Against Stenography for the Powerful: An Interview with P. Sainath

Award-winning journalist P. Sainath discusses the degree to which journalism has become “stenography of the powerful,” which not only forwards corporate interests but also standardizes the writing of news in ways that kill the very elements of style and commitment that marked the best journalism of earlier generations. His recent responses to such corporatization include the creation of “The People’s Archive of India,” which enlists the citizens of rural India to document their own stories as well as the incredible array of artistic, artisanal, and craft traditions in the rural areas of the country.