Thread by @MnshaP

After @TejinderSsodhi's resignation, I spoke to several former employees of Republic to know of their experiences in the organisation.

Here's what they had to say.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/07/its…

A common theme that emerged from our conversations with former Republic TV employees is the emphasis on sting operations.

A senior anchor, who now works with a mainstream English channel, told me that there are instructions given to 'wire up and meet your sources'.

"...Just imagine what young journalism graduates are being taught there: basically that it’s okay to throw your source under the bus, secretly tape them and reveal their identity even if they don’t want you to do that.”

In a recent “sting operation” on SSR’s fitness trainer, Republic reporter can be heard saying, “It’s off the record, I am not filing it.” What was presented as an exposé seems like an off-the-record conversation between a journalist & a source. It is not an undercover operation

This erodes the very concept of the relationship of trust that journalists are supposed to form with their sources. Moreover, this means our jobs as journalists become doubly tough in getting people to trust us and speak to us.

A former reporter had similar experiences to speak about when it came to stings. “You are given mindless directions to just sting people, even if they are willing to talk to you or even when you can get that information on record..."

"...I was just told to sting students of a particular university. I left Republic TV within a brief time of joining. I knew this wasn’t for me.”

Just yesterday Republic "stung" a doctor.

You can clearly hear the reporter say this "I will not quote anything", "everything is off record", "nothing is going to be quoted". This is not an expose/sting, it's just
surreptitiously recording a source.

Imagine how tough it will be for other journalists to meet this doctor now. He's going to be wary of being recorded and aired on TV without his permission. Journalists meet sources and seek appointments with people all the time, sometimes just for OTR chats.

Secretly recording people in such appointments is a breach of trust and completely unethical. This is not undercover investigative reporting, it's a channel gone rogue with spycams.

It is precisely stuff like this that made people leave Republic, despite some being RW or even broadly agreeing with Arnab's school of nationalism. The expectation here is not merely ideologically alignment, but to cross clear ethical lines.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/07/its…

On the above point on stings, do read this piece by @PoojaPrasanna4.

"A few channels have instructed reporters to not interview people EVEN IF they are willing to appear in front of the camera, and instead ‘sting’ them for an amplified dramatic effect"
thenewsminute.com/article/armed-…

What's sad is that journalists in newsrooms are using TRPs as an excuse for the rotten coverage on SSR case. So, the 30 thousand-odd homes that BARC monitors will decide what the "nation" is watching and lapping up, and that's good enough for us to break every rule of reporting.

Here's more on the many issues with the current ratings system. newslaundry.com/2018/04/25/tv-…

Not discounting the general interest in the SSR case. But it's quite an insult to average news consumers to presume that all they want is the mindless media trial, heckling and conspiracy theories being peddled in the name of news 24/7.