ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the coverage of entertainment news in Indian newspapers and television channels through the lens of tabloidization, a term that is associated with prioritization of soft news content over hard news. Even though the Indian news media has had a tradition of speaking truth to power, starting from the time of, and influenced by, the struggle for independence from its colonial rulers, market competition intensified after the economic liberalization of the 1990s, which invited international investments, especially in television, and later digital media outlets. In the subsequent years, certain sections of the Indian media have faced criticism for growing sensationalism and tabloidization in their coverage of local and national news. While Indian newspapers cannot be classified into ‘tabloid’ and ‘quality’ press as in the British context, the same cannot be said about television news channels and online news portals. The chapter will attempt such a classification of Indian television content. This chapter will also present two case studies from the Indian film industry to illustrate the trend of trivialization in entertainment news coverage.
