"Criticizing the government is the ideal journalism." Pramod Raman The session began with the moderator, Sreejith Divakaran, posing questions to the speakers about the Newsclick controversy and the emergency period during Indira Gandhi`s rule when the media faced suppression and lacked freedom. R. Rajagopal responded, emphasizing how the government violated fundamental rights, seized the phones of 46 journalists, and arrested the chief editor and HR of Newsclick. He noted that the announcement of the emergency state aimed to make the government autocratic but was overshadowed by sociopathic actions. R. Rajagopal also discussed the media`s relationship with the West Bengal government during Mamata Banerjee`s corruption speculations. Josy Joseph critically discussed how the current government is heading towards becoming a mafia state. He highlighted the threats faced by the media from the government, driven by factors such as Hinduism, money, and an unquestioning public. According to Joseph, the Indian media is becoming a victim of bureaucrats running a mafia state, raising concerns about the compromise of electoral democracy in a few years. Pramod Raman remarked that the government personally attacks the media for opposing them, leading to fear-driven news telecasts solely focused on ratings. However, he noted that some journalists prioritize the truth over ratings, believing that the people are with them. The session concluded with a thought-provoking interaction with the audience and the speakers, R. Rajagopal, Josy Joseph, and Pramod Raman, discussing media freedom. A fellow reporter also shared a grievance about facing unfair questioning from the police for speaking out against the government`s unjust actions towards a Muslim family.