I like that a portrait of new-age journalism isn’t coy about its awareness. It has opinions, even if it softens them by scolding both sides – liberal and conservative media, citizens and the leaders they elect – and amplifying the failing health of the fourth estate. The storyline continues from the first season, where idealistic Awaaz Bharati anchor Radha Bhargava (Shriya Pilgaonkar) is arrested on fake charges of anti-nationalism. Her rival, Josh 24×7 editor and Arnab Goswami stand-in Dipankar Sanyal (Jaideep Ahlawat), is now firmly a government mouthpiece funded by shadowy industrialist Nandan (Dinkar Sharma), but his character assassination of Radha seems to be gnawing away at his conscience. The Radha that’s released on bail is hungrier but darker. Her mentor and boss, the legendary Ameena Qureshi (Sonali Bendre), notices that she’s lost objectivity.
Radha begins to use online journalism as her personal weapon; she targets the Chief Minister and ruling party because of Dipankar, not because she cares for her job or country. She uses his language to fight fire with flames, heading the new digital wing after Awaaz Bharati is bought by ex-boyfriend and NRI tech-whiz Ranjit (Akshay Oberoi). Dipankar, meanwhile, flirts with a redemption arc; he is addicted to Josh (a perfect allegory for hypernationalism), but his quest for power is humbled by the dismantling of democracy. What follows is a dense season with the heart of a semi-fictional soap opera and the body of a true-crime drama. In terms of sub-plots and newsroom tensions, the similarities to print-media companion piece Scoop (2023) are uncanny. The two shows represent different ecosystems of journalism, but the interpersonal equations, social commentary and newbie narratives are comparable. You could say The Broken News 2 is the broadcast-television version of Scoop: Flashier, louder and trashier.