Part VI · Media and Narrative
Chapter 22
Newspapers and the Elite Press
22.1Scope
What newspapers print, weighted by readership.1
The arena is measured by readership of every major paper by side, English papers (the elite agenda) separately, and elite credibility: trust among English-reading Indians, elite reach and the investigations that forced the State to act (such as the Indian Express SIR story).
22.2Significance
The elite agenda: judges, officials and diplomats read English papers; Hindi papers reach the heartland.
22.3Indicators and weights
Table 22.1 lists the 3 indicators of the arena, the weight of each within the arena, and each indicator’s reading (the Hindutva-aligned share, from 0 to 100).
Table 22.1. Indicators of arena 5.4
| Indicator | Weight | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Readership: all papers by average issue readership | 0.35 | 24.8 |
| Readership: English papers (the elite agenda) | 0.15 | 3.3 |
| Elite credibility: brand trust, elite reach and impact investigations (45 outlets) | 0.50 | 25.0 |
| Arena reading | 1.00 | 21.7 |
22.4Reading
The arena reads 21.7, 28.3 points below parity, and is classified as opposed majority (a reading below 45). With a weight of 3 of a total 107.7, it contributes 0.60 points to the composite reading of 45.7.
The indicators diverge: the highest reading is for elite credibility: brand trust, elite reach and impact investigations (45 outlets) (25.0), the lowest for readership: English papers (the elite agenda) (3.3).
050100
Readership: all papers by average issue readership24.8
Readership: English papers (the elite agenda)3.3
Elite credibility: brand trust, elite reach and impact investigations (45 outlets)25.0
Arena reading21.7
Hindutva-alignedOpposed
Each bar divides the indicator between Hindutva-aligned (left) and opposed (right) holdings. The vertical rule marks parity.
22.5Measures and exhibits
The exhibits below are the Atlas’s own views of the data behind each measure: shares by side, the largest units, breakdowns by source, recipient and country, money-flow diagrams and time series. Full row-level ledgers are in the data file (Appendix D).
Measure 1. Readership: all papers by average issue readership
Reading 24.8%
Hindutva-aligned 30,246 readers, thousands · 16.7%Opposed 91,607 readers, thousands · 50.7%Transactional 0 readers, thousands · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 58,791 readers, thousands · 32.5%
Data table
| readers, thousands | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| Hindutva-aligned | 30,246 | 16.7% |
| Opposed | 91,607 | 50.7% |
| Transactional | 0 | 0.0% |
| Neutral / not counted | 58,791 | 32.5% |
Hindutva-alignedOpposedNeutral / not counted
Data table
| readers, thousands | Side | |
|---|---|---|
| Dainik Jagran | 16,872 | Hindutva-aligned |
| Dainik Bhaskar | 15,566 | Opposed |
| Hindustan | 13,213 | Opposed |
| Amar Ujala | 9,657 | Hindutva-aligned |
| Malayala Manorama | 8,569 | Neutral / not counted |
| Dina Thanthi | 7,379 | Neutral / not counted |
| Lokmat | 6,285 | Neutral / not counted |
| Rajasthan Patrika | 5,863 | Neutral / not counted |
| Times of India | 5,560 | Neutral / not counted |
| Mathrubhumi | 4,849 | Opposed |
| Eenadu | 4,569 | Neutral / not counted |
| Sakal | 4,101 | Opposed |
| Gujarat Samachar | 3,265 | Opposed |
| Anandabazar Patrika | 3,032 | Neutral / not counted |
| Sakshi | 2,994 | Opposed |
Measure 2. Readership: English papers (the elite agenda)
Reading 3.3%
Hindutva-aligned 205 readers, thousands · 1.6%Opposed 6,012 readers, thousands · 47.0%Transactional 0 readers, thousands · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 6,587 readers, thousands · 51.4%
Data table
| readers, thousands | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| Hindutva-aligned | 205 | 1.6% |
| Opposed | 6,012 | 47.0% |
| Transactional | 0 | 0.0% |
| Neutral / not counted | 6,587 | 51.4% |
Hindutva-alignedOpposedNeutral / not counted
Data table
| readers, thousands | Side | |
|---|---|---|
| Times of India | 5,560 | Neutral / not counted |
| The Hindu | 1,635 | Opposed |
| Hindustan Times | 1,543 | Opposed |
| The Economic Times | 1,192 | Opposed |
| The Caravan | 205 | Opposed |
| Outlook | 205 | Opposed |
| Deccan Chronicle | 205 | Neutral / not counted |
| The New Indian Express | 205 | Neutral / not counted |
| The Indian Express | 205 | Opposed |
| The Statesman | 205 | Opposed |
| The Siasat Daily (English web edition) | 205 | Neutral / not counted |
