N.Ram continues to write on a wing and a prayer. This time he has given up all pretences to his going after the truth. He has suppressed, ignorantly or maliciously, the concluding part of a confidential note of Ministry of Defence in an awkward attempt to bring disrepute to purchase of Rafale aircraft.
If Ram had access to the entire note and yet failed to disclose the Defence Minister's conclusive utterance, he is guilty of a journalistic fraud of misleading the readers. In case he could lay his partisan hands only on a part of the note, the conclusion would be that he is too amateurish and opinionated to seek what any reasonable journalist would have looked for: that is, what was the view of the then Defence Minister? If someone had favoured Ram with an incomplete note, he was probably taking Ram for a ride so that Ram would look foolish in readers' eyes. Whichever way you look at this sordid chapter in The Hindu's quest for truth (?), the conclusion is inescapable that Ram has jettisoned any idea of preserving the newspaper's credibility.
The Hindu is a family-owned newspaper. The family needs to seriously introspect if they are ready to gamble away the newspaper's reputation garnered over decades just to satisfy Ram's egoistic political slant. When questioned as to why he published only a convenient part of the note, he replied that he would not rest till he reaches the goal. What could be the goal? As a journalist, he has every right and in fact duty too to try to unearth Bofors-like bribery, if any. Instead of doing that, if he keeps coming up with 'exclusives' containing truncated truths and fascinating falsehoods, readers will dismiss him as a discredited writer whose hobby is only to 'cry wolf'. At this rate, in the unlikely event of his noticing a real wolf, nobody will believe him.
The function of a journalist is to provide authentic news, not novate perceptions. Ram is desperately trying only to besmirch Modi's image. The Sinophile was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 1990 in the field of Literature and Education. He may well be rewarded with Padma Vibhushan for Distortion and Misrepresentation if his political masters come to power.
If Ram had access to the entire note and yet failed to disclose the Defence Minister's conclusive utterance, he is guilty of a journalistic fraud of misleading the readers. In case he could lay his partisan hands only on a part of the note, the conclusion would be that he is too amateurish and opinionated to seek what any reasonable journalist would have looked for: that is, what was the view of the then Defence Minister? If someone had favoured Ram with an incomplete note, he was probably taking Ram for a ride so that Ram would look foolish in readers' eyes. Whichever way you look at this sordid chapter in The Hindu's quest for truth (?), the conclusion is inescapable that Ram has jettisoned any idea of preserving the newspaper's credibility.
The Hindu is a family-owned newspaper. The family needs to seriously introspect if they are ready to gamble away the newspaper's reputation garnered over decades just to satisfy Ram's egoistic political slant. When questioned as to why he published only a convenient part of the note, he replied that he would not rest till he reaches the goal. What could be the goal? As a journalist, he has every right and in fact duty too to try to unearth Bofors-like bribery, if any. Instead of doing that, if he keeps coming up with 'exclusives' containing truncated truths and fascinating falsehoods, readers will dismiss him as a discredited writer whose hobby is only to 'cry wolf'. At this rate, in the unlikely event of his noticing a real wolf, nobody will believe him.
The function of a journalist is to provide authentic news, not novate perceptions. Ram is desperately trying only to besmirch Modi's image. The Sinophile was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 1990 in the field of Literature and Education. He may well be rewarded with Padma Vibhushan for Distortion and Misrepresentation if his political masters come to power.
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