Final views on news 22 march 2015 single pages smallest

Governance Section

BUDGET: WHY IS MEDIA SILENT ON MODI TAME FARE 38 GOVT? 46

WHO’S WHO OF AAP’S STING-AND-TELL ESCAPADE 44

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THE CRITICAL EYE

MARCH 22, 2015

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Corporate-Press ESSAR LEAKS

interplay

PS Sainath: i th Still an idea idealist 26

Raj Kamal Jha’s book shows the highs and lows of metro life 30

EDITOR’S NOTE

WE JOURNOS NEED SELF-POLICING JOURNALISTS, AS OUR cover story on Essargate points

waste, fraud and mismanagement.

out, are not any better or worse than lawyers or politicians

We live in the real world. Fox-ian TV, the Murdochian

or businessmen in upholding the moral standards of their

era, not in Sulzberger’s New York Times, or Mencken’s

profession. Each profession has its own calling, its own

Baltimore Sun or Moraes’ Indian Express. The American

standards of ethics, its own norms of conduct. And they

press is far tamer today than it was during Watergate with

all have their pulpits—the politicians their parliament, the

the threat of Homeland Security hanging over its head.

businessmen their trade associations, the journalists their

The Indian press has begun to crawl with journalists under

newsrooms and media outlets—from which to pontificate

police threats and the central government wielding

about who is more crooked than the other.

censorship threats from every corner.

Often, they are right. More often, they’re wrong. And

But the Indian press is weaker today, not because of

in this holier-than-thou slugfest, the pen seems to win.

threats of government censorship but because it has

Not because it has a monopoly over the truth but rather

compromised itself and no longer receives the public sup-

because it has the loudest voice and prodigious exposure.

port it once did. It was a gradual process, starting with

Add to that the fact that there are several intrepid teams

politically controlled papers like the Patriot and National

of dedicated reporters, living on shoestring budgets and

Herald. The Radia tapes showed the vulgar nexus be-

backed by fearless, principled editors, who have risked

tween star reporters, politicians, bureaucrats and busi-

their lives and the safety of their families in the quest for

ness czars. The Ambanis began moving into TV. Editors

the truth and you have a powerful army of crusaders ex-

faced rape charges. Sting operations turned into blackmail

posing official wrongdoing and spearheading the citizens’

allegations, and so on.

duty to hold the government accountable.

I know of reporters actually writing political party

There are, of course, innumerable heads

manifestos and speeches in newsrooms, shamelessly

of corporations, bankers, captains of industry,

plagiarizing stories, asking PR companies for freebies and

and politicians of integrity dedicated to clean-

even paintings from artists whose shows they cover. And

ing up public life who pursue similar, noble

they get away with it.

goals. But the media outshines them not only

As Shantanu Guha Ray and Bhupendra Chaubey point

because of its reach and the average Indian’s

out in this issue, the whole moral atmosphere has

thirst for news and knowledge but also be-

changed. Our community must reflect. It must change.

cause it is the most visible crusader for the

Two steps that will be help: all media houses should ap-

public good.

point independent ombudsmen to oversee fairness and

So when journalists fall, as they have been

credibility, a tradition started by the Washington Post

doing rapidly in the last few years, they hit the

under Katherine Graham and Ben Bagdikian; and reporters

ground harder than anybody else. That is why

and editors should sit down and work out a code of ethics

it is imperative in today’s world of media

with no amnesty for violators.

cross-ownership, monopolies, and corporatization in which the lines between business and news have blurred, that reporters and editors take extra care to avoid being tarred and feathered by the same brush they use against

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 3

VOLUME. VIII

ISSUE. 12

Editor-in-Chief Rajshri Rai Managing Editor Ramesh Menon Deputy Managing Editor Shobha John Senior Editor Vishwas Kumar Associate Editor Meha Mathur Deputy Editors Prabir Biswas Niti Singh Assistant Editor Somi Das Art Director Anthony Lawrence Senior Visualizer Amitava Sen Graphic Designer Lalit Khitoliya Photographer Anil Shakya News Coordinator/Photo Researcher Kh Manglembi Devi Production Pawan Kumar

C O N

Chief Editorial Advisor Inderjit Badhwar CFO Anand Raj Singh VP (HR & General Administration) Lokesh C Sharma For advertising & subscription queries sales@viewsonnewsonline.com

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4 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

LEDE

What is my crime?

This plaintive plea of Anupama Airy, a senior editor of Hindustan Times, who was sacked for taking “favors” from a corporate entity, could well stir a hornet’s nest, writes SHANTANU GUHA RAY

EDITORS’ PICK

Let’s stop this hypocrisy With top editors compromising on the ethics of journalism, why pick on the small fry, asks BHUPENDRA CHAUBEY

SPOTLIGHT

Out of focus Rural issues are increasingly being phased out of mainline newspapers, thus increasing the divide between India and Bharat, writes AJITH PILLAI

14

18 20

T E N T S INTERVIEW

“Great journalism is driven by idealism”

26

P Sainath spells out his plans, on launching a website devoted exclusively to coverage of rural India, in an interview to SOMI DAS

CENSORSHIP

Bamboo Curtain 29 Chorus A Chinese government agency is so proud of how it censors the Internet that it has come out with a spirited song on it, reports ProPublica

BOOK REVIEW

Metro Musings

30

Raj Kamal Jha’s fourth book uses magic realism to show the highs and lows of city life, writes SONALIKA ARORA

Dangerous Disclosures 33

MR DUA reviews Hack Attack-How the Truth Caught up with Rupert Murdoch

Governance

ECONOMY

Tame Fare

38

There were great expectations from the budget, but these seem to have fallen woefully short. It didn’t set the markets on fire, writes SHANTANU GUHA RAY

Modi’s “cheerleaders” 46

The Fourth Estate has changed beyond recognition and its role as a watchdog has been severely compromised, writes ASHIM CHOUDHURY

POLITICS

Where is the “aam aurat”?

42

The AAP government came to power with the backing of many sections of society. Yet, it failed to have a woman in its cabinet, writes KAINAT SARFARAZ

Corrigendum The story, Barkha Out, Bobb In, published in our March 7 issue, gave the impression that Dilip Bobb is replacing Barkha Dutt.

We would like to clarify that Bobb would be playing an important role in adapting stories for NDTV.com and is not replacing Barkha Dutt. Also, Bobb was erroneously referred to as the head of NDTV Convergence. The error is regretted. The article has been updated on the web.

Sting-and-Tell

44

How the call recording of a scribe became fodder for intra-party rivalry in AAP

R E G U L A R S Edit................................................03 Media-go-round............................06 Quotes..........................................08 Vox Populi.....................................10 Expertspeak..................................11 As the world turns.........................12 Breaking news..............................34 Grapevine.....................................50 Cover design and Illustration: Anthony Lawrence

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 5

M

EDIA-GO-ROUND

Asking the wrong question

S

Activists protest Arnab’s style of anchoring

EVEN prominent women activists issued a joint statement denouncing the kind of journalism practiced by Times Now’s Arnab Goswami and have refused to appear on his shows. The activists include Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover, Madras High Court lawyer Sudha Ramalingam, RTI activist Aruna Roy and national secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, Kavita Krishnan.

What sparked off this collective protest was a Newshour debate: “NGOs -- Activists or Anti-national?”, which was aired last month, where Goswami in a one-sided harangue, chided the NGOs for working against the interests of the country. The debate was spurred by Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai’s offloading from a London-bound plane by the Intelligence Bureau.

Social activist Satinath Sarangi, Vinuta Gopal, head, Climate & Energy Campaign, Greenpeace and Kavita Krishnan defended NGOs, while BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, former RAW officer RSN Singh and Major General GD Bakshi argued in favor of the government. What could have been a balanced debate on freedom of speech of an individual and organization vis-à-vis national interest, turned out to be a one-sided bashing of “NGO types” by Goswami and others.Activists were repeatedly called anti-national and Goswami himself showed utter disregard for his guests. He started the debate on a provocative note by asking the Greenpeace representative: “Ms Gopal, the British left India in 1947, why do you go crying before them?” To Krishnan, he said: “Have some self-respect Ms Krishnan”. He further said: “I know these NGO types, when they have nothing to

6 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

say, they outshout people”. As is often the case in his shows, he didn’t allow the activists to present their views and counter the government’s arguments. In the joint statement, the activists also alleged that Goswami “willfully and habitually” flouted the National Broadcasting Authority Code of Ethics which states: News shall not be selected or designed to promote any particular belief, opinion or desires of any interest group.

The broadcaster shall ensure a full and fair presentation of news as the same is the fundamental responsibility of each news channel.

TV news channels must provide for neutrality by offering equality for all affected parties, players and actors in any dispute or conflict to present their point of view.

Avoid broadcasting content that is malicious, biased, regressive, knowingly inaccurate, hurtful, misleading.

Further, it said, activists were already working with a great threat to their life and the media cannot be allowed to “aggravate their vulnerability”. However, they were not in favor of taking the issue to any government authority for any action against the channel as that would mean quelling free speech.

Speaking to VON, Krishnan said: “We are not even demanding an apology from Mr Goswami. We are looking for an acknowledgement from him that something needs to change and a conversation on how these debates can be conducted. The correct thing to do would be to respond to our letter, which we have mailed to him and acknowledge that things need to change.” VON made several attempts to contact Arnab Goswami on the issue. He didn’t take our calls, nor did he respond to our mail.

M

EDIA-GO-ROUND

Hafeez slams Indian press PAKISTAN’S VETERAN all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has slammed the Indian media for quoting him as saying that the team’s chief selector, Moin Khan and coach Waqar Younis, take most of the decisions of the team and are sidelining the skipper. Hafeez said

Tamil author attacked TWENTY-FIVE people stormed into writer Puliyur Murugesan’s house in Chennai, kidnapped him, took him to the suburbs, with more than 10 motorbikes forming a convoy, and, for over three hours, attacked him with wooden clubs and stones.

Three days later, as the Tamil writer nursed multiple injuries at the Thanjavur government hospital, he was slapped with an obscenity charge, The Indian Express reported. His wife and children fled their village in Karur, in almost a repeat of what happened to writer Perumal Murugan in Tamil Nadu, in January 2015.

Later, Murugan posted on Facebook that “writer Murugan” was dead. In Murugesan’s case, as in Murugan’s, it is the Gounder community that has “taken offence”. Unlike Murugan, Murugesan himself is not Gounder.

that he had not said anything like that, adding that this was a propaganda aimed at maligning the Pakistani team, Dawn reported.The all-rounder said that the Pakistani team, players and management were all united, and there was no rift in the dressing room.

Court blocks film on Dec 16 rapist DELHI POLICE has secured an injuction blocking the broadcast of an interview with one of the Delhi gang rapists on death row. According to bbc.com, the Delhi court order also prevents publication of the interview, which has angered many in India. It came as the government demanded an explanation from Tihar jail officials over how a British film-maker gained access.

The website also informs that flm-maker Leslee Udwin’s interview appears in India’s Daughter, a BBC Storyville documentary that is due to be broadcast on March 8, International Women’s Day.

