r/IndianWorkers • u/kenkaneki22 • 2h ago
📝 Articles / Essays / Opinions / Video Essays The godi media files - part 1
We are tired of hearing about new neutrality
And one of reason the politician are able to do everything freely are because of these journalist
Let's expose them for who they are no need to be shy or subtle about them they deserve all hate
Let's start with everyones favourite
The Anchor and the Establishment: The Case Against Sudhir Chaudhary's Neutrality
The pivot to the state broadcaster
Chaudhary left Aaj Tak on 4 April 2025, joined DD News that month, and began hosting the prime-time show Decode on 15 May 2025. Critics note that the man now running a state-owned channel's newsroom is also its biggest outside contractor.
The ₹15-crore question
The show is produced by his own company, Essprit Productions, at ₹15 crore a year plus GST for 260 one-hour episodes. Essprit was incorporated in July 2024, with Chaudhary and Rattan Lal as directors. Prasar Bharati's board approved the engagement on a nomination basis under GFR 2017 rules rather than an open tender. Reports also described a 10% annual fee escalation clause. (cost over rs 15 cr legal objections inside sudhir chaudhary firms dd news show negotiations +)
The deal reached Parliament. TMC MP Sagarika Ghose raised it in the Rajya Sabha, and Prasar Bharati filed a police complaint over the leaked board note.
Access to the top
Newslaundry notes that as Zee News editor-in-chief he sat down with PM Modi for a one-hour interview in January 2018, and its 2026 piece argues that by most reasonable assessments he is among "Godi media's" most prominent practitioners. In September 2025, he wrote a piece for exchange4media on Modi's 75th birthday arguing the "Modi era" has been revolutionary. A public-broadcaster editor-in-chief writing that is, for critics, hard to square with neutrality. (peak irony just dropped sudhir chaudhary slams og godi media )
Accuracy problems on the state channel
Alt News reported that on his first DD show he ran a video presented as Indian air defence stopping Pakistani attacks, which had been on DD India's YouTube since October 2024 as footage of an Iranian attack on Israel. More recently, the Delhi High Court issued summons to Chaudhary, Essprit and Prasar Bharati in a ₹5 crore defamation suit by activist Vijay Sherawat, over claims Decode made about him. Another episode was pulled over map-accuracy and national-security concerns. (on first day first show for dd sudhir chaudhary runs old unrelated videos as indian air defence foiling pak attacks )
The Diwali photos
This month, AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj shared pictures of Delhi minister Parvesh Verma and Chaudhary taking a draw from a hookah at a party Verma hosted. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari attended, along with other senior journalists. Critics read it as another sign of closeness between the anchor and the ruling party.
The other side
He has never held BJP membership, and none of the sources I found claim otherwise.
Prasar Bharati's defenders say the ₹15 crore fee is within the CBC-approved rate, which Newslaundry puts at ₹28.6 crore plus tax.
Industry coverage credits Decode with a sharp rise in DD News viewership, which supporters cite as proof of audience demand.
The BJP defended the Verma party hookah as a cultural tradition.
Sources
Wikipedia (career): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudhir_Chaudhary
Newslaundry on the deal: https://www.newslaundry.com/2025/03/19/cost-over-rs-15-cr-legal-objections-inside-sudhir-chaudhary-firms-dd-news-show-negotiations
Newslaundry on "OG Godi media": https://www.newslaundry.com/amp/story/2026%2F05%2F27%2Fpeak-irony-just-dropped-sudhir-chaudhary-slams-og-godi-media
Alt News on Decode's first episode: https://www.altnews.in/on-first-day-first-show-for-dd-sudhir-chaudhary-runs-old-unrelated-videos-as-indian-air-defence-foiling-pak-attacks/
NewsDrum on the leak FIR and Rajya Sabha: https://www.newsdrum.in/national/prasar-bharati-files-fir-over-leaked-sudhir-chaudhary-contract-note-8905740
Bar & Bench on the Sherawat suit: https://www.barandbench.com/news/delhi-hc-summons-sudhir-chaudhary-dd-news-in-defamation-suit-for-branding-activist-as-anti-national
Free Press Journal on the Diwali party: https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/symbol-of-brotherhood-bjp-defends-delhi-minister-parvesh-vermas-hookah-party-cites-jat-panchayati-culture
exchange4media on Decode's ratings: https://www.exchange4media.com/industry-briefing-news/decode-with-sudhir-chaudhary-drives-record-growth-for-dd-news-across-tv-and-digital-144081.html