Editors' Access Baggage

So the mafia is angry. The mafia is frustrated. It is all starting to show. They want the PMO to be friendlier to the “Editors” mafia and open up communication lines with them. On any other bright day I would have said it’s a fair demand but not when it comes to our media mafia. It is not a big secret that we have some of the most corrupt and incompetent editors in the history of our media, especially TV. Ever since Narendra Modi formed the new govt he has kept this crooked bunch of thugs at a safe distance and rightly so. Just as he has shut down the privilege pipelines of many Babus he has also shut down some “privileges” of many media crooks. Let’s read what the demand of the Editors Guild of India is (Report):

“A statement issued by the Guild said that a "top-down, one-way interaction in a country with limited internet connectivity and technological awareness cannot be the only answer for large masses of readers, viewers, surfers and listeners. Debate, dialogue and discussion are the essential ingredients of a democratic discourse… By delaying the establishment of a media inter-face in the Prime Minister's Office, in restricting access to ministers and bureaucrats in offices and in reducing the flow of information at home and abroad, the government in its early days seems to be on a path that runs counter to the norms of democratic discourse and accountability," it said.

Hmm! So our crooked editorialists who crawled all these years as slaves of a dynasty suddenly talk about democratic discourse and accountability. Let us ask these people what accountability they have. You know, if there are riots in Saharanpur or Moradabad they scream Modi is responsible, Modi should act when it’s the State govt that is in charge of law and order. Take the case of Barkha Dutt, the alleged group editor of NDTV, and their recent nonsense (I prefer to stick to the recent instead of going into the history of NDTV crimes):

Now, NDTV has regularly and consistently trashed Modi and BJP with fake news and twisted news items. Whenever people point this out to Barkha she grandly claims she is not in charge of their website or Twitter account. So what exactly is an editor responsible for? In a newspaper, the editor is responsible even for the content of advertisements that appear in the paper. That’s the law. But Modi is responsible for Saharanpur or Pune but SoniaG or MMS were never responsible for even rapes in Delhi. This political pimping by “Sickular” editors has not gone unnoticed by people. Under the Sonia-MMS decay, all these editors had been “Durbaris” who enjoyed all the luxuries in the world while accusing everyone else of abusing their official positions. How did MMS operate with the media? Here’s a shameful Durbar he conducted with only FIVE editors of select newspapers in June 2011 (mostly made up of Congress cronies like Kumar Ketkar):

Does that look like a formal or regular press meeting or a private “Durbar”? I remember that because I called it PM's Press Meet - 'Friendly Fire' and here is what I wrote back then:

“I believe it’s very unfair to call it a ‘press meet’. It looked like a luncheon meet of the ‘mob’ for a friendly discussion on the state of affairs of their turf. It’s strange you would think. A Prime Minister holds a press meet with five select editors from the print media and then needs to be defended by his own spokespersons. That is precisely what Manish Tiwari and Ambika Soni were doing on  June 29.

Some of the firm assertions of Manmohan Singh at this meet were “I am not a lame duck PM” and the media is an “accuser, prosecutor and judge”. I agree with the media part though. That is their general approach to all issues. Other than that, the PM generally blamed the opposition for the lame duck tag. These statements were made when most of the ‘chosen’ editors were ones who are known to be friendly to the Congress.”

Is this the same nonsense that the Editors Guild is demanding now? Don’t forget, the same MMS held a previous meeting with only TV editors (in February 2011) as if they are some privileged class of royal durbaris. I am sure many will remember Harish Khare snubbing Arnab Goswami in that private meet telling him it is not an “inquisition” of the PM”. Barkha, who didn’t honour the PM with her presence then, later lamented that none of the editors talked about Pakistan. iRudali! It should also be remembered that on both the occasions MMS called editors only under the heavy burden of scams which he had to whitewash and not as a “routine” interaction. Unfortunately for the editor-mafia, Modi does not have any scams so far that he has to wash or defend. And Modi is absolutely right in keeping this mafia at a good distance. They are known to have twisted every word he has uttered in the past. Therefore, it is proper for the PM to speak directly speak to the people or communicate through social media. Some of these editors have also wanted the same social media dead or regulated.

