In turmoil after issuing a statement in favour of a private news agency, Asian News International (ANI) without following its rules or in accordance with the wishes of the majority, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) is likely to meet in Delhi on 16 January.
In response to a question by NewsCentral24x7, Sheela Bhatt, treasurer of EGI said that “16 Jan is fixed, almost. Venue not finalised.”
Even though Bhatt said that the Agenda is not finalised, as AK Bhattacharya, Secretary of EGI is abroad, NewsCentral24x7 has learnt that the meeting will discuss the circumstances surrounding the issuance of a statement in favour of ANI on Thursday. As reported earlier, the statement was issued without following the rules of the Guild mentioned in its Constitution, and when a majority of members of its Executive Council were against issuing a statement on a political leader calling a journalist “pliable”.
It has since been pointed out that The Economist magazine had called Indian journalism “pliable” in 2015, and the same term was also used by Caravan magazine about Indian journalists a few years earlier. To issue a statement about “pliable” when terms like “Bazaru” and “Newstraders” used by PM Narendra Modi himself about the journalists, and his minister has regularly called senior journalists “presstitutes” has raised a lot of eyebrows.
There has been huge debate and anger expressed on the WhatsApp group of the Executive Council of the Guild ever since, with many senior editors castigating the office bearers for unilaterally issuing the statement. It is pertinent to note that the WhatsApp group operates on the basis of Chatham House rules, where the views expressed can be made public without divulging the identity of the person expressing those views.
Going by the tone and tenor of discussion in the WhatsApp so far, many members feel that the meeting on 16 January is likely to be a stormy one. The spotlight is likely to be on the methodology followed while issuing a statement on behalf of the Guild.
When if the meeting on 16 January will be open to journalists to report upon, Bhatt told NewsCentral24x7 that “I don’t know, actually. If EC (Executive Council) of EGI agrees to, I have no issue. We three (office bearers: Gupta, Bhattacharya and Bhatt) can’t take this decision, I think.”
“The minutes are put on our website, however,” she added. As a body of senior journalists holding others to account, demanding open flow of information and seeking transparency in action, the conduct of Guild in arriving at decisions is being watched closely. As they say, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?,” or who will guard the guardians.