of Union IT and Communications minister in the UPA tenure in Indian government. Conversation with journalist Barkha Dutt at 0948 IST. In a later conversation at 1047 IST, Barkha says that it (conveying the message to Congress(ruling government in the year)) was 'not a problem' and that she would talk to Ghulam (Nabi Azad) (Indian politician and Congress member). Radia later talks to Ranjan Bhattacharya, who also appears to be acting as a conduit to the Congress. She also mentions over the call that Sunil (Bharti) Mittal (Airtel head), has been lobbying.' Media blackout and reactions in social media The news gained prominence following sustained pressure on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook against an attempted blackout orchestrated by many prominent Indian TV channels and newspapers. According to The Washington Post, "Twitter has played an important role in launching what has become an international conversation on the issue, with the Indian diaspora weighing in". Initially, only a handful of the mainstream newspapers in India, like The Deccan Herald, Indian Express had openly written about the tapes. Some newspapers like HT Media, Mint (the business newspaper also owned by HT media) and NDTV said "the authenticity of these transcripts cannot be ascertained". CNN-IBN's Sagarika Ghose discussed with a panel of experts, if the corporate lobbying is undermining democracy, on the "Face the Nation" programme on the channel. The Radia tapes is seen to have also made a dent in the image of the media in the country. "The complete blackout of the Niira Radia tapes by the entire broadcast media and most of the major English newspapers paints a truer picture of corruption in the country," wrote G Sampath, the deputy editor of the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) newspaper. After it became an international news, more and more media houses covered the story. The Deccan Chronicle commented, "The 'Radia tapes' may have torn the veil off the nexus between information hungry journalists, lobbyists and industrialists, and opened everyone’s eyes to what has long been suspected — the ability of a small but powerful group to use their connections to influence policy." The largest circulated English newspaper in India and the world, The Times of India finally opened up on 25 November 2010, commenting "The people are showing who the boss is. The weapon in their hands is the internet, has seen frantic activism against "power brokering" by journalists in collusion