The editors are demanding that the new PM and the PMO restore the old “coterie” through which Barkha ate “Golgappas” at PM’s parties and relay to us when SoniaG was happy or unhappy as advised by Ahmed Patel or through which juniors like Pallavi Ghosh reported planted gossip from the PMO or Congress office. Of course, all this is in the interest of “Democracy” as they dramatically claim. Access Journalism is a curse on journalism itself. Access Journalism, which is what our editor-mafia is seeking shuts out genuine reporters and their work and replaces it with bogus soundbites and “breast-fed” reports. How criminal are these Access Journalism specialists? Let me replay an old video from 2009 of Jon Stewart and it should  shock you how the “Access” journos lie to you, don’t care to ask real questions and suck up to criminals (Video edited to relevant portions – 6-17 mins):

There is nothing that I need to add to the video. All these “Access” editors do the same thing. They chummy-up and don’t bother verifying any reports or any information but base their entire reporting on political-swing and gossip. Every single day they troll Narendra Modi with something or the other; with fake news and deadly headlines. Take a look at these:

NDTV (Hindi) apologised for their nonsense in the first pic. This is a routine with NDTV and other channels as they play mischief with headlines concerning Modi (or BJP). I call it deliberate mischief  because I have never seen such a mistake happening with SoniaG, RahulG or Congress. The motivation is obvious for the Hate-Modi brigade. And these same editors now beg for a durbar? What about the second pic above on dates of Modi’s US/UN visit? Why in the world would morons at CNN-IBN tweet about a forthcoming speech on September 17 on September 25? Do they have any logical explanation? None! What about the other three rogues – ABP News, NDTV (again) and TimesNow? All of them uniformly concocted the date of October 27 and then some engagements on October 28 and 29. How? I tweeted MEA India to seek a clarification and Syed Akbaruddin tweeted back stating the dates given were very clear:

With all the nonsense that these editors can spin on their own why do they want “Access” to PM or PMO? They anyway write all the crap in the world about the PM without any relevance or truth. They have been doing so for over 12 years now. Lies, filth and absolute trash is what they peddled and they are still doing so with many G-37 morons as accessories. There can be a new beginning only if they acknowledge and do penance for their crimes (Like Tarun Tejpal decided he would do). I have a small, modest suggestion. These editors can start by writing Modi a small letter of penance:

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I forgot the infamous “Puppy” episode with which these same editors spread a mountain of lies implying Modi wanted Muslims dead. Well, I have saved that in case I have to write a sequel. Before I leave, I would like you to take a look at the newly constituted Working Committee of the Editors Guild:

“According to Ajay Upadhyay, General Secretary, Editors Guild of India, the 15-member Working Committee includes Sachidanand Murthy, Raj Chengappa, Shravan Garg, Barkha Dutt, Coomi Kapoor, Shekhar Gupta, Jaydeep Bose, Sanjay Narayan, MK Razdan, Vijay Naik, Seema Chishti, Sheela Bhatt, and Kumar Ketkar, among others”.

Some of these members belong in a rogues-gallery and not in any working committee of editors. They don’t deserve “Access” but the “Axe”.

PS: You can now buy the book "Social media as watchdog" with Credit/Debit cards.. Please click on the image link of the book on the right margin of this page to follow the process..

Biryanis Over Dead Soldiers

Executive Mansion,

Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

That letter by Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Bixbey was used as the prologue to the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’. General George C. Marshall, on learning that 3 of 4 siblings of a family were killed in the war with Germany, quotes Lincoln and seeks that Private James Ryan be located, saved and returned home. The order to save one soldier for his family is given to a group after they survive a fierce battle during the Normandy landing. Most members of the search party are killed in saving Ryan, including their leader Captain Miller. Here’s how it ended:

It may seem an irony that so many had to be killed to return one soldier home. But Army heads and political leaders who care for mothers who lose many sons to battle understand not only their pain but the responsibility of finding comfort for them. Back home, our Govt seems to frequently rejoice in the death of soldiers. That may be harsh. No, they don’t actually jump for joy or throw a party but their conduct doesn’t reflect the slightest grief for soldiers lost or for their parents and families. Some of these soldiers have very young children who will grow up without a father.

