Translating the term lapdog as “godi” in Hindi language, Ravish Kumar uses it to describe a large section of media in India characterised by its blatant support of the powers be, hence, the metaphor. Instead of being the watchdog, or guard dog, it has turned into a lapdog, “a third ‘dog’ in the repertoire of the media” (Watson & Hill, 2012, p. 121). The characteristics of it include: “total submissiveness to authority, total lack of independent power, obliviousness to all interests except those of powerful groups, and framing all issues according to the perspectives of the highest powers in the system” (Donohue et al., 2018, p. 120).
Professional integrity