2. Girish Kuber - “The media lives in echo chambers”

In this episode, Girish Kuber, the influential editor of Loksatta, the Marathi daily from the Indian Express stable, says media often get their election coverage wrong because journalists tend to report what they wish or hope to happen as opposed to what is actually happening on the ground. They tend to write for their peers and sources, not for the reading public, and this in turn affects credibility. Kuber tells Savyasaachi and Nirupama why he believes traditional media that once had the ability to influence political outcomes, is now largely sidelined. He points to the advent of social media ahead of the 2014 elections as a turning point for India's traditional media. Kuber says the sweeping reach of social media led to the sidelining of traditional media by political players such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also reveals that politicians are finding innovative ways to influence coverage, including through “readers' lobbies” who threaten to boycott a newspaper if the coverage does not cater to their political preferences, and wield enormous clout over advertisers.