On January 8, 2013 Pak army-men crossed the LOC and beheaded two Indian soldiers, Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh, and injured a couple more. What did some stupid Indians do two days later? Some Indian media crooks, celebrities and their Paki counterparts held an “Aman Ki Asha” debate in Delhi. Who was the moderator? Congress Minister Shashi Tharoor! How’s that for sensitivity? This, while the govt claimed it will not be ‘business as usual’ with Pak after the incident. Shameless people never learn. Voices condemn such actions but when your actions tend to pooh-pooh these incidents, more will follow.

Early August 6, 2013 five Indian soldiers were killed by intruders who crossed the LOC. Defence Minister AK Antony was quick to claim in parliament that these were terrorists and some “persons dressed in Pak military uniform”. This statement was made with prior knowledge that the Pakistani Border Action Team members, regular Pak army men, were involved in the killing. To cut it short, the GOI through the Defence Minister sought to exonerate Pak Army of any involvement in the killings. They were “innocent” so to say. Which country mocks the death of its soldiers in this fashion? It will be hard to find one.

Although I have quoted from the American Civil war and WWII our own history is rich in great battles and great warriors. From the Ramayana and Mahabharata to heroes like Maharana Pratap, Shivaji and many more, we are blessed with those who laid their lives so we could reach this point in time. Maroof Raza, a former army man and commentator on strategic affairs, made some important points on Times Now on August 7. He mentioned that we aspire to be an economic super-power but we don’t learn any lessons. The US and China have become economic super-powers because their political leadership works with and is aligned closely with their military powers. He cited Japan slowing down as an economic power because post-WWII it reduced the emphasis on a strong military power. No matter what the Chinese do, including incursions into Indian territory, their political leadership backs them strongly. In contrast, stated Raza, the current Congress govt has completely demoralised our armed forces.

The Congress govt at the Centre is neither sensitive about the army or the concerns of the citizens and families of army men. It seems pursuit of a pointless dialogue with Pakistan is far more important than the continuous export of terrorism by Pak and frequent killing of our soldiers. Last night President Obama cancelled his meeting with President Putin merely because Russia provided asylum to Earl Snowden, wanted in the US for leaking classified information. Govts that put the nation first act, Govts that put the nation last lie in parliament and then everyone in the govt distances himself from the lie like cowards. The PMO claimed it wasn’t involved in doctoring Antony’s misleading statement in the Parliament. Imagine, a PM who is supposed to himself make a statement has been silent all this while and even distances himself from his Defence Minister. How much of a limp biscuit can one be?

Maroof Raza spoke for ten minutes on Times Now on August 7 and it was like one of the finest speeches I have heard on Pakistan, terror and the Indian govt’s effete behaviour. He asked why Antony or the PM had to wait for the Army Chief to go to Poonch and await a clarifying statement when there are reliable Commanders on the ground who are more aware of facts. Worse, he accused the minister and the govt of being or playing ignorant of Pak army’s permanent partnership with the Jihadis. I tweeted what I heard of his statements.

Raza then went to note how Indian PM’s have mindlessly pursued a policy of dialogue with Pakistan without ever getting anything in return. He noted US political leaders often visit their troops during battles or during peacetime to stay connected with them. Ever seen Indian political leaders ever bothering? No minister or govt official was even around to receive the coffins of the 5 martyred soldiers. When their bodies were received in a J&K base there was none from the State govt to receive them or salute them. It is natural that former army-men on TV are seething with anger as are ordinary citizens. There is hardly any doubt  that our soldiers are boiling over too.

