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World Press Freedom Day: We Will Fight You Tooth and Nail

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, award-winning journalist Chitra Subramaniam writes in this hard-hitting piece how some Indian journalists have blood on their hands.

By Chitra Subramaniam
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Editor's note: Some articles have a timeless quality, enduring through the years. On World Press Freedom Day, it's likely that this piece by Chitra Subramaniam is one of them.

Galling, vicious and vile. I have no other words to describe the journalism that some star anchors and talking heads indulge in every day. In fact, it is not journalism, and I don’t know what it is. This much is certain - I do not wish to dignify muck by any other name because muck it is. When you have to lean on little children with skull caps to do your bilious bit, it is not journalism – it is an outpouring of hatred and venom that is in your system. Your own inadequacies limit you, so you look for helpless people in difficult situations, and you stick your microphone and cameras on them. 

You are chasing your own ghosts when you run after politicians and their ilk in search of what you think is a story. I know some of the star anchors as I do some talking heads, and I am astonished to note how cleverly they have disguised themselves till recently. Ladies and gentlemen – the gloves are off. You have come searching for us, and you will find us.

We will fight you tooth and nail.

To those who call themselves journalists, I ask - how do you see yourself in the mirror every day? How do you sleep knowing fully well that your irresponsibility and ego may kill someone, fan a communal riot or lead to fights with no beginnings and ends? How many lies do you spread in your newsroom every day in the name of journalism and press freedom? 

It’s not just the editor who needs to think – it’s the whole chain of command that is involved. Stories just don’t get written by t

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