Is the CM right in telling journalists not to publish articles creating 'disgust' against political system? (Times of India March 11th)
TNN | Mar 11, 2014, If a political system has a good or bad image depends on the politicians who are running the system. The journalists are doing their jobs by writing about the political system. The CM's remarks will impose unnecessary restrictions on the working of the journalists. Vandana Jog, lawyer, Ponda We live in India, the world's largest democracy. If journalists begin to fawn over politicians and play their fiddles according to political tunes, we should get seriously worried. If a politician does a lot of U-turns and disappoints the public by behaving like an autocrat then that's what will get written. Politicians are elected to serve the people, and are accountable for their actions. We expect the press to report truthfully on politics, and in Goa we are proud our journos are doing that quite well. Jose Lourenco, engineer, Margao It is totally wrong. A chief minister should not make such remarks because journalism is totally different from politics. Journalists should be given total freedom to express themselves and report the truth correctly even if the politicians do not agree with them. Journalists should hold independent views and should not bow before politicians. Journalists and journalism should be respected. Vaicunth Pai Fondekar, socio-cultural activist, Margao It is the duty of the press and reporters to hold politicians, bureaucrats and all officers holding public office accountable in their public lives. Occasionally, they may also hold them accountable in their personal lives, especially when it has public relevance. I am not entirely sure what the CM meant by his comment but I certainly agree that the press has a responsibility to report events in a fair and unbiased manner giving a balanced view of both sides of the story. Again, to tarnish all politicians as being disgusting people is absolutely wrong and would certainly discourage decent people from participating in the political process. Finally, even if a majority of politicians are corrupt and indeed disgusting people, the press has a responsibility to the minority group of politicians who are giving invaluable service to people they represent. Therefore, rather than making vague and anonymous allegations, the press should have no fear in naming and shaming politicians who are guilty of wrongdoing. Eugene D'Silva, doctor, Panaji CM to journos: Don't make people 'disgusted' with govt TNN | Mar 10, 2014, PANAJI: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has appealed to journalists to stop publishing articles that create a sense of disgust among the public against the political system. Stating that the political system was the 'central pillar of the circus', he said, "The media should not create disgust among people, against politicians and the system. It is okay to create anger against corrupt politicians, but if the public becomes disgusted and disillusioned with the political system itself, India will turn into Egypt," he said. Parrikar was speaking at a seminar on 'Conscientious Reporting' organized by the Goa union of journalists(GUJ) in Panaji on Sunday. He also remarked that the media's critical coverage of politics was bound to discourage 'good people' from joining politics. "Given a second chance, I will not enter politics. I am a very good engineer, and could have minted money in another profession. It was under compulsion that I was pushed into this line," he claimed. The seminar comes hardly a week after the GUJ slammed Parrikar for his disparaging comments against Goan media persons, wherein he said that journalists were not great thinkers or intellectuals, and accused them of biased reporting. They seem to have made up since then, after Parrikar reportedly expressed regret over his off-the-cuff comments. Parrikar chose to re-iterate his stand, albeit in a more diplomatic way. "The understanding capacity of reporters and quality of reportage is coming down. Journalists are reporting matters that they only understand in a physical sense," he said cryptically, requesting news organizations to ensure that 'The truth is not sacrificed at the altar of breaking news'. Several other speakers, including veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar and former Newsweek UN bureau chief Patricia J Pereira Sethi, spoke on issues like the corporatization of media organizations, paid news and opinionated reportage. Leading criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam called for media organizations to have self-regulatory measures.
