Filing criticisms as reports

We have pointed out so often on Chindu how reporters take the liberty to criticize news or think on behalf of the reader. This is deliberate and is driven by political loyalties.

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : To each, his own tinted glasses

If that was the response from a reader to an imagined slight to the Empire, on more solid ground were those who protested against a report on President Abdul Kalam, saying he had resorted to a “new format” to convey his willingness to enter the presidential fray. There was neither a communiqué nor a statement by an official spokesman, but only an oral statement. That, according to the special correspondent, was a “clever and new format that permits the option of denial at a later stage.” Arvind B., a student at NIT, Tiruchirapalli, took umbrage at this conclusion which he saw as “an unwarranted attempt at thinking for readers” who can think for themselves whether it is a clever idea or not. “Please stick to reporting, at least on Page 1,” he said. Dr. K. John Mammen of Thiruvananthapuram found it “irreverent, charitably incorrect.” The Hindu has been critical of Mr. Kalam, but that is the editorial writer̵ 7;s prerogative, which a reporter cannot assume.