The Death of the Editor

by Bikram Vohra
Editorial integrity, as we once knew it, died long back and no one really noticed. Like those doves they shoot and mark with crimson to denote peace or swords rusting in their own glory. Much the same way, senior journalists sold their souls to the highest bidder and turned Faustian. It all began when editors per se betrayed the cause. Like Mark Anthony leaving the battle of Actium to chase Cleopatra, these fourth estate mandarins dumped their staffs and galloped off after filthy lucre. Admirable was the fact that they could gallop with bended knees.
Before you knew it, editors had become representatives of the management instead of being the fierce front-liners for their sad little flock of scribes. They cheerfully sacrificed their charges to survive in their jobs and so the moat was breached. We had lost the good fight and we still are largely held at ransom by our own.
The chasm between the editor’s salary and the next five put together was indicative of the growing caste system in journalism. Naturally, any sporadic attempt to bridge with a scoop or a strong report met with disaster. No, we cannot run this became the mantra in the newsroom. As newspaper owners realized that these journalists of the 21st century were men and women largely made of straw and easy to buy and sell, they predicated editorial policy to their business interests and the editor today is just another guard dog for the same interests. News is censored in-house and you can cry yourself hoarse but it is true. Elitist editors have made it so. The 100 member party-going, cigar-smoking, pontificating little rabbits who run the media mafia can be body stripped and searched and you will be hard placed to find a soupcon of moral courage in them.
With no one to back it, Editorial is often seen as an increasingly necessary evil that has to be tolerated by other departments and if the proprietors could do away with it entirely they probably would.
As a matter of fact this idea has been advocated by a very high profile owner of an Indian publishing house on the premise that a newspaper can be brought out untouched by dirty journalistic hands. Since professional Public Relations staff write better and do more home work than their journalistic counterparts and get a lot more money for doing so, all you need are technicians, not newshounds. Regrettably, as a tribe we are offering to Caesar so much space without Caesar even asking for it that very soon we will ourselves be only technicians totally besotted by the call to survive the day rather than seize it.
Excuse me, can you give me one more freebie goody-bag for my brother.
How has all this happened? What weakness within allowed us to be marginalized and is this, like global warming, just a phase? No hall of fame, clay feet in our bosses and deep and abiding insecurity have made us a pretty pathetic bunch.
Yet, there is hope. After 40 years on the business I would like to find some warm sanctuary in that thought. After all, TV killed the radio and the radio has come back with a vengeance. They said newspapers would be dead when we went into news overdrive and the Net linked up with the telly and the mobile phone to inundate us with a nonstop tsunami of information. Our synapses crackled and popped and we are now deep into news fatigue.
The newspaper, the magazine, the niche publication have been bruised and battered but they did not lie down like battle-weary troops and die. They are still there. So there must be some magic, some residual wunderbar about the published word that is forged in a special crucible. The touch, the texture, the intimacy of the paper and the printing, the artwork and the design, the inside story, the ability to return to it at will and as often as you like, all combine to create an awesome staying power.
Unfortunately, half a generation of good writers has run to the glamour of TV. Many more have found it financially pleasing to join the glossies and a fair amount of potential has dribbled into PR and the devil take your hind leg, it pays the bills, mate.
This is the period of transition. Not enough writers, columnists, commentators in the ranks. Too many youngsters seeking fame and bylines before they have taken off their diapers. Weak hierarchies, weaker editors who don’t or cannot write, too much emphasis on ‘how the paper looks’ than ‘how it reads.’ Advertising spurs the product, leaving the journalists vulnerable and often defenceless. Marketing is more important any way you cut it.
It will change. It always does. And the same technology that sidelined the print media will bring it back into the game. In fact, the worst is over. The new generation is heap smart. Slick, armed with savvy and the smarts, with easy access to information, enjoying the arrogance of youth and not afraid to say it like it is. And they have begun to read books again and turn away from their woofers and tweeters and 5-speaker surround systems. This is a global phenomenon where the dynamics of the world are no longer insular. You cannot shut the window on the new winds. Truly, the newspaper and the magazine will return to their old glory if those who work in it respect themselves and don’t sell themselves to the company store. It is the surrender to mediocrity that is our worst enemy. That and the need to find good leaders to plough the field, not those who kneel at the financial altar and bargain us away for cheap.
This article on the demise of the Editor first appeared in Impact (http://impactonnet.com)

Gujarat CM Modi played a crucial role in Jashwant's expulsion?

Guajrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is believed to have played a crucial role in ensuring the expulsion of Senior BJP leader Jashwant Singh. Mr Modi who is known for his political acumen is believed to have taken a stand that if no action is taken against Jashwant Singh, the Congress will benefit heavily in the coming days trying to portray the BJP on the whole as anti Sardar Patel.
According to sources present at the Chintan baithak, . On Wednesday morning, as the leaders congregated at the introspection meet in Shimla, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi forced the discussion and made it clear that criticising Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and praising Jinnah would become a major problem for the BJP in not only Gujarat but other States as well. . Mr Modi, who insisted on strong action against Mr Jaswant Singh, also claimed that the Congress would derive great political mileage from Mr Jaswant Singh holding Sardar Patel as among those responsible for Partition. RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni was also present during the discussion and the decision to expel Mr Jaswant Singh from the BJP was taken, sources claimed.

Even as Jashwant Singh controversy is haunting the BJP, another senior BJP leader has come out in the open.
, former Union minister Arun Shourie, has targeted Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani, who, too, had once hailed Jinnah and then had gone on to become the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. "Advaniji se poochha jai ki ab unka kya stand hai Jinnah ko lekar (Now Advani should be asked what his stand is on Jinnah)," Mr Shourie has sasid.
Sources disclosed that the major opposition to Jaswant Singh has been One school of thought in the party described it as a "conspiracy" to deflect attention from the issues to be raised at the Chintan Baithak, which include Mr Advani’s reluctance to quit, the role of the leaders, fixing responsibility for the election rout and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that the top leadership of the party should be made up of the younger generation. It was learnt that the Advani camp had swung into action to block any discussion on the issue at the introspection meet immediately after Mr Bhagwat spoke his mind.
While BJP spokespersons were finding it hard to defend Mr Advani’s remarks on Jinnah, others also asked why the party did not act against Mr Shourie, who openly criticised the BJP in a recent "series of articles in an English daily".

Adani Power is not able to "manage" ....

For a change, seems the all influential, "setting" experts, who excel in "managing" have had a temporary setback. Albeit its a small set back. A divisional forest officer , based at Nagpur has advised the Maharashtra government against issuing mining license to Adanis in Vidharbha forests.
Here is the dope.....

A DIVISIONAL forest official based at Nagpur has advised the Maharashtra government against issuing a mining licence to Adani Power in a forested region of Vidarbha. “Yes. It’s true. The concerned forest official quoting relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act has asked the state government not to issue mining licence for coal excavation,” JP Dange, the state’s additional chief secretary and revenue and forest secretary told ET. He refused to divulge further details. He said that the report has been forwarded to the Cabinet which is yet to take decision on it. “The Cabinet decision will then be sent to the Centre for final consideration,” Mr Dange said. The company, on the other hand, when contacted, maintained that its case is still being looked into. When it was pointed out that the divisional forest commissioner has recommended cancellation of the mining licence, the company said that “only the nodal officer has recommended a review of the coal block allotment”. According to the company, the final decision has to come from the Union ministry of forest and environment. “And we are hopeful of an amicable solution,” a company official told ET. He pointed out that the government itself had allocated this particular coal mine close to the power plant to keep the tariff in control. The company’s power sector arm is planning to list its scrip on August 20 after a successful IPO last month. The allotment of a coal block to Adani Power close to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district for supplying coal to its power plant, coming up in Tiroda in Gondia district, has been severely criticised by environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts. The terms of coal sourcing in the power purchase agreement with the state government are not known at the moment. “Adani Power enjoys easy access to imported coal and necessary infrastructure for its evacuation. However, the imported coal may increase the cost of power generation that is not in the interest of the end users,” said the company official. But a top political functionary associated with the Congress-NCP government admitted that it will be “extremely difficult” to overrule the local forest department head’s report in what has become a politically contentious project. “It will be nearly impossible to push the project considering the crucial state elections ahead and already charged atmosphere on the issue. At best, the decision could be delayed,” he said. He pointed out that the seven MPs from Vidarbha, cutting across party lines, wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ( click on to Adani has all party MPs protesting his coal block in Tiroda.posted on July 30 on this site for details)to allot an alternative coal block to Adani Power instead of the one allotted to them. Many NGOs and environmental groups have sought the intervention of President Pratibha Patil in staying the coal block allotment to Adani Power. (With inputs from Ahmedabad bureau)

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Adani has all party MPs protesting his coal block in Tiroda..
A group of MPs have decided to cut across party lines and protest the allocation of coal block to Gautam Adani in Maharashtra in Tiroda in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.All the seven MPs from Vidarbha region have decided to fight against Adani. “We are not against Adani but we don’t want him to be given this coal block because it will destroy environment. A rare tiger sanctuary and rich forest region will be destroyed,” the MPs told d Facto.“we have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and handed over a letter to save tigers and rich forests by allotting an alternative coal block to Adani Power Ltd”.Former Union Minister and local Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar led a delegation along with Datta Meghe (Congress, Wardha), Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena, Amravati), Hansraj Ahir (BJP, Chandrapur), Sanjay Dhore (BJP, Akola), Marotrao Kowase (Congress, Gadchiroli) and Pratap Jadhav (Shiv Sena, Buldana) submitted a signed letter to Manmohan Singh in Delhi yesterday.The coal block falls under Tadoba- Andhari Tiger Reserve and the biodiversity in the area mainly consists of 18 animal species, nine of which including tiger and leopard are endangered species, the MPs have said.
Posted by d Facto at 10:32 PM

State Government's SWINE FLU review meeting.

