Below is a reader submitted open letter to the Editor of Jame Jamshed.
Dear Ms Shernaz Engineer,
I am a reader and well-wisher of Jame Jamshed our grand 184 year old newspaper. The 5 pages dedicated to Jame Jamshed have prompted me to write this. Presently the issue is not about Jame Jamshed vs BPP Trustees. This is about Shernaz Engineer vs BPP. You seem to trying to gain sympathy to save your job. Your justifications carry no weight anymore.
You should not mislead the community with this false propaganda and drag our grand old newspaper Jame Jamshed in to this please. The earlier editor also used to badmouth Dinshaw Mehta in the filthiest language and used Jame Jamshed to attack him and his family members. To this I had strongly objected then. And now too I will object when you the current editor of Jame Jamshed acts as a media partner to Dinshaw Mehta, Viraf Mehta and their cronies who have made JJ into their mouth piece to attack the duly elected BPP Trustees, and make personal remarks about the candidates and their family members. If you disagree ask your readers what they think when they open any issue of Jame Jamshed.
As an editor, you are showing your bias towards some of the Trustees of the BPP. On any Sunday you will find Trustee bashing either by a lone sitting Trustee or their cronies week after week in JJ. This 184 year old newspaper has a reputation and a tradition of fairness that you have to follow and uphold. However you do not even follow the basic principle of checking facts before you publish. You merely fill the coffers and publish trash at times. Jame Jamshed needs a neutral and an unbiased Editor.
You allowed a candidate standing for elections to attack the daughter of another lady candidate at a personal level for which you had ultimately to apologise publicly because you and your paper were issued defamation notices. If you had checked facts as a responsible editor should and vetted the article before publishing it, such a situation would not have arisen. You would have been able to stand by your article and defend it in Court.
Please remember that the editor and the publisher are as much responsible as the author of demeaning and defaming articles.
Your bias and insecurity are apparent now as…
You have your staff writing in favour of Jame Jamshed and dedicated a full page to your staff to ridicule the Trustees. In lighter vein – did they also have to pay to get their write up published?
You only published articles which were in favour of Jame Jamshed while ignoring those who wrote against your style of journalism. You have to publish both sides if you want to be fair to your readers. I have personally written to you on community matters but you have not published a single letter and neither has your office extended the basic courtesy of acknowledging my mail.
Last week Parsi Times published the views of all Trustees on the Jame Jamshed ban issue including that of Viraf Mehta who was against the ban. Despite the owner of Parsi Times being a Trustee, he did not misuse his powers to suppress and not publish Viraf Mehta’s views. This is fair play Ms Shernaz Engineer. Be fair to your readers. Don’t just print what suits you. Print whatever is fair and in the interest of the community.
One does not need any more proof that you are biased. Viraf Mehta is strongly supporting you. Why? Because you allow him and his cronies to use JJ for Trustee bashing. Is this not a fact ?
You have dedicated 5 pages in support of Jame Jamshed . I am sure if you offered a 40% discount you could have this so called ‘ban’ lifted .
Warm Regards
Arzan J Ghadially.
I was dead against the idea of general franchise to elect the BPP trustees, for I knew these elections will throw up undeserving and people with great egos. The Sathias ran the BPP much better. The BPP is suddenly concentrating on finance, when crores were spent to sue a mobed and what more, the two trustees responsible were even re-elected. Now the institution of our heritage paper is being diminished, with a well thought out excuse of advertisements being expensive.