Well, a cow is taken care of and well fed till it gives milk. Once it stops giving milk, it is let off and it has to feed on street posters and waste.
Right now, Telugu Desam is planning to desert the media cows that have been used by the party in the past. Of course, it is not going to close them instantly, but they are hoping that they will die a natural death.
So, here goes the story behind the scenes. Sujana Choudhary is the unofficial Number 2 man in TDP.
Choudhary launched a channel called Maha TV through his benami Venkat Rao. Though it was launched amidst much fanfare, the channel could not attract audiences.
Similarly, Choudhary and co started a one website purely for political gain. The site was looked after by late comedian AVS. Once he died, the site has been more or less orphaned. So, they bought it under the umbrella of Maha TV.
Then elections happened. The party has come into power and they no longer need a channel for another five years. Also, there is 6TV which is also run through benami people of TDP leaders.
When the elections come after five years, the party will have a base. Added to this, 90 per cent of the media is anyways owned by people of the same social community. So, why pump in money into a channel that is not giving any returns?
Even if they bring ad revenue through their contacts, what’s the point in running a channel that is not popular with the masses?
Hence the latest talk in media circles is that cost-cutting efforts are already on in Maha TV. Apparently, a list has already been drawn with the names of people on verge of being shown the door. Already, the cost cutting process was done in website. The site is being run by Maha TV staff for time being.
Talk is that the salary bills for website and Maha TV come up to Rs 50 lakhs. Plans are on to cut the costs to around Rs 30 lakhs. Naturally, the staff is jittery as they are unsure as to who might be asked to go next. Already, some names have emerged.
Meanwhile, the staff is being paid salaries the month after. However, the remaining staff is hoping that even if there is a delay of one month in getting salaries, they are not shown the exit. But the TDP seems to have no plans of reviving the dying horse.