N.Ram's report in The Hindu.

I wrote a letter to the editor of The Hindu on January 21st on a vainglorious report by Shri N.Ram. This letter predictably was not published. I followed up with two letters to the readers' editor of The Hindu. These three letters are reproduced below.

To

The Editor,

The Hindu , Chennai.

Dear Sir,

I request you to publish my letter given below in your newspaper's 'Letters to the Editor' columns.

                                                                              Rafale Contract

The Hindu has published an 'Exclusive' report on "Modi's decision to buy 36 Rafales shot the price of each jet up by 41%". The caption was arresting and I could not resist the temptation to read it in detail.

The report claims that this 'article is based on information exclusively available to The Hindu.'  This claim is untrue because all the details covered in this report have found a place in many reports appearing in various newspapers earlier. For example, one may refer to two articles in Economic Times one by Raghav Ohri and Manu Pubby on September 29, 2018 and the other by Manu Pubby on August 23, 2018.

In addition, the caption is unusually too sensational to appear in The Hindu since it is also stated in the report that the increase in price per aircraft is 14.20% if the comparison is with the 2011 escalation cost factored in. Even this is subject to the assumption that 2011 prices hold in 2016. I wonder how this misleading caption and unfair comparison escaped the editor's eagle eyes.

Regards,

K.R.Srivarahan,

Chennai.

From: K.R.Srivarahan
To: "readerseditor@thehindu.co.in"  
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2019 1:40 PM
Subject: Exclusive report on Rafale

Dear Sir,

I wrote to the Editor on 21st inst. regarding the captioned subject. This was not published in the newspaper. A copy of my letter is attached for your kind reference.

Any exclusive report by Mr.N.Ram attracts attention. A front page report with a sensational headline must contain something significant. I was disappointed to find that the report was not exclusive to The Hindu. The details contained in the report had earlier been published by many newspapers as mentioned in my letter to the editor. I am surprised that there is no clarification on this by Mr.Ram despite the fact that the misleading information has been pointed out by many.

You have quoted Aidan White in your space on January 21st , "When media act ethically and have systems in place for monitoring their journalism, admitting their mistakes and explaining themselves to the public, they create loyalty and attachment." Neither the newspaper nor the reporter has admitted the egregious deceptions contained in the report. Am I to infer that The Hindu is not concerned about loyalty of its readers?

I hope you will respond to this.

Regards,

K.R.Srivarahan

Dear Sir,

I pointed out the misleading nature of 'exclusive' report by Shri N.Ram and of the sensational headline of the report in my communications to you as well as the Editor. My allegation is serious because it casts aspersion on credibility of the newspaper. When such a serious charge goes unresponded, the only conclusion possible is that the newspaper does not want to own up its responsibility. During the 50+ years of my association as a reader and occasionally as a contributor, I have all along thought that The Hindu is a responsible and authentic newspaper.

Nothing gives a newspaper reader more pain than the fact that the newspaper he reveres has chosen to abdicate its accountability as a truthful purveyor of news and reports and has taken to sensationalisation of headlines. Coincidentally, a disclaimer appears in page 2 of The Hindu today. "Readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries to satisfy themselves about the veracity of an advertisement before responding to any published in this newspaper. --------- In no event can the owner, publisher, printer, editor, directors, employees of this newspaper / company be held responsible / liable in any manner whatsoever for any claims ------". I am afraid this disclaimer is required for your presentation of news and reports also. (You may notice the pun in the word 'claims'.)

Regards,

K.R.Srivarahan