New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India released a statement Friday, expressing its “dismay and concern” over two developments that occurred the previous day — state broadcaster Prasar Bharati cancelled its subscription to news agency Press Trust of India, and the Odisha police picked up a TV journalist who claimed to have exposed Naveen Patnaik’s government.
The Guild said governments and agencies had acted against media organisations in a “vindictive manner”.
Prasar Bharati decided in a meeting of its board Thursday that Doordarshan and All India Radio’s subscriptions with PTI and another agency, United News of India, would be ended. The PTI contract had been under the scanner since June, when there was controversy over the agency’s interview with Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong, which had been labelled “anti-national”. The government had served a Rs 84.48 crore bill to PTI for allegedly flouting the lease agreement for its office on Sansad Marg.
The same day, the police in Odisha had picked up OTV journalist Ramesh Rath. His channel claimed he was not allowed any communication with his family members, and alleged that the action was taken because Rath had “exposed” that CM Naveen Patnaik’s aerial assessment of the flood situation in the state lasted just 19 minutes. The police had claimed Rath was picked up for circulating an obscene video featuring a female MP.
The Editors Guild said both actions “threaten as well as undermine the independent functioning of the media organisations” and “should be withdrawn forthwith”.
The full statement is reproduced below:
October 16, 2020
The Editors Guild of India notes with dismay and concern the vindictive manner in which governments, including their agencies, have in the last two days acted against media organisations.
On October 15, Prasar Bharati, the Union government’s public broadcasting agency, cancelled its subscription of news services from the Press Trust of India (PTI), the country’s largest news service provider. This followed Prasar Bharati’s decision to invite fresh proposals for digital subscription to English text and related multimedia services from all domestic news agencies. The PTI is also allowed to submit its proposals once they are invited as are other news service providers like the UNI, whose arrangement too has been cancelled.
A few months ago, a senior official of Prasar Bharati had criticised the PTI for what he believed was its “anti-national coverage” of news pertaining to India-China ties.
On the same day in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, the state police picked up a senior journalist, Ramesh Rath, employed with a regional news channel, OTV, on charges of having circulated an obscene video last year. OTV has stated that the journalist has been targeted for having done a series of reports exposing the Biju Janata Dal government in Odisha, although the state police has denied the allegations, saying that no arrest has yet been made.
The Guild believes that such actions threaten as well as undermine the independent functioning of the media organisations. These should be withdrawn forthwith.
Also read: TRP is manipulatable, needs to change, say I&B Ministry, Prasar Bharati & PCI to House panel
Well, PTI is getting what it deserved. You guys have fattened yourselves in the old nehruvian communist system with all sorts of perks. Your commy ecosystem needs to be dismantled brick by brick.
But the Editor’s Guild maintains absolute silence on the witch hunt being directed by Param Bir (a coward) Singh against Republic TV and Mr. Arnab Goswami.
An FIR against India Today for TRP manipulation was conveniently directed against Republic TV. Without investigation, India Today was let off the hook while Republic’s senior journalists are being hounded with 8 hours interrogation.
The Editor’s Guild will not speak up on this case. They will not defend their colleagues. And everyone knows and understands why.