Media framing in 24x7 english news channels: An analysis of the role of panelists in prime-time political news debates

In India, television news reporting has changed ever since the advent of 24x7 news channels. More so, round the clock news channels are identified for their prime-time (9–10) pm news debates. It is observed that these debates prioritize propaganda over objective news discourse. The framed news debates are shrill, subjective, and lack diverse viewpoints. Anchors and panelists who form the crux of prime-time news debates choose personal involvement over responsible news discussion. Thus, the main objectives of the study were to analyze media framing and the role of panelists in prime-time news debates in three popular (based on BARC ratings) 24x7 English news channels. After quantitative content analysis, the findings have shown that 75.27% of political news debates are framed. Also, the number of panelists in each debate are more than adequate, time given for panelists to talk as compared to the depth of political news issue is miniscule, women representation among panelists is very low, work profile of panelists is not diverse, and panelists are selectively chosen based on their political party affiliation. Anchors being the editors of news channels form gatekeepers of information. Media frames are glaringly visible in every prime-time (9–10) pm political news debate in the chosen 24x7 English news channels.