| Organiser | 205 | Hindutva-aligned |
| The Tribune | 205 | Neutral / not counted |
| Frontline | 205 | Opposed |
| National Herald | 205 | Opposed |
Measure 3. Elite credibility: brand trust, elite reach and impact investigations (45 outlets)
Reading 25.0%
OpposedNeutral / not counted
Data table
| elite credibility score 0-100 (0.45 trust +… | Side | |
|---|---|---|
| The Indian Express | 74.7 | Opposed |
| Times of India | 51.3 | Neutral / not counted |
| The Hindu | 49.1 | Opposed |
| Hindustan Times | 46.6 | Opposed |
| Dainik Bhaskar | 45.1 | Opposed |
| The Economic Times | 37.9 | Opposed |
| The Tribune | 37.4 | Opposed |
| The Wire | 35.9 | Opposed |
| The New Indian Express | 35.3 | Opposed |
| Malayala Manorama | 34.6 | Neutral / not counted |
| The Reporters Collective | 34.6 | Opposed |
| Mint | 33.8 | Neutral / not counted |
| Business Standard | 33.1 | Neutral / not counted |
| Financial Express | 33.1 | Opposed |
| The Quint | 32.1 | Opposed |
| outlet | date | story | consequence | grade | side_strengthened | outlet_side | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Indian Express | 2026-09-23 | SIR: '14 times in 10 months, two Election Commissioners objected on record' (Ritika Chopra). ECs Sandhu and Joshi | ECI denied on day 1, then on 26 Sep 2026 adopted mandatory full-commission meetings for new initiatives and IT modules, | C | R | R | Verified via Wikipedia (archived IE URL 23 Sep 2026), Daily Pioneer and The Federal (EC denial). Forced an |
| The Indian Express | 2024-03-15 | Electoral bonds: the bond data decoded (donors vs ED/IT/CBI action, top donor Future Gaming; firms donating after raids) | Became the opposition's 'extortion' campaign plank in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls; SC (18 Mar 2024) ordered SBI to | C | R | R | Series ran with The Reporters' Collective/Newslaundry/Scroll matching data; scheme had already been struck down on 15 |
| The Indian Express | 2016-04-04 | Panama Papers, India (with ICIJ): 500+ Indians with offshore entities | Government formed the Multi-Agency Group (CBDT, ED, RBI, FIU) the same week; govt later told Parliament that ~Rs 20,000 | C | N | R | Named people across camps; strengthened the State's black-money drive rather than either camp |
| The Indian Express | 2017-11-05 | Paradise Papers, India: Union minister Jayant Sinha (Omidyar link) and BJP MP R.K. Sinha among 714 Indians named | CBDT probe via the MAG; no action against the ministers; Jayant Sinha issued explanations | C | R | R | |
| The Indian Express | 2021-10-03 | Pandora Papers, India: 380 Indians including Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw's spouse | CBDT announced a multi-agency probe the next day | C | N | R | |
| The Indian Express | 2019-05-04 | Ashok Lavasa's dissent: Election Commissioner objected to clean chits for PM Modi and Amit Shah on Model Code complaints | EC refused to record dissent in orders; Lavasa recused from MCC meetings; IT notices to Lavasa's family followed | C | R | R | The 2019 precursor of the 2026 SIR dissent story (same reporter) |
| The Indian Express | 2020-09-14 | China Watching: Zhenhua Data, a Chinese firm linked to the state, monitoring 10,000+ Indians including the PM, CJI and | Government set up an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator; MEA raised it with China | C | N | R | National-security story; did not favour either camp |
| The Hindu | 2019-02-08 | Rafale: Ministry of Defence dissent note objecting to PMO 'parallel negotiations' (N. Ram) | Disrupted the Budget session; on 10 Apr 2019 the SC admitted the leaked documents in the review petition and rejected | C | R | R | Government told the SC the documents were 'stolen' and threatened the Official Secrets Act |
| The Wire (with Forbidden Stories and 16 partners) | 2021-07-18 | Pegasus Project: 300+ verified Indian numbers on a potential spyware target list (opposition leaders, journalists, a SC | Monsoon session of Parliament washed out; SC appointed the Justice R.V. Raveendran technical committee (27 Oct 2021), | C | R | R | |
| The Wire | 2017-10-08 | 'The Golden Touch of Jay Amit Shah' (turnover of Jay Shah's firm) | Rs 100 crore civil and criminal defamation suits by Jay Shah; gag order from an Ahmedabad court; no regulatory action | C | R | R | Litigation rather than accountability |