Social media spends more WITH THE popularity and expanding reach of social media, around 90 percent of Indian brands plan to spend nearly 15 percent of their annual marketing budget exclusively on it, says an Ernst & Young (EY) study.“Companies and brands have significantly increased their social media spends,” said EY's Social Media Marketing India Trends Study, The Economic Times reported.

Kisan TV to be launched on Baisakhi A DEDICATED television channel for farmers, Kisan TV, will be launched in April, on the occasion of Baisakhi, which marks the start of the harvest season in Punjab and neighbouring states. The government announced the launch date of the channel in its 2015-16 budget papers, tabled in Parliament.

“Soft launch of the channel is proposed from March 23 and the firm launch is expected on April 13-14,” a government statement said.

The channel, dedicated to agriculture and allied sectors, will disseminate real-time inputs to farmers on new farming techniques, water conservation and organic farming, among other information.

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 7

Q

U O T E S

There has to be one decision making and acting point.

There cannot be two…There are many occasions when Mrs Sonia Gandhi thinks Rahul is doing something and Rahul thinks that Mrs Sonia Gandhi is doing something and it falls between two stools.

— Congress leader Kamal Nath, in The Indian Express

Working with the PDP could wear down the hard edge of prejudice against Muslims that lies at the core of the Sangh Parivar’s ideology. Six years of peaceful, responsible coalition rule in J&K, India’s only Muslim-majority state, will therefore go a long way towards healing the wounds that Partition inflicted on the Hindu psyche 67 years ago.

—Prem Shankar Jha, senior journalist, in The Indian Express

Emma Watson, British actress World! Remember that little talk we had about not believing everything written in the media? Also, marrying a prince not a prerequisite for being a princess.

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi I worked with Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Please spare her.

Kalki Koechlin, Bollywood actress and theater personality Censorship of the Internet is against my religion. Please don't hurt my religious sentiments.

Dia Mirza, Bollywood actress Shame on you #MeenakshiLekhi you contort personal faith/work to validate a statement that should be condemned. #MotherTeresa

Rahul Pandita, author Mitron, doodh maangoge kheer denge. Kashmir maangoge...errr...we disassociate ourselves from the slogan.

We are set to introduce Gita in the school curriculum and there is no opposition to that.

Even if there is any opposition, we have a strong resolve to introduce shlokas and there is no stopping that.

— Ram Bilas Sharma, education minister, Haryana, in The Indian Express

8 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

Farah Khan, director and choreographer Everyone thinks a woman’s dream is to find the perfect man.. Balls... It's to eat everything without getting Fat!!

We must credit Hurriyat, Pakistan, militant outfits for the conduct of assembly elections.

— J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at a press conference

I am convinced we can deliver.

But we can’t deliver overnight.

We will build bit by bit, incrementally…

Australia has always been very special because performing here is a test for every cricketer.

— India’s spin legend Anil Kumble, who has been inducted into ICC’s Hall of Fame,CNN-IBN

— Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, while delivering his budget speech in parliament

You are going to get good results, you are about to succeed. Turn exams into a festival…experience enjoyment in taking exams…the entire atmosphere will change...My handwriting was very bad.

Probably I passed exams at times because teachers were not able to read my handwriting.

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pep talk in Mann Ki Baat for students appearing in board exams

I have a lot of respect for Kejriwal at a personal level. I feel he is one person who has made honesty a part of the political discourse today.

— Ajay Maken, Congress leader, in The Times of India

One person-centric campaign, which was run during the Delhi elections, is making our party look more and more like other conventional parties that are also one-person centric. The only difference being that we still claim that we are wedded to the principles of ‘swaraj’ while they don’t.

—Prashant Bhushan, in a letter to members of AAP’s National Executive

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March 22, 2015 9

V

OX POPULI

Do Indians Have A SENSE OF HUMOR? Yes, so long as the joke is on someone else

Indians have a sense of humor, but there are many “laughter” and “no-laughter” zones. Religion is a sensitive issue in India. Why hurt someone’s religious sentiments at all? On the other hand, Indians enjoy jokes about extra-marital affairs, sex and even those that demean women.

— Gopal Das, Reebok store manager

Indians have sense and they also have humor. The problem is that Indians tend to humor serious things and take things meant as jokes too seriously.

People get too emotional about humor and that doesn’t work because humor is more about the mind, less about the heart.

We like to choose the things that we can laugh about. We aren’t receptive to jokes that do not match our sensibilities.

— Utpal Pathak, RJ, Radio Mirchi, Patna

Indians do have a sense of humor but many people do not appreciate lewd comments, as was evident in the AIB Roast episode. However, the new generation is much more evolved.

— Madhobi Mathur, entrepreneur

— Satyen Rao, budding YouTuber

Indians don’t appreciate jokes against themselves and the communities they belong to.

There is a thin line between being cheap and vulgar and being funny. We have a certain responsibilty in society.

Therefore, one should bring in the lighter side of life, respecting everybody’s sentiments.

— Shalini Mittal, home-maker 10 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

I don't think Indians have a sense of humor, or at least, it is in sharp decline. The level of intolerance we witness for every small show, comment, or just about anything, is unbelievable.

— Arshi Aggarwal, research intern, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses

Indians do have a sense of humor. But the humor is usually confined to their close-knit circle of friends, colleagues and relatives.

Indians generally laugh at communities who are different from them—their way of living, eating and accent. Bengalis make fun of Punjabis, South Indians make fun of Bengalis, and vice-versa. Isn’t it a great thing that cultural diversity has given birth to a whole lot of jokes and not sparked off bitter wars between different communities in India?

— Prithwish Dey, site engineer, L&T

Expertspeak Jaideep Varma

“WE DON'T HAVE A TRADITION OF BEING ABLE TO SAY WHATEVER WE WANT TO” Filmmaker JAIDEEP VARMA made waves recently with his documentary on the history of stand-up comedy in India, I am offended. It was uploaded on YouTube channel Being Indian. VON catches up with Varma on the culture of humor in India When did you think of making the documentary on stand-up comedy?

When I saw All India Backchod’s (AIB) Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat, and another comedian, Aditi Mittal, perform, I was struck by how politically incorrect their humor was. They seemed to be genuinely pushing the envelope Where do we stand as far as humor goes vis-a-vis the USA and the UK? We are not as evolved. We don't have a tradition of being able to say whatever we want to; this shows up in how much we are able to push the envelope. Our content is less risky and lacks the depth of the best comedy there. But we will get there hopefully.

How are stand-up comics in India?

They are all very bright and quick-witted.

Why did you leave out Kapil Sharma and his popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, in your documentary?

I had limited time to do my documentary and did not want to waste it in trying to get appointments.

Kapil is a cultural phenomenon for sure but that might be more to do with the space he inhabits (Hindi comedy) than the content itself.

Do you think that the comedy market will

grow in India?

It is growing every day. There are twice as many comics now than there were when I started making the film in late-2012. May be three times more.

Do you think Indians have a sense of humor?

They do especially when it’s not in the public domain, when they're not looking over their shoulder to see who is getting offended by them.

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 11

A

S THE WORLD TURNS

Blogger hacked to death in Dhaka SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS hacked to death a prominent US blogger and injured his wife seriously in Dhaka, on the night of February 26, days after he received death threats for writing against religious fundamentalism, The Times of India reported.

Avijit Roy, 44, (in pic) had come to Bangladesh on February 16 to attend a book fair. Three of his books have been published in Dhaka. He was to fly back to the US on March 4, his younger

Mr Spock of Star Trek Dies LEONARD NIMOY, THE gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as “Mr Spock”, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on February 27 at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. He was 83.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, The New York Times reported. Nimoy announced last year that he had the disease, attributing it to years of smoking.

“Obama enemy of press freedom” THE NEW YORK TIMES national-security reporter James Risen has spoken against the Obama administration for being one of the most anti-press governments of all time. According to theatlantic.com, Risen has been in confrontation with the US government for his scoop on a failed CIA sabotage operation on Iran's nuclear program. When Risen got the story, the government convinced NYT to quash it for national security reasons. Later, Risen published the details in his book, State of War. Since his much publicized showdown with the US Justice Department that wanted him to reveal the source of his story, Risen has become a voice for press freedom. Recently, in a series of tweets, he said: “I plan to spend the rest of my life fighting to undo the damage done to press freedom in the United States by Barack Obama.”

12 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

brother Anujit said. Roy was a Bangladesh-born US citizen.

He had been receiving threats from fundamentalists for his progressive books and posts on his free-thinking blog, Mukto-mona. Earlier in 2014, online bookstore Rokomari.com had stopped selling Roy’s books after a Jamaat-e-Islami extremist said Roy “defamed Islam” and issued death threats on Facebook to the website’s owner.

Scribe recalls jail experience

AL-JAZEERA’S ENGLISH bureau chief, Mohammed Fahmy, who was arrested in Cairo in December on charges of supporting the banned Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, has spoken for the first time after being released on bail. Speaking to The intercept he said: “They wanted to make a big deal of this for the public, to say that they’d caught a ‘Muslim Brotherhood cell’. They made me count money while they filmed me doing that on camera. It was really weird.” Recalling his experience in the infamous Tora jail, also known as “Scorpion prison”, he said: “The first month in jail was hell, because me and Baher Mohammed were kept in the terrorist wing of the prison, and we were imprisoned alongside jihadists.”

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Lede

Corruption in media

WHAT IS MY

This plaintive plea of Anupama Airy, a senior editor of Hindustan Times, who was sacked for taking “favors” from a corporate entity could well stir a hornet’s nest. It also shows double standards as journos and politicians indulge in the big, gold rush

BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY

I VOLATILE LEAKS The Essar office, from where confidential e-mails got leaked

NDIAN media’s stoic silence over the sacking of three journalists for taking free cars from a conglomerate is as surprising as the leaked e-mails. A former cop’s leak of internal mails—there are a little over 20,000 of them— of the Essar group favoring politicians and journalists with jobs, high end cellular handsets, car rentals, cocktail lunches and free yacht rides has triggered a debate that many have conveniently brushed under the carpet in the Indian capital: How

14 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015

CRIME? much of bad is bad?

There are rumors that this former cop, who once worked with Essar, was trying hard to blackmail big bosses of the conglomerate, threatening to share the mails with journalists. He even encouraged a few journalists to—brazenly—walk up the stairs of Essar House to demand ransom cash on his behalf. When it failed, the former Essar employee found new avenues to tar the company. Essar officials, it is reliably learnt, have filed an FIR about their missing e-mails, worried more dirt will hit the ceiling soon.

In a country where even the courts have not decided the contours of what constitutes a “confidential mail”—the incident raked up by an incensed Fali Nariman on seeing a Sahara letter to SEBI being leaked in the media—the last is still not being heard in this case.

GOLD RUSH But the Indian media’s John Wayne gun-slinging moment has got its second jolt, disrupting the big gold rush journalists enjoyed in Delhi for ages but halted temporarily when the Radiia tapes went public a few years ago.

So where is the problem?

