Shishir Priyadarshi
NEW DELHI: In every rising nation, development is shaped not merely by policy, investment, or infrastructure, but also by narrative. Nations progress when their citizens believe in the direction of travel, when institutions communicate purpose effectively, and when the world understands the scale of transformation underway. Development, in other words, does not happen in silence. It requires a story to accompany it.
This is where journalism assumes a role far greater than that of passive observer. The media does not merely report events; it shapes perception, frames priorities, and influences how societies understand themselves. In a country undergoing profound economic, technological, and geopolitical transformation, journalism must evolve beyond a narrow understanding of its role as only critic and watchdog. It must retain its critical function, – but also inform, contextualise, and construct.
A false binary
For too long, public discourse has operated under a false binary: that writing positively about national progress is incompatible with journalistic integrity. This has created a peculiar hesitation within sections of the media and intellectual establishment – a reluctance to acknowledge progress for fear of being perceived as partisan or uncritical. The result has been a persistent under-communication of achievement, an amplification of dysfunction, and an incomplete national narrative.
This is neither balanced journalism nor responsible journalism.
A mature democracy requires scrutiny, but it also requires perspective. To report failure while ignoring success is not neutrality; it is distortion. To focus exclusively on shortcomings while neglecting structural progress is not critical thinking; it is selective framing. Journalism that refuses to acknowledge positive transformation deprives citizens of an accurate understanding of their country’s trajectory.
Constructive journalism is not propaganda. It does not demand praise. It does not require endorsement of Government, institutions, or policy. Rather, it asks that journalism engage with national development honestly and holistically – highlighting what is working, interrogating what is not, and exploring how outcomes can improve. This distinction is critical.
Force multiplier
The most effective journalism in a developing nation is not that which simply exposes problems; it is that which helps societies understand challenges in context, identifies pathways forward, and fosters informed public debate on solutions. It critiques without cynicism. It questions without nihilism. It holds power accountable without assuming that all power is inherently suspect. Such journalism becomes a force multiplier for development.
Policy does not exist in isolation. Every reform, every investment, every institutional effort operates within a wider ecosystem of public discourse. If that discourse is dominated entirely by negativity, sensationalism, and distrust, even the most well-designed policies struggle to generate confidence. Investors hesitate. Citizens disengage. Institutions become defensive rather than innovative.
Conversely, when journalism reports progress alongside problems – when it highlights opportunities, tracks implementation, and explains the significance of reforms – it helps create the confidence necessary for development to accelerate. It encourages citizen participation and improves policy literacy. There is also an external dimension to this challenge.
External dimension
In an interconnected world, perceptions shape outcomes. How a nation is portrayed globally affects investment flows, diplomatic standing, tourism, and strategic influence. Countries are judged not only by their performance but by the stories told about them.
Emerging powers, therefore, cannot afford narrative complacency. They must ensure that their development story is communicated clearly, credibly, and consistently – both domestically and internationally. This is not image management; it is strategic necessity.
At a time when the country seeks to position itself as a leading economic and geopolitical power, its media ecosystem must recognise that national narrative is itself an instrument of state capacity. A confident, self-aware nation should not outsource the telling of its story to external commentators, nor should it permit internal discourse to become so reflexively pessimistic that progress is obscured.
This does not mean suppressing criticism or sanitising debate. Democracies flourish through contestation. But healthy contestation is not the same as perpetual negativity. Journalism should challenge institutions – but it should also challenge the assumption that institutions are incapable of success. It should expose gaps – but also acknowledge gains. It should report conflict – but not become addicted to it.
Indeed, one of the greatest weaknesses of modern media is that its commercial incentives increasingly favour outrage over substance. Negativity attracts clicks. Conflict drives engagement. Sensationalism outperforms nuance. In such an environment, development – often incremental, complex, and technocratic – struggles to compete for attention.
Less sensational
Yet it is precisely because development stories are less sensational that responsible journalism must work harder to tell them well.
The construction of roads, the expansion of digital infrastructure, the rise of manufacturing clusters, the transformation of logistics networks, the improvement of public services, the strengthening of local entrepreneurship – these may not produce dramatic headlines, but they collectively define the lived reality of national progress.
Equally important is the role of language and accessibility. National narratives cannot remain confined to elite, urban, English-speaking audiences. Development-oriented journalism must reach citizens in the languages they think in, work in, and live in. It must democratise access to information and make national transformation relatable at the local level. Only then does development cease to be an abstract policy objective.
The task ahead is, therefore, not to create a media ecosystem that is deferential, but one that is developmental. Not submissive, but solutions-oriented. Not partisan, but purposeful.
As the country advances towards higher developmental ambitions, it will need more voices that are balanced yet bold – critical yet constructive, realistic yet aspirational. It will need journalism that understands that the role of the press is not merely to chronicle events, but to contribute meaningfully to the national conversation about where the country is headed and how it can get there faster.
Every great national transformation has been accompanied by institutions that helped societies believe in their own progress. Journalism must be one of those institutions. A nation on the move needs media that can do more than report its stumbles. It needs media capable of recognising its strides. Because journalism does not merely describe a country; it helps shape what it becomes.