The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU), which met virtually online through video conference on Tuesday, expressed anguish over the death of seven journalists due to coronavirus, including Tarun Sisodia of Dainik Bhaskar who jumped to death from the fourth floor of AIIMS, Delhi after he tested positive for corona on Monday. He was reportedly under termination notice from the Dainik Bhaskar. It extended condolences to the families of the deceased journalists. Thousands of others contracted the virus while discharging their duty to disseminate credible news and professionally curated views to the people to keep the fake news and ill-informed views at bay, and in the process putting at risk themselves and their families.
The IJU called on the working journalists and other media employees in the country to strongly protest against the indifferent attitude of the Central and most of the state governments towards the health and well being of the working journalists who were immensely contributing to the war against the deadly pandemic. It demanded that the Central and State Governments should immediately extend help to the media industry which is in distress and extend health insurance and other welfare measures to working journalists on par with health, sanitary workers, and the police.
It expressed dismay over the widespread layoffs, forced resignations, and termination of a large number of journalists by the media houses in the guise of loss of advertisement revenue and circulation due to lockdown induced by the corona pandemic. The IJU expressed concern over the failure of the Central Government and most of the State Governments to prevent large scale loss of jobs in the media, retrenchments, and layoffs of journalists. The union felt that large scale retrenchment of journalists would weaken the fourth estate, thereby the democratic foundation of the country. The day of the national protest would be decided after consultations with other journalists’ organisations.
The IJU President K Sreenivas Reddy was in the chair and 40 leaders from 18 states participated in the virtual meeting of the NEC and narrated the trials and tribulations of the journalists and other media employees in their respective states. Secretary-General Balwinder Singh Jammu who participated from Chandigarh gave birds of view of the media situation in the country and the machinations of the managements to retrench and layoff journalists to maximise profits even in a crisis. The IJU condemned the recent attack on the house of Prasantha Chakravarthy, leader of Tripura Working Journalists Union.