Independent journalist-driven initiatives: The Wire, NewsClick, NewsBits, Newsd, TwoCircles, The Citizen herald future of journalism in India

Independent media is necessary in India, as traditional media houses bow to political pressure and are unable to challenge the regimes.

For the businessmen who run these media houses, it is imperative to keep good relations with the governments and hence it is impossible to let their own newspapers or TV channel criticise the government and its policies non-stop.

The gap is thus being filled, as independent journalist-driven initiatives have come forward. These are The Wire, NewsClick, Newsbits.in, TwoCircles.Net, TheNewsMinute, NewsCentral, Newsd, The NewsMinute and Scroll among the most famous ones.

Most of these news sites are run by journalists. Hence, the focus is on news, stories and real issues. It is a good sign that the hold of businessmen and politicians is weakening on media. The websites that have Facebook pages and Twitter handles have huge reach.

The future is journalist-driven media in India. And that's a positive sign.

The Wire
NewsClick
NewsBits.in
TwoCircles.Net
NewsCentral
Newsd
TheCitizen.in
The NewsMinute

Rajat Sharma, Naqvi and Uday Shankar responsible for turning Hindi news channels into a circus, journalists into jokers

Many are wondering how Rajat Sharma could be awarded Padma Bhushan?

This post is about the fall in standard of TV news and journalism in India.

While Arnab Goswami is accused of killing English TV news [as Outlook claims], who is responsible for the death of Hindi TV news?

This question has been raised by Senior journalist Dilip C Mandal who has written a series of Facebook posts on it.

Mandal, who was managing editor, India Today (Hindi) till recently, names three journalists for their role in bringing down credibility of Hindi news channels.

The names are Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma.

Read the English translation here:

Dilip C Mandal

Under whose leadership did the Hindi TV channels enter the 'circus mode'? In prime time, instead of news, TV channels began showing stories about naag-nagin (snake) superstitions, call girl who charged the most and about cars moving without driver.

This journey continued to such an extent that everybody kept slipping, even falling into gutter, and no one bothered.The three leaders who are responsible for turning Hindi media into Peepli Live and its journalists into jokers are Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma.

I will write a detailed paper on it, sometime later. I have no personal issues with any of them. But they are responsible for the situation that today there are jokes on media. Talk about reporters and kids start laughing.

These channels got audiences addicted to such humour that ultimately TV News channels began showing half-hour laughter challenge shows. If this trio won't be there, may be other leaders would be around, doing the same. But they were leading the three major channels in the era.

There was a time when Ganesha idols were sipping milk but SP Singh countered superstition on TV and used the cobbler's tool and showed that it could also sip milk in the same way, and also demonstrated how TRP can be generated by going against superstition.

There is tamasha in Indian English news too but that is mostly around news. In Hindi news channels, tamasha is foremost and there is no need for news at all. Uday Shankar, Qamar Waheed Naqvi and Rajat Sharma drove Hindi TV news to the superstitious age, even though all of these three persons are modren people. However, news was brought the lowest common denominator.

Read the posts on Dilip C Mandal's Facebook Timeline

Indian Express report terms stateless Rohingyas as 'infiltrators'

Poor, persecuted, forced to flee, seen as INFILTRATORS

It is perhaps criminal to be poor. Even Indian Express is now resorting to similar journalistic practices.

In a recent report about Rohingyas, the newspaper termed their arrival as 'infiltration'. The tone is always different when it comes to similar group of persecuted people coming to India from other countries.

Either its Pakistan or Afghanistan, there is suddenly a humanitarian angle visible in the newspaper reports.

There is focus on their plight, need for support and how to help rehabilitate them. But when the most persecuted minority in the world, Rohingays, who were forced to flee from Myanmar, arrived here, they aren't seen as 'humans' or even 'asylum-seekers'.

They are straight termed as 'infiltrators' who can pose 'security risk'. Indian Express journalist Vijaita Singh in her report titled 'Rohingya Muslims infiltration on agenda' mentioned how the Rohingyas have been caught and are now put in jail in India.

Surely, we can expect our journalists to be similar in their approach towards all human beings, who have suffered persecution--rape, killings and genocide. Nepal remained a different kingdom for ages but its citizens are allowed a free entry.

Even persecuted citizens from Pakistan can come, but standards are different for Burma i.e. Myanmar, which was once part of India. Isn't this a totally biased approach? Persecuted people should be considered as human beings, not as 'infiltrators'.

From the headline to the report, lot of things are not one expects from a national daily. If mainstream English newspapers like Indian Express do it, then it is surely a cause of concern.