By Ranjona Banerji
Reading opinion pages in newspapers about events in the nation can sometimes be very different from what you see and hear on television news. The reactions by columnists and commentators to the suicide of Rohith Vemula and caste discrimination in institutes of higher education has been more or less the same: dismay, distress and non-delusional about the continuing domination of the upper castes.
The exceptions therefore stand out. Bestselling author Amish wrote a convoluted piece in The Times of India with some half-baked idea of history and Hindu texts and tried if not to justify caste discrimination then to at least put out the message that caste was not always a bad thing. Of course, it is vital that any edit page put out a variety of contradictory opinions for readers to sample. But sometimes – having worked on edit pages – you have to be able to assess whether your contributor is making sense or not before you carry him or her. Amish, sadly, was not making a lot of sense even if he showed slightly more academic ability than Chetan Bhagat, India’s other best-selling writer and also a columnist on the Times of India’s edit pages.
The Indian Express carries the most intriguing edit pages however. The opinions of their columnists are often at total loggerheads with their edits which makes for intriguing reading. While it is very entertaining to read Tavleen Singh every Sunday, looking for a new person to blame for Prime Minister Modi’s shortcomings, some variety would not be amiss here.
The Hindu remains one of the best when it comes to edit pages, though, with its writers showing depth, insight and scholarship. And the Readers’ Editor S Panneerselvan is always readable as he assesses how The Hindu covered the news and deals with complaints. The Hindu’s commitment to an ombudsman (person?) is exemplary however sadly no other journal in India seems to have followed suit.
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The changes to firstpost.com after its change of management and newsroom are immediately evident. The most striking is that opinion, which was at the forefront of firstpost’s initial success, appears to have taken a backseat. Instead the website concentrates on news and is often on the ball with that. However, opinion is a vital part of the internet’s inherent character and firtspost would be wise to reincorporate it. All the best to the new team. How many of you miss those “Five things Modi should do Yesterday†columns by the way?
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One of every editor’s biggest fears is the reporter who lies. Or should be anyway. Sadly, this is more common than anyone thinks or knows. There are some cases which are well known and others which are hidden from the newsroom and the public. Indian newsrooms as a rule do not acknowledge such mistakes and do not share them with the reader. Apologies therefore are almost never made.
Yet, we have all worked with people who walked on that thin line between fact and fiction and we all know those who went over to the dark side. One gentleman I knew – senior to me – wrote his articles first and then went out and got the quotes and the facts to fit his writing. Another, much later, was known to go to Google and plagiarise material and yet he was supported by several colleagues and editors.
Therefore it takes great courage to do what this editor did: apologise to readers for the actions of a reporter who had been manufacturing quotes.
https://theintercept.com/2016/02/02/a-note-to-readers/.