Hey NL team,

Mostly writing about Hafta, but also in relation to Amit Bhardwaj’s article on the Hauz Rani madrassa death. 

First re: Hafta 195. Please listen to the tape and observe how often you talk over each other. I don’t mind this ordinarily, because this is meant to be a casual chat. But at times this one was incomprehensible, and I’d have liked to hear everyone speak their mind. (Incidentally, please do see this article.)

Otherwise: now that Sunetra has raised the issue, surely you guys should be thinking about how you’d deal with guests or contributors who have been named in #MeToo? Will they continue to contribute? For example, will you look for someone else to write your south political analysis pieces? Do you think personal impropriety should be a reason for people not to work in journalism? What kind of rehabilitation would be acceptable? 

Re: Amit’s piece. It was a great piece. I was particularly affected by it because I’ve lived in the area and walked through some of these places. It was excellent that you got to hear from everyone on all sides. But from an editorial policy POV, do you think it’s ok to talk to minors without specifying what precautions you’ve taken to make sure they’re not being coached or stressed by these conversations? Do you think it’s okay to put up photographs? And if so, who gives permission for this publication? I don’t know what the standard is in journalism, so I’m asking partly for information.

From what I see, Hafta is the closest you guys have to an edit page. So would be great if you could weigh in?

Thanks,

Vijay Krishnan