And I have to agree again with Raza when he says the govt is treating the army like a ‘fire-brigade’. It seems the army is only meant for internal peace or rescue operations in a tragedy. While their minister faked statements in parliament the Congress members weren’t tired of screaming “don’t politicise, don’t politicise” the killing of soldiers. Who exactly is politicising the incident with doctored statements? And even when it comes to using the army as a fire-brigade in a natural calamity who politicises tragedies? These pics should tell you enough when the Uttarakhand tragedy was taking its toll:

Everything is brought to you by the Congress and the Gandhis. As if the party paid for the food. Having failed in every other area of governance maybe MMS just seeks to somehow make a peace-deal with Pak and create history. Maybe he even hopes to get a Nobel Prize. Who knows! Even AB Vajpayee was guilty of the same mishandling of Pakistan, often inviting Kargil criminal Musharraf for summits. This Musharraf is a great hero for some anti-national media outlets. The only mistake Raza made is in claiming Nehru could have managed such a peace treaty. Wrong! Nehru had the opportunity to permanently settle the Kashmir issue. He did not. The nation’s citizens and its soldiers have been paying a price for it since then.

And while all this continues MMS hopes to have dialogue with his counterpart at the upcoming UN meeting sidelines. It’s now not only tragic, it even looks comic. No matter how much terrorism or killings Pakistan exports our govt keeps hosting them for cricket and unofficial visits. All this for vote-bank appeasement or may be some secret reason. There’s no shortage of Biryanis for officials of a country which has promised a 1000-year holy jihad against India. I hope next time they eat the Biryanis they see the face of dead soldiers in the food.

Also read: “No friendship with Barbarians”.

RT If You Agree - Part 2

If you haven’t read Part-1 yet, I recommend you do. Story so far: Shashi Tharoor (ST) appointed Captain of the Light Brigade that will charge the Social Media (SM). He will be assisted by a team of 35 and other TwitterNREGA enrolments. There will be some celebrities according to the Indian Express report that I mentioned in part-1. Nice! So it mentions they will enrol Shabana Azmi. Huh? No comments. They will also enrol Shahrukh Khan. SRK? This guy agreed to be the Brand Ambassador for Bengal in February 2012. Any idea what he accomplished in that role? He was to do for Bengal what Amitabh Bachchan does for Gujarat. I guess we will have to wait and watch. There’s another problem though. Latest reports state that SRK has already quit Twitter over various controversies. Like I said, since the Captain was appointed it has been downhill. Never pin your hopes on a negatively controversial celebrity who is easy to pick on in a platform like SM. Even as the Congress TwitterNREGA gets underway SRK is embroiled in another controversy concerning IIPM.

A new recruit who is currently making comic waves on Twitter had a very innocent question to ask with this tweet. As a practice I black out names of private individuals and so no names will appear in certain tweets. While people had a good laugh over this comic question, it’s actually a very important question by a Congress supporter. Yeah, where is Rahul Gandhi? Why is he not on Twitter? Is he scared? Considering he is the ‘great white hope’ of the youth for the Congress how come the prince doesn’t find it necessary to be on SM but heads the SM committee? It’s not just RahulG. Where are people like Jyoti Scindia, Sachin Pilot and all the youth gang from Congress? Are they scared of facing the public too? Why does Congress have to recruit volunteers through Ministry of I&B and end up with people who are either comic or totally blank on issues?

Consider this: If the Congress doesn’t get positive reviews or tweets, the least they could do is request their staunchest supporters to stop tweeting idiotic stuff. But the party seems to like it. ST follows these supporters and makes sure they are emboldened to create even more comedy and laughter on Twitter. How can anyone explain these 3 tweets by a very devoted Congress supporter on Twitter? Silly mistakes and gaffes are not unusual anywhere. But this is an example of a pathological streak of moronery that damages the Congress. And they seem to love it. The first tweet implies RahulG is son of Sanjay Gandhi by the Mahatma’s design. The second one says SoniaG was killed by terrorists. The last one claims a prediction of Shinde being targeted by Hindutva at Pune. Mind you, I stopped at three, there are plenty more. Now Mr. Tharoor, do you blame all of this on the right wing or propagandists that the Congress complains about? This is your own guy. Why does anyone else have to make any effort to lampoon Congress at all?

