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Tag: journalists

  • UP CM provides Rs 10 lakh aid to family of journalists who succumbed to Covid-19

    UP CM provides Rs 10 lakh aid to family of journalists who succumbed to Covid-19

    Mumbai: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced financial aid to the families of journalists who lost their lives due to the coronavirus pandemic. The families of scribes were provided a cheque of Rs 10 lakh each.

    Adityanath was accompanied by India TV editor-in-chief and chairman Rajat Sharma, who also paid tributes to the deceased journalists.

    “TV, print, digital journalists not only covered news during the lockdown, but they also worked as a bridge between the government and the common people. I am proud to say that people from the media fraternity faced the challenge bravely,” said Sharma, adding that there were also times when people stepped out of their homes but did not follow the COVID-19 protocols. “During such times too, our reporters and camera persons spoke to people and questioned them. Some even disrespected journalists upon questioning, however, they continued to do their job and even urged the people to wear masks and follow the coronavirus protocols.”

    Sharma said as the president of NBA, he had also urged the chief minister to provide vaccination for journalists. “The coronavirus pandemic is yet not over and those who have yet not received their vaccination jab should go for it at the earliest,” he added.

    “Over 25 thousand journalists were vaccinated during the drive,” said the chief minister Yogi Adityanath. During the second wave of the pandemic, many journalists across the country got infected on duty and lost their lives, leaving their families helpless, the UP government said.

  • Republic announces global service R. Global

    Mumbai: Many have tried. Most have failed. But the Arnab Goswami-led Republic Network is not letting that get in the way of its ambition to go global. On 16 June, it announced on Twitter that it is expanding its expanding Republic internationally with R.Global, without revealing whether it would be a TV channel or an online service or a streaming service.

    However, what it did say is that it is hiring more than 120 journos across the globe to “deliver world class content and investigation to our viewers. Arnab is personally committed to the expansion of Indian media in the global market. R. Global is a first step in that direction. With R. Global, Republic will take its international network to another level.”

    The news service stated that it was going to hire 100 digital professionals across tech, content and product teams. The company disclosed that it has seen a 600 per cent digital growth and increase in traffic.

    Additionally, it highlighted that “it is set to deliver a game changer product on air and online with an all-new look and feel with unmatchable content line up.”

    And in true Arnab style it ended the thread by saying: “We are bigger, louder and fiercer! #RepublicIsTheNews and the people of India are on our side. With R. Global, a whole new look, unparalleled journalism, digital expansion and deep reportage, Republic is set to change the news. All over again.”

  • NBA welcomes free vaccination drive for journalists

    NBA welcomes free vaccination drive for journalists

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasting Association (NBA), has welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to organise a Covid vaccination camp exclusively for media personnel in Noida on Monday. 

    NBA president Rajat Sharma thanked UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for the initiative.

    The camp was held at Indra Gandhi Kala Kendra Noida where personnel from various media houses including India TV, ABP, TV Today, News 24 got their first dose of vaccine. The Covid vaccination camp witnessed the presence of MP Mahesh Sharma and state cabinet minister – medical and health, family welfare maternal and child welfare department, Jai Pratap Singh.

    Earlier this month the Uttar Pradesh government had decided that media officials will be given priority during the vaccination drive against Covid2019. The state government has said that journalists should be allotted separate centres for inoculation, adding that necessary arrangements should also be made at their workplace to administer the vaccine for free of cost if required.

    Notably, several states including Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and others as Uttar Pradesh have declared journalists as ‘frontline workers’ and decided to give priority in the vaccination drive as the second wave of pandemic rages across the country.

  • After Odisha, UP and Tamil Nadu declare journalists as frontline workers

    After Odisha, UP and Tamil Nadu declare journalists as frontline workers

    New Delhi: After Odisha, now Uttar Pradesh has declared journalists as frontline workers to be given priority in the ongoing vaccination drive and also directed authorities to allot separate centres for them where they can be inoculated.

    The new government formed in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal has also classified journalists as frontline workers, a day after emerging victorious in the Assembly elections. 

    “All journalists working in newspapers and the visual media risk their lives and their work will be considered as frontline workers in Tamil Nadu,” said Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin on Tuesday.

    The devastating second wave of Covid2019 has taken a severe toll on news mediapersons, many of whom have been reporting from the ground. According to the Delhi-based Institute of Perception Studies, more than 100 journalists have died since 1 April 2020. Over 52 scribes from various parts of the country lost their lives in April alone.

    The decision comes amid several appeals by the Editors Guild of India (EGI) to the central government to give journalists priority in vaccination along with frontline workers. While several states, including Uttrakhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab have already declared journalists as frontline workers, the Centre has not yet made any provision in this regard.

    “Despite the support from various state governments and media organisations, the central government has not responded to this request. Now, even though vaccination has been technically opened for all above 18 years of age, there is an acute shortage of vaccines. Therefore, the Guild’s urgent demand that journalists be given priority along with other frontline workers,” said the Guild in a recent statement, while condoling the death of mediapersons.

    Welcoming the UP government’s decision on Tuesday, News Broadcasters Association president Rajat Sharma said UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed his officials to open special vaccination centres exclusively for media personnel.

    Sharma had earlier written a letter to the UP CM to make the vaccines available to all media personnel and their family members on priority. “Noida has emerged as a big centre for national electronic media, and most of the TV journalists and camerapersons work and live here. In most of the cases, TV reporters and camera persons have to work in the midst of crowds, and meet Covid2019 patients, doctors and health care workers in hospitals. Hence, the need for vaccinating them and their family members on priority,” wrote the senior journalist.

