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Greetings!
This Newsletter from the GujaratGlobal brings to you the latest happening in the media particularly in Gujarat, whats hot and whats not , who's in and who's out , you want it and you get it here !This newsletter is about people who craft voice and image of others. It is about the real newsmakers.
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Editor.....DGP Be positive
 On Saturday DGP Gujarat, P C Pande held the first press conference about the serial blasts of July 26. During these 20 days no official press briefing was held except one in which Joint Commissioner of Police Ashish Bhatia had released sketches of suspected terrorists. Pande started with a bitter note that he would not mind if media did not help him, but he wanted media not to act in a manner that helped terrorists. It was quite a shocking statement from a person like P C Pande, who is one of the excellent police officers. I have known him from my initial days in Indian Express when I was grooming myself in the new areas like white collar Crime, Defence and Intelligence and he was SP CBI. One of the passions we shared was about reading about crime detection and criminals and societies. Later, he even became editor of police magazine and is known for his scholarly writings. In fact, two of my initial national stories about crude oil theft racket had inputs from him. During the press conference, Pande continued to stress that media should look at the positive aspect of police achievement of the breakthrough in the serial blast case. Certainly, anyone would like appreciation for such a feat. But does that mean no one should talk about the failure of the police which just sat over information and did not act? He was formally interacting with media for the first time and so such questions were very natural. If we want to take credit for our action, we should be ready to pay for our inaction. Criminal negligence to sensitive information which could have saved many lives is a very serious matter. One should have moral courage to talk about it while one wants to gloat over the success through media. I do not think anyone should need to tell this to an officer like P C Pande. It is very unfortunate that police has no communication channel with media. Can police operate in vacuum? What do you expect from the media while working in isolation? Media is the tool of communication and none can afford to ignore it. His statement about media shows more than his contempt for media. It is his bitterness. Otherwise, he would not have gone to the extent of talking about media helping anti-nationals cleverly guarding his statement with the expression, unwittingly. Dear sir media does not know what helps police or anti nationals, but police certainly knows.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a politician, can probably afford to dismiss off intelligence reports as routine unreliable weather reports. But police can't.
This issue has two articles by two journalists who are star reporters by merit and not seniority in the profession. These articles were sent to me in response to my edit of issue 21. The articles show how police works when it comes to providing information to people about the events that are a matter of life and security of everyone.
Mr. DGP you cannot afford to have contempt for media, howsoever you hate the media. SO be positive, in the interest of nation.
Have A Happy Reading.
With love
Yogesh Sharma
Gujarat Global | |
Archive...
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Media Masala
Dudhani completes 29 years with IE Ahmedabad
Forward E-mails from Naresh Walchand Dudhani are very common. I never open them. This Wednesday, title of a mail from my friend Dudhani attracted my attention. It said 29 years with Indian Express. It looked like a farewell message. But it was just an anniversary message, Dudhani announcing three decades of his existence in one office.
Dudhani has remembered all REs with whom he has worked. He has very remembered my friend Rajiv Saxena quoting an incident. When Rajiv joined IE Ahmedabad, on the first day he said that he had come from Sabarmati Express (train from Lucknow) to Indian Express. Rajiv is now with a Birla group company looking after its corporate communication.
For the present generation, working for an organization for 29 long years and to wish to remain there till retirement is certainly news. Many have really congratulated Dudhani for his great fete.
Dudhani my class fellow who studied Physics with me in college became my senior colleague in Indian Express. For 15 years we shared huge hall on the second floor of the Indian Express with all that one can expect in office.
Dudhani, having permanent evening shift is still the same. Dudhani, a man with bespectacled face carrying intellectual look is the same as he was in 79 when he joined IE.
Dudhani, acting News Editor, joined IE on August 20, 1979.
Many of the readers of this newsletter have worked with him and on behalf of all I wish him all the best for all the time.
Shatrughan joins Dainik Jagran
Shatrughan Sharma of Rajasthan Patrika has joined Dainik Jagran as Gujarat state correspondent. He will look after Hindi Dainik Jagran while the newspaper is developing a separate team for its business edition in Gujarati. The Gujarati business edition is likely to be in the market around Deepawali.
Abhishek is with Times Now
Abhishek Kapoor of Indian Express is now with the Times Now in Ahmedabad in place of Megha. Abhishek had kept this appointment a secret while resigning from IE Ahmedabad. He was posted in Gandhinagar.
Nayeem joins petrowatch
Nayeem Quadri who returned from London with his wife Rafat and daughter earlier this year has finally decided to make his career with highly specialized publication Petrowatch.
Nayeem had joined Sandesh for sometime after coming to Ahmedabad. Rafat is also a professional journalist and she is also to join a news organisation soon.
Nayeem has joined Petrowatch as post of Gujarat Correspondent had fallen vacant after Himanshu Bhayani quit the London based publication last month. He is now with UTVi.
Photographers on the move
Kalpesh Dudhia's retirement from the Times of India on August 9 has started a new chain of appointments of photographers in Ahmedabad. Yogesh Chavda who was with the Rajasthan Patrika has now joined TOI Ahmedabad.
As a result, Ajit Solanki, photographer for AP in Gujarat has tied up with Patrika as freelance photographer.
Jay joins TV 9 as input head
Jay Shukla who was with the jee TV has now joined TV9 as input head. The post was vacant for sometime after Ritvik Trivedi quitting TV9
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Friends as I told earlier, the newsletter has a subscriber base of 2100 plus. There are many more who are reading it either directly from the website or through forwards. I request you all friends to mobilize more subscriptions to the newsletter by enrolling your friends in media. This is your platform. Help it grow.
