Why The Govt Must Speak Up — Silence Isn’t Always Golden
We shall, for the moment, avoid mentioning the details of gossiping about rivals and movie stars in the Goswami-Dasgupta chats, though one can always read about them on the Internet.
If Marico pulling out ads for its edible oil featuring cricketer Sourav Ganguly after the Saffola brand ambassador suffered a heart attack is any indication, brands constantly need to maintain their hygiene. Corporate brands that have higher social stakes, such as banks, public sector entities and giant corporations also need to look within.
The government has its own act to clear. Thus far, there has been no significant statement from any in the system to even distance themselves from some of the embarrassing claims in the chat transcripts.
There is a clear case for media companies hurt by the BARC revelations to collectively take up the matter — whether it is through public interest litigation, damage suits or industry associations. At the…