Editor’s note: As Scroll.in turns seven, an appeal to our readers
For independent media to do its job, the support of readers is crucial. Shruti Rego
In the seven years since
Scroll.in was launched, a phrase seemingly wrapped in a redundancy has increasingly become a subject of discussion: independent media. Like the chai tea and naan bread now found in Western supermarkets,
independent media is a tautology that’s relatively new.
Until not so long ago, autonomy was assumed to be an intrinsic characteristic of the press. In fact, it was the exceptions that had to be clearly labelled – most commonly, the warning that certain outlets were “state-sponsored media”.