The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has taken serious exception to the dwindling recognition to media’s freedom of expression and also the physical assaults on journalists, be it by the state, anti-social elements or communal forces.
Giving details on the resolutions adopted at the union’s three-day National Executive Committee (NEC) meet that concluded in Tirupati on Monday, president S.N. Sinha and secretary-general Devulapalli Amar said the conclave dwelt on the formation of a Media Commission, implementation of TRAI’s recommendations on cross media ownership, monopoly of corporate media and domination of political party ownerships in media, besides the implementation of the Justice Majithia Wage Board recommendations and the need for state governments to set up tripartite committees to ensure payment of statutory wages to journalists, including those in the mofussil areas.
The duo called as ‘unfortunate’ the decision of the Telangana Multi-System Operators (MSOs) to block the TV9 and ABN Andhra Jyothi channels for over three months, indicating that as mere business entities, they had no role in deciding what people should watch. Flaying the State for remaining indifferent, Mr. Amar dubbed as ‘hardly convincing’ its contention that it had no role in the spat between channels and MSOs. While disapproving the ‘unethical’ portrayal of MLAs in a TV programme which apparently led to the ban, they said the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao’s overbearing statement in Warangal too smacked of arrogance due to power. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu was also in for flak for denying entry to ‘Sakshi’ journalists to his press conferences.
Deep shockMr. Sinha said the IJU expressed deep shock at the barbaric beheading of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff by Islamic Jihadi terrorist groups. The conclave also took exception to the dismissal of Geetartha Pathak, Secretary of IJU and Assistant Editor of Assamese weekly ‘Asam Bani’ and the arrest of Jaikhlong Brahma, Kokrajhar correspondent of ‘Newslive’ and ‘The Sentinel’, under National Security Act. The IJU expressed concern over the non-implementation of the Wage Board recommendations by some newspaper establishments, even after the Supreme Court ruling to this effect.