The problem is with the silence of news organizations and media bodies on action against the three journalists. They all lost their jobs for seeking free car rides from Essar and many are on tenterhooks

Anthony Lawrence

after a New Delhi-based daily reported details of a PIL filed by Prashant Bhushan, India’s biggest crusader against corruption. Also embarrassed was top BJP leader Nitin Gadkari who had availed a free vacation on a yacht owned by the Ruia brothers—promoters of Essar—in the high seas of Europe.

Gadkari has calmly defended his right to vacation at the cost of a family friend, but the debate on what a journalist should do or not do rages on. At the center of it were those who lost their jobs— Sandeep Bamzai, editor of Mail Today, Anupama Airy, energy editor of Hindustan Times and Meetu Jain, a senior reporter with Times Now—for seeking vehicles for personal use.

In all probability, the Essar mail leak was a case of selective outrage and a knee-jerk reaction. It is a moot question whether the favor to the three actu-

ally transcended into writing “soft articles” about the group that has interests in steel, coal and shipping across India and the world.

The issue was further stoked by a passionate letter written by Airy to her editor, Sanjoy Narayan.

She is a top energy writer, who recently signed a deal to write a book on the slugfest between the Ambani brothers over sharing of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin.

UNFAIR TARGET? Airy, who was seen walking out of the editor’s office weeping inconsolably, wanted to know, probably for the first and last time: “What is my crime?” She claimed in the note that she had asked for a vehicle to help a family friend who couldn’t find a cab during a busy marriage season in Delhi.

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February 22, 2015 15

Lede

Corruption in media

“There are relatively few editors in India who insist on high ethical standards, and who back up this demand with a newsgathering budget that can eliminate the temptation to accept hospitality from sources.”

—Savyasaachi Jain, senior lecturer, Swansea University

TAKING THE MORAL HIGH GROUND (Facing page) Sanjoy Narayan, editor, Hindustan Times

The editors did not respond; they had issued a note to reporters in Delhi about Airy’s sacking.

Now, pained and frustrated, Airy shot off a long letter (see box) that—actually—set the cat among the pigeons and shook up many in the city, where many—in private conversations—agreed that her termination was hasty and unfortunate.

Airy is out of her job. She told a few friends that she intends finishing her book and then return to a profession she loved like her children.

Slowly, yet steadily, Airy is finding support in Delhi where many are siding with her, arguing she should not have been sacked overnight without a proper investigation that would have conclusively proved a quid-pro-quo. There were, of course, other editors who uploaded the e-mails on their websites to offer examples of what they would call as tainted reporters. But somewhere, many were missing the right picture.

“It is a pity that Indian media does not have a system to check flaws, check if reporters are doing biased news reports for favors. Till that happens, these incidents will continue to filter through,” said Ajay Upadhayay, a veteran journalist and a member of the Editors Guild.

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Upadhyay should know. He raised the issue of The New York Times that printed a three-page apology for its readers in the wake of the 2003 Jayson Blair incident when the reporter was charged with plagiarism and fabrication.

“But even then, with evidence on hand, The New York Times probed the case for long before firing the reporter and printing an apology. I don’t see that happening in India,” argued Upadhyay.

DOUBLE STANDARDS Savyasaachi Jain, senior lecturer, Swansea University, said these revelations are minor infractions when compared to the deeply embedded, institutionalized dishonest practices. “Individual journalists in India have always taken advantage of the relatively lavish hospitality offered by their sources and the widely prevalent stereotype of ‘you can buy a journalist for a bottle of whisky’ has a ring of truth to it. In Indian journalism, we tend to get too close to our sources, and the exchange of favors runs both ways, with journalists massaging the reputations of sources in return for hospitality. So, it is shameful and unethical and an indicator of a very deep and disturbing rot in our journalism.”

He said the firing of journalists over these issues is usually a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

“There are relatively few editors in India who insist on high ethical standards, and who back up this demand with a newsgathering budget that can eliminate the temptation to accept hospitality from sources,” he added.

Jain was scathing in his indictment of this industry, and said: “We tend to bury our heads in the sand and to believe that these ethical problems are an acceptable state of affairs. This is rubbish. I’ve worked with editors who set high standards and empower their colleagues to do so as well. It can be done. It

Anupama Airy’s Letter

requires more spine, some imaginative thinking and a jettisoning of intellectual and ethical laziness.”

Many say the line between editorial and non-editorial is blurred. Last year’s incident of Zee channel’s editors being caught on camera allegedly demanding cash for providing “friendly coverage” was one such example of editors overstepping their jurisdiction to raise cash for the owners.

Many argued that in India, the lines were always blurred between editorial and non-editorial because newspapers are heavily subsidized, offered—mostly —at rates lower than Rs 10 a copy despite high printing costs ranging from Rs 18-35 a copy. A recent analysis on media expenses done by students of a private college in India showed that salaries constitute only 17-22 percent of the average revenue of the newspapers. Nearly 70 percent is spent towards buying newsprint.

“These heavily subsidized papers—that do not have enough capital or intellect to pursue the truth—demand a high price from journalists,” remarked a senior journalist currently associated with an education institution. He said that if editors and owners were the biggest financial beneficiaries of corporate interplay with the media, how would gullible reporters know where to draw the line?

Dear Sir, I have already submitted my resignation and the same would have reached you by now. However I would like to put things in perspective and understand how what I have done for a friend has amounted to taking a favour while what I have been doing for my bosses and asked to do for the organisation doesn't amount to taking a favour.

One, after having worked for so many years, none of you held my hands despite my being truly working for the interest of the organisation. If my asking for a help from a friend who I know for years for a vehicle for a third person amounts to a favour what amounts to the following..

1. Arnab asking most of us for helping him sell copies of his book. He called me to seek help from corporates. Essar helped him by buying 250 copies and Reliance was also contacted to push sales amidst other cos. Then tweets on his book from a few others following a request from him.

2. Arnab asked me for a vehicle support for his trip to Mumbai and I had even organised the same. However he didn't take it later.

3. Sanjoy how many times have I been told to help for sponsorships from most energy firms for HTs leadership summit. More that 1 cr worth of sponsorships every year. I have been used but I considered it my duty to do things for my organisation and my bosses.

4. Sanjoy you asked for a lady's transfer..known to you.. from NTPC Chairman. I spoke to him. That was certainly not a favour as i tried balancing all my duties and respect for you all none of you could take a stand for me.

My fault...I came and spoke to you that yes I requested for providing a vehicle to a frnd that to from a personal friend in Essar and not as a company executive. If I was guilty of a wrong doing I wouldn't have come to you.

Arnab asked me to speak to Anjali Bansal of Spencer and Stuart and other headhunters for his wife's job and the head hunter dealing with Oracle account. I spoke to them and tried to help him.

That was certainly not a favour.

But what I have done to help a third person is a favour.

Gaurav Chodhury takes all corporate gifts including I-tab, gold coin and other expensive gifts and PR guys are there to disclose that...none of this is favour. He asks them to leave these things home and not in office.

Why am I then being made to plead guilty by be believing a email which the company had said is fabricated. Just that I came and told you. This is the price I have to pay for being honest. I could hv also easily dismissed it. Why then none of you stood by me.

I am deeply hurt sir.

The Airy case and that of others found taking favors, are mere blips in the high drama. Airy is not talking. She merely messaged this to her friends: “When our phone hangs or slows down, we delete all unwanted pictures, files and videos. One should treat one’s life in a similar manner.”

Who will re-draw the Thin Red Line and end Indian journalism’s second sleepless night?

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March 22, 2015 17

Editors’ Pick Bhupendra Chaubey

Let’s stop this

HYPOCRISY

With top editors compromising on the ethics of journalism, why pick on the small fry? As long as corporate contacts don’t impinge on a journalist’s independent mind, what is the problem?

PETTY FAVORS, BIG PRICE Meetu Jain of Times Now

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VON brings in each issue, the best written commentary on any subject.

The following write-up, from TV journalist Bhupendra Chaubey’s blog, has been picked by our team of editors and reproduced for our readers as the best in the fortnight.

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HE going continues to be rough for the community of scribes. Once again, focus is on whether the fourth estate is as corrupt as the political/ corporate class. As the Hindi phrase goes: “Patrakaar, neta aur poonjepati, ek hee thalee ke chatte batte”.

One of the journalists, Meetu Jain, named in the Essar PIL, has been fired/resigned from her present position in Times Now. Putting out a series of tweets (u can read her tweets on her twitter handle @Meetujain), she gave her side of the story. Reason I have been compelled to write this article is that prior to her association with Times Now, she was a close associate of mine for almost 9 years at CNN-IBN. To my mind, she was an outstanding journalist who excelled in the art of what’s called “document hunting”. I have chosen not to speak to her even at the time of writing this column, as this isn't about her, but more about the reasons that create an environment where a reporter can easily slip.

First, a brief layout of the story. A “whistleblower” decides to leak some in-house emails from the Essar group.

A PIL is filed in court and activist lawyers get involved. A minister is accused of having spent a day with his family on a Yacht on the French Riveria, politicians across the spectrum accused of seeking jobs for people they knew and a few journalists are found to be asking for free cabs.

The politician on the Yacht defends himself by saying that the Essar group owners have been his personal friends for several years and hence he doesn’t see any conflict of interest. Other politicians dismiss the story suggesting, public representatives must be seeking jobs for those from their constituencies. The only sphere, in which

the “morality stick" has been cracked, is journalism and that’s where my basic objection lies.

If any of the journalists named in #essarleaks ever exchanged information for favor or money, let them face full force of the law of land.

But what is the issue at hand here? Are we debating the interplay of equations between the corporate sector and the media? Are we debating whether journalists are on payrolls of corporates and peddling their agendas?

It’s interesting that this entire debate is taking place at a time when corporate houses have openly bought mainstream media houses or money has entered news networks through complex transactions. The post of the editor-in-chief, which at one point was supposed to be sacrosanct, has been taken over by corporate players. So when you have an entire media company bought over by a private player, isn’t this entire debate on corporate and media interplay frankly very hypocritical?

From my own experiences, I can say that there are instances where those responsible for marketing in a media network, would, in a friendly capacity, ask for an introduction with a corporate or a politician. Any senior journalist worth his/her salt who says that that he/she hasn’t helped the marketing guys in some way, isn’t telling you the whole story.

Every mainstream media house today has not one, but often a series of AWARD shows. These shows are invariably sponsored by one or a series of corporate houses. A top-notch ad world executive tells me Media houses can make as much as 30% of their overall earnings through these events. Over a period of time, these events have evolved into ideal networking places. Places where media, corporates and politicians rub shoulders, exchange cards and build future relationships...

Do I need to state here what happens during festive occasions? Don’t top-notch journals accept very expensive gifts from some very influential tycoons? ...

If we as a fraternity are financial beneficiaries of this greater corporate interplay with the media, how will reporters know where exactly to draw the line? When the CBI raided the premises of top corporates in the coal scam, a media house, which was funded by one of those companies, blacked out the story. When the corporate es-

Politicians dismiss the story, suggesting public representatives must be seeking jobs for those from their constituency.

The only sphere where the morality stick has been cracked, is journalism. pionage story came out, the affected corporates chose to go slow on that story. So don’t think what you have seen now is where the buck will stop.

Haven’t we seen mainstream media houses boycotting political parties or trying to bat for particular parties?

