Anand Giridharadas has a lengthy profile of Mukesh Ambani, the bossman of Reliance Industries, in Sunday’s New York Times.
As usual, there are a couple of paragraphs on the Ambanis’ messy relationship with the media.
“Critics say Reliance has been especially effective at managing the press. [Two] former Reliance executives, who requested anonymity for fear of angering Ambani, say the company has actively curried favour with journalists to help it track the progress of negative articles.
“A prominent Indian editor, formerly of The Times of India, who requested anonymity because of concerns about upsetting Ambani, says Reliance maintains good relationships with newspaper owners; editors, in turn, fear investigating it too closely.
“”I don’t think anyone else comes close to it,” the editor said of Reliance’s sway. “I don’t think anyone is able to work the system as they can.”
“And the net result is plain: although India’s raucous news media have brought down many a powerful person and institution, Ambani and Reliance are rarely the subjects of hard-hitting Indian reporting.
“Reliance disagrees, regarding itself as the target of relentless media attacks. “There is malicious and negative stuff being written all the time. So where is the influence?” the Reliance spokesman said. “Ambani has told me that he will never pick up the phone and talk to the owner of a publication to say, ‘Write positive stuff’ or, ‘Stop writing negative stuff’.”
Read the full profile: Indian to the core, and an oligarch
Link via Chetan Krishnaswamy
Tags: Anil Ambani, Churumuri, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh Ambani, New York Times, Reliance Industries, The Times of India
16 June 2008 at 11:38 pm
I’ve started to believe in Mint. I think Narsetti is one heck of an editor…We need more FDI allowance in print and media…May be 100 percent, but I bet foreign media companies cant survive on their own in India. It is still a land of elephants and snake charmers for them, and that is why an Indian JV is must.
Most importantly, with the emergence of foreign media, any attempt to blow up the existing media-system immediately would lead to serious repercussions. There needs to be an awareness on what media is capable of before media in an hedonistic way try changing the system.
Change in Indian media has to be in large dosages and not instant surgical remedies.
In some ways, I would want to call it the Infosys way. NRN said “You cant change the system from outside, but only by being a part of it”. Media too, foreign or domestic, cant do it overnight but over couple of years.
17 June 2008 at 6:34 am
Money matters. Even with the Indian media. If they take on Ambani, he will buy their set-up and sell it at 50% rate!
17 June 2008 at 11:57 am
In his story, Anand Giridharadas compares Mukesh Ambani to Mahatma Gandhi !
Cant make out whether Anand has lost it or is the skilled media- management of Ambanis’ at work..