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Reporters in Gujarat are working in hostile atmosphere
(This is the letter Bharat Lakhtariya of Gujarat Samachar has written. Bharat, A post graduate in Law, is a very senior Crime and Law reporter. Author of several books on journalism and coauthor of some law books, Bharat is also a visiting faculty at the police Academy and several journalism institutes. His column crime file say is one of the most popular column read by both police and public with keen interest)
Dear Yogesh
The Media News Letter is getting content rich with each issue and we know about many interesting happenings. It is like a mission you are carrying. It's great!
The Terror Reporting! Your edit in the recent issue, inspired me to express my feelings about the hostile atmosphere prevailing in the administration towards journalists. It requires serious thought as to why there is such contempt for facts? Why such serious credibility crisis is prevailing? I would like to share certain facts and experiences on this issue in reference to the present situation.
My colleague Jaidev Patel, covering crime beat for more than 40 years in Gujarat Samachar told me many a times about the cordial relationship he shared with the police officials. Bhanu Shelat of Sandesh was regularly conducting Satya Narayan Katha at the residence of Commissioner of Police! On many events and occasion we were invited, even for social events.
As a crime reporter from 1980's I also had cordial relation with police officers. But I must say that it is a matter of past. Since, 2002 the scenario has changed a lot. Earlier, there were only half a dozen reporters, who covered the crime beat. Later on figure increased and now at present it is around 40 or more!
I would like to narrate one incident of 2002 of the regime of Narendra Modi. One day I heard a senior journalist fretting and fuming against the Modi government for restricting the entry of non accredited journalist in Sachivalaya. The government had issued a circular also. This journalist covered crime beat and Sachivalaya both. I suggested challenging the circular in the Court of Law. But there was no response and the journalist friend accepted Modi's diktat and issue was forgotten. Later on I heard from many friends about the steps taken by the government to gradually prevent free access to information.
The office of the Public Relation Officer of the Commissioner of Police of Ahmedabad City is now no more a part of the main complex. It is shifted in the cabin created for Amul Parlor! Of course these new changes were made after O.P. Mathur took over as Commissioner of Police of Ahmedabad City. Mathur has lodged a complaint against The Times of India for an offence of sedition.
The Office of the Crime Branch at Gaekwad Haveli is now like a fortress with tight security, and hardly any journalist is allowed to enter to have legitimate information or to have a personal meeting. It appears that the serial bomb blast has scared the entire police setup.
Earlier, around a year ago I had a call at my residence from a Officer of the Crime Branch of Ahmedabad City. He introduced himself as reader of DCP Crime Branch. He took my office, residence and mobile numbers and e-mail address. I was astonished and asked the officer about it. He politely said that it was the order of DCP to provide better information facility.
The information was gathered from other journalists from different newspapers. To my surprise, till this day I have not received a single message or official information on any number or on e-mail address from Crime Branch. On the contrary I found that whenever I have tried to contact DCP, ACP or Addl CP or JCP of Crime Branch, they do not answer the call.
I feel that the information collected under the pretext to provide information to the journalist covering crime beat is only for the purpose of screening the journalists.
The day I received your news letter, in the evening I heard a senior crime reporter complaining to a Senior Officer about a Police Inspector for not responding to his phone since long. It has now become common that a reporter has to try hard even to get simple information of routine incidents like motor accidents or theft, robbery etc.
It is said that 21st century is the era of Information and right to information. But, in reality it seems to be an era of suppression of information in Gujarat. Transparency seems to be coined for speeches. In such an atmosphere of hostility, the task of getting reliable, accurate information from the official sources is really tough and is going to affect credibility unless some solid mechanism is created by the government.
I must tell that the formation of office of the PRO in police is the result of recommendation of the Justice Reddy Commission set up to inquire the 1969 communal riots. Dilip Thakor was the first police PRO.
There is no PRO since the retirement of Ashwin Jani two years back.
To read the edit of issue 21 , click here
Police officers do not respond to calls
(Brajesh Singh of Star News had sent this response a day after my newsletter 21. I had talked about variation in the figures in media. He has talked in detail the problem which is not just a professional hazard. This is a case of sheer criminal neglect on the part of police. To know what I had written please have a look at my edit)
sir,
I disagree a little with your edit on Terror reporting. There is difference between two things namely collecting the facts and getting them. One can understand the discrepancy in the death toll during initial days. But you also know that today we are working in such a hostile atmosphere where the officers concerned, whose numbers have been made public for people to give information about terrorists, do not even bother to answer our calls leave providing information.
Is it not surprising that today even 13 days after the blast (Brajesh had sent this article on March 9) the city police commissioner has not uttered a single word about it. Do you expect the same attitude in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore or Lucknow or for that mater any other city? You have mentioned about death figure. But the fact is that even the official spokesperson of the Ahmedabad police did not have the exact number of blasts till the date sketches were released.
If you had noted the press release mentions about 18 FIRs. Few days ago Minister of State for Home Amit Shah talked about 17 locations and 22 blasts. When I asked the spokesperson about 18 FIRs, he told me that it was 23!!! When I confronted him with his minister's statement he claimed 21 blasts! But why 18 FIRs? It was only after 12 days of the blasts that it was clear that 21 blasts took place at 17 places. The 18th FIR was for a case in which one live bomb was detected at Bage Firdosh a day before the blasts.
In such a situation I think that your expectations about reporting are high. I would be grateful sir, even today if you could tell me about the exact sequence of the blast. I agree that we have also become lazy but at the same time you must remember the hostile conditions in which we have to work.
Where up to credibility is concerned it is a relative term influenced by time and situation. And we must accept this sad aspect honestly.
To read the edit of issue 21, click here ..
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Whenever people are well-informed they can be trusted with their own government
-THOMAS JEFFERSON
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With Love,
Yogesh Sharma
GujaratGobal.com
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