Editors Guild asks Republic TV to be responsible, urges Mumbai Police not to victimise journalists
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The Editors Guild of India on Monday backed journalists working with Republic TV after the Mumbai Police registered a First Information Report against them. It urged the channel to behave responsibly and not compromise “the safety of its journalists”. Republic TV is being investigated for alleged manipulation of Television Rating Points.
In a statement, the guild said that while it doesn’t wish to influence the investigation by the police, victimisation of journalists should immediately stop. “The use of arbitrary state power is not and has never been in the interests of working journalists,” the guild said in its statement.
The police have arrested nine persons in connection with the TRP scam so far. The owners of Box Cinema and Marathi channel Fakt Marathi, Shirish Shetty and Narayan Sharma, have also been taken into custody.
The Editors Guild of India, however, said the channel must behave responsibly and “not compromise the safety of its journalists as well as hurt the collective credibility of media”. It added that the police must ensure that the investigation does not become a tool to suppress media rights.
It pointed out that right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech. “Besides the unsavory details pertaining to the manipulation of TRPs, the Republic TV’s high-strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of film actor, Sushant Singh Rajput also raises issues about media credibility and the limits to reporting,” it added. “The Mumbai High Court has pertinently asked the channel’s lawyer about harangue directed at actress Rhea Chakraborty.”
“The High Court asked a question that must be addressed by all: ‘Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public about their opinion on who should be arrested?’ Also, the bench wondered whether the channel in the name of investigative journalism was encroaching into the domain of police. Similar reservations about its conduct have been expressed even by News Broadcasters Association (NBA) that disagrees with its reporting.”
— The Editors Guild of India
The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement on FIRs that have been filed against journalists of Republic TV pic.twitter.com/tA4RFKDaBX
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) October 26, 2020
The TRP scam
A fake TRP racket was uncovered earlier in October when the Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers. The channels were accused of rigging their TRPs by bribing some households to watch it, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had said at a press conference on October 8.
BARC uses BAR-O-Meters, or “people’s metres” that have been installed in over 45,000 households for tracking TRPs. The empanelled households are classified into 12 categories, covering over 80 crore people. The members of these households are given separate viewer IDs, which they are required to put on while watching television. This helps BARC to monitor which channels they watch and the duration for the same.
Hansa is a firm contracted by BARC to install these audience measurement meters.
On October 14, Republic TV’s Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy and Senior Executive Editor Abhishek Kapoor appeared before the crime branch of the Mumbai Police to record their statements in the case.
Republic TV Chief Executive Officer Vikas Khanchandani had appeared before the Mumbai police for questioning in case on October 11. The TV channel’s Chief Financial Officer Shiva Subramaniam Sundaram was supposed to appear before the police on the previous day, but he asked for a reschedule citing “personal commitments”.
Republic TV has repeatedly claimed that the summons to its top editors in the TRP scam were part of a “desperate witch hunt” . They have also accused the police of pursuing an agenda against free press.
The channel moved the Supreme Court against the city police’s summons to its top editors and executives, in connection with their investigation. The top court, however, on October 15 had refused to entertain the plea.
On October 19, the channel said that it will sue Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for Rs 200 crore for allegedly damaging its reputation.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a case to investigate allegations of manipulation of Television Rating Points scam by Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
