EntertainmentPosted at: Jan 12 2026 8:08PM


Modi realised he has to turn tables on the legacy media: Pamela Philipose

Kolkata, Jan 12 (UNI) Media scholar Pamela Philipose has argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political communication strategy marked a decisive shift in India's media landscape, as he consciously chose to bypass legacy media and speak directly to the public through digital platforms.
Speaking at the 27th edition of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, Philipose identified a pivotal shift in political communication with Modi's strategic disengagement from legacy media following hostile questioning during the Gujarat riots.
After facing uncomfortable and persistent questioning by television journalist Karan Thapar in the early 2000s, she said, he has largely avoided open press conferences since becoming Prime Minister.
Philipose said Modi was quick to grasp how powerful social media could be. Social media gave him a direct line to the public, cutting out journalists, questions and editorial scrutiny, giving him complete control over how his message reached the public.
Unlike former US President Donald Trump, who despite his hostility towards the media, continued to take questions, Modi has largely kept himself out of unscripted interactions.
"The difference is that there are countries that take this capacity of the citizen to ask questions of the government more seriously than we have. And I often say, it's so sad that people have not come out on the streets to fight for the right to freedom of speech and expression. When was the last time you heard people come out and say, Why are we being muzzled? Has it become an election issue?
"Although it should have, it is so vital for our democracy, but it has never become an election issue. And I would urge us, as a public sphere, in this room, we are a public sphere, that we ask questions of people who govern us," she signed off. UNI NST SSP
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