Of Scribes and Bribes

Economic liberalisation has spawned a galaxy of TV news channels and publications. It also introduced materialism among journalists, some of whom have become fixers.

- Pankaj Srivastava

THE chief editor of Navbharat Times Rajendra Mathur passed away in 1991. Then prime minister Chandra Shekhar reached Mathur’s house in Delhi to pay his last respects. It was a rented accommodation and the landlord was flabbergasted to see the prime minister’s cavalcade at his doorstep. It was only then that realization dawned upon him that his late tenant was a very prominent personality.

Though Mathur was editor of a Hindi newspaper, English newspaper editors were impressed by his competence. They all wanted to start their day by reading Rajju Babu’s articles on national and international issues. Not only Opposition leaders but Union ministers and even the prime minister would go through his writings. Curiously, he was never seen with any of them. He belonged to that generation of post-Independence journalists who believed in ethics and principles. They felt their foremost accountability lay with their readers and maintaining a distance from the establishment was a prerequisite to preserve their credibility and integrity.