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Tag: Editors Guild of India

  • Declare journalists frontline workers: Editors Guild urges govt

    Declare journalists frontline workers: Editors Guild urges govt

    NEW DELHI: As the nation weathers the second wave of the Covid2019 outbreak, the news media community is working round the clock to keep the general public informed and apprised of the latest developments. Scribes in the country are also working closely with the government to drive awareness about the deadly virus and vaccine roll-out. However, until now, they have not been classified as frontline workers by the Centre.  

    As newspersons are also at the forefront of the battle against the novel Coronavirus, the Editors Guild of India has requested the government to declare journalists as frontline workers and be allowed priority Covid vaccination.  

    "News organisations have been relentlessly covering the pandemic, elections, and other current affairs in an effort to ensure that the flow of news and information to readers continues unabated. News media is included in essential services. Therefore it will only be fair that journalists be given this cover of protection, especially in the face of the number of infected rising to astronomical levels," the Editors Guild of India said in a statement.  

    The letter has been signed by Guild president Seema Musthafa, general secretary Sanjay Kapoor, and treasurer Anant Nath. 

    "Without the protection of a vaccination, media persons are finding it very difficult to discharge their professional responsibilities,” the Guild pointed out. “Therefore the EGI calls on the Union government to immediately get all journalists, regardless of age, vaccinated so that there is no disruption in their work during this critical time." 

    India saw its highest single-day rise of 2,17,353 Covid2019 infections, pushing the country's tally of cases to 1,42,91,917, according to official data released on Friday.

  • Editors Guild of India condemns Arnab Goswami’s arrest

    Editors Guild of India condemns Arnab Goswami’s arrest

    New Delhi: Editor Guild of India has expressed its unhappiness on the arrest of Republic TV editor in chief Arnab Goswami and condemned the entire incident. They have called upon the Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to ensure that Goswami is treated fairly and the state power is not used against the critical reporting by the media.

    Earlier in the day, Republic TV founder & editor in chief Arnab Goswami was picked up from his house by the Mumbai police. According to Republic TV, 10 policemen entered Goswami’s residence and pushed him around, before taking him away. According to the media firm, the police had no summons or arrest warrants at the time of his arrest.

    Another media firm reported that Arnab has been arrested in connection with an old abetment to suicide case of a 53-year-old interior designer. A Mumbai police official said that an architect and his mother committed suicide in 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by Republic TV. Arnab, it says, has been arrested under Section 306 and Section 34 of IPC.

    Reports are that Arnab will be taken to Raigad for questioning.

    However, Republic TV has alleged that the cops “blocked Republic executive editor Niranjan Narayanswamy and senior associate editor Sanjay Pathak from entering his residence. Eight police vehicles and at least 40-50 Police personnel are in the building premises of Arnab, many armed. When Niranjan said that it is his right to report, he was thrown out of the building and the Mumbai police wanted his phone.”

    Republic TV has alleged that Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh is carrying out a vendetta campaign against the channel.

    I&B minister Prakash Javadekar has spoken out against the treatment being meted out to Arnab.

  • Editors Guild of India announces its new executive committee

    Editors Guild of India announces its new executive committee

    MUMBAI: Editors Guild of India has announced the formation of its new executive committee. The first meeting of the committee was convened today, where the members discussed various issues ranging from media freedom, ethics to protection of journalists' rights.

    The members of the new executive committee include Sakal Media Group consulting editor (Delhi) Vijay Naik, Dainik Bhaskar group editor Prakash Dubey, NDTV editorial director Sonia Singh, The Quint editor-in-chief Raghav Bahl, Scroll editor Naresh Fernandes, Malayala Manorama executive editor Jayant Mammen Mathew, India Today former managing editor Dilip Mandal, Prof MD Nalapat; The Telegraph national affairs editor Sankarshan Thakur, Madras Courier editor-in-chief Shrenik Rao, Nai Duniya chief editor Shahid Siddiqui, The Hindu (Delhi) resident editor Amit Baruah, Satyahindi.com founding editor Ashutosh, Hindustan Times' Kumkum Chadha, Nai Duniya (Delhi) former resident editor Suresh Bafna.

    The list of special invitees include Indian Currents consulting editor John Dayal, The Tribune former editor in chief Harish Khare.

    The president of the guild is The Citizen editor Seema Mustafa.

  • Editors Guild cautions Republic TV to not compromise on safety of journalists

    Editors Guild cautions Republic TV to not compromise on safety of journalists

    NEW DELHI: ARG Outlier Media owned Republic TV and its founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami have been in the eye of a storm lately. Starting with the channel’s coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case to the recently unearthed TRP scam, Republic and its top honchos have been caught up in multiple accusations, FIRs, lawsuits and what not.

