Onstage with PM Modi, Raj Kamal Jha Defines Journalism of Courage

‘Good journalism isn’t dying. It is getting better and bigger. It’s just bad journalism makes lot more noise.’

Who is a good journalist? One who doesn’t shy away from the government’s criticism of his or her work. And wears it like a badge of honour.

That’s what Raj Kamal Jha, editor of The Indian Express, told a gathering of politicians and journalists at the 2016 Ramnath Goenka awards for excellence in journalism.

In this selfie journalism, if you don’t have the facts, it doesn’t matter. You just put a flag in the frame and you hide behind it. Thank you very much sir for your speech, for your wonderful underlining of the importance of credibility, I think that’s the most important thing that we journalists can take away from your speech.

Raj Kamal Jha, Editor, The Indian Express

‘Good Journalism Isn’t Dying, It is Getting Bigger and Better’

This year, the Ramnath Goenka awards were given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a politician and a prime minister, Modi has had a tumultuous relationship with the media: inaccessible and often, contemptuous. The decision to invite Modi led to two awardees, Akshaya Mukul and Anna MM Vetticad, boycott the event.

Also Read: Meet the Journos Who Rebuffed Modi at the Ramnath Goenka Awards

Which is why Jha’s speech becomes significant. It counters the dominant narrative of ‘presstitutes’ and ‘paid media’ accusations with sharp definitions of journalism which is founded on credibility, fearlessness and facts.

You can read Jha’s full speech below.

Thank you for your speech, Sir. Your being here is a very strong message. We hope that good journalism should be defined by the work we celebrate this evening, done by reporters who report and by editors who edit and not by the selfie journalists we see a lot these days, who are always obsessed by what they think, by their face, by their views, who keep the camera turned towards them, the only thing that matters to them is their own voice and their own face. All the rest is backdrop or silly background noise.

In this selfie journalism, if you don't have the facts, it doesn't matter. You just put a flag in the frame and you hide behind it. Thank you very much sir for your speech, for your wonderful underlining of the importance of credibility, I think that's the most important thing that we journalists can take away from your speech.

You said some wonderful things about journalists which makes us a little nervous. You may not find it in Wikipedia but Shri Ramnath Goenka, and it's a fact and I can say that as the editor of the Indian Express, he did sack a journalist when he heard a CM of a state telling him, "Aapka reporter bahot accha kaam kar raha hai".

That's very, very important, especially in this age, and I turn 50 this year and I can say that when we have a generation of journalists who are growing up in an age of "retweets" and "likes" and they do not know that criticism from a government is a badge of honour.

So just like what they do in smoking scenes in cinema, I think we should have a tape running in mind when we hear praise of a journalist, that criticism from a government is wonderful news for journalism. I think that's very important.

Thank you sir, for your speech. You made some wonderful points. I think the most important point was credibility. We cannot blame the government for that. That is our job, we need to look within and we will surely reflect on your remarks.

This year for Ramnath Goenka Award, we got 562 applications. This is the highest ever and this is very important to me to underline this number because this is the reply to those who say that good journalism is dying, that journalists have been bought over by the government.

Good journalism is not dying; it is getting better and bigger. It's just bad journalism makes lot more noise than it used to do five years ago. And that is why I think the remote control should get the R&G award for excellence in journalism."