What is happening at Press Trust of India(PTI), India’s premier news agency? The latest is allegedly a diktat by the PTI Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi’s to blackout news items regarding the Information Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani. According to many senior staffers, Vijay Joshi has even asked the photo division to blackout Smriti Irani. The latest instance of this happened on February 10 when Smriti Irani attended a function of PTI employees union.
According to many PTI employees, Vijay Joshi insisted that Smriti Irani’s speech and the photo of the PTI staffer’s own function should not be carried. Wait! Isn’t PTI’s job to report about news events? Doesn’t the visit of a Cabinet Minister to a meeting merit a mention? When it was pointed out to Joshi that this was sheer arrogance, he stuck to his guns and the event went unreported. The details of the function were tweeted by Smriti Irani, as shown below:
In journalism there can be only one agenda and that is truth. My address at Federation of PTI Employees’ Unions Annual General Meeting https://t.co/7Qes7QFch1
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 10, 2018
Many staffers point out that PTI Chief Editor got rattled after Smriti Irani tweeted about the fake and wrong news being peddled by PTI. This fake and wrong news appears to have been created by the Left wing reporters in the PTI. After being caught red-handed, Vijay Joshi met Smriti Irani some months ago. He requested Smriti Irani to call him directly and not tweet about the mistakes. He also apologised about the fake and wrong news peddled by the Left-wing journos. Smriti Irani told him bluntly that she would continue tweeting if any fake or wrong news was manufactured and that she doesn’t believe in calling Joshi directly to point out mistakes.
Another issue pointed out by the staffers – PTI somehow managed to get an exemption for GST from the Finance Ministry. Smriti Irani pointed out to Finance Ministry that this exemption from GST is not a good practice as even the Army’s welfare organisations are not given such exemption. In the meeting, Vijay Joshi asked her why she wrote such a letter to the Finance Ministry led by Arun Jaitley. Smriti Irani told him that she can’t digest the idea of giving exemption from GST to PTI alone when there were several other worthy causes too.
The third issue of the tussle with PTI and Smriti Irani was after Prasar Bharati pointed out that PTI was charging an exorbitant fee of Rs.9.5 crores ($1.475 million) per annum for providing news feed. The public broadcaster pointed out that while PTI charges around Rs.85 lakhs ($132,000) per annum from many top private channels, why were they being gouged by the PTI? PTI’s CEO Venky Venkatesh also met her to request that she would ask Prasar Bharati to withdraw this letter. Smriti Irani told the PTI officers that she herself felt that PTI is overcharging Prasar Bharati and can’t support wastage of public money.
After these three incidents, the PTI top brass decided to hit back at the I & B Minister Smriti Irani, say many staffers. The escalation against the minister has been slow and steady and is reaching a boil.
Team PGurus had already reported[1] the unethical behaviour of PTI Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi which was caught by Parliament’s Press Accreditation Committee. He faked his experience in reporting Parliament and caught royally by the Committee. The appointment of the air-dropped Vijay Joshi has already spoiled the working atmosphere of PTI. Many senior staffers are disgruntled and up in arms. Team PGurus is in possession of data from many staffers of PTI who have reported about the PTI’s current working style. India’s premier news agency has literally become a mad place, according to those in the know.
Question to ponder – How can a news agency blackout news? A News Agency’s job is to disseminate news to media organisations and they are not supposed to black out or spin. Their job is to provide accurate news and nothing but news. It should not be a den of crooks to manipulate or blackout news. Now PTI top brass has the audacity to black out the Information and Broadcasting Minister. Such is the level of arrogance and crookedness of the people sitting in PTI’s top positions. So what would be their nature of working in providing what is supposed to be independent news feed?
The time has come for the owners of PTI to make a call. Who are the owners of PTI? PTI is owned by a consortium of media barons. It is time for the owners of PTI to sit together and clean the mess in India’s premier news agency PTI.
Note:
1. The conversion rate used in this article is 1 USD = 64.39 Rupees.
References:
[1] PTI Editor Vijay Joshi caught for making false claims by Lok Sabha. Permanent pass withheld – Nov 28, 2017, PGurus.com
- NIA confiscates Pak-harboured Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode’s key aide’s land in Moga - April 19, 2024
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi: A Gujju businessman who does not invest his precious time for a losing battle - April 13, 2024
- NIA arrests two accused Shazib and Taahaa in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from Kolkata - April 12, 2024
[…] Did PTI Chief issue a fatwa to black out news on Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani? Feb 17, 2018, […]
Stop writing false information and misleading public. Just because a minister’s event did not get visibility it has become an ego issue. There are more important issues in the country to report upon than to write about a minister’s visit to PTI. PTI is an independent organization and let it be so.
Joke of the year – PTI is independent organisation. PTI Is dedicated many novice Left leaders like D Raja and weekly publishing of Yechury or some leaders article appeared in CPI(M) organ People’s Daily. This is simply due to the many staff’s political leanings or party card membership
When AIR and Doordarshan have correspondents every nook and corner of the country to gather news and report and paid heavily towards salary from public coffer, is it necessary to patronize the news agency and pay a heavy subscription for the same news? It is a sheer wastage of taxpayers money.
Under such a situation either the AIR and DD withdraw all their reporters or stop subscribing to the agency to save the colossal waste of taxpayers money. It seems the AIR and DD reporters are not competent to file news and the agency is being subscribed. Whatever could be the reason the burden is on the public whose hard earned money deposited as taxes are drained for what to pamper the agency a private body
This article is slanderous and libelous. You can print such utter lies with no care because you are in a cou ntry where Libel is norm.
News Agencies like PTI , etc have lost their relevance with the advent of socal media and the internet.
They do not needs to be paid anytging from the public purse.
Interesting.
BTW GST is a tax that is passed through.
Is PTI an end user?
If not, why does it bother them?
There must be another anagle.
Why cant Govt take stringent actions against such erring journalists of PTI when PTI is funded by Govt? All leftists journos should be identified and kicked out of PTI.
The Left wing journos are such urban guerrillas….they are upto anything….these guys simply propagate what D Raja or Yechury or Karat or any novice from JNU says….
This is yet another proof that the entire bureacracy in India is planted by disgruntled UPA. What Modi is to do is to completely cleanse the bureacracy consisting of Babus and their Bosses who consistently leak confidential and sensitive information to the vested parties. The fleeing of hordes of looters before the law caught up with them is due to this leak from the Ministries. Delaying of swift actions against violators on purpose and leaking information of sensitive nature are the reasons for the public perception of Narendra Mody’s soft attitude towards wrongsters in the country.
It is time that Jetlie cleans up his own Ministry to restore the confidence in various financial institutions in India as well as to safeguard its economic well being from the maurading fradusters in the country. Jetlie cannot remain archaic and erode the image of the government. No wonder he is nicknamed by the public as Jet Lie.
Will Narendra Modi look for a change in the Finance or he would continue to let Jet lies lead him to his own downfall is the question the disciplined public is asking.
Removing Jelie only would restore the confidence of the public in the government and appreciate the good work the government is doing.
Jetlie may be honest but his gentle attitude towards the Congress, where he has many of his dear friends, will undo all the good things of this Government.
You are disseminating enough information about the Govt. is that not enough?