The CM is going to chair a meeting to review the swine situation in Gujarat.
Here is d Facto's take on what needs to be done:
· Goverrnment also should prepare and not panic. At Government level, its necc vigilance and preparations are promoted, not panic.
· We need to be active, not simply reactive and have a strategic response strategy to the pandemic.
· Have periodic reviews. If situation does not improve in next 10 days, Government needs to call off the Navratri festival celebrations organized under corporate aegis where a lot of NRIs and tourists come in.
· Once the Government takes this step, it can then preach what it practices and request other private Navratri organizers also to scale down the celebrations. However, this point just needs to be kept in mind at this point of time. A call can be taken after a fortnight.
· The government should come out with guidelines for schools and send it across to all schools and public institutions for hygiene. Also issue guidelines for the public. So people really know. Through Labour Commissioner similar guidelines for all factories too.
· Media should be requested to scale down alarmist reporting
Media needs to educate, not excite the public. Not everyone who gets cough and cold dies of swine flu. And swine flu if detected in time is curable. More people are dying of general flu than swine flu.
· Have more ventilators and mechanical respirator enabled ICUs and emergency beds ready for emergency.
· Does alternative treatment help ? Can swine flu be checked by alternative or holistic approach?. Instead of letting quacks prosper, the Government should come out with a concrete list and theme of alternative approaches to prevent or treat swine flu, if there is any.
· Proper Information Dissemination is absolutely necessary. Health minister Jaiarayan Vyas, health secretary Ravi Saxena and Health comm. Amarjit Singh are doing a good job and should be lauded. Because at this point of time it is important that true information is passed on to people. They are precisely doing that.
Lets add on to this list to make Gujarat tackle swine flu strategically and scientifically.

Times of India versus CNN. Who's right?!

Times of India has a good editorial today on Fever Pitch and the Swine Flu Sensationalism. However at one point of time it says ,"In the United States, where swine flu has infected many thousands, there is little panic. Schools have not shut down". Now just before schools in the US closed for the summer holidays in June, the kids had a treat. In Mid April, the kids were excited. They called up to announce their holiday plans. Their schools had closed down for an indefintie period of time and they were out buying their new Twilight series.

Here's a take:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- At least 74 schools have closed across the country because of confirmed or probable cases of swine flu and 30 more have closed as a precautionary measure, the Department of Education said Wednesday.
The elementary, junior high and high schools have closed because of the H1N1 virus, Department of Education spokesman Massie Ritsch said.
The closures of public and private schools across eight states affect about 56,000 students out of an estimated 55 million students attending the nation's 100,000 kindergarten through 12th grade schools, Ritsch said.
In addition to closures announced earlier Wednesday, the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas said it will temporarily close all of its schools until further notice, affecting roughly 80,000 students, according to its Web site.
Hey, Times of India should know its facts well isnt or is this a "public service" exercise by the Group to lessen the public hysteria/scare?

IAS suspensions in UP.

Three IAS officer, one retired IAS officer and 12 other senior Government officers have been suspended in UP for their alleged involvement in a multi crore land scam in Noida.The suspended IAS officers are Rakesh Bahadur, Sanjeev Sharan and Ravindra Naik. Dev Dutt, a retired IAS officer who was associate with the land regulatory authority, Noida has also been suspended

Swine Flu sucks....

One more girl has died in Baroda today coz of swine flue. I will shortly post a piece on swine flu related panic. Everyone with slightest cough and cold are wary of having caught the Flu. Looking at the panic it seems there will be many more who are likely to catch the deadly virus by queuing up for tests and diagnosis, even when it is not required.

Our system is such that there are VIP requests flowing in for the H1N1 test at the B J Medical College. Amidst this panic, the way health minister Jainarayan Vyas is working is commendable. His cool demenour adds to his professional working style. Plus health sec Ravi Saxena too. For a change, the government is not withholding info and rather disseminating all the required info.

Cudos to Saxena and Vyas. Dont know much about the role others are playing.

Tom 2 pm, Chief Minister Modi is convening an all party leaders' meeting to discuss modalities to chalk out strategies and review the situation. Well, well, when was the last time an all party meeting was held? d Facto has no clue. Pls inform us and let us know if you have an idea when the last all party meeting was convened?

d Facto is waitng and watching ...what this meeting achievs or aspires to achieve.

