Pause, take a critical look at what you have done: Editors Guild of India to news channels on Kanpur violence

Noting that the irresponsible conduct of some news channels has made the national discourse coarse and the gap between communities unbridgeable, the Editors Guild of India on June 8 asked them to pause and take a critical look at what they have done just to increase viewership and profit during the Kanpur violence. It also called for stricter vigilance by broadcasters and journalist bodies, noting that the recent incident of violence in Kanpur that caused “unnecessary embarrassment” to the country could have been avoided if those news channels had been mindful of the nation's constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as journalistic ethics and guidelines of the Press Council of India. “The incident that caused unnecessary embarrassment to the country could have been avoided if some of the TV outlets had been mindful of the nation's constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as the journalistic ethics and guidelines that the Press Council of India has issued to handle a volatile communal situation,” the EGI said. “The EGI demands that these channels pause and take a critical look at what they have done by giving legitimacy to divisive and toxic voices that have made the national discourse coarse and the gap between communities unbridgeable,” the Editors' body said.