While earlier, it used to be done with the intelligent spinning of headlines, now as corporate players control newsrooms, it’s become a more of in-your-face kind of way.

You cannot create a wall between corporate players and headline-hunting journalists. And if some corporate employee, even with vested interests, gives out documents to the media, people will fall for them.

When the Radia tapes episode came out, it was dismissed as a war between various corporate groups. Is the #essarleak episode also a consequence of a bigger war where journalists have become pawns?

Let me reinforce that any journalist who takes money from any individual for any favor needs to be dealt with strongly. But let this episode not become an opportunity for people to mouth holy sermons against the corporates.

I too have many friends in the corporate world. I too enjoy the odd evening out with them. But it shouldn't and it doesn't impact my journalistic mind. As long as that distinction is maintained, I can't understand what the entire hullabaloo is about.

When the Radia tape scandal broke out, it brought out the role of some very high-profile journalists at the intersection of political and corporate power play. Nothing has happened to a single one of those high-profile individuals.

Should a reporter who may well have erred otherwise be made to pay a cost for accepting a cab ride?

Let this episode enforce a genuine debate about media ethics. Let’s take first step on acknowledgement of the real issues. Let’s not just make peripheral people scapegoats and ignore the genuine issues at hand.

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March 22, 2015 19

Spotlight Rural reporting

OUT OF FOCUS

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HERE was a time—till the 70s and mid-80s—when rural and development journalism had a reasonably prominent and respectable place in our media.

Reporters were encouraged to go into the districts to get first-hand accounts of the problems faced by the rural folk and their primary concerns. Were monies allocated reaching them and medical facilities adequate? Were our farmers getting sufficient encouragement and support from the government? And was life in our villages becoming any better vis-a-vis the human development index?

Today, we see very little of this kind of reportage. In fact, even when a paper or TV channel sends its news teams to rural India, it is only to cover a communal incident or a crime that has attracted national attention. Of course, at election time the media makes its presence felt in the villages and small towns, accompanying netas on their campaign trail. But that is quite where it ends.

Mainly, our reportage is urban or rather metro-centric—the focus is on people in power, the government, lifestyles and peccadilloes of the rich and famous, new products, Bollywood and fashion.

SKEWED SURVEYS When the shift to “sexy” reporting made its entry in the late 80s, reporters were a confused lot. We were told rather explicitly that the reason for the waning focus on rural reportage was because newspaper managements and editors felt the stories

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With the corporatization of the media, there has been a waning in this type of journalism. But there are some organizations which are bucking the trend

BY AJITH PILLAI

ON THE RURAL BEAT (Right) TV crew shooting in a village; (below) A woman clears grass in a field

A look at the main papers, TV channels and publications shows that 35 percent of coverage is dedicated to crime, sports and entertainment. Only one percent space is for agriculture related news. from villages had no takers. Readers were simply not interested in news that they could not use or relate to. Surveys conducted by marketing departments had clearly shown that the consumer of media products would deem it more newsworthy to read about the latest car model or a deodorant range than the procurement price of wheat or the agrarian crisis brewing in the hinterland.

The big question then was whether as a newspaper or a magazine, our coverage would be loaded on one side. Shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t readers be informed about the greater Bharat where the majority of our population lives? In the flush of globalization and the free market economy, highlighting the concerns VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 21

Spotlight Rural reporting

of the poor was seen as a needless exercise that would not value-add to economic growth and would be bad for the national image.

It is another matter that there is focus today on rural India. But that is only because manufacturers of colas, snacks and packaged food, cosmetics and other FMCG goods want to tap the village market.

However, the negative impact of some of the products on the lives of a people is rarely the subject of journalistic scrutiny. Also, rural elite or the modern

rajas who live it up and drive fancy cars are a matter of great curiosity for the media.

A cursory look at mainstream newspapers, TV channels and publications show that about 35 percent of coverage is dedicated to crime, entertainment and sports news. Another sizeable chunk is consumed by politics, governance and business.

Only one to less than one percent space is dedicated to agriculture. Reporters who cover the sector only look at the ministry. Field reports from places where policies drawn up in Delhi or in state capitals impact farmers are rare and often buried.

Specialists in rural reporting are a dying breed or have already become extinct. So too have those who kept track of the labor beat. It does not exist in the economic bureaus of most general interest media outfits.

NO CROSS-CHECKING I am not trying to say that all rural reportage has to be dark or that the benefits of modern technology should not reach our villages. What I am saying is that when feel-good stories are done, these must be the result of some honest, objective research on the ground and not based on the claims made by the PR department of companies or the

MEDIA REACH (Above) A farmer listens to the radio while working in a field; (right) TV crew readies for a shot

22 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

government. Unfortunately, many reports are filed without any crosschecking—media managements are quite happy to save on travel costs involved in sending a team to Bihar or Punjab.

When exploitative trends in rural areas come to light, the basic instinct of editors who attend edit meetings is to disbelieve and question the authenticity of the information. I remember in 2002 suggesting a story in Outlook magazine, where I worked, on stretches of the River Soni being sold to a private company in Chhattisgarh. No one believed me. Several questions were fired at me. Why wasn’t it reported elsewhere? How authentic was my source? Was I being taken for a ride? Curiously, very few at the edit meeting were interested in the plight of the villagers who feared they would be refused free access to the river since it had been sold. Their crops and livelihood were dependant on the river and they had heard that drawing water for cultivation would involve a payment. Not many felt it was a story worth pursuing. But there was some curiosity about the industries that would benefit from the privatization since they would be provided treated water.

Luckily, the reporter I sent out for the story was diligent and came back with a strong report that was followed up by other publications at that time. The state government, I later understood, had met the farmers in the villages along the river banks and assured them of free water.

FOCUS ON BHARAT My effort is not to paint all publications with the same brush. But the fact is that several stories are ignored by the mainstream media caught in the trap of providing readers what they want. The situation is such that some of those who earlier specialized in rural and development journalism have quit their jobs and have launched websites that focus on

Today, manufacturers of colas, snacks and packaged food want to tap the village markets. Also, rural elite who live it up and drive fancy cars are a matter of great curiosity to the media.

Bharat and its real issues rather than chase urban and Shining India.

P Sainath, who gave up his senior editor job at The Hindu is behind People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), an organization which has launched a free website which runs stories, data and reports by government agencies as well as NGOs from the other India and focuses on livelihood issues. He feels that the media today seems to be looking at news with blinkered eyes because of corporatization of the press in the last two-and-a-half decades.

Sainath had this to say in a recent interview to Rajya Sabha TV: “Our media is politically free but has become a prisoner of profit. It is looking at making money and revenue models have been drawn up. So news that can attract advertising is what is being given priority. This has led to a decline of any rural focus or even any serious reportage on their problems.”

Here is a list of stories that are screaming to

VILLAGE VOICES Rural women talk about their problems to the media

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March 22, 2015 23

Spotlight Rural reporting

Set up two decades ago by Sanjoy Ghose, a social activist who was killed by the ULFA in 1997, Charkha trains rural reporters to mirror problems in their regions.

THE RURAL OUTLOOK (From left) An illustration of Sanjay Ghose; A village shop selling packaged food and sporting Vodafone streamers

be investigated in detail but would not normally find space in our mainstream papers. They might only figure in opinion columns which do not carry the same impact as news reports: Agricultural loans which have been disbursed by urban banks in Delhi and Chandigarh account for a sizeable chunk of credit given to farmers. Who are these urban farmers?

How come around 40 percent of farm loans given in Maharashtra have been disbursed in Mumbai?

A slide in international prices of food grains and its impact on farmers in India. The story must reflect the concerns of people who are hit by this.

India has the largest number of handloom weavers in the world. However, this community is facing extinction across the country due to lack of government support.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE While mainstream media has turned cold towards

24 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

stories from areas far removed from urban centers, there are organizations which are bucking this trend. Charkha is one of them. Established two decades ago by Sanjoy Ghose, a social activist who was killed by the ULFA in 1997, it trains rural reporters to mirror problems in their regions. Though it is low profile, it has managed to make a difference where it matters. Bridges have been built in remote villages in Jammu & Kashmir, thanks to its intervention. Similarly, its rural reports have been instrumental in the authorities building toilets in schools, widows reduced to begging, getting their pensions and medicines reaching villages ignored by the health department.

Sainath’s organization PARI has 600 volunteers across the country. Among them are several journalists who have agreed to work gratis because they are disillusioned with the meaningless reports they get to file.

Trends, they say come and go in cycles. One can only hope that the current obsession with news driven by marketing and big businesses is reversed. A semblance of balance must come in.

Cover Anushka Shankar’s style statement and love life. But for heaven’s sake, don’t forget our marginalized people in urban and rural India.

EVERY FORTNIGHT VIEWS ON NEWS WILL BRING YOU TELL-ALL NEWS, ANALYSES AND OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST INCISIVE MINDS IN THE NATION Views On News (VON) is India’s premier fortnightly magazine that covers the wide spectrum of modern communication loosely known as “the media”. Its racy, news and analysis oriented story-telling encompasses current global and Indian developments, trends, future projections encompassing policy and business drifts, the latest from inside the print and electronic newsrooms, the exciting developments in ever-expanding digital space, trending matters in the social media, advertising, entertainment and books. on

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Interview Sainath

“ALL GREAT JOURNALISM IS DRIVEN BY IDEALISM” P SAINATH spells out his plans on launching a website devoted exclusively to coverage of rural India

P SAINATH, a former senior editor of The Hindu, has been vocal about the media’s apathy towards rural India. He drew the government’s attention to the increasing number of farmer suicides in Vidarbha and helped win them a relief package. With the launch of People’s Archive for Rural India (PARI), a unique website that records the life of rural people, tracking their genetic and ethnic diversity and archiving dying Indian arts, languages and professions, he enters a new front. Sainath is not knocking at government doors for aid and feels that crowd funding and voluntary help from media persons would help him in his initiative. He is also putting the prize money he will receive from the World Media Summit Global Award for Excellence into this venture. He talks to SOMI DAS about his plans.

Anil Shakya

26 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

How does PARI plan to cover rural issues?

We have divided rural India into regions and subregions. For example, Bihar has four regions, UP has six and so on. We plan to have 50-70 fellows across India in a year’s time. They would be looking at labor, languages, work, culture, health, food, artisans, crafts, migrations, caste and so on.

Your proposed crowd funding model hasn’t worked well in India so far.

We obviously believe the crowd-funding model will be useful for us. The thought that people won’t be interested because it is about rural India is wrong. I have been hearing such things since I started reporting 22 years ago. Editors told me, “Readers won't be interested.” I heard that also when I wrote my book, Everybody Loves A Good Drought. It is now in its 43rd round of printing and sells many copies each year. I do not hold my audiences and readers in contempt. I know they are interested. Crowd funding is one way. Individuals like yours truly, and several others, are putting their own resources into this too. There are other contributions that cannot be calculated in monetary terms, like the work of filmmakers, writers, photographers and so on, done free of cost. We have a core group which runs this site in their free time, with not a single full-time employee yet.

Doesn’t all this seem very idealistic for an ambitious project like PARI?

