Duty to the fraternity

Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai are no competition for Arnab Goswami (“If you care about press freedom, perhaps it’s time to boycott Arnab Goswami?”). It’s like comparing Bhutan and Bangladesh’s economy with India.

So what if he could not join the “Nautanki March”. He has his commitments towards his family and channel, which is his job.

I know you have waited this long to find one point against him as he may have exposed your benefactors at some point of time, but it’s not enough to wash away his hard-earned trust. Digvijay Moray

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Not sure what you’re cooking here. I kept switching between Rajdeep Sardesai’s and Goswami’s news coverage at prime time. Sardesai kept on showing the video of the attack by lawyers while very conveniently ignoring the bigger issue of the events at JNU. Goswami not only covered the attacks by lawyers (and specifically asked BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to condemn the incident), but also covered the student protests at JNU. I think the writer is imagining what he saw on the show.

A fair debate would be about why Goswami doesn’t let anyone speak and shoves his viewpoint down everyone’s throat. – Avinash Das

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While I hate the sight of Arnab Goswami and his programme (stopped watching it two years ago and switched over to Doordarshan and some selected regional channels), I support him on the issue of JNU and Kanhaiya Kumar. The rest of the media were part of the grand agenda to keep this country engaged in one or the other form of turbulence since the BJP came to power.

I am 74 now, but was once a Students' Federation of India member. My father, who was a teacher with leftist leanings, used to advise me that one must protest and express his opinion after studying the issue at hand as deeply as possible. He also told me that there are two sides of any incident and a journalist's duty is to enlighten their readers with verified facts and let them decide and form their opinion.

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India is a country where people will form two distinct sides when there is news about a man killing his own mother. Now, there is a third view that it is their personal problem and "the law will take its own time and route, but blindfolded". Most of us are in that group.

Like in any society, there are good, bad, and "neutered" people. Kanhaiya Kumar and his gang belong to the second or third kind. At least this time I appreciate Arnab Goswami for the stand he has taken on the JNU issue. M Ramachandran

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As a viewer, I can tell you the poorest “content” on that particular day was on The Newshour. Jwalant Desai

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As a homemaker who also wants to keep abreast of what is happening in our country, I spend the last hours of the day watching the various news channels. I must say that Arnab Goswami’s show on Times Now has consistently been the most disappointing of all.

This boorish news anchor is not only arrogant but it is also obvious that he is a BJP stooge. It’s sad to see my country go down like this.

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Congratulations on your good work, After all, the purpose of journalism has been forgotten by these news channels, which have again been bought over by the politicians and corporates. Shashi Sridhar

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In Arnab Goswami, we find a true, bold and independent journalist, who is not biased. He maintains journalistic ethics and does not follow a particular political ideology. Sanjib Chatterjee

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Your pointed campaign is proof enough that your intentions are not to protect the freedom of journalism, but to protect your job as it is under threat from Arnab Goswami. Don’t fool yourself, get fearless in your journalism and don’t sell out to petty bribes of unscrupulous politicians. Remind yourself of the oath you took on graduating journalism. Uma Kant Kachru

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You want to boycott Arnab Goswami – the man whose show gets the highest ratings and who refuses to toe the line set by you. Aren’t you being intolerant? Isn’t his freedom of speech sacrosanct? Only Afzal Guru deserves a pat on his back, right? Vismay

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The more you hate Arnab Goswami and Narendra Modi, the more we will love them. We are never going to stand with all you hate-mongers. It seems like you will block whoever doesn’t agree with you. Is this your kind of tolerance? And then you speak about intolerance. You are all hypocrites. Kangkan Deka

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Arnab Goswami dictates to the people of India to think like him. He is a megalomaniac, a man who thinks that the country hangs on to his every word. He is one mean machine who destroys sense and sensibilities.

I agree with the writer. We should stop watching Goswami’s tirade and his senseless debates where his favourite few get to rant like him.

I give full credit to Goswami for tearing up the fabric of India and infiltrating us with his perverse thinking. Sylvia D’Souza

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At least one brave man has dared to lead from the front against the anti-nationals and corrupt leftist media, which is not only corrupt, but anti-India most of the time.

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I congratulate Arnab Goswami for showing resilience. The media deserves to be thrashed. Manoj Kumar Agrawal

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Shame on you. The entire media has digressed from professional ethics over the last few years and have revealed their hatred for the Hindus and their nationalism with outrageous lies, half-truths and calumny. The mainstream media’s mask has fallen and their hidden agenda is now in the open. B Sridhar

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A standard deck of playing cards has two jokers, TV news channels too have their set of jokers and one among them is Arnab Goswami.

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I have no clue why the media has “Arnabophobia”. You are giving him more airtime than he deserves.

Applaud him – he’s never had a day off for a sore throat and that by itself is a medical marvel. Sharath Ahuja

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On most occasions, I feel that The Newshour is like a cattle court and Arnab Goswami does not allow the panelists to convey their opinions. However, today I will support him for his views on anti-national protests.

You might say that the students exercised their freedom of expression. But insulting the motherland, the country which pays for their subsidised education, is not freedom of speech. This does not mean that I am supporting OP Sharma or Vikram Chauhan. I sincerely believe all they and the JNU students should be brought to book. This is the least that we can do for our soldiers. Shreenath Krishnamurthy