10 lakh compensation to Sohrabuddin's family

Following SC instruction, Rs 10 lakh will be paid as compensation to the family members of Sohrabuddin. Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter by Gujarat and Raj police. IPS officers including Gujarat's encounter special D Vanzara is cooling his heels with Rajkumar Pandian another Gujarat cadre IPS officer in the Sabarmati jail for staging this fake encounter. Are these guys the only culprits in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter saga?

SP transferrd.

SP Amreli transferred to Ahmedabd Rural. Trivedi is new SP, Amreli and Manoj Agarwal is DIG border range.

Swine Flu :taken too casually?!

so swine flu has claimed Gujarat's first victim. NRI Praveen Patel from Atlanta. His brother in law Mahendra Patel was overheard in Ranip saying that Praveenbhai was screened at the airport. he did have slight cough and cold and was feeling feversih but it was attributed to change in place and weather.
Maybe if the airport screening was not simply a cosmetic exericise, the family feels early detection could have helped.

cant get through GSWAN!

wonder why but a couple of ppl called up to say that they could not access this blog to GSWAN.
is it so for all?

Manish Bhardwaj's new posting as Director Census Operations, Gujarat.

Manish Bhardwaj, an IAS officer of 1997 batch, has been appointed Director of Census Operations, Gujarat. This is a posting he supposedly was not looking forward to.
He along with his wife Sonal Mishra, (also an IAS officer who at present is Director, Municipalities); our sachivalaya sources say, lobbied hard to ensure that the posting does not take place. If the grapevine is to be believed, they even tried to impress upon Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Bhardwaj was director technical education and if not any better posting, he was more than happy at this post. His first posting as Director Census operations came in a couple of weeks ago but he reportedly got it nullified using his sources in Delhi. Later a three member panel was formed and one of the three had to take up the Director, Census operations post. The panel names included that of Mukesh Kumar and Mr P.N.Patel besides Manish Bhardwaj. Since Mukesh Kumar is slated for education abroad, the choice was between Manish Bhardwaj and P N Patel.
Mr D K Sikri, registrar general and Census Commissioner of India who is also a Gujarat Cadre officer (1975 batch) is learnt to have insisted that he was keen to have a direct recruit as Director, Census operations Gujarat. Mr P N Patel who is right now additional secretary, tribal development is not a direct recruit.So, Mr Bhardwaj is all set to be the Director, Census Operations, Gujarat, much against his wish.

Bannerjee Babu is not going to resign....

We had written about Ranjit Bannerjee’s resignation. Now a Sachivalaya source tells us that Bannerjee Babu has withdrawn his resignation.
Our solid source says earlier when asked if he had put in his papers, Bannerjee Babu had said, “ofcourse”. But earlier this week, when asked, he quipped, “ I have no intentions to resign”.
Why this sudden change in intention? Seems his batchmate Kailasnathan influenced him not to go for voluntary retirement at this juncture since there is an inquiry pending. (for details refer to earlier post Ranjit Bannerjee's Resignation Issue demystified......).
If Ranjit Bannerjee is relieved from his post with the pending inquiry, Mr J S. Rana’s case would become all the more stronger. In these circumstances, it seems Ranjit Bannerjee has been persuaded to withdraw his resignation. For acceptance of his resignation would land the government in trouble if it does not met out the same treatment to Mr Rana.

A.K.Sharma's session with secretaries.

The Chief Minister’s Office is keen to seek solutions and practical tips. On how to ensure that benefits reach the beneficiaries. This is after several MLAs, interestingly, most of them from the BJP complained and have been complaining of a breakdown in governance.
A.K.Sharma held a presentation this week for all Secretaries and other staff to deliberate upon this issue. There are big schemes and bigger announcements but at the end of the tunnel, there’s darkness and it seems all the big schemes and the bigger announcements boil down to nothing but natakbaji.
Basic decisions to be taken at district levels are also not being taken and Mr Sharma lamented at the poor deliverance record. Why is suddenly everything at a standstill, Mr Sharma wants to know.
Someone subtly suggested that over centralization is the culprit. When most decisions are to be taken at the top level, deliverance becomes a casualty.
Self centric administration or governance doesn’t work in the long run.

income tax search in Ahmedabad.

Income tax search is going to take place at Komal and Mangal textile and processing units tom morning.
Also some purchase related and other bill verification is scheduled at Rohan Dye Chem of dr Jindal Group.
Searches will be conducted at vatwa, new cloth textile markets besides residcens of Komal and Mangal textiles at Shahibaug and Usmanpura. Komal and Mangal