A lot of people believe that corporate-driven media is the only model that works. Idealism-driven journalism seems to shock a good section of the elite. Most people cannot understand that work can be done for reasons other than profit. Yet, historically, all great journalism in the preIndependence era was driven by idealism, commitment and passion. These values helped build an informed society that was in conversation, argument and debate with itself.

We will not be presenting mouth-watering budgets or balance sheets. It will be a challenge at every point to raise financial resources for things we really want to do. People have got in touch with us to say they would like to back one or two of the fellowships that would locate 50 people across rural India. Ten fellowships have come out of this route so far. Many groups and foundations have contacted us. We are staying away from government and corporate grants.

Do you plan to highlight the ugly side of rural India like witch burning, religious medication, gender disparity and caste atrocities?

It is ridiculous to imagine we would not be covering gender disparity, caste and other contentious issues. We have created separate categories for women, adivasis, dalits, resource conflicts and so on. We exist to cover the everyday lives of everyday people. It’s written on our website: “There is much in rural India that is tyrannical,

Digital media is showing similar and sometimes worse signs of monopoly and corporatization that have devastated the content and integrity of mainstream media.

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March 22, 2015 27

Interview Sainath

BACK TO THE GRASSROOTS A picture grab from PARI by P Sainath called, ”Visible work, invisible women“

oppressive, regressive and brutal — and which needs to go. Untouchability, feudalism, bonded labor, caste, gender oppression and exploitation, land grab and more.” The tragedy, though, is that the nature of the transformation underway more often tends to bolster the regressive and the barbaric, while undermining the best and the diverse. We intend doing progressive stories too. We have videos of people protesting displacement, a young dalit boy rising against caste oppression and discrimination to become a Bharatnatyam dancer, and so on.

Do you think PARI will have an impact on mainstream media’s coverage of rural India?

We would be happy if we have a corrective impact on the mainstream media. And we are happy to carry the rare, good pieces that do appear in what you call MSM (mainstream media).

However, we are not here to nurse and counsel the mainstream media.

What role do you see the digital media playing? Will it be a more balanced and

28 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

freer source of information about the politically and economically marginalized sections of our society?

Digital media is showing similar and sometimes, worse signs of monopoly and corporatization that have devastated the content, integrity and honesty of mainstream (read corporate-led) media. We do not believe it is just the technology that makes the difference. The social, economic and the political content, and the motivation behind that, is more decisive. Digital media will steadily increase its influence. But the forces asserting monopoly on cyberspace are not a different species from those monopolizing other media.

Digital monopolies are in some ways a lot worse than the MSM monopolies. These guys own your personal data. They own traffic and can earn profit from your sensitive personal data. No media mogul could ever do that. Technology and media platforms are important, but these are tools; don't romanticize them. For us, the digital platform is an important way of helping disseminate good content to audiences through combining multiple media formats.

Censorship China

Bamboo

Curtain Chorus

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HINA’S Internet Censorship Agency now has it’s own choral anthem, a song titled “The Mind and Spirit of Cyberspace Security.” The New York Times reported on February 12, that the lyrics of the song—which praise the agency’s commitment “to the global village, evolving it into its most beautiful form”— were written by Wang Pingjiu, who also wrote the lyrics for the opening song to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

ProPublica watched, translated and subtitled the video.

Although the Times reported that copies of the video are being deleted quickly, ProPublica found copies easily via the popular Chinese social media site, Sina Weibo.

In the song, employees proudly declare not only loyalty to their work, but that it is transforming the world into a better place. The lyrics include: “With loyalty and devotion, we watch over our domain day and night”; “Contributing to the global village, evolving it into its most beautiful form”; “In this universe, as hundreds of rivers flow across all of China, loyally searching for the sea, they carry with them the great Chinese culture and measure China’s greatness.”

While it is difficult to translate the exact meaning behind a song, one particular lyric could be referencing an old Chinese proverb which stresses that while water can keep a boat afloat, it can also flip it over. The lyric which reads: “Integrity ripples only from a clear and pure nation,” may be referencing the fact that without integrity, the nation would flip over the government.

The official “Mind and Spirit” values of the Cyberspace Administration is defined by the agency as “loyalty, responsibility, innovation, integrity, unity and devotion.”

In 2013, ProPublica published 527 user-posted images

A Chinese government agency is so proud of how it censors the Internet that it has come out with a spirited song on it

BY SISI WEI AND YUE QIU that were deleted by censors at Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site similar to Twitter. In an effort to discover what causes a user's posts to be censored, ProPublica also found that the lives of users or their families were sometimes threatened because of material they had posted online.

Also, every day since November17, 2014, ProPublica has been testing whether the home pages of international news organizations are accessible to browsers inside China.

MOTIVATED POLICING Employees of China’s Cyberspace Administration sing the anthem

Translated version of the song The Mind and Spirit of Cyberspace Security With loyalty and devotion, we watch over our domain day and night, to serve our mission as the sun rises in the east.

Creating each day with innovation, embracing its brightness, just like a beam of integrity that moves your heart.

Unifying the strength of all living things, contributing to the global village, evolving it into its most beautiful form.

An Internet power—Where there is Internet, there are glory and dreams.

An Internet power—From the distant cosmos to the homes that we miss.

An Internet power—Telling the world that the Chinese Dream is lifting up China.

An Internet power—Each individual represents the whole nation.

In this universe, as all rivers loyally search for the sea, they carry China’s great culture and measure China’s greatness.

Five thousand years of history condensed to illuminate innovation.

Integrity ripples only from a clear and pure nation.

We are unified in the center of the universe.

Our faith and devotion flow far and wide, like the everlong Yellow River and Yangtze.

Sisi Wei is a news applications developer for ProPublica. Previously, Wei was a graphics editor at The Washington Post, where she designed and developed interactive graphics.

Yue Qiu is a News Application Fellow at ProPublica.

—Courtesy ProPublica

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March 22, 2015 29

Book Review She will Build Him a City

DELHI’S LIFE LINE Every day, the Metro courses through the city—where dark reality intermingles with hope

T

HROUGH his lyrical and lucid prose, author Raj Kamal Jha weaves a tale of modern India, where violence, poverty and tenderness exist side-byside. He shows the horrific side of New Delhi, the capital city of the country, where each day, millions of dreams are born and millions of hopes are killed. There are three disparate stories running in this novel, all skillfully entwined together to show India in a different light

30 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

and revealing a different form of love.

Delhi is introduced through the lives of three main characters. As night falls, an elderly woman narrates stories from her past to her sleeping daughter, who, though, grown-up, has returned home after a long time in a complete messed-up state, hiding many secrets. In another corner of the city, as the last Metro pulls out of Rajiv Chowk station, a young man boards the train and visualizes a murder.

The only thing we know about him is that “he is going to kill and he is going to die”. The third char-

METRO MUSINGS The fourth book by the chief editor of The Indian Express uses magic realism to show the highs and lows of city life

BY SONALIKA ARORA

acter is an abandoned child, named Orphan, who lies on the steps of an orphanage, wrapped in a red towel as his mother walks away. Each story is propelled forward by fear and the mystery about how they are all related.

MAIN CHARACTER However, despite these humans, it is the Metro with its coaches, coursing through the city that is the main character of the book. Apart from being a means of transportation, it also acts as a home for

lovers, where they lean into each other, eyes closed, fingers locked, completely oblivious to the world around. Every passenger is a different story. During summer, the Metro station acts as a shelter for thousands of people who sleep at its entrance. If they are lucky enough, they can catch the AC draught escaping from the coaches when the train stops or the doors open. A character in the novel even visualizes the Metro as a glowing barium pill which is swallowed and courses through the dark insides of the city. It is in the Metro that the young man dreams of a murder.

Jha is right when he writes that â&#x20AC;&#x153;nobody in

Passengers ride escalators like toys and people rub against each other in the jam-packed Metro, with eyes filled with despair. The city is also a place where people protest and where the poor beg.

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 31

Book Review She will Build Him a City

BORDERING ON DESPAIR A woman sends off her child to school from their home in a sewer pipe; a beggar on the streets of Delhi

She Will Build Him a City By: Raj Kamal Jha Bloomsbury India Rs 599; 339 pages

this city notices one”. Passengers ride escalators like toys and people rub against each other in the jampacked Metro, each waiting to reach his destination with eyes filled with despair. The city is also a place where people protest and the police use water cannons to disperse them, where the poor beg and where the gruesome gang rape shows the dark realities.

The city’s charm lies in the fact that thousands come to it every day. Many leave behind fathers with cancer, mothers with TB, wives with uterine cysts and children who have dropped out of school. What happens when their hopes are not fulfilled? What happens when they don’t make it?

A LIFE OF CONTRASTS Various lives are contrasted in this book. There are luxurious apartment complexes, community parks, big malls, and seven-star hotels. And a few miles from these are garbage heaps and giant sewer pipes which serve as homes for mothers and babies. Outside the mirage of lush green apartment complexes lies the bitter reality—disease, death, grief and rage.

But people have become accustomed to this way of life—the poor to begging and beseeching and the

32 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

rich, to be indifferent to them. This is showcased through a character, a woman begging at traffic lights with a baby. Each morning, before rush hour, she dresses the baby in scraps of cloth gathered from trash heaps, and appears at the traffic signal looking injured and bleeding. She chooses a car with a woman in it, knocks at its window and goes down on her knees, raising the baby skywards.

Sometimes, she breaks into a startling scream with tears rolling down her cheeks. Myriad questions are raised—who is the baby’s father, where did the woman come from, is she the mother of the baby?

No one knows, no one asks. Regular passers-by do not look at her and if someone gives her alms, it is because they do not want their car to get dirty.

Later, the same woman says: “In this city, do not cry when no one’s looking.”

Through magical realism, Jha illuminates poverty, violence, and loss, giving the book an almost fairy-tale quality. These include women with 12 feet, a dog who speaks and acts as a guide… In that sense, Jha’s book uses a technique similar to Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.

Read it to know more about the highs and lows of life in modern India.

Book Review Hack Attack

Dangerous Disclosures

I

Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World walked the thin line between investigative reporting and unfair practices

BY MR DUA

NVESTIGATIVE reporting is a powerful technique of modern journalism to dig up, bare and strip grave societal wrongdoings, bureaucratic corruption, political misdemeanors and innumerable social evils. In his seventh book, Hack Attack, The Guardian’s ace special correspondent Nick Davies, has provided a loaded account of the despicable tricks and unethical practices that a mass-circulated newspaper garnered to kick up its sales and revenues.

Hack Attack is a juicy story of how a few crime reporters and hired investigators of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper house, News Corp, and its subsidiary, News International, publisher of a weekly scandal sheet, News of the World (NOW), ganged up to bring out sensational news stories. In the process, they intercepted voicemail messages of UK’s royal family, and of many other public and private persons; the reports subsequently breached security.

The book presents a peep into how the truth caught up with Murdoch’s popular media establishment. Davies’s sustained and systematic investigation extended over six years into a scandal that started with some sketchy clues that came to light after the sudden disappearance and subsequent death of a 13-year-old school girl, Mily Dowler.

