Reporters Without Orders Ep 167: Covid in eastern UP and Modi’s bad international press

In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry's Shivangi Saxena and Tanishka Sodhi.

Shivangi talks about her experiences with Akanksha in reporting on Covid from eastern Uttar Pradesh. At Gorakhpur’s Sadar Hospital, she says, they watched people coming in from villages 200 km away. Despair was all around them, as family members were unable to procure beds and oxygen cylinders, or even get a doctor to see the patients.

“They were afraid that if they speak against the administration, they might refuse their families’ treatment,” she says. She herself was denied entry to the hospital as people were worried that negative news reports would lead to a backlash from the government.

Shivangi also explains how rural areas face the additional burden of poor connectivity and a crumbling healthcare infrastructure.

Tanishka talks about her report on why Modi is getting such negative coverage from the international media. On the increasing number of editorials criticising India’s handling of the pandemic, she says the international press doesn’t hold back in the way the Indian media does.

“Modi’s silence over the past two weeks about what’s happening is also very embarrassing,” she says. “Because even Donald Trump had conferences everyday.” On why everyone’s reporting on India, Tanishka says, “This virus doesn’t care about borders. If something’s going wrong here, it’s also going to impact how the rest of the world is dealing with the crisis.”

This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.

Tune in.

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