| The Wire | 2022-10-06 | Meta 'XCheck' stories alleging special takedown privileges for BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya | Stories retracted on 23 Oct 2022 after experts and outlets (incl. OpIndia) exposed fabricated evidence; Delhi Police | C | H | R | Negative case: a credibility loss for an R outlet, which strengthened H |
| OpIndia | 2022-10-11 | Exposure of the forged evidence behind The Wire's Meta stories | Contributed to The Wire's retraction and apology | D | H | H | Credited jointly with independent researchers; partisan source |
| The Caravan | 2017-11-20 | Questions over Judge B.H. Loya's death (he was hearing the Sohrabuddin case against Amit Shah) | PILs in the SC; dismissed in Apr 2018 (Tehseen Poonawalla v. UoI), with the SC calling them an attack on judicial | C | R | R | No institutional action; R-side narrative that endures |
| The Caravan | 2019-01-16 | 'The D Companies': NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek Doval's offshore hedge fund | Criminal defamation case by Vivek Doval; Jairam Ramesh apologised in Dec 2020; case against The Caravan continued | C | R | R | |
| The Reporters' Collective / HuffPost India (Nitin Sethi) | 2019-11-18 | Electoral bonds: RBI and EC objections overruled; PMO-cleared special sale windows | Cited in parliamentary debate and in petitions; SC struck the scheme down on 15 Feb 2024 (ADR v. Union of India) | C | R | R | |
| The Quint | 2018-04-12 | Lab test shows hidden alphanumeric serial numbers in electoral bonds (visible under UV light) | Finance Ministry admitted it was a 'security feature'; the numbers became the key to SBI's 2024 court-ordered matching | C | R | R | |
| The Reporters' Collective with Al Jazeera | 2022-03-14 | Facebook charged the BJP less for election ads; ghost advertisers | Sonia Gandhi raised it in Lok Sabha Zero Hour (16 Mar 2022); no regulatory action | C | R | R | |
| Dainik Bhaskar | 2021-05-15 | COVID second wave: death undercount (Gujarat death registrations) and bodies along the Ganga | Income Tax raids on the Bhaskar group across 30+ locations (22 Jul 2021); Bhaskar's Gujarat death-registration data was | C | R | R | Hindi-belt paper with an R-tagged content audit (research7); retaliatory State action is itself a credibility signal |
| The Tribune | 2018-01-03 | Aadhaar data for sale: access to the UIDAI database for Rs 500 (Rachna Khaira) | UIDAI filed an FIR naming the reporter, then introduced Virtual ID and limited KYC within weeks; cited in the SC's | C | R | R | |
| Scroll | 2020-06-05 | Hunger in PM Modi's adopted village Domari during the lockdown (Supriya Sharma) | UP Police FIR under SC/ST Act and IPC against the executive editor; Allahabad HC refused to quash but protected her | C | R | R | |
| Economic and Political Weekly | 2017-06-14 | Adani Group: Rs 500 crore SEZ customs-duty benefit (Paranjoy Guha Thakurta) | Adani legal notice; the Sameeksha Trust ordered the articles taken down; the editor resigned (Jul 2017); The Wire | C | R | R | Suppression case |
| Hindustan Times | 2017-07-01 | HT 'Hate Tracker' database of hate crimes | Tracker taken offline after editor Bobby Ghosh's exit (Sep 2017), following a reported PM meeting with the proprietor | C | H | R | Suppression case: the R-side data product ended; Hindutva's agenda gained |
| Hindenburg Research (foreign) | 2023-01-24 | 'Adani Group: the largest con in corporate history' (short-seller report) | Adani FPO withdrawn; ~US$100bn+ market cap loss; SC appointed an expert committee (Mar 2023) and directed SEBI's probe; | C | R | R | Foreign; listed for the Adani thread only |
| OCCRP with The Guardian and the Financial Times (foreign) | 2023-08-31 | Adani: hidden investors (Chang Chung-Ling, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli) trading Adani shares | Opposition demanded a JPC; SEBI probe continued; the SC declined a fresh probe (Jan 2024) | C | R | R | Foreign |
| Panchjanya | 2021-09-05 | 'Saakh aur Aaghat' cover story calling Infosys a possible tool of 'anti-national forces' over the income-tax portal | RSS distanced itself; industry backlash; no State action against Infosys | C | H | H | H-side agenda attempt that backfired |
22.6Evidence base
The arena rests on 136 coded units. Of the units and flows, 16 are coded Hindutva-aligned, 85 opposed and 35 neutral, mixed or transactional. By source grade: 36 grade B, 78 grade C, 22 grade E.
The full set of rows for this arena, each with its source, is in the Atlas data file (Appendix D).
Notes
- IRS; Atlas M6. ↩