Mily’s voice message was hacked, and later crocheted into a slushy, pulpy news item in NOW, dripping sodden clues to some other cases of disappearance of celebrities and entertainment stars.

Meanwhile, The Guardian came out with a

story alleging that NOW hired private investigators to hack Mily’s voicemail messages and published them, prompting the teen’s death. This caused tremendous public hue and cry. The Guardian followed up with more greasy stories of message hackings by NOW reporters, and their subsequent publication. Davies continued his investigations and wrote a series of articles. NOW hired private investigators, who helped its reporters, editors and news executives in hacking.

In a sort of neat nexus between NOW reporting staff, news executives, police and politicians, the hacking continued. It seemed as if “everything is for sale. Nothing is exempt”, Davies points out in the book. When matters reached international dimensions, a parliamentary panel was appointed to give a detailed report. The probe brought to light several cases of fraudulent dealings, leading to fines, prosecution and imprisonment of many reporters, editors and investigators. “NOW’s arrogance and aggression were… damning evidence against it,” Davies writes.

The book lists various day-to-day incidents that figured in parliamentary panel hearings, embarrassing Murdoch, senior managers and executives, leading to ultimately the shutting down of NOW, costing News Corp over $1 billion losses.

The episode led to Murdoch missing the bid for a BSkyB TV channel in England. While Murdoch and his media empire suffered enormous humiliation in the saga, the scandal marked a new low in the business of newspapers. The book is a must read for observers of newspaper and news managements, everywhere in the world.

CAUGHT ON THE WRONG FOOT Media baron Rupert Murdoch

HACK ATTACK: How the Truth Caught up with Rupert Murdoch

By Nick Davies Faber and Faber, Inc., New York Price: $27; pages: 430

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 33

DATE 16/2/15

16/2/15

16/2/15

17/2/15

17/2/15

17/2/15

18/2/15

18/2/15

NEWS

NEWS

CHANNEL TIME

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh brought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 16 crore for IPL 8; becomes the most expensive in the history of the tournament.

12:13 10:00 PM AM

12:09 10:05PM AM

10:10 AM

10:17 AM

A special TADA court convicts extradited ganster Abu Salem for murdering builder Pradeep Jain in March 1995

1:32 PM

1:32 PM

1:32 PM

1:32 PM

1:32 PM

ED serves Rs 425 crore showcause notice on BCCI, IPL for alleged contravention of forex laws in awarding a cricketing media rights contract in 2009.

1:57 PM

1:15 PM

1:15 PM

PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed says Article 370 and AFSPA are vital issues; no compromise on party’s agenda While condemning religious violence, Modi says constitution accords equal respect to all religion; assures government will not allow any religious hatred.

Eight people killed and many others injured after a suicide bomber blows himself near Police Lines in Lahore, Pakistan PM Modi’s pinstripe monogrammed suit goes under the hammer for Rs 1.21 crore on the first day of its auction in Surat. Auction to last for three days. Proceeds from auction of suit Coast Guard slams its DIG BK Loshali’s statement that he ordered to blow up the Pakistani boat off the Gujarat coast; says it is far from truth

34 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

11:23 AM

1:57 PM

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1:35PM

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10:06 AM

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Here are some of the major news items aired on television channels, recorded by our unique 24x7 dedicated media monitoring unit that scrutinizes more than 130 TV channels in different Indian languages and looks at who breaks the news first.

DATE 18/2/15

19/2/15

19/2/15

19/2/15

20/2/15

20/2/15

20/2/15

NEWS Retired IPS officer DG Vanzara released from Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad after a special CBI court granted him bail earlier.

12:13 PM Swine flu claims 184 lives in Rajasthan, 81 lives lost in Madhya Pradesh; 79 people die in Maharashtra. Symptoms of infection surface among 800 people in Delhi. 663

CHANNEL TIME

12:091:42PM PM

10:32AM

1:42PM

10:33 AM

NEWS

1:43PM

11:34 AM

Bihar BJP MLAs stage a protest outside Bihar assembly against Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary granting opposition status to the JD (U).

12:00 PM

12:10 PM

12:18 PM

Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary rejects BJP claims and announces his decision to appoint Vijay Chowdhary as the opposition leader

12:18PM

12:18PM

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Jitan Ram Manjhi resigns as Bihar CM, two hours before the crucial floor test in the state assembly. Nitish Kumar says should have done it earlier.

11:19 AM

11:19 AM

1:01 PM

1:05 PM

12:21PM

12:26PM

Five people arrested for stealing classified documents from petroleum ministry

A foreign tourist gangraped in Delhi.

Police arrest the four accused.

3:00 PM

22/2/15

Venkaiah Naidu meets Sonia Gandhi ahead of land bill; BJP seeks opposition support on the controversial bill.

12:13 PM

12:09 PM

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 35

DATE 22/2/15

22/2/15

25/2/15

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27/2/15

27/2/15

27/2/15

NEWS

NEWS

CHANNEL TIME

India beats South Africa by 130 runs, winds up SA innings at 177 runs.

Nitish Kumar takes over as Bihar CM, his fourth innings as CM. Twenty-two colleagues to take oath.

4:28 PM

4:12 PM

7:03 PM

7:03 PM

Shiv Sena supports RSS stand on Mother Teresa. Shiv Sena mouth piece Saamna says: "Muslims forced religious conversions with sword... Christians did it with money

9:56 AM

9:56 AM

Congress leader Jagdish Sharma claims Rahul Gandhi is in Uttarakhand; tweets his photos.

10:17 AM

10:17 AM

Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav removed; named in FIR in the multi-crore exam scam in the state

10:27AM

10:27AM

9:57 AM

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10:27AM

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10:30 AM

Nitin Gadkari at the center of storm. Essar extended favors to him in 20013, provided cruise tour to him and his family. Company did recruitments on political recommenda-

10:02 AM

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Mumbai gangster Abu Salem gets life sentence in Pradeep Jain murder case of 1995; Sentence announced by a Special TADA court in Mumbai

12:17PM

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Sikkim woman, who had come to Delhi for work, raped in Hauz Khas area. Police interrogating the accused, a doctor at AIIMS

36 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

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Governance Economy Budget

TAME FARE There were great expectations from this budget, but these seem to have fallen woefully short. It didn’t set the markets on fire, didn’t spur the manufacturing sector and didn’t curtail subsidies

BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY

F

MIXED BAG OF EXPECTATIONS Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

38 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

INANCE minister Arun Jaitley’s second budget was a mixed bag. While it had loads of routine, there were two landmarks too.

These will need to be achieved by the NDA government to ensure that its billion-dollar Make In India dream is a success.Weeks before February 28, 2015, India’s $290 billion budget had raised genuine hopes of reshaping economic policies and supercharging growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy. But now that it has been presented in parliament, the budget needs some serious re-examining.Pray why?

Jaitley, towards the start of his 90-minute address, had declared incremental change was not going to take India anywhere. “We have to think in terms of a quantum jump.” His words were in sync with those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose BJP-led NDA had pledged greater spending to upgrade infrastructure and improve the efficiency of social-welfare programs.

But did it actually happen? Let’s count the marbles: In addition to $11 billion for roads, rails and other infrastructure, the FM announced an 11 percent increase in military spending, reduced corporate tax rate and tighter rules to curb the stashing of wealth overseas. In addi-

tion, Jaitley rolled out new pension, insurance and social security programs. He looked happy in an interview with the state-owned Lok Sabha TV and said: “We have done truly ground-breaking work.”

Jaitley was also happy that he (read the government) had increased the share of total tax revenue being transferred to state governments and created a sovereign-wealth fund to invest in infrastructure.

DISAPPOINTING BUDGET But economists argued that these were a far cry from the slashing of expensive subsidies and rapid privatizations of state-run banks and industrial companies that Indians had hoped to see. Also lacking were plans to end electricity shortages and simplify national and state sales taxes.

NDA’s gradualist approach did not shake the markets, ostensibly because the budget did not ignite India’s manufacturing sector, nor did it improve the business environment. The Sensex dipped slightly during the day but closed up 0.5 percent.

Additional spending could help cement India’s position as a leading growth driver among emerging markets as China’s economy slows, but that the FM avoided taking stronger steps to curtail subsidies in his budget was linked by many to the BJP’s pathetic loss in the Delhi elections.

“The government’s silence on subsidies is indeed baffling,” said economist Devika Mehndiratta of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. She found support from Sanjay Jha, the India head of Dale Carnegie Foundation and also a senior spokesperson of the Congress. He said the budget offered nothing spectacular. “They have tinkered incrementally in some areas, they have not gone the whole nine yards.”

But Jaitley said he would not take criticisms lightly. He told his interviewers that “big-bang reforms” could not be pushed in one go because the “Indian economy is a super giant which moves surely but slowly. Even our worst critics would admit that we have moved rapidly.”

The economy could grow between 8.1 and 8.5 percent in the coming year, but nine months after Modi took office, there are doubts about his government’s ability to tackle India’s most-entrenched problems.

SERIOUS DOUBTS The lack of radical moves in the budget isn’t likely to wreck the aura of inevitability that currently surrounds the Indian economy. The economy could grow between 8.1 and 8.5 percent in the coming fiscal year, the fastest among the biggest emerging markets and based on a revised method for calculating gross domestic product. But nine months after Modi took office, there are doubts about his government’s ability to tackle some of India’s most-entrenched problems, starting with a long history of government overspending.

Consider the case of the new accident insurance, pension and social security plans which will broaden the safety net at a lower cost to the government than subsidies. On paper, it looks like a very powerful, selfhelp program that is market-driven as opposed to government-delivered social welfare. The programs broaden access to financial services, which have, so far, provided 125 million with bank accounts.

The government wants anti-poverty aid to be paid directly as cash into poor families’ bank accounts rather than as subsidies distributed to food, fuel and fertilizer retailers.

But this doesn’t mean expenditure on these giveaways will shrink. For example, the next year’s bill for petroleum subsidies is expected to be half of this year’s total, thanks to lower crude prices. But spending on food and fertilizer subsidies will grow.

As for India’s rural-employment program, $810 million in additional funding has been pledged, guaranteeing non-farm work for poor households.

Yet, a day before the budget, Modi had criticized

LOOKING FOR AN UPWARD SWING RBI governor Raghuram Rajan

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 39

Governance Economy Budget

“Fiscal consolidation appears difficult to achieve even by a government with a considerable parliamentary majority and during a period of accelerating economic growth.”

—Atsi Sheth, senior VP, Moody’s Investors Service

the program as a “living monument” of the previous, Congress-led government’s failure.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s assessment is yet to come. He had said before the budget that he wants “high-quality fiscal consolidation” to further lower one of Asia’s highest interest rates.

