Newspapers have turned Punjab into Lord Voldemort i.e.
“He Who Must Not Be Named.” Some newspapers in our country have chosen to engage in a game of “Let’s Avoid Any Reference to Punjab” when reporting on the SC hearing regarding air pollution in Delhi.
Let’s take a look.
TOI has gone to the extent of excluding Punjab from their infographic. It is tiptoeing around Punjab’s role in air pollution, going for generic stubble coverage & emphasizing issue of phasing out paddy in Punjab p.s. check the last news clip & their lopsided focus.
The Hindustan Times seems to be treading lightly as well, with a headline so generic that it could be summed up as “Air Pollution: A Widespread Issue.”
Look at the clever use of ‘all states’ & the mention of ‘Odd-Even strategy’ without giving due credit to the AAP government.
The Indian Express & The Hindu have also joined the “Punjab? What Punjab?” club.
IE highlights the word “Punjab” only in the subtitle. The Hindu avoids using the word “Punjab” in the headline on the front page, using the term “other states” to make it more generic.
Now Amar Ujala does let Punjab sneak into the conversation but slyly mentions “other neighboring states” and in next clip pushes the responsibility onto the center to solve Punjab’s pesky little problem.
How considerate!
Quite amusing how these newspapers are playing hide-and-seek with the word ‘Punjab’. Live Hindustan and Navbharat Times collectively blaming multiple states, avoiding the ‘P-bomb’. Whereas Dainik Bhaskar and Jagran News keep readers guessing with generic headlines, no mention of Punjab.
10 on 10 marks on creativity to these newspapers for sidestepping the mention of Punjab. Ethical journalism would have, however, warranted them to not avoid/downplay such aspects of a story, as it hinders public’s understanding of the issue & will contribute to misinformation.
(This article has been compiled from the tweet thread posted by @WordsSlay on November 08, 2023, with minor edits to improve readability and conform to HinduPost style guide)
