I have been associated with journalism field for over two decades. And I don’t hesitate to say that the present day journalism is being dominated by a bunch of hypocrites.
I have been a regular reader of greatandhra.com for the last six years. Though I may not subscribe to all the news stories being carried by this portal, I don’t find anything unnatural in these writings.
As I understand, most of the film-based stories that appear in the website are sourced from the film journalists but nowhere could I find any stories deliberate plants to malign actors or actresses or any other artistes.
Most of these reports are straight without any mala fide intentions; and if they are gossips, greatandhra.com clearly categorises them in the gossips column.
After all, film journalism thrives on gossips; take any film magazine or for that matter film pages in regular newspapers, one can mostly gossip-based stories. Popular Mumbai-based film magazines like Stardust or Film Fare, too, churn out a lot of gossip on actors and actresses and their behind the screen activities and publish all sleaze. Even television channels, including the so-called Telugu channels claiming to champions of “a better society,” dish out stories based on gossips.
There are several film websites, which go to any extent to write scandalous stories about film stars. I am sure greatandhra.com is much better and decent compared to all these channels and publications.
Why I call the present journalism as hypocrisy is that the channels and publications that made al sorts of allegations against Venkat Arikatla have all faced worse allegations in the past.
Take for example Vemuri Radhakrisha, the owner of Andhra Jyothy daily which wrote nastily about greatandhra.com on Friday. Can anybody find a better hypocrite than him, as everybody still remembers how he tried to make use a girl to sling mud at YSR Congress party leader Ambati Rambabu and how it boomeranged on Radhakrishna. His daily has commented that Venkat is a close follower of Yuvanetha (read: Jagan), but the latter’s media house Sakshi also has written badly about Venkat. And greatandhra.com carried several negative reports about Jagan, his political immaturity and allegations of corruption against him.
And about the television channels that deliberately tried to malign the image of Venkat. Watch the so-called entertainment reports carried by these channels in the night; you will feel ashamed of watching some of these reports. And one so-called No. 1 channel carried several stories describing actress Roja and NTR’s widow Lakshmi Parvathi as iron legs. And now, they accuse Venkat of carrying scurrilous reports.
What do you call it, if not hypocrisy and journalism of worst kind?
Having been associated with this field, I know how many of these senior journalists including channel heads have been making money from powers-that-be through blackmailing. And they don’t have the moral right to point an accusing finger at Venkat!
Truth shall prevail. And Venkat will continue to remain dare to write!
From a Greatandhra Reader
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are the author's and not of greatandhra.com.
