Targeting Media: J-K government bans Kashmir reader, newspaper forced to stop publication

It's bad news for media. A newspaper has been forced to stop publication in the world's biggest democracy.

The management of the Kashmir Reader was asked to stop printing.

The administration issued an order, which forced the paper to shutdown its operations.

Worse, media is largely silent. Journalists across the country haven't stood in solidarity with the newspaper.

The newspaper has been banned. The decision has been unprecedented. But it has not lead to any outrage. There have been voices condemning the 'arbitrary decision' and demands have been raised to withdraw the ban.

However, most big media houses avoided to cover the story. The closure of a newspaper is not something that can be ignored. It's an emergency situation. The order came when situation in Kashmir had improved relatively.

Quint carried this piece, 'Is Ban on ‘Kashmir Reader’ Daily An Instance of State Repression?'. It quotes the editor Hilal Mir, who says, "The order is vague. It does not mention any article or content that they have found objectionable".

"If there is misrepresentation, specify it, take legal recourse instead of arbitrary methods", he further says. Media watchdog The Hoot has also carried a report, 'A quiet day at Kashmir Reader'. Unfortunately, other media houses ignored the news.

For them, it was not big news, perhaps. And herein lies the tragedy of our times.

Zero Credibility: Times Now takes 'right' turn, abandons journalism, becomes BJP mouthpiece

English news channel Times Now has taken a complete turn towards 'right', and has in fact gone to the extent of becoming a BJP mouthpiece.

The channel under Arnab Goswami was always known to have a pro-BJP tilt but ever since Modi government came to power, it has stopped its 'aggressive journalism'.

But when you can't attack the government, who will you shout at? In order to keep the tempo and maintain its TRP, it is now creating villains and targeting them.

The hashtag '#StopAntiIndiaCampaign' is just an example. By terming JNU and its students as 'anti-national', the TV channel is inflaming passions under the garb of its 'nationalistic journalism'.

While Kanhaiya Kumar didn't shout any slogan, he was arrested and booked for sedition. But the same channel remains soft on BJP, RSS and ABVP leaders who have been found involved in anti-national activities, rioting and extremist acts.

Arnab Goswami conveniently ignores right-wing group burning national flag or BJP allies like Akali Dal and PDP trying to save, release convicted terrorists. After, the prime task is to save the BJP and protect it, when it is failing on various fronts.

By diverting attention, creating new issues and inflaming passions, Times Now is cleverly acting as BJP-RSS' agent in the media. It is not alone. Zee News, India TV and many other channels are also doing exactly the same.

The casualty is journalism. Morality and ethics have been abandoned. The sole aim is to act for the Saffron groups. That's 'supari journalism' at its best. History won't be kind to Arnab Goswami and Times Now for shaming the noble profession.