One of our younger reporters Shilpa P is on leave today. The ostensible reason is that she wanted to cast her vote in the Chamundeshwari by-election although the fact that tomorrow is her weekly off too may have helped her make up her mind quite easily (which is OK, because Shilpa has done some good work lately, especially with that Wipro guy’s story).
But here’s an interesting even if theoretical question: Should reporters and editors be casting their vote in political elections? By taking part in an poll, are we subliminally reinforcing our preferences which may translate into bias in what we write and edit? Or—the usual middleclass response—can we cut ourselves from the milieu we inhabit and become hermits?
IJR 