On Mon, 20 Oct 2003, Sachin Phadte wrote: > Given the rationalisation of Ben's motivation and actions, particularly by > as senior journalist like Fred, would indicate to me that Prof Sen's > condition for a functioning democracy has not been in existence for a long > time. Of course, we should try and recover it, if it is lost. But this can > happen only when we do not indulge in rationalisation but in admitting the > facts as they are. If Lambert's whetting of editorials by the owners of the > journal he was writing is to be even obliquely justified, then surely it > would be difficult to condemn an editorial of any journal to be similarly > whetted today.
Sachin, You're misunderstanding me. Misuse of the Press is not, and can never be, justified. On whatever grounds. Yet we, who work in the Press, know that this happens *all* the time. This is the *reality*. Such is the situation not just in Goa or the rest of India, but even in the so-called 'developed' countries, whether the US or Canada or elsewhere. (Nobody, or very few people, talk about it. Most of the time, the average reader wouldn't even get a hint of the 'inside story'.) What I really appreciate is Ben Antao's candour in telling the truth in a story that involves him. Criticising others is easy; admitting that we ourselves have our own failings is far from easy. Ben did it. I appreciate that. My hope is that such writings would help other journalists, like us, who belong to another generation, to better understand the pitfalls of a profession which is otherwise glamourised. The real world of journalism isn't quite the same thing as the televised images. We all need to be idealistic; but let's not live in a make-believe world. FN ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
