workers who have really exposed the corruption and not the media. The last pieces of investigative journalism in my memory have to be pieces like “Indira as Commerce”  by Arun Shourie or the “Bhagalpur Blindings” by the Indian Express. For comic relief, I can even offer a long list of plagiarised pieces passed off as editorials or reports. Laughable among them has to be the Times of India’s report on Aishwarya Rai on the Jerry Springer show or more recently Arun Poorie of India Today who blamed a plagiarised piece to “jet-lag”! The very integrity of mainstream media is “dubious”, to use kind words.

If there is a need for a JPC for the 2G spectrum scandal there is also an urgent need for a JPC to investigate the media, its funding and its collusion in the massive frauds perpetrated on the country. Here are excerpts from a report by the Global Financial Integrity (Read the full report here. Thanks to Vaidya who sent this in):

• From 1948 through 2008, India lost a total of US $213 billion in illicit financial flows (or illegal capital flight).  These illicit financial flows were generally the product of: tax evasion, corruption, bribery and kickbacks, and criminal activities.
• Adjusted Estimates: The present value of India’s total illicit financial flows (IFFs) is at least US $462 billion.
• Based on the last five years of the study, 2004-2008, India lost assets at a rate of US $19 billion per year.
• Total capital flight out of India represents approximately 16.6 percent of India’s GDP as of year-end 2008. In present value terms, India lost an equivalent of about 36 percent of its 2008 GDP which represents a staggering loss of capital.
• Some 68 percent of India’s aggregate illicit capital loss occurred after India’s economic reforms in 1991, indicating that deregulation and trade liberalization actually contributed to/accelerated the transfer of illicit money abroad.
• IFF Drivers: High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) and private companies were found to be the primary drivers of illicit flows out of India’s private sector. 
• IFF Trends:  From 1948 through 2008 the Indian private sector shifted away from deposits into developed country banks and moved more of its money into offshore financial centers (OFCs).  The share of OFC deposits increased from 36.4 percent in 1995 to 54.2 percent in 2009.

There are high net-individuals in the media too. Much of the country’s corruption receives major support from such media crooks.

To borrow Rajdeep Sardesai’s words the Indian media has turned from “watchdogs to lapdogs”. Protestations of “freedom of press” cannot wash anymore. In a survey in TIME magazine in 2009 it was found most Americans turned to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show for credible news. What’s the surprise? The Jon Stewart show is actually a comedy show on a comedy channel. So much for mainstream media’s credibility in democracies.

Deep Throat of the infamous Watergate scandal advises Bob Woodward to “Follow the money”. It is probably time a body like the CAG or the CVC also followed the money and funding of the media houses. It is not just politicians, the Indian media urgently and desperately needs a watchdog. The media cannot be anymore given the luxury of having its own watchdog. Coffee shops like the PCI or the Editors’ Guild cannot be watchdogs.