    Amid such a situation, the Editors Guild of India (EDI), a statutory body comprising of India’s leading current and former editors and journalists, has issued a statement expressing its concern at “the unedifying spectacle of hundreds of FIRs being filed against the journalists of Republic TV, which is under probe for allegedly manipulating the TRPs and spreading discontent against the Mumbai police.”

    EDI also urged the channel to behave responsibly and not compromise “the safety of its journalists”.  Stating that the body does not wish to influence the probe, it however called for an immediate end to the victimisation of journalists in the fraternity.

    The statement further referred to the case of late Sushant Singh Rajput and mentioned that the Right to Speech does not mean that one can spread ‘hate speech’.  Referring to the standoff between the Mumbai Police and TV channels, it said there is a need to maintain a balance between media freedom and the imperative to reside within the rule of law. “Republic TV’s high strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of the film actor also raises issues about media credibility and limits to reporting.”

    Read our coverage of the TRP scandal

    The guild went on to question the channels’ modus operandi of investigative journalism by bringing up the Bombay high court’s rejoinder – “Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public about their opinion on who should be arrested?”

    The body even went on to point to a channel (Republic TV in this case) to behave responsibly and not compromise on the safety of its journalists as well as hurt the credibility of the media.

    Mumbai police unearthed the TRP scam on 8 October and since then Republic TV and the law enforcement authorities have been at the loggerheads. They have repeatedly engaged in mud-slinging at each other and have even filed defamation suits against each other. The scam was uncovered earlier in October when the Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers.

     

     

    So far, the police has arrested several people in connection with the TRP scam including the owners of several channels – Box Cinema and Marathi channel Fakt Marathi.

  • Editors Guild of India, PCI condemn attack on Arnab Goswami

    Editors Guild of India, PCI condemn attack on Arnab Goswami

    MUMBAI: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) and Press Council of India (PCI) have strongly condemned the alleged attack on Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Ray by two people on a bike late Wednesday night, 22 April.

    EGI in its statement said: “Any physical attack, instigation for hate or verbal abuse hurled against any journalist is a reprehensible act. The freedom to express one’s views or report facts without any fear or intimidation whatsoever is the most fundamental tenet of journalism.”

    The guild has asked the Mumbai police to book those who had attacked the editor and his wife.

    Goswami, during a live debate show on Monday, resigned from the membership of EGI while discussing the Palghar lynching incident. He accused EGI of promoting fake news by a few media outlets and keeping mum on the recent lynching in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.

    PCI, condemning the attack on Goswami and his wife, said: “Every citizen in the country including a journalist has the right to express their opinion which may not be palatable to many but this does not give anybody the authority to strangulate such voice.”

     “Violence is not the answer even against bad journalism,” it said and urged the state government to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime and bring them to justice immediately.

    “While taking suo motu cognisance in the matter, the PCI’s chairman has directed the government of Maharashtra, through the chief secretary and commissioner of police, Mumbai to submit a report on the facts of the case at the earliest,” the statement reads.

  • Arnab Goswami speaks during COVID-19 lockdown

    Arnab Goswami speaks during COVID-19 lockdown

    MUMBAI: You can't keep Arnab Goswami out of the news. Soon after chucking up his membership of the Editors Guild of India, he is now seeking succour for TV news channels as president of the News Broadcasters Federation – a coalition of 300 of them. The bespectacled journo, who is not known for mincing his words, wants to make a clear appeal to advertisers, agencies and the media frat to help the news broadcasting sector, during the Covid-19 lockdown phase which has led to the erosion of both their top line and bottom line. News television, which mostly relies on ad spends to fuel its operations, has seen the latter getting shaved even as viewership has multiplied manifold.

    Goswami, who is a founding member and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network, had an exclusive conversation with indiantelevision.com during the course of which he said that he was making an outreach to brands, ad agencies, and media that they "need to look upon news as essential service and I request them to come forward and show greater support to the news channels.”

    The NBF president believes that the federation has greater responsibility towards the media industry and must support those who may not be leaders in their specific regions.

    Recently, the NBF urged advertisers and advertising agencies to refrain from renegotiating their on-air TV commercial and sponsorship deals when the news broadcasters are ramping up their COVID-19 coverage, despite the fact that operating costs are rising alarmingly.

    “I have been working hard for it and am willing to engage with my friends in the media industry to take this further," says Goswami. "It is said that advertisers are cutting down the effective rates in the current scheme and there are chances that this will worsen things, especially for regional news broadcasters, putting a question mark on their existence."