According to Atsi Sheth, senior VP, sovereign risk, Moody’s Investors Service, India’s sovereign Pushing for startups & MSMEs: The FM has recognized rating hinges on whether the the need to support startups and country’s competitiveness impushed innovation. Now, startups proves. “The budget underscores and MSMEs will have both funds and talent, creatour view that government fiing new avenues for growth and employment nances are likely to remain a conBoost to Digital India: The national fiber optic network will connect rural comstraint on India’s sovereign credit munities and make governance profile. Fiscal consolidation apmore effective, thanks to the pears difficult to achieve even by troika of Jan Dhan–Aadhar– a government with a considerable Mobile gameplan of the FM parliamentary majority and durKeep taxes simple: The government will make tax less adversaring a period of accelerating ecoial, reduce corporate tax with nomic growth.” exemptions Inward and outward financial BOLD MOVES inclusion: A sector-neutral Financial Redressal However, the budget has unveiled Agency that address grievances against all financial service providers and an International Fitwo mega reforms, both financial. nance Center will help New Delhi reclaim lost First, Jaitley has looked at the dobusiness from the Asian markets mestic financial sector and placed More cash to states: This unique decentralizaconsumers of finance, the average tion will allow more revenue to be passed to states household, at the centre of all laws.

Jaitley’s Hits

40 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

The idea is to ensure a properly functioning capital market that also requires proper consumer protection. Jaitley has plans to create a sector-neutral Financial Redressal Agency (FRA) that will address grievances against all financial service providers. The move is important because of numerous financial scandals worrying Indians, thanks to wide-scale institutionalized mis-selling. Under the FRA, Indians will have a single complaint management agency to go to.

Jaitley also hopes to create one of India’s boldest laws, the Indian Financial Code (IFC), which is currently being reviewed by the Justice Srikrishna Committee and soon, will be introduced in parliament for consideration. If passed, the IFC could become one giant law that will place the consumer at its core and change the contours of India’s financial sector.

But the IFC will be tough to implement. It will need the NDA government to replace 61 existing laws and there could be pressures from a large community of vested interests of insurance agents or companies that benefit from weak regulations.

Now, let’s get to the second mega reform Jaitley pushed into the budget. It looks outward and eyes the global financial sector. "While India produces some of the finest financial minds, including in international finance, they have few avenues in India to fully exhibit and exploit their strength to the country’s advantage," Jaitley said. “GIFT (Gujarat Inter-

FINANCE HUB (Facing page) Dubai International Finance Centre; (far left) The upcoming Gujarat International Finance Tec-City; Indian currency

Jaitley’s Misses

national Finance Tec-City) in Gujarat was envisaged as an international finance center that would actually become as good an international finance center as Singapore or Dubai, which, incidentally, are largely manned by Indians. The proposal has languished for years. I am glad to announce that the first phase of GIFT will soon become a reality. Appropriate regulations will be issued in March.”

Now, will this happen? The need for an international financial center has been pending ever since reforms started in India in 1991 and Indian companies expanded their global footprints. The idea was first discussed in 2007 in the Percy Mistry report by a high-powered expert committee on making Mumbai an international financial center.

INTERNATIONAL CENTER Once GIFT takes off, it will be a globally benchmarked international centre. Its core operations will include offshore banking; insurance, assurance and reinsurance; regional financial exchanges and back offices. It will target 8-10 percent of financial services on 84 million sq ft of space and create one million new jobs, 30,000 by 2016. Currently, it employs 700.

In short, it will be a smart, urban infrastructure with schools, hospitals, clubs and entertainment centres that will attract top talent from across the world. Jaitley is confident that India’s international financial center will occupy a vacant time zone between Sin-

Who will resolve transfer pricing litigations?: There was just a mention of measures for dispute resolution, but the key is implementation. When will that happen?

Increased service tax: Many would use pirated software, ostensibly because of the dual tax on software. The net tax rate for software is over 20 percent Budget for children: India was one of the first nations to have a separate budget for children. The clock has now reversed with a reduction of 29 percent for children’s programs and 55 percent for the Women and Child Development Ministry budget. The mid-day meal budget too has been reduced by 30 percent and the scheme for setting up of 6,000 model schools at the block level is almost abolished (99.92 percent deduction in allocation).

Fiscal Deficit Target: For 2015-16, this is 3.9 percent, up from the 3.6 percent expected by markets, leading to disappointment Missing subsidies: There was no mention of food and fertilizer subsidies, which have been left at same levels as last year. Only the petroleum subsidy is expected to be around Rs 30,000 crore, but that’s due to lower global oil prices. Not touching subsidies means that not only the fiscal deficit, but even the revenue deficit for 2015-16, is going to be higher

gapore to the East and Dubai to the West and will help New Delhi pull back many markets it lost.

This dual move, in many ways, is the FM’s masterstroke in this budget. If these two reforms can outpace each other in terms of implementation, inbound and outbound financial inclusiveness will be achieved.

So, hopefully, the next few weeks will test the FM’s ability to pass his proposals through parliament. Till now, the opposition-controlled Rajya Sabha has blocked key initiatives and often raised doubts whether lawmakers will make permanent Modi’s executive orders to ease land purchases, allow more foreign investment in insurance, and make coal mining more transparent.

But now, things must move. As Sajjid Chinoy, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s India economist in Mumbai, said on Bloomberg TV India: “It’s very important now that the execution happens.”

VIEWS ON NEWS

March 22, 2015 41

Governance Politics

Delhi cabinet

Where is the

“AAM AURAT”?

The AAP government in the capital came to power with the backing of all sections of society, spearheaded by a female brigade. Yet, it failed to have a woman in its cabinet

BY KAINAT SARFARAZ

42 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

A

FTER pulling a historic win, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made a decision which hasn’t been appreciated by many. It is a matter of surprise for some that the party which dedicated 10 percent of its manifesto to women-related issues did not include any aam aurat in its cabinet. The fact that they chose to have an all-male cabinet in Delhi has sparked off a debate regarding women’s rights and reservations.

Like all other times, social media is abuzz with this.

While some people have welcomed the breaking of a stereotype by designating a male MLA for the Women and Child Welfare ministry, others have complained about no women representatives in the cabinet. Incidentally, this is not the first time an assembly hasn’t had a single woman in its cabinet.

Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Puducherry have

AAP’S ALL-BOYS TEAM (From left) Sandeep Kumar, Asim Ahmed Khan, Satyendra Jain, Gopal Rai, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and JS Tomar at the swearing-in

been earlier precedents.

A cabinet minister should be chosen solely on the basis of his or her merits. Gender, shouldn’t matter. But some assert that women should be represented by a woman MLA in the cabinet, saying this would help the government understand and recognize issues related to them. Others say this would assist in checking the patriarchy and misogyny so prevalent in our country. This implies that a man cannot understand these issues as deeply as a woman can. This again reinforces stereotypes, instead of challenging and breaking them.

NO TOKENISM? Supporters of AAP have come out in defense of the party, saying it is reshaping Indian politics and thus, does not indulge in the politics of tokenism. But the induction of other cabinet ministers seems to suggest otherwise. For example, why was Asim Ahmed Khan, a businessman, chosen as a minister over Bhavna Gaur or Pramila Tokas, who have served as councilors earlier? The party’s website says that Khan is a well-known face in Old Delhi for the past 12 years and has been involved in many social activities. But there have been other qualified leaders in AAP who too were actively involved in reshaping society, so why was Khan chosen over them?

Also, this year, Sandeep Kumar, an MLA from Sultanpur Majra (a reserved constituency), was made in-charge of the ministry of Women and Child, Social Welfare, language and SC/ST. This too is an example of a stereotype being reinforced.

Supporters also stress that AAP had chosen a female face, Rakhi Bidlan, during its earlier 49-day stint at the helm of Delhi.

Interestingly, Rakhi is a member of the Valmiki community, which came out in full support of the AAP during the 2013 elections.

This too shows that the AAP is indulging in tokenism.

So while politics is the art of balancing many communities, ignoring the fairer sex in the Delhi cabinet is surprising.

Boys’ Club?

AAP has been sidelining its women activists for long.

Some instances: Atishi Marlena, AAP spokesperson, is perhaps the only prominent woman representing her party on television debates. She had to fight for her space and had even threatened to rebel.

One of AAP’s founding members, Madhu Bhaduri, quit the party last year alleging mistreatment of its women leaders. “In this party, women are not considered humans,” said Bhaduri.

“The party has the mentality of a khap panchayat,” she told NDTV. Bhaduri, a former ambassador, wanted AAP to adopt a resolution whereby an apology would be issued to the African women who were attacked during a raid by law minister Somnath Bharti. It was reportedly struck down.

Party veteran Admiral L Ramdas in an explosive letter to AAP’s national executive committee said that the party should make efforts to become a genuinely gender sensitive party, instead of paying lip service to women’s empowerment. “I personally find it difficult to defend AAP against accusations of being mainly a boys’ club especially when we were not able to have even one woman in our team of ministers!” He hoped that a group like AAP Shakti would be “treated as an important resource to help us move in the direction of genuine empowerment of women”.

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March 22, 2015 43

Governance Politics AAP war

STING AND TELL-ALL

AAP factions use call recordings of scribe Chander Suta Dogra to fuel intra-party feud

BY SOMI DAS

T

WARRING SATRAPS Arvind Kejriwal and (facing page) Yogendra Yadav

44 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

HE Indian Express entered the slugfest between Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav teams, after it published a report on March 3, 2015, headlined: “AAP sting politics: To target Yogendra Yadav, critics in party play tape of call with journalists.”

The report says that the AAP recorded the call of journalist Chander Suta Dogra, who did a story (in The Hindu, in August 2014) on the party squandering its volunteer base in Punjab, and Haryana, based on an informal conversation she and four other journalists had with Yadav.

Dogra is now working with The Indian Express as an associate editor. In her report in The Hindu titled, “Fading promise of the Indian spring”, Dogra wrote: “The other charge against Mr Kejriwal—of his being dictatorial and not respecting the party’s founding principle of swaraj — is amply visible in the AAP’s decision to not contest the coming assembly elections in Haryana.” The party won only four percent of votes in Haryana during the Lok Sabha elections. Dogra wrote: “(It) was not a damper because most saw the speedy mobilization in the state as preparation for occupying the Haryana assembly”.

The report made no waves when it was filed a year back. However, it found mention recently in a letter written by AAP’s Delhi secretary, Dilip Pandey, in which he states: “There was a negative story published in The Hindu in the last week of August, 2014. The story was negative and was clearly meant to tarnish the image of the party and its convenor, Arvind Kejriwal.

The story was not only factually incorrect, it seemed motivated by vested interests. When the journalist who did the story was confronted as to why the facts were misrepresented, she said it could not be so as she was briefed by Mr Yogendra Yadav himself. This whole conversation was recorded and is available as evidence.”

Since the reporter in question is now with The Indian Express, the paper published on its front page all the details of the recording. Dogra too gave her version of the story in the paper. She said that the day the report was published, she received a call from Bibhav Kumar, who is now the PS to the Delhi CM, telling her that there were factual errors in her article. “I responded that this information had been given to me and four other journalists by Yadav, and added that there was no reason for me to doubt his version,” she said.

Y

adav is annoyed with The Indian Express and Dogra for publishing the report. He denies giving any sensitive information about party matters. He also raises questions on Dogra’s professional ethics. He writes on a Facebook post: “But I fail to understand why The Indian Express shied away from questioning the unethical behavior of the concerned journalist. Why did she report on a breakfast conversation that was clearly understood to be not for reporting? Why did she reveal her sources to an interested party? And worst of all, why did she drag me, who had never given her any such information?”

