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New Delhi: Independent Indian journalist and documentary filmmaker Tanushree Pandey has triggered widespread discussion on social media after speaking about the current state of the Indian media industry and raising concerns over press freedom.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, her comments came in the backdrop of Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng\u2019s questioning of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to Oslo, where she raised concerns about human rights and media freedom, contrasting Norway\u2019s and India’s global press freedom rankings.<\/p>\n
In a video circulating widely online, Pandey said that there is \u201cno space left in Indian media\u201d and alleged that \u201call newsrooms have been bought.\u201d Her remarks quickly went viral, sparking debate among journalists, political supporters, and social media users over media independence, editorial freedom, and political influence on news organisations. In the widely shared video, Pandey said press freedom in India has been severely constrained and that journalists are working under pressure and fear. She stated that independent journalism has been shrinking and that critical reporting is often discouraged or restricted.<\/p>\n
Among her remarks, she said: \u201cWe do not need a Norwegian journalist to tell us about press freedom in India. We are journalists in India, and we have been enduring this reality for years.\u201d She further added: \u201cIn India, press freedom practically does not exist,\u201d and said that journalists face conditions such as government pressure, censorship, intimidation, and suppression of critical reporting.<\/p>\n
Pandey also said that asking tough questions often results in online backlash, including targeted campaigns, and that independent journalists are frequently pushed out of mainstream newsrooms. \u201cMany journalists are now working on YouTube, Twitter, or international platforms, not by choice but because there is no space left in mainstream media,\u201d she said. She further highlighted challenges in covering sensitive incidents such as Hathras, Manipur violence, cases of cow-related violence, corruption, and the situation of Kashmiri Pandits, saying that \u201cdue to pressure, many stories could not be fully reported.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to her, \u201cjournalists are working in an atmosphere of fear\u201d and independent newsrooms have been \u201ccontinuously weakened,\u201d with several reporters reportedly removed for asking critical questions. She further stated that unless interviews are \u201cscripted and friendly,\u201d accountability is largely absent in mainstream media.<\/p>\n
The video has reignited debate over media independence in India, with experts and commentators saying that press freedom in India is under severe strain. Some analysts argue that the traditional role of the press as the \u201cfourth pillar of democracy\u201d has weakened and that democratic values are eroding. They futher contend that India is under the influence of a \u201cHindutva oligarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Independent Indian journalist and documentary filmmaker Tanushree Pandey has triggered widespread discussion on social media after speaking about the current state of the Indian media industry and raising concerns over press freedom. According to Kashmir Media Service, her comments came in the backdrop of Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng\u2019s questioning of Indian Prime Minister …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":201368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/05\/Tanushree-Pandey.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201369,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201367\/revisions\/201369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}