New Marathi newspaper?

There's a new Marathi daily being planned in Goa, and this was an advert for staff that got reflected in cyberspace... actually onGoajourno. This evening, journo friends were talking about who, and how many, have quit which Marathi newspaper, in obvious planned moves for a shift.

Angry debate, emerging issues

Goajourno is a mailing lists where (some) journos speak their mind. See this thread (and related posts) titled "Correspondents" where some strong words and angry accusations have been traded. It seems to have degenerated into a personal slanging match ;-) My arguments are: let's go beyond personalities to see some of the issues emerging:

* Should journalists accepts presents, hospitality, tours, etc? If so, under what conditions, and to what limit? If not, why? * Can hospitality influence journalism? If so, how do we respond to (i) tours (ii) food (iii) gifts? * Should journalists be allowed to hold another full-time job? If not, why? On the other hand, could there be some advantages of such an arrangement? * Can there be a 'conflict of interest' even when a journalist doesn't hold another job and, if so, what steps need to be taken to prevent this? * Is the problem caused by the low payment structure for non-staff journalists? * Should teachers be disallowed from also functioning as journalism? If so, why? (Just the need to create more full-time job opportunities for journalists might not be a good-enough reason!) * Is freelancing viable? If so, under what conditions? If not, why not? * How does a journalist ensure that his functioning is *not* wholly dependent on the whims of management's policy? * Is journalistic rivalry touching unhealthy levels? * Do juniors have good role-models from among the seniors? Or are juniors themselves at fault, and unnecessarily scapegoating their seniors? * Do journalists take professional and mid-career- training issues seriously enough in Goa/rest of India? * What are the questions that are left out in the above list?

Ethics and other issues...

All of us are violating one or the other here... Consider the unsparing standards set out in the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Code, which instructs journalists to:

* Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. * Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility. * Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity. * Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage. * Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money ...

See: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050217lasica/