Dogra refutes the charges. She wrote in The Indian Express: “As a reporter who has been covering politics for many years, I realized this meeting was not an invitation to a casual chat over breakfast. I interviewed several AAP workers before writing the Op-ed article for The Hindu, two weeks later.” On being accused of revealing her source’s name, she says: “Considering that nine people were present at the breakfast meeting, there was no element of confidentiality. Since he was the chief spokesperson of

AAP’s Delhi secretary Dilip Pandey states: “The story was negative and meant to tarnish the image of the party and its convenor, Arvind Kejriwal.”

AAP, one assumed that the party was aware of the breakfast meeting. As a responsible reporter, I am fully aware of the sanctity of a relationship between a reporter and a source.”

One fails to understand why she mentioned Yadav’s name, when she herself claims that journalists were told not to attribute the information to him.

She attributes several quotes in her story to “officebearers from Punjab”; “despondent leaders”; and “state leaders” without naming anyone.

SP Singh, a Chandigarh-based journalist who was also present at the breakfast table, says: “The Indian Express, in a surprising manner, has reported the fact...(showing) that its journalists do not think twice before parting with their sources. For decades, journalists have prided themselves on legends about those wielding the pen preferring to go to jail rather than reveal their sources.”

Most journalists have expressed their shock over a journalist’s call being recorded and used as fodder to fuel intra-party feud. Many have also questioned Dogra.

Mid Day editor Sachin Kalbag says: “A journalist reveals her source for an off-the-record briefing.

Bad move. Will lose whistleblowers’ trust.”

When contacted by VON, Dogra said: “I have nothing to add to what has appeared in the IE.” Neither was AAP ready to comment on the controversy .

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March 22, 2015 45

Governance Politics

Controlling coverage

SNAPPING TO ATTENTION Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries his hand with the camera as photographers look on

I

USED to be a Modi fan till the other day. I was among those who felt that the secular “national media”—read English-speaking— was hounding him rather uncharitably over the Gujarat riots. So when the Modi wave was building up in the early summer of 2014, I wondered: “Will they let him survive?” After nine months, I realize my fears were unfounded. The

46 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

moral high-ground-holding “secular” media has suddenly vansihed. I have scoured the newspapers for their venom and found none. Where have the Modi-haters retreated? Some have had a change of heart after the new dispensation took over from the mild sardar. Some have reinvented themselves, saying they now see a new Modi - Mark-II. Prominent among these is the self-confessed “Congress stooge”, Vinod Mehta.

MODI’S

“CHEERLEADERS”

The Fourth Estate has changed beyond recognition and its role as a watchdog has been severely compromised under the present prime minister

BY ASHIM CHOUDHURY the media to regulate itself.”

If you have a trained eye, you will notice the change. The media is no longer cocky, and very little dirt is dug up on the government of the day. The government and the media appear to be at peace with each other. This is disturbing, because the media, by its very nature, is an adversary to the government. It’s a watchdog.

Rajdeep Sardesai recently said that it’s the job of the media to ask hard questions, not to sing paeans. The media heaping praises on the government is as dangerous as the chief justice of the

SURPRISING CALM To be fair, there has been no major reason for the media to be on a collision course with the BJP government. Outwardly, the media is functioning as unobtrusively as before. In fact, when Prakash Javadekar took over as the I&B minister, he made a statement; he said that the new government did not feel the need for such a ministry.

Hidden in this was a subtle message: “We expect

Media curtailed by AAP The early days of the new AAP government in Delhi saw the media being severely curtailed. Arvind Kejriwal’s new government kept the secretariat out of bounds for the media which was eager to interact and take a look at its plans, India TV reported. At the

maiden press meet with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia,there was so much chaos that the minister left the conference abruptly. Journalists were seeking the party’s clarification over the media’s restricted entry into the secretariat, but were left high and dry.

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March 22, 2015 47

Governance Politics

Controlling coverage

TWO SIDES OF THE MEDIA (Right) Rajdeep Sardesai, consulting editor, India Today Group; (below) former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha. She owns Jaya TV

Supreme Court, HL Dattu, saying: “Modi is a good man.” Being a neutral upholder of the judiciary, his statement was a breach of protocol. But did the media go to town with that story? There were just a few superficial stories here; nothing in-depth.

That’s what is worrying. The media instead of pillorying the government, appears to be protective.

The unceremonious sacking of two of the country’s seniormost bureaucrats—foreign secretary Sujatha Singh and home secretary Anil Goswami—should have provided enough fodder for the media to react.

So what has really changed? “Nothing,” says Binoo John, a senior journalist with irreverence in his DNA. “Modi has been a dictator even in Gujarat, that’s his style,” he says, adding that all governments try to manage the media and meet with different levels of success. “The BJP uses a carrot and stick strategy,” he observes. Another left-leaning “Modi-baiter”, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, is more circumspect. “A large section of the media is acting like Modi’s cheerleaders,” he says. Recalling Advani’s famous words after the Emergency, he says: “They have not even been asked to bend, and they are crawling.” But not taking questions from the media is not unique to Modi. He says: “Even Sonia Gandhi did not like being asked tough questions.”

Is the press being manipulated under the new dispensation? Guha Thakurta says: “Yes it is, in a subtle manner.” But he says that the kind of armtwisting that happened during the Emergency cannot happen now as the media has changed beyond recognition. It’s much bigger now and more diversified. The state no longer enjoys the kind of control it did in the 70s and 80s when there was no social media.

CORPORATE BOSSES With large sections of the media owned by big businesses, like the “friendly” Ambanis, there is a threat of the media being compromised. Wellknown economist and political commentator Mohan Guruswamy does not mince words. “Apart

48 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

from professional integrity, there are issues implicit in ownership. Take Rajendra Darda (under a cloud due to the Coalgate scam) of Lokmat, for instance. What will his paper report on the coal scam?” he asks. News X was controlled by the influential Niira Radia at one time, before the 2G spectrum scam came out in the open.

Matang Sinh, facing charges over the Sharada chit fund case, owns a TV channel in Assam. Tamil Nadu supremos, J Jayalalitha and M Karunanidhi, control most of the electronic and vernacular print media in their state.

Threats to editors are mostly veiled and rarely come out into the public domain, unlike the case of Shirin Dalvi, who had to go into hiding despite apologizing for her “crime” of having used a Charlie Hebdo cartoon on the cover of her Urdu magazine. Governments often cut off revenue supplies that come from its ads. Tehelka is a stark example of how it is slowly being strangulated, with its revenue streams choked. Tehelka has come to a stage where it often cannot pay its staff or contributors. Pradyot Lal, one its editors, says: “Antiestablishment journalism is forever stressed and squeezed. The present dispensation is a hydraheaded phenomenon presided over by a megalomaniac. You cannot expect any real freedom.”

Closing the money tap is just one aspect. But the PM has put the screws on the flow of news as well. Earlier, media persons depended on various news sources and leaks. All they had to do was sniff around and do some talking. But after Modi’s gag order, no one is talking. Neither the ministers, nor the bureaucrats, and not even the moles. Even stalwarts like the articulate and erudite Advani has shut up. The last time he spoke on a national issue was when he said that he found nothing offensive in the film PK. That must have required some courage. And to imagine Advani was once an iron man.

Anil Shakya

Earlier, media persons depended on various news sources and leaks. All they had to do was sniff around and do some talking. But after Modi’s gag order, no one is talking.

Modi has changed the way the media interacts with the government. He doesn’t even have a media advisor. The man who spoke so much before becoming prime minister and even mimicked “Maun” Mohan for his quiet rectitude, has suddenly fallen silent himself. Apart from the lone interview to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria—so much for apna desh—he has not given a single interview or held a press conference, betraying a deep disdain for the media. His “Mann ki baat” and other addresses to the nation are monologues that go against the grain of democratic dialogue. The media, to borrow someone’s expression, should be imbued with an abiding and healthy cynicism. I’m reminded of a recent headline: “Teesta Setalvad being framed….But where’s the outrage?”

Yes, where’s the media’s self-righteous outrage?

VICTIM OF VENDETTA? Activist Teesta Setalvad

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March 22, 2015 49

Governance

All That Matters Grapevine

Nuptials Third

Front style

he political wedding of the season that resembled a rally more than a personal celebration, was that of Lalu Prasad’s youngest daughter, Raj Lakshmi, with Mulayam Singh’s grandnephew, Tej Pratap. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only flew to Saifai on February 21 to attend the tilak, he was also present for the reception at the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi. There were photographs of the Prime Minister sandwiched between the RJD and the SP supremo, at both venues. What really took

T

The

the attendees in Delhi by surprise was when Modi went out of his way to walk up to Nitish Kumar to shake hands. Apparently the topic of discussion moved around the decision of the centre to accept the Finance Commission’s recommendations to give more money to the states. The other VIP guests included President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran leaders LK Advani, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra and Shiela Dixit among others.

Maratha Publication

AIR’s

Pakistan

oon to hit the newsstands will be a new offering from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray—a newspaper and MNS mouthpiece, Maratha. Such was the hurry in getting it rolling that the MNS strongman himself called ex-I&B minister, Prakash Javadekar, who used his old contacts in the I&B Ministry to get the newspaper registered within a day. We will have to wait and watch the pearls of wisdom that shall emanate from the Maratha.

S

Bashing

T

Happy Reception JP supremo Amit Shah’s son’s wedding reception was a power-packed affair with attendees including the president, the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues, leaders of the regional parties and the who’s who of the corporate world. This was quite unlike the wedding in Ahmedabad, held the day the Delhi poll results were declared. On that day the cam-

B

Down And Blue ook carefully and you will see in TV grabs that Mamata Banerjee sports a glowing, well-toned look these days. This is apparently due to the 45 minutes she spends on the treadmill twice a day—a little birdie tells us.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too is known to hit

L

he day India beat Pakistan in their opening World Cup cricket match, an excited All India Radio’s Twitter handle happily retweeted a number of not so subtle anti-Pakistan tweets. @AIRnewsalerts, the verified Twitter account of AIR, retweeted a tweet in Hindi: “India’s explosive win over Pakistan @ #Adelaideoval. Hindustan decides Pakistan’s #Gharvapsi #WCFirSe”. Earlier AIR had tweeted: “Give your best wishes to #TeamIndia for #CricketWorldCup using #WCFirSe best will get retweet from us”.

Last heard, minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was ordering an enquiry. A former army man himself, he appeared quite dismayed at the incident.

eramen were hard-pressed to get the groom’s family and the guests to smile for the photos.

The postmortem of the Delhi drubbing took over the main discussion at the wedding. However, it is learnt that not many in the Delhi BJP were privileged to get the reception invite. The president of Delhi BJP, Satish Upadhyay and BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri were among the lucky few.

his yoga mat in the wee hours of the morning, resulting in his famous 56-inch chest and also a fit and well-toned body. However, what people have also been noting is that, following the Delhi drubbing, the colour of the prime ministerial jackets have been toned down, to shades of black, blue and brown. The bright jackets of the Prime Minister might be put up for the next auction?

—Compiled by Roshni

50 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2015

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