AJ cries foul over Jagan's ad contract with TOI

Popular media house Andhra Jyothy promoted by Vemuri Radhakrishna has not been getting any advertisements from YSR Congress party government led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Reason is simple: Andhra Jyothy is known for its pro-Telugu Desam Party stand and it has been spewing venom on Jagan, his government and his party right from the beginning. 

Just as TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was partial against Jagan’s media house Sakshi when he was in power, Jagan, too, is following the same principle of ostracizing Andhra Jyothy and not releasing government advertisements to the daily and the channel.

That is why whenever there is an opportunity, Andhra Jyothy attacks the Jagan government for favouring only a few media houses that blow its trumpet.

So, when the state government issued a GO, accepting an advertorial proposal of Bennet and Coleman Company Ltd, Andhra Jyothy cried foul.

According to the GO, the Jagan government would be signing a contract with BCCL for an amount of Rs 8.15 crore towards for adopting the concept proposed by BCCL to enhance the image of State and its leaders on the national stage by creating awareness on the policies and schemes through media group Times Network.

As per the agreement, Times of India and its associated media network like Times Now, will carry pro-government stories in the form of advertorials at regular intervals. 

Sources said such agreements are part of Times Group’s advertorial policy and it has nothing to do with the regular news coverage. It does not mean TOI should not publish any news story against the government.

But Andhra Jyothy has sought to project it as the Jagan government’s attempt to plant paid news in Times News Network.

What it has forgotten that it had done the same thing during the Chandrababu Naidu government, which issued advertisements liberally to it and other yellow media.

So, what Naidu had done was right and what Jagan is doing now is wrong for Andhra Jyothy!

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