Time to introspect Privatisation only option
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar’s column, “Rise of print media and drop in press freedom” (May 10), presents only a partial picture of the Indian media. The author rightly celebrates the success of the Indian media, especially print media, bucking the global trend. She attributes its success to rising literacy rates, cost-effectiveness and comfort of home delivery of newspapers.
Her demand for unfettered freedom for investigative journalism, extending even to irresponsible reporting and smearing of reputations of people, businesses and organisations, however, is flawed. Just as the press has the right to accuse, the accused have recourse to law.
The criminal complaint against Outlook magazine and the take-down notice to The Wire — which a Bengaluru court decided in favour of Rajiv Chandrasekhar ex-parte — are constitutional ways to check the media’s overexuberance and supercilious arrogance.
Equally tedious is the author’s stance on the Indian media’s inability “to do great journalism” because of what she says is “lack of freedom”, without apportioning any part of the blame on the practice of paid content (euphemistically referred to as private treaty arrangement), at least in sections of the media. She cites The Hoot’s India Freedom Report but avoids any discussion on the World Economic Forum’s report based on a survey by Edelman Trust Barometer, which described the Indian media as the second-most distrusted institution in the world after Australia. It is a comment on our times that social media has acquired credibility almost on a par with the mainstream media.
It is time to introspect and reflect, instead of blandly passing judgment on Arnab Goswami’s style of journalism.
Ajay Tyagi Guwahati With reference to A K Bhattacharya’s article, “Getting rid of an albatross” (May 10), it’s a matter of concern that despite Air India (AI) strategically finalising various plans to cut costs, introduce new routes, improve operational efficiency and marketing efforts and launch a dynamic fare fixing policy, it does not seem to have made much headway, if its financial performance is any indication.
The author has provided enough statistical data, which implies that all is still not well at the airline even after the total equity infusion of ~28,500 crore into the state-owned airline in the last nine years. Equally worrisome is the fact that its market share today has dropped to 14 per cent from about 17 per cent in 2009-10.
The buck does not stop here. AI’s losses have been rising constantly along with its debt, which could soon turn into a Pandora’s box for the government.
AI has failed to take full advantage of favourable global crude oil prices. Even in 2015-16, its losses were pegged at ~3,837 crore. The only consolation was that it made an operating profit of ~105 crore during the same period.
Some sort of rat race appears to be going on between AI and public sector banks as the government has frequently been providing “oxygen” to banks in the form of huge doses of capital infusion to make them self-sufficient. But their skyrocketing non-performing assets, continued losses and the evergrowing debt of AI bring to light the actual picture.
I agree with the author that privatisation of Air India is the only workable solution.
Vinayak G Bengaluru