If all that comedy is of Congress’s own making the bad sign is that ST himself is on course to erode his own credibility and respect. The SM and thousands of its members have convincingly countered the lies and propaganda of the media all these years against Narendra Modi. He remains the greatest target for the Congress and the MSM. There is nothing Congress or channels like NDTV, CNN-IBN, IndiaToday group, Times Now won’t do to cause liberal damage to Modi and through him the story of Gujarat. In this campaign they have resorted to thousands of distortions, wanton manipulation of statistical figures and even outright lies. A single example of how the media (Business Standard & BBC in this case) distorts the Gujarat story would be enough to demonstrate my point. In May 2012 the BBC had picked up an article from the Business Standard and carried a story. In less than 24 hours the story was challenged and the both media outlets had to make corrections. Silly BBC even had to dramatically alter their headline itself. From asking if Gujarat is a red hot economy the headline changed to a confirmation that the state indeed is a red hot economy. Does that tell Mr. ST that the MSM may pass spurious nonsense as gospel but it won’t pass on SM? So who is in the propaganda business? The MSM or SM?

ST himself has now fallen to levels he had never imagined he would. In his quest to make a mark for the party on the SM and impress the High Command he has inadvertently become the MSM himself. He now tweets untruthful stuff about Narendra Modi. They already have NDTV, CNN-IBN, AajTak and ABPNews to do that, why should ST resort to such cheap tricks? This tweet of Tharoor will go down as one the most hilarious tweets of 2013. ST uses a 6-year old blogpost from Sulekha.Com (which is a Classified Ad specialist). The post is 6-years old and the data in the post is over a decade old when Modi wasn’t even CM. Was ST assigned to improve Congress image on SM or to generate more comedy like the party’s supporters have been already doing? But hey, keep going, no one is complaining. But in the instant that ST tweeted this he got immediate responses from the ‘Fact-checkers’ and here’s some of it:

And the hits kept coming throughout the day on March 15. The OneIndia news website quoted @Janlokpal with this mockery: “India's "Twitter Tendulkar"(that’s ST ) out for a duck”! But the best tweet lampooning ST’s misadventure was the one that said his account was probably hacked and Sanjay Jha was likely tweeting from it (although the handle mentioned is incorrect, the actual handle being @JhaSanjay). As Gargi Rawat of NDTV mentioned (see part-1) the SM is far ahead of MSM where speed is concerned and deals with facts and figures far more honestly. The problem is not Social Media, the problem is that the Congress leadership is totally out of touch with people. SoniaG, RahulG and MMS can only speak through written speeches. There is no warmth or spontaneity in their communication. And the comedy that RahulG and MMS provide when they speak is now legendary.  

Seriously, at the height of Delhi Gangrape protests MMS finally spoke to the nation on TV. What happened? I know it’s a blooper but finishing with a comic “Theek Hai” had the whole nation laughing for over 2 days and that term will forever be used as a sarcastic remark for all failures. Does that have anything to do with right-wing, Communalists, fascists or propaganda by anyone? That’s coming straight from Congress leadership. What can you do? MMS probably doesn’t himself tweet from @PMOIndia but a smart aleck who should be doing good for the PM sent out this moronic tweet on March 4. “There should be responsible dialogue and debate in parliament” it says. Really? Who is the PMO tweeting to? Kindergarten? And once again there is comic genius in abundance when the tweet is prefixed with “RT if you agree”. Naturally, people are going to pick up such comic stuff and enjoy it like a free party. The line has become a personal favourite of mine. (It appears the PMO has now deleted this comic tweet).

So the truth of the matter is that people don’t need to carry out an anti-Congress propaganda. The Congress leaders and their supporters cause the party enough damage on their own. This damage can only be undone by some work that demonstrates that Congress cares for all people and doesn’t hold the ordinary folks in contempt. For a start, the party and the Govt could repeal 66A and other such silly laws. RT if you agree!