  • Vaccinate journalists on priority, Editors Guild urges government as Covid death toll rises

    Vaccinate journalists on priority, Editors Guild urges government as Covid death toll rises

    New Delhi:  As the country battles the deadliest wave of Covid2019, with a record four lakh positive cases recorded in the last 24 hours, the challenges faced by journalists and media organizations continue to intensify. Over 52 journalists from various parts of the country lost their lives due to Covid2019 in April alone.

    As India opened the vaccination drive for all adults (18-45 years), here on Saturday, the Editors Guild of India (ECI) urged the government yet again to consider journalists as frontline workers and ensure they are vaccinated on priority.

    “The Guild is extremely distressed that the central government has not yet taken any steps to hasten the vaccination of journalists over the last few months. Many of them (who succumbed to Covid2019) were freelancers and hence, were not insured. Others who worked for media organizations did not enjoy the assurance and comfort of being insured by their companies,” it stated.

    The Guild condoled the death of journalists due to Covid2019 in the past year. According to the Delhi-based Institute of Perception Studies, more than 100 journalists have died since 1 April 2020. “Many of them were reporting on the worsening pandemic and bringing to fore stories of the great human tragedy that has been unfolding before us,” said ECI. “The Guild pays homage to the fortitude and commitment to work that these journalists have displayed over the past year.”

     

     

    ECI had earlier demanded that journalists be considered as frontline workers and vaccinated on priority.  “Despite the support of various state governments and media organizations, the central government has not responded to this request,” it asserted while highlighting that that issue of shortage of vaccines has now hit Phase-3 of vaccination drive. It also urged the media organizations to ensure the safety of their journalists.

     

     

     

     

    On Saturday, two more journalists, Assam Tribune’s Delhi correspondent, Kalyan Barooah and his wife and senior journalist Nilakshi Bhattacharyya succumbed to Covid19.

    Meanwhile, Mumbai Press Club also urged the government to consider journalists as frontline workers. “It’s urgent, all lives matter,” it appealed to the government on Saturday

  • Journalists should be vaccinated on priority: Arvind Kejriwal

    Journalists should be vaccinated on priority: Arvind Kejriwal

    New Delhi: As the country struggles to combat the second wave of Covid2019 cases, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that journalists should also be treated as ‘frontline workers’ and be considered eligible for the ongoing vaccination drive.

    An increasing number of journalists are getting infected with the novel Coronavirus while reporting from the ground. Some of them even lost their lives in the past year. “Journalists are reporting from most adverse situations. They should be treated as frontline workers and should be allowed vaccination on priority. Delhi government is writing to the Centre in this regard,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

    Uttarakhand has already announced Covid2019 vaccinations for journalists without any age restrictions and ordered to set up vaccination centres for them in the state. "During the ongoing pandemic, the journalists in the state worked like frontline workers in providing the required information to the people about Covid2019 which helped the government significantly," Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat had said on 4 April.

    India had kickstarted the vaccination drive on 16 January with two vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin, which were administered to the frontline workers including doctors and hospital staff. The second phase of the vaccination drive began on 1 March, when persons above 60 years of age and those with co-morbidities were permitted to take the jabs. The third phase began on 1 April for people aged above 45 years.

    The government has recently approved another vaccine, Russia's Sputnik V, for emergency use.

    Meanwhile, in yet another alarming spike, India recorded over 1.84 lakh fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. The daily average of caseloads across the country crossed 1.5 lakh last week. The country has lost as many as 1,000 lives during the last 24 hours. The soaring cases have left the hospitals over-burdened, with a shortage of medical supplies including hospital beds and oxygen cylinders.

  • 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.

  • Zee Media confirms 28 employees test positive for Covid2019

    Zee Media confirms 28 employees test positive for Covid2019

    MUMBAI: At least 28 employees of Zee Media have been tested positive for Covid2019, most of them asymptomatic, an official statement from the channel confirms. The network earlier reported one positive case, who had come in direct or indirect contact with all of these employees.

    “Due to early diagnosis and pro-active intervention the network was able to detect employees who were positive and were able to break the cycle and contain the infection, in coordination with government and health authorities,” the statement reads.

    The channel has shifted its team to an alternative facility for time being and the entire office, newsroom and studios have been sealed for sanitisation.

    “The testing of the employees will continue and the ICMR too has relaxed its testing norms to allow us to test asymptomatic individuals,” said the statement.

    Zee Media, which has 2500 employees, has assured that “our fearless coverage will continue. And, such challenges will not be able to break our resolve to discharge our duties,” it concludes.

    Earlier, over 50 journalists were detected positive for the virus in Mumbai, the majority of them from the broadcast media. Similarly, 27 employees of a Tamil news channel were tested positive last month.

  • I&B min advisory on health of media persons covering COVID-19

    I&B min advisory on health of media persons covering COVID-19

    MUMBAI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has issued an advisory to media houses to ensure that the health of their field and office staff is taken care of. The advisory comes in the wake of 53 journalists contracted COVID-19 in Mumbai while covering the pandemic.

    “In view of the fact that media persons, including reporters, cameramen, photographers, etc., are covering incidents relating to COVID-19 in various parts of the country involving travel, amongst others, to containment zones, hotspots and other COVID-19-affected areas, it is advised that all such media persons may take due health and related precautions while performing their duties. Further, management of media houses is requested to take necessary care of their field staff as well as office staff,” reads the notice.

    The I&B note is addressed to both print and electronic media houses.

    News has been categorised as an essential service which enables all media houses to function during the pandemic. TV channels have said that they are practising adequate social distancing norms for on-ground reporters as well as office staff, and are working with a reduced workforce.

    Channels have been working around the clock to ensure that all the latest updates on the pandemic are brought to the notice of people.