Reporters Without Orders 33: Encounters in UP and Sukma, Kerala floods, and more

The latest episode of Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, along with Amit Bhardwaj, Rohin Kumar and Rahul Kotiyal.The discussion begins with the news of a woman who was beaten up and then paraded naked by a violent mob in Bihar’s Bhojpur district. The panel goes on to discuss the devastation caused by the Kerala floods, as well as the media’s coverage of the deluge.The topic then moves on to Uttar Pradesh’s ban on open sacrifice of animals ahead of Bakri Eid, wherein the state’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, said that this measure was being undertaken so as to not hurt the religious sentiments of other communities.“When two important news events take place simultaneously, how does a newsroom decide on which one to prioritise?,” asks Cherry, posing the million-dollar question to the guests. In turn, Rahul tells her that in this age of New Media and television, it is important to deem both pieces of news as “important” and run them efficiently.The guests also discuss how Navjot Singh Sidhu’s ‘hug’ controversy was quite overrated.The conversation then moves to a heavily-loaded ground report on the Naxal encounter case in which 15 people were killed in Sukma, Chattisgarh. Rahul narrates the story as experienced by him on the ground, and points out that it wasn’t just Naxalites who were killed—but innocent tribal people as well. He also talks about the disadvantages of covering left extremists as it is never certain who might kill you.The discussion culminates with the topic of different encounter cases in Uttar Pradesh anyhow these are against the Human Rights guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission.

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