Manisha Pande Profile picture
Sep 24, 2020 9 tweets 3 min read Read on X
.@tweets_prateekg spoke to 4 reporters who were present outside NCB office today who told him what exactly happened. Contrary to social media chatter, the journalist who slapped Pradeep Bhandari is neither from ABP News nor NDTV.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/24/rep…
The journalist who slapped Bhandari told @tweets_prateekg: “He went live and said the NDTV reporter was frustrated, that he comes here to eat chai-biscuits. I went and asked him to behave, and he began hurling abuses at me. After that, I slapped him.”
Acknowledging his mistake, the journalist said that Bhandari has been “insulting other reporters” for the past couple of months. “He used objectionable language against other journalists,” he said. “I don’t believe in getting into fights with people of my own fraternity...”
R Bharat is a tabloid TV network. Its workers on the field are encouraged to heckle, push and shove, and create a scene with the aim to produce a reality TV show. This has got nothing to do with traditional news gathering and often interferes with the work of other reporters.
From @tweets_prateekg's story it's clear that reporters from other networks — across the spectrum from NDTV to ABP to Times Now — had been a bit fed up with the constant heckling Bhandari and Co have been subjecting them to. This is not normal.
Despite channel rivalries and anchors' one-upmanship on TRPs, reporters on the field work together and have pretty cordial working relationships. R Bharat's name-calling is definitely not something reporters indulge in on the field.
But the thing is that people like Bhandari aren't reporters or journalists. He used to be a psephologist and now a mere circus monkey for Arnab. R Bharat itself is not a journalistic operation.
So, while I don't condone slapping Bhandari or any sort of violence against any of R Bharat's workers, the fact is that they are a tabloid TV operation that is abusing journalistic rights and power, and the idea of press freedom.
Update: Late on Thursday evening, a non-cognizable complaint was filed against Bhandari at Colaba police station. The complaint was submitted by Vinod Jagdale, a News24 journalist and the president of the TV Journalists Association.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/24/rep…

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More from @MnshaP

Jun 2, 2021
"We aren’t reporting against the government but in favour of the public."

Wondering about @DainikBhaskar's 'uncharacteristic' coverage? @AshwineSingh & @tweets_prateekg spoke to editors & reporters to understand some of the newsroom thinking behind it.
newslaundry.com/2021/06/01/we-…
The shift to aggressive reporting can be attributed to scale of devastation/mishandling. Reporters & editors clearly see that "readers want the truth to be told". Others offered a branding explanation: “Our managing director says Bhaskar must always stand with public opinion."
Another thing to note is Bhaskar's entry into digital: “Bhaskar has injected a new zeal in its digital team in Uttar Pradesh. Our newspaper is not published in Uttar Pradesh, and this is an attempt to establish it via the digital route."
Read 6 tweets
May 4, 2021
There are plenty of journalists in India working for Indian orgs who are reporting on the pandemic bravely/meticulously. Noida-based studio ≠ 'domestic' media. In fact, Rana Ayyub hasn't reported on the pandemic but is repeatedly called on as a talkinghead in international media
Even a pro-BJP channel like Aaj Tak does have reporters on the ground getting us important updates from the ground. It's another matter that anchors like Anjana et al are not using their material to question the government on primetime.
Rana Ayyub has become the go-to person of lazy international media panels for everything from farmers protest to the pandemic, often pedalling half-baked exaggerations without putting in the rigour of reporting that many other Indian journalists do.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 27, 2021
"Our job is also to give voice to people who don’t have it. And at a lot of these crematoriums people are coming up to us and expressing their grief and anger.”

Indian & foreign press is reporting from crematoriums because THAT IS where the story is.
newslaundry.com/2021/04/27/why…
As deaths from Covid surged in New York last year, Reuters, Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, BBC, Telegraph showed drone footage of caskets being buried in mass graves. There were similar reports from graveyards in Brazil, Italy and the UK.

India isn’t being singled out.
“This is the truth. We are documenting the truth and bearing witness to it,” said a reporter for a British media organisation. “It is very easy to lament the coverage and blame the messenger and far more difficult to ask for accountability. But nobody is making things up...”
Read 7 tweets
Apr 21, 2021
Big win for @newslaundry against an extremely brainless attempt at harassing @tweets_prateekg for doing his job. The story in question was about layoffs in Sakal Times & they took umbrage to us using their logo for a story that is ABOUT the group.
newslaundry.com/2021/04/21/no-…
It would have been a “completely different matter” if the articles used Sakal’s trademark to “portray” Newslaundry as the Sakal Media Group, the court pointed out, but instead, “there was no suggestion that the said news portal itself was that of Sakal”.
Read 4 tweets
Mar 20, 2021
"RSS can be slow, but we need to act fast as the time is running out for us.”

In Amta constituency of Howrah, BJP has fielded one of its vocal critics — Hindu Samhati president for whom the RSS is too centrist. Report on the organisation & its men.
newslaundry.com/2021/03/20/str…
The Hindu Samhati is home for pracharaks who have left the RSS fold. The organisation now attracts men who have formerly worked with mainstream political parties. Like Banti Khan who was born and brought up in 'Congress' culture. Image
“I attended Tapan Ghosh’s meeting of Hindu Samhati and really liked it,” Khan said. “My eyes opened up to how Muslims have captured our land, how Congress distorted history, and I joined the Samhita and now work with the BJP.”
Read 7 tweets
Jan 26, 2021
.@ndtv is now showing a split-screen with visuals from farmer's protest. Rest of the channels remain on the DD feed.
NDTV's coverage is quite strange to watch. There's live commentary from the R-Day parade occupying most of the screen with visuals from ANI on what seems like tear gas gone off at the protest site. I am sure they have reporters on ground to cut live to?
What's the point of private news networks if everyone *has to* show the state broadcaster. People who want to see the parade can go to DD. Private news networks should be able to show reports along with R-Day parade. Especially when there's lathicharge happening in Delhi!
Read 10 tweets

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