These are troubled times for journalism. Veteran journalists are wondering whether the fabric of the once proud profession is slowly coming unravelled by the relentless pull of populism, politics and profits on its fraying seams. Official versions of stories have made journalistic practice veer closely to the role of publicists and public relations. Journalism schools teach their students that negative events make newsworthy stories. A train accident or a plane crash, lightning striking people, mindless terrorist attacks, floods and epidemics are all grist to the journalistic mill.
Amidst this mileu, I am happy to see my friend Vinoj Kumar treading an untrodden path by launching The Weekend Leader, a portal devoted to positive journalism. Unlike the popular media full of negative stories, and criticism treated as an end in itself, which is destructive, The Weekend Leader concentrates exclusively on positive stories. Positive journalism is journalism of hope.. Its stories are about something surprising, something we did not already know that will either affect the readers directly, or in the case of human interest stories, inspire their empathy or interest.
We are living in a society facing multiple crises-- cultural, ecological, economic and political. If the existing systems and structures of power continue on their present trajectory, a permanent decline is inevitable. The world we live in is profoundly unjust in the distribution of wealth and power, and fundamentally unsustainable in our use of the ecological resources of the planet. The task of journalism is to deepen our understanding of these challenges and communicate that understanding to the public to foster a meaningful dialogue necessary for real democracy and growth.
As the newspaper industry faces a failed business model and struggles for solutions, there are great opportunities to reshape journalism to serve people and the planet, following the traditions of the spirited independent journalists of the past. The Weekend Leader offers an exciting opportunity to young journalists to break new grounds in which justice and sustainability define not just our dreams but our lives.
On this occasion of the inauguration of The Weekend Leader, it is worth recalling what our former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, has written in his book, Spirit of India: Reflecting the concerns, aspirations and dreams of the Indian Youth: “A borderless society with no divisions of caste and community can only arise from borderless minds. It has taken centuries for our society to evolve into the present structure of caste and community. Love, patience, good laws and fair justice are the best instruments of our society to transform itself into a borderless community where hands that serve are better than lips that pray. If the 540 million youth work with the spirit 'I can do it, we can do it and India can do it,' nothing can stop India from becoming a developed country.”
Anil K Rajvanshi takes a philosophical path to explore the roots of corruption and says we need to be less greedy and follow the maxim of simple living and high thinking to curb the menace
If you think ‘I can’, then you can, says Roopleen Prasad, guiding you on a path to success and helping you surmount the obstacles that come up in the form of negative thought
Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane with the weight of a small car, developed by Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, is attempting a world record in solar aviation
The wife of a porter, 38-year-old Sanuja Rajan, has won Rs. 1 crore in a TV reality show in Kerala. Life has come full circle for the woman, who has endured many hardships, says Sanu George
The scenic East Coast Road that connects Chennai with several tourist destinations has turned into a death trap due to increase in number of accidents. KP Subramanian analyses the problem
A small army of friends have joined hands to strengthen TWL under the banner of the Friends of Positive Journalism, a forum that was launched two years ago. P C Vinoj Kumar has the details
Ravi Kalra is a former taekwondo instructor whose NGO cares for senior citizens, and mentally challenged people. He carries on with his work though his family deserted him, says Rahul Vaishnavi
Is Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Prasad Kariyawasam playing a dangerous game of dividing Indians? He has been accused of instigating the North Indians against the people of Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu
Indian cricketers, including Dhoni and Sachin, let their hair down after their historic whitewash of Australia by zooming and careening around the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida
Student outfit warns IPL against fielding Sri Lankan players in Chennai. Political parties echo the demand as the ‘Boycott Sri Lanka’ campaign gains momentum and casts its shadow on cricket
The Weekend Leader captures the ongoing students’ struggle in Tamil Nadu in photographs, even as the protests appear to be taking the shape of a popular movement for creation of Tamil Eelam
A set of young girls in a sleepy hamlet in Assam stuck to their passion, playing soccer, despite societal disapproval. Today, many of them have brought fame to their village, says Abdul Gani
Sanitation is the last thing crisis managers provide to people displaced from homes by disasters. Now a former banker, Promita Sengupta , has come up with a quickly deployable toilet that has come handy for NGOs, says Kavita Kanan Chandra
A young innovator from Tamil Nadu aspires to create 50,000 jobs by popularizing his herbal mosquito repellent, ‘Hermo’, which repels mosquitoes effectively but does not harm humans as it is non-allergic and non-toxic, says P C Vinoj Kumar
Village Ways, launched by Manisha and Himanshu Pande on the principle of responsible tourism, helps urbanites have a real feel of rural life. Not a ‘home stay’ kind, the enterprise ropes in the locals as partners, says Kavita Kanan Chandra
Social work is no pizza business, it requires commitment and passion says Vidyaakar, who has been running a home in Chennai, Udhavum Karangal, for 30 years. Catherine Gilon met the Papa, who now has 1263 people, 314 of them kids, in his care
A young IAS officer mobilized Rs 40 lakh through Facebook to build a road in Manipur, earning the sobriquet ‘The Miracle Man’. Gaurav Sharma met Armstrong Pame to find out why he wanted to build the 100 km ‘People’s Road’ and how he did it
A grassroots innovator, Dharamveer Kamboj, has changed the lives of people from the barren land of Rajasthan to the dense forest of Nagaland by designing a food processor. Kavita Kanan Chandra explains how it works well for women and tribes
They call him the ‘glacier man’. Chewang Norphel of Ladakh built 12 artificial glaciers that prevented farmers in high altitudes from moving out of the villages in search of alternative livelihood. Akash Bisht profiles the visionary with grit
Identifying clothing as a basic necessity after food and shelter, a journalist couple, Anshu Gupta and Meenakshi, started a social venture, Goonj, providing ‘Cloth for Work’. Then they did more, reaching parts of 21 states, says Roohi Seghal
A father-daughter duo is turning rhinoceros dung into paper, which in turn has turned out to be an economically lucrative venture. Kavita Kanan Chandra explains how Elrhino, the micro-enterprise, will also help in wildlife conservation
