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Raj Thackeray used media to spread hate message
Published on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 01:01, Updated at Wed, Feb 13, 2008 in 
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MEDIA HYPE? Positive or negative, Raj Thackeray has managed to hog the headlines for the last one week.
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New Delhi: Much has been said against Raj Thackeray and his incitement to violence. The media though has been keeping that violence at the forefront. Has Raj Thackeray now been feeding on all this media hype? Did he use the media to spread his message?
Here is a look at the way the events unfolded.
February 4, 2008: North Indians thrashed on the streets of Mumbai, taxis vandalised and the city of dreams turned into a battle ground. With Maharshtrians fighting North Indians, mistrust hung heavy in the air of maximum city.
The street violence that followed in the next couple of days not only saw opinions divided, it also saw a sharp divide in media coverage.
The English and Hindi media went after Raj Thackeray for creating disharmony.
DNA editor, Samar Halarnkar said, "What had happened initially if you look at it, was that there were three or four taxis that had been attacked. One or two people were slapped on a train. There was the same man in the same pink shirt in the pictures, so clearly this had been orchestrated before. Ten years ago, if Bal Thackeray had to do this, he would actually have to go out and slaughter hundreds of people before he got noticed.
But Raj Thackeray got what he wanted. He successfully used the Marathi media, especially print media, to justify his words and actions. He even banned the non-Marathi media from entering his press conferences and accused them of singling him out.
Editor, IBN-Lokmat, Nikhil Wagle (Marathi media), said, "he is trying to divide the media on the basis of caste, creed and language and now I can see that there is some kind of indirect conflict between the Marathi media and non-Marathi media."
Positive or negative, Raj Thackeray has managed to hog the headlines for the last one week, forcing the media to walk a tight rope to strike a balance between journalism and sensationalism.
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Total Comments: 4
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Politicians are in the driving seat in the minds of their followers because of various inspirations. Few leaders always find
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VERY SOON THIS RAJ THACKREY WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS SINS FOR PLAYING WITH THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF
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Media should completely neglect Raj comments.If the media will decide not to spread the word, it would be very diificult
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Poor and helpless people becomes victim of irresponsible comments of political leaders. This is the same theme of divide and
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