A BLACK DAY FOR THE MEDIA IN INDIA
THE WAY ASIAN AGE FOUNDER, M. J.
AKBAR AND COLUMNIST/ACTIVIST SEEMA MUSTAFA HAD BEEN DROPPED OUT OF
ASIAN AGE, APPARENTLY FOR PUBLISHING HIGHLY EFFECTIVE OPINION WRITINGS
AGAINST THE US NUCLEAR DEAL THAT IS BEING IMPOSED ON INDIAN PEOPLE
UNDEMOCRATICALLY AND UNWISELY, CLEARLY PROVES TO THE LENGTHS THE US
CONSPIRATORS IN INDIA WILL GO TO CARRY OUT THEIR NEFORIOUS AGENDA.
AFTER NATWAR SINGH, MANI SHANKAR AIYER, M. J. AKBAR AND SEEMA MUSTAFA ARE THEIR LATEST VICTIMS OF PERFIDIOUS MANIPULATIONS.
EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE APPEAR TO BE
POWERLESS AGAINST THE PRESS BARONS, BE THAT JEWISH OR MARWARIS LIKE THE
SMALL MINDED JAINS, POINTED OUT BY KHUSHWANT SINGHJI IN THE FOLLOWING
ARTICLE, THE MORE BRASH. ARROGANT AND OVERCONFIDENT THEY BECOME, THE
EARLIEST THEY WILL INVITE THEIR DOOM.
GHULAM MUHAMMED, MUMBAI
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| OPINION |
| 'F*** All Editors' |
The hard truth about Indian journalism: proprietors matter, editors don't  |
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| Khushwant Singh |
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There
was a time, not very long ago, when our dailies derived credit from the
stature of men who edited them. During the British Raj, editors of
British-owned national papers like the Times of India and the Statesman
had knighthoods conferred on them. Even after India gained Independence
and Indians took over as editors, they enjoyed considerable prestige in
society. Names like Frank Moraes, Chalapathi Rau, Kasturi Ranga
Iyengar, Pothen Joseph and Prem Bhatia were known to readers. Dilip
Padgaonkar, editor of the Times of India in the '80s, was not
far wrong in asserting that next to the prime minister he had the most
important job in the country. Constructive criticism of the ruling
party came not from the opposition political parties but from the free
press edited by able, responsible men.
The scenario changed with the spread of TV. People who saw events
take place before their own eyes could not be bothered to read about
them in the papers next morning. Fewer and fewer people read
editorials. Proprietors of newspapers sensed that editors were
dispensable as they and their business managers could better meet the
challenges posed by the electronic media. All it needed was to fill
their pages with pictures of scantily-clad starlets or models, recipes
for exotic foods, vintage wines and gossip. The formula could be summed
up in four Fs: films, fashion, food and fuck editors. Many notable
pen-pushers fell victim to the fourth F: Frank Moraes, Girilal Jain,
B.G. Verghese (Magsaysay award winner), Arun Shourie (another Magsaysay
awardee), Vinod Mehta, Inder Malhotra, Prem Shankar Jha. Today if you
ask who is the editor of the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, the Telegraph and the Statesman, nine out of ten will plead ignorance. As for Dilip Padgaonkar, you may well get the reply in a counter-question: "Dilip who?"
The hard truth about Indian journalism is that proprietors matter,
editors do not; money counts, talent does not. The latest instance of
money trashing ability and experience is the unceremonious sacking of
M.J. Akbar, founder-editor of the Asian Age. He is perhaps the most distinguished living member of his tribe. He started the weekly Sunday and the Telegraph
for the Ananda Bazaar group of papers based in Calcutta. He has been
elected member of the Lok Sabha and is the author of half-a-dozen
books, all of which have gone into several editions. Fifteen years ago,
he, with a set of friends, launched the Asian Age. It was a bold venture as the Asian Age
came out of all the metropolitan cities of India as well as London. It
had little advertising but had a lot more readable material taken from
leading British and American journals than any other Indian daily. It
was as close to being a complete newspaper as any could be. Besides
these unique qualities it also published articles by writers critical
of the government and the ruling party. It was probably this aspect of
the journal that irked Akbar's latest partner in the venture; he had
political ambitions of his own and wished to stay on the right side of
the government. So without a word of warning, on the morning of March 1
while he was on his way to office, Akbar learned that his name was no
longer on the Asian Age masthead as its editor-in-chief. It was
an unpardonable act of discourtesy committed by someone with less
breeding and more money.
It is difficult to forecast what Akbar will, or can, do to settle
scores with the people who wronged him and the profession of
journalism. The episode will rankle in his mind. He is only 57 and a
man who never forgets nor forgives.
Akbar was one of the small team of editors who helped me take the circulation of the Illustrated Weekly of India
from a measly 60,000 to well above 4,00,000.It is ironical that I was
sacked in much the same way in 1978 as Akbar was this year. The
journal, like all others published by Bennet Coleman, including the Times of India,
had been restored by the government to the Jain family. As soon as they
took over, they started meddling in my business. My contract was
terminated and my successor appointed. I had one week to go. I wrote a
tearful piece of farewell, wishing the Illustrated Weekly
future prosperity. It was never published. When I arrived at the office
in the morning to tidy up my desk, I was handed a letter asking me to
quit immediately. I picked up my umbrella and walked back home.
It was an undeserved, deliberate insult. It still rankles in my
mind. The Jain vendetta continues to this day. Even functions held in
my honour presided over by people like Amitabh Bachchan, Maharani
Gayatri Devi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while reported in the Times of India, never carry my name or photograph. That is how small-minded people with pots of money and power can be.
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--recirculated by:
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