Ursula Rao:
Re-Writing Politics: Consumerist messages and the emergence of a new style of political reporting in India - Abstract

The paper focuses on the transformation of news-writing in the English-language press in contemporary India. It analyses the emergence of a new style of political criticism that is supported by the rapid commercialization of the press and coupled with the crowning of new heroes from private companies, the media and star industry. Thereby, newspapers in post-1990 India contribute towards a global trend of devaluating political institutions and celebrating the free market. Yet, they have also gained power as instruments for the practice of democracy.

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