The Editors Guild of India on Monday backed journalists working with Republic TV after Mumbai Police filed a First Informational Report against them. But he also urged the channel to behave responsibly and not compromise “the safety of its journalists.” Republic TV is under investigation for alleged tampering with the Television Rating Points.
In a statement, the union said that while it did not wish to influence the police investigation, the “victimization of journalists” should stop immediately. “The use of arbitrary state power is not and has never been in the interest of working journalists,” the union said in its statement.
Police have arrested nine people in connection with the TRP scam so far. The owners of Box Cinema and the Marathi channel Fakt Marathi, Shirish Shetty and Narayan Sharma, have also been arrested.
The Publishers Guild of India has issued a statement regarding FIRs that have been brought against journalists from Republic TV. pic.twitter.com/tA4RFKDaBX
– Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) October 26, 2020
The Publishers Guild of India, however, said the channel must behave responsibly and “not compromise the safety of its journalists or damage the collective credibility of the media.” He added that the police must ensure that the investigation does not become a tool to suppress the rights of the media.
He noted that the right to freedom of expression does not mean a license to promote hate speech. “In addition to the unpleasant details related to the manipulation of the PRTs, the very nervous conduct of Republic TV during the unfortunate disappearance of the film actor, Sushant Singh Rajput also raises issues about the credibility of the media and the limits of information” added. “The Mumbai High Court has asked the channel’s lawyer about the harangue directed at actress Rhea Chakraborty.”
“The High Court asked a question that everyone must answer: ‘Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public for their opinion on who should be arrested. In addition, the court wondered if the channel on behalf of investigative journalism was encroaching on the domain of the police. Even the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has expressed similar reservations about his conduct that do not agree with his reports. “
– The Publishers Guild of India
The TRP scam
A bogus TRP scam was discovered in early October when the Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through the Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were tampering with TRP’s numbers. The channels were accused of tampering with their TRPs by bribing some households to view it, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said at a news conference on October 8.
BARC uses BAR-O-Meters, or “people meters” that have been installed in more than 45,000 homes to track TRPs. Packaged households are classified into 12 categories, covering more than 80 million people. Members of these households are given separate viewer IDs, which they must wear while watching television. This helps BARC monitor which channels they watch and the duration of the channels.
Hansa is a company contracted by BARC to install these audience meters.
On October 14, Republic TV Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy and Senior Executive Editor Abhishek Kapoor appeared before the Criminal Branch of the Mumbai Police to record their statements in the case.
Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani appeared before Mumbai police for questioning on October 11. The television channel’s chief financial officer, Shiva Subramaniam Sundaram, was supposed to appear before the police the day before, but requested a rescheduling citing “personal commitments”.
Republic TV has repeatedly claimed that the calls 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 press freedom.
The channel moved to the Supreme Court against the subpoena of the city police to its main editors and executives, in connection with its investigation. However, on October 15, the higher court refused to consider the statement.
On October 19, the channel said it would sue Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for 200 million rupees for allegedly damaging its reputation.
The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a case Tuesday to investigate allegations of tampering with the Television Rating Points scam by Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi.
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