    Not just from advertisers, the NBF president is also considering requesting a comprehensive stimulus package from the government for the TV news broadcasters. In this regard, the federation has written a letter to union information & broadcasting (I&B) minister Prakash Javadekar for an appointment of e-meeting through video-conference as per his availability this week.

    Points out Goswami: “This is a difficult time for the broadcasting industry and as president of NBF, I look forward to meeting the I&B minister during which we can discuss the measures the government could take to help the news broadcasting sector, which is reeling under the burden of operating costs and despite performing its duty at this testing time.”

    The issues that the federation would like to discuss with the minister during the e-meeting are satellite and bandwidth charges, Prasar Bharati and DD Free Dish, DAVP pending payments, unrestricted availability of FTA new channels, governmental support and liquidity issues.

    The NBF president also put his weight behind viewers for standing tall with the news broadcasters. He says: “Television and digital consumers are making obvious choices as to who is serving the nation and its people and those who are against the national interest. The latter is of course failing to gain any viewership,” he concluded.

  • Arnab Goswami steps down from Editors Guild of India

    Arnab Goswami steps down from Editors Guild of India

    MUMBAI: Republic Media Network’s founding member and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has resigned from the membership of Editors Guild of India while anchoring a live debate show. He was discussing the silence by the ‘liberal media' on the lynching of three people in Maharashtra’s Palghar on Monday.

    Urging panellists to pause during a live debate, he said: “I have been a member of the Editors’ Guild of India for a long time and I, on live television, resign for its absolute compromise on editorial ethics, for being an organisation for operation only for personal interests.”

    He also accused EGI president Shekhar Gupta of leading the “compromise on journalism” for not speaking on incidents like this as well as against the spread of fake news amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    He said: “Shekhar Gupta, whatever remaining credibility of the Editors Guild of India has been destroyed by its abject silence on a series of fake news stories. It has been a self-serving organisation.”

    EGI is an association of editorial leaders in India, committed to free, fair and independent journalism. Goswami is one of the members of the Editors Guild of India.

  • NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    MUMBAI: NDTV has challenged in the Supreme Court the I&B Ministry’s order of one-day ban on its Hindi news channel NDTV India. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) had directed NDTV India to go off air for 24 hours from 9 November 2016 00:01 hrs as a penalty for showing strategically-sensitive information while covering the Pathankot military operation in January this year.

    In response, the company argued that it was not the only channel that disclosed the information for which it is being penalised. NDTV has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the order.

    In a BSE filing, the news network said that it has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court, inter-alia, challenging the constitutional validity of the said order, and the provisions of law pursuant to which the said order has purportedly been passed.

    The Editors Guild of India, the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and several influential personalities such as Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Rana Ayyub, Rahul Kanwal, Praveen Swami, and journalists from the channel — Ravish Kumar, etc have shown solidarity towards the channel and have come up in full support against the government’s order. They have demanded its immediate revocation.

    Others such as Zee group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra have said that the government is being soft on NDTV and that the ban should be for a lifetime for daring to carry reports which could harm the country’s security. He additionally said on twitter that if the channel dares to go to court to challenge the ban, its appeal will be rejected.

    The blackout of NDTV India comes at a crucial time when the news channels, apart from covering the current affairs, will be providing extensive coverage of the US Presidential Elections 2016.

  • NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    MUMBAI: NDTV has challenged in the Supreme Court the I&B Ministry’s order of one-day ban on its Hindi news channel NDTV India. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) had directed NDTV India to go off air for 24 hours from 9 November 2016 00:01 hrs as a penalty for showing strategically-sensitive information while covering the Pathankot military operation in January this year.

    In response, the company argued that it was not the only channel that disclosed the information for which it is being penalised. NDTV has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the order.

    In a BSE filing, the news network said that it has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court, inter-alia, challenging the constitutional validity of the said order, and the provisions of law pursuant to which the said order has purportedly been passed.

    The Editors Guild of India, the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and several influential personalities such as Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Rana Ayyub, Rahul Kanwal, Praveen Swami, and journalists from the channel — Ravish Kumar, etc have shown solidarity towards the channel and have come up in full support against the government’s order. They have demanded its immediate revocation.

    Others such as Zee group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra have said that the government is being soft on NDTV and that the ban should be for a lifetime for daring to carry reports which could harm the country’s security. He additionally said on twitter that if the channel dares to go to court to challenge the ban, its appeal will be rejected.

    The blackout of NDTV India comes at a crucial time when the news channels, apart from covering the current affairs, will be providing extensive coverage of the US Presidential Elections 2016.