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Showing posts from September, 2012

The Fourth Censored Estate

The setting: The newsroom of an English daily in Chennai, shortly after two English papers — The Hindu and The Times of India — were served notices for publishing “incendiary” reports on Tamil Nadu CM, quoting various opposition leaders as saying. News Editor: Editor, we have a crisis. Editor ( rolling his eyes ): About time I am told if it is to do with editing a trainee reporter's copy or modifying the page layout to accommodate more advertisements. NE: Neither; it's about a political news report. As it is, we have had a stream of phone calls from our management and circulation departments, warning us on how to edit it and present it on our page. Last told, the publisher wants to know what it is. E: So, everyone in our establishment knows of it before us. I hope we are still the editorial. Or, have we been transported magically to Siberia? NE: Must we worry over such subtleties? E: Did you just smirk? I dare you to retain that expression when we stare at o