According to the 2018 Oxfam report, 88% of leadership positions in Indian media were held by 'upper' castes. No positions were held by Dalits. Four years later, that number still remains zero. ://thewire.in/caste/dalits-belong-in-the-news-and-also-in-the-newsroom
Today, more than half of all anchors and panelists in Hindi and English primetime shows are from ‘upper’ caste groups, while there are no anchors from the SC (Scheduled Caste) and ST (Scheduled Tribe) communities. Less than 5% of the articles in digital media are written by people from SC/ST categories.
‘Lower-caste’ communities form 77% of the Indian population – yet they are overwhelmingly underrepresented in mainstream media. Although Dalit issues are reported on television, in newspapers, and digital media, hardly any of their stories are told by Dalits. For instance, data shows that only 7% of news articles about caste issues are written by Dalits. In the print media, the Oxfam survey found that no newspaper had an SC/ST journalist writing on caste issues.
by Shreeja Rao and Sankul Sonawane
20/02/2023