A few prominent journalists said that they stopped watching all these news channels as all of them ran propaganda in favour of the Narendra Modi government rather than providing news to the people
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – With India Today news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai calling out Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami for running a ‘Banana Republic’ channel, some senior journalists put all anchors in the same category, saying that they all run propaganda for the Central government.
From his Prime Time show, Sardesai said: “Today, I am going to say, ‘Arnab Goswami, you run a Banana Republic channel. You run a channel that has deliberately created a media trial for whatever your ends are. But do not bring journalism down to the level that you have. This is the only advice that I will give you. This is not what journalism is about. You want me to name and shame, I will name and shame today because I have kept quiet for two and a half months and listened to the crap that you’ve put out on air with only one purpose you had–to try and get rating points. There’s something more than TRP, my friend. It’s called Television Respect Points.”
The popular India Today anchor also referred to the attack by Goswami on him when he (Sardesai) secured an exclusive interview with actress Rhea Chakravarty, who was being blamed by the news channels for the suicide of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Talking to Clarion India over this clash between anchors and the overall condition of media, a few prominent journalists said that they stopped watching all these news channels as all of them ran propaganda in favour of the Narendra Modi government rather than providing news to the people.
“This media is like Rwanda Radio which is creating condition of genocide in the country. They are functioning like Radio Rwanda. They are trying to divide society. They are not with the values which were followed by freedom fighters. They are working for fascist agenda,” said journalist Prashant Tandon, who has worked with some news channels in the past.
He said that such media were not the news platform but were platforms for peddling propaganda, adding that it was a particular type of entertainment — they promote violence and division in society, and were with the fascists.
That is why, Tandon says, he does not watch these channels. “I read newspapers and news websites to get news”.
“These channels are being run by the upper – caste people. None of any Prime Time anchors are from marginalised sections like Dalits, OBCs and minorities. The upper-caste people of this country are suffering from insecurity. They are feeling that Dalits, OBCs and Muslims will take over them. This is the reason that these channels are involving and promoting fascist values,” the senior journalist said.
Author and senior journalist Zia Us Salam also echoes some of the sentiments of Tandon, saying that he also stopped watching news channels as they were peddling propaganda in favour of the government.
He said that the media did not raise real issues to provide news to the people. “What was the last time when the new channels discussed about the lynching incidents at their prime time slot?” he asked. “They asked questions to opposition parties instead of questioning the government. The basic principle of journalism is to point mistakes in the functioning of the government and raise questions over that”.
However, netizens lauded Sardesai’s plainspeaking and unvarnished truth about Goswami. In a tweet, Sardesai said he did not want to do this but he had no option left.
Trust me, i didn’t want to. But there are times when you are left with no option.. 🙏
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) October 5, 2020
#ArrestArnabGoswami #DoctorJudgeArnab #ArnabGoswami #ShameOnRepublicJourno there is somebody who can call spade a spade, Thankyou #RajdeepSerdesai for naming and shaming this clown, somebody has to do it,he shouldn’t be allowed further to degrade Indian journalism. pic.twitter.com/wybpKW42Dj
— [email protected] (@tariqtalha) October 5, 2020
Well said @sardesairajdeep , whatever Arnab is doing for his Banana Republic is just for TRPs . Republic Tv journalists are just a bunch of jokers who should be in circus and not in a studio. #RepublicTv #ArnabGoswami pic.twitter.com/By9mVQQIwv
— Rahil Mohammed (@ImRahilMohammed) October 5, 2020
