Editors' guild urges media owners to not cow down to political pressure

NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India has urged owners of media houses not to "bow down to political pressure" and practise free and independent journalism.

The guild referred to recent cases of senior journalists leaving electronic media channels because there was alleged government interference in editorial content. The guild has received one formal complaint on the issue, said the statement. Editors were being forced by their employers to tone down content critical of the government, the Guild said in a statement, adding that owners and journalists had equal responsibility to preserve press freedom and fight external pressure.

The guild also expressed its disappointment over recent instances of TV programmes critical of the government being reportedly disrupted or blocked. The statement said one TV channel had shared evidence indicative of government interference.

"This is an attack on not only media freedom but also the foundations of democracy. Such interference is an attempt to silence dissent", it said.

The guild demanded that the government take cognizance of instances of disruption in TV programme signals, investigate the matter and explain the circumstances under which it had happened. Freedom of airwaves cannot be tampered with, the guild said in the statement.

The editors' consortium also spoke out against reported instances of the government selectively denying journalists access to information. Denying journalists this right would lead to biased coverage, it said.

The guild said it was 'pained and agitated' to learn of the detention of Shahidul Alam, an eminent photographer and educator, in Dhaka under the provisions of the Information and Communication Technology Act of Bangladesh. It called the detention "arbitrary and unreasonable". The statement said the guild stood by Alam and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.