(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Thomson Reuters)
If you are a journalist in India or have been around people who work in the field, you might have heard these comments:
“You are a journalist, can’t you get passes arranged for that concert?”, “Can I get a similar Press Card like yours?”, “It is easy to show your Press Card and tell the police you are a journalist when you are charged for a minor offence”, “Don’t you know I am from the media?”, “A PRESS sticker on the car can do wonders”.
The common man sees journalists as powerful people. But the Zee News episode, in which two senior journalists were sent to prison after being accused of extortion, has prompted another wave of outrage over the misuse of this so-called power of the media, though on a much bigger scale.
Rajdeep Sardesai, the editor-in-chief of CNN-IBN television, tweeted after a televised debate on the subject, “I guess journalists are more feared today, but sadly less respected. We are more arrogant, less ethical”.
