There used to be a time when there was unity in certain sections. Press unity was a force to reckon with. The unity not only protected the media houses and the journalists but also protected the Right to Report and Press Freedom.
Today the scene has changed completely. There is so much competition among the media houses that they now hate each other. Unity is long lost and now they are helping other parties destroy their competitors or you can call them their ‘enemies’.
There is this TRP Scam going on in Mumbai. I don’t care which channel was trying to manipulate small numbers of TRP because in the big picture it means nothing. People have their favorite channel and they watch it, TRP matters only to the advertisers. And it was a matter of very small importance – but now it is being used to supress the voice of a media house.
I am not saying that you need to be a supporter of Arnab Goswami or Republic TV to say that what is going on is not good for the Freedom of Press nor it is good for Freedom of Speech which is our fundamental right. On the big picture, it is not good for our democracy and justice system.
I used to love and respect so many journalists like Rohit Sardana, Ravish Kumar, Anjana Om Kashyap, Rubina Liyakat, Sudhir Chaudhary, etc. but none of them has come out to protect another fellow journalist. Irrespective that he is your competitor, or you don’t like his way of presenting/speaking, just to protect the Freedom of Press in India it is important that these media houses come out of their den and speak up. Their silence is going to kill the Freedom of Press and every Political Party will know that there is a way around these media houses. Their silence is going to give the political parties absolute power to do anything as Media/Press was the only check these governments had. Now that the Press has no unity, supression and manipulation of information/news is going to become rampant.
We are very very sad to see the state of Indian Journalism. Unity is Strength. Press should remember this. It is not just about Media houses and their profits. Journalism is a responsibilty and a fundamental pillar of a democracy. Break your silence and rise up. It is time to take a stand for the future of Press Freedom and this country.
Jai Hind
