Editors Guild slams news channels over Prophet row coverage

Says some news channels are 'deliberately creating circumstances that target vulnerable communities by spewing hatred towards them'

The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday came down heavily on a section of news channels for their “irresponsible conduct” that “deliberately” created circumstances that led to the targeting of minority communities and appeared to equate them with Radio Rwanda whose “incendiary broadcast caused a genocide” in the African nation.

The strong remarks from the Editors Guild came against the backdrop of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate and the way certain channels went about its reporting as well as the subsequent international outrage, leading to some of the friendly countries demanding an apology from India.

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“The incident that caused unnecessary embarrassment to the country could have been avoided if some of the TV outlets had been mindful of the nation’s constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as the journalistic ethics and guidelines that the Press Council of India has issued to handle a volatile communal situation,” the Editors Guild said in a statement.

“Instead, some of these channels prompted by the desire to increase viewership and profit were seemingly inspired by the values of Radio Rwanda whose incendiary broadcast caused a genocide in the African nation,” it said.

In its statement, Editors Guild president Seema Mustafa, General Secretary Sanjay Kapoor and Treasurer Anant Nath demanded that these channels “pause and take a critical look” at what they have done by “giving legitimacy to divisive and toxic voices” that has made the national discourse “coarse” and the gap between communities “unbridgeable”.

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The statement said the Guild was “disturbed by the irresponsible conduct of some national news channels for deliberately creating circumstances that target vulnerable communities by spewing hatred towards them and their beliefs”.

It said, there was a riot in Kanpur accompanied by an “unprecedented trenchant reaction” from many countries that were offended by the remarks of the BJP spokespersons. In their angry statements, it said, they wondered about India’s commitment to human rights and freedom of religion.

The Guild also demanded vigilance by broadcaster and journalist bodies to prevent a recurrence of this from taking place. The media is in place to strengthen the Constitution and the law and not break it through sheer irresponsibility and absence of accountability, it added.