At a time when people are confined to their homes, journalists have been selflessly reporting from ground zero and bringing you news and stories of hope amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The journalists are risking their lives in order to make sure that country stays updated with the latest news.
According to the latest report, India stands on the third spot in terms of Journalists’ Deaths Due to COVID. India is only behind Brazil and Peru. The Press Emblem Campaign has noted that several mainstream media houses have not reported the actual number of casualties.
From senior journalist Rohit Sardana, Vivek Bendre, Aiyushman Dutta, Nilakshi Bhattacharyya, Kalyan Baruah, Anirban Bora to Ruchir Mishra, Pritiman Mohapatra and Vinay Shrivastav, many prominent journalists have lost their battle against COVID-19 and left a void in the Indian media industry.
According to a study conducted by the Delhi-based Institute of Perception Studies, as many as 101 journalists have succumbed to COVID-19 between 1 April 2020 and 28 April 2021. And what’s more concerning is the fact that as many as 52 journalists have succumbed to COVID-19 in the last 28 days. This implies that on average, two journalists have died every day this month.
Uttar Pradesh has seen the maximum number of verified deaths, followed by Telangana and Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Journalist from Assam has declared as Front line warriors. State like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar has also declared Covid warriors to all the journalist of their states.