I am with the Readers’ Editor, A.S. Panneerselvan, when he says that “sting journalism is not investigative journalism” (June 19). There is an ethical difference between filming a real event as proof of a certain incident and laying a trap for a target by creating an imaginary scenario. Even in the former, what is seen captured on camera may not be the entire story. It has to be supported by other information. In essence, a sting operator plays the role of a mole to entice the target. This is not journalism at all.
Sting journalism and paid news have marked a decline in the credibility and integrity of the media. Our media reached its zenith in the 1980s-1990s mainly due to the painstaking work of journalists those days; this was a change from the descriptive reporting in the post-Independence phase. The craze for TRPs in the electronic media and the temptation to enhance circulation by indulging in sensationalism have to be checked.
Y.G. Chouksey,
Pune
