Thiruvananthapuram: A woman journalist has resigned from Mangalam TV slamming the unethical practices of the channel in airing the sex tape of A K Saseendran.
“I had little option but to quit,” Ms Al Neema Asharaf who quit Mangalam TV told DC. “What was happening there was questioning my self-respect as a journalist. I may have to pay for it dearly and I am willing to do so. I don’t know if I will be able to get another job, but I don’t regret my decision.”
‘I resigned due to unbearable circumstances, both as a woman and as a journalist’, Ms Ashraf said in a Facebook post. Here are translated excerpts of Al Neema’s post.
I was working in Mangalam till yesterday and I have quit today. I am writing this Facebook post soon after forwarding my resignation to those concerned. I chose this profession because of my passion. I was quite happy when I got the job with a TV channel owned by a prominent media organisation. The first news bulletin itself had put all the employees there in an insulting position. We had expected this to a certain extent, but never imagined that things would go to this low level.
I had joined Mangalam last May. At that stage itself, an investigation team consisting of five reporters was formed. I was also instructed to become part of that team. But I informed them that I was not ready to be part of that team. I had said no because the profile of the investigating team was something that I did not envisage to be part of a journalist’s role.
Though we were told that there would be a big breaking story, we were not told about the exact nature of the news. And I came to know about the Saseendran story only after it was telecast. It is when I thought about the various things that were said during the setting up of the investigation team, and the way the Saseendran episode played out made me realise something was fishy here.
I have several questions:
1) Who is the woman complainant?
2) With what complaint did she approach the Transport Minister?
3) Why has her conversation part been edited out of the conversation?
Because of this incident, all women journalists have been put under the shadow of suspicion and are being insulted. I am quitting my job because this is not what I have learnt as a journalist.
