By Invitation: Letter to Rajdeep Sardesai

Sameer Wagle wrote to CNN-IBN about journalistic neutrality and the current public protests over reservations

This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.

Hi Rajdeep,

I am quite distressed by your recent coverage of the debate over reservations. In your aim to be seen to be “politically correct” you are missing the big picture :

The anti-reservation stir has been led by idealistic students with no political axe to grind. They are fighting on principles without any resources to back them and facing the might of the government.

The pro-reservation agitation on the other hand is led by jobless professional politicians (Dalit Panthers etc) who are doing so mainly for vote-bank politics. The number of anti-reservation students far exceeds whatever few people the pro-reservation politicians can gather.

Yet you equate the two in a bid to be seen as fair. This is not objective journalism. Every news coverage that you give to the anti-reservation guys you will show some 10-15 pro-reservation guys just to look balanced. You don’t look at the numbers of people, their backgrounds or their motivation levels

If you really believe in presenting a fair picture you must highlight these facts. Present news as it is and not news as should be!

Best regards

Sameer Wagle

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