JFA defies Outlook terming it bias

Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA), while expressing concern at the attitude of a national magazine to portray the editor of a satellite news channel in negative light, argues that the magazine only shows its bias against Arnab Goswami rather than highlighting bigger causes of ruin in the Indian television media.

Reacting to the latest issue of Outlook, where an article on the editor-anchor of Times Now is published as a cover page story with the highlight ‘The Man Who Killed TV News’, the Assam based journalist forum pointed out ‘criticizing a particular editor of a news channel as being the murderer of the television journalism is uncalled for’. “Is Indian journalism is so week that one Arnab Goswami can destroy it,” questioned a JFA statement issued by its president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria.

One may not like the way of journalistic exercises adopted by the management of Times Now (so thus Arnab Goswami), but it should not be blamed alone as the other channels (namely NewsX, Headlines Today, Zee etc) have also been doing the same, probably in different size and shape.

“What is amazing that the former editor of Outlook was a regular participant of Goswami’s Newshour debate. Was the present editorial team of Outlook waiting for the founding editor’s departure to publish the cover page article on Goswami?”, added the JFA statement. The forum also pointed out that the so-called national magazines never publish editorials (nor even articles) narrating the difficulties of thousands of television employees as they are deprived of a statutory wage board benefits. Not to speak of television journalists, the sizable number of print journalists across the country is still deprived of some basic minimum facilities till date.

“Show us an editorial of Outlook since its inception, where the plight of the media employees is highlighted?’ concluded the statement adding “When the journalists and other employees of newspapers & news agencies in India are entitled for the benefits of Majithia Wage Board, the employees of television channels are deprived of the same. Is it not a persistent destroyer of the medium?”