“I promise you that our new magazine, the English-language Punjab Today, will be far less interesting than much that is happening in the name of journalism, and far more bland than the myriad channels that find God in a papaya fruit or discover the trail to Ravana’s coffin, but browse through it and you will find it is about you, your concerns, your state, your culture. It is about us. That is what Punjab Today promises with the launch of its first issue this Basant Panchami – one long journey together that will keep us engaged and informed,” Punjab Today’s Editor-in-chief Kanwar Manjit Singh said while releasing the weekly magazine here today.
Releasing the Punjab Today English Weekly, Kanwar Manjit Singh, Mr. Anil Arora CA, Finance Controller and Mr. Ranjit Bhambri, Advisor Punjab Today Group, promised readers, patrons, advertisers and the general public that the media house will always keep its ear to the ground while endeavoring to reflect a true picture of the societal paradigm around us.
Mr. Singh said Punjab Today, coming from a well known media house that has been publishing the Punjabi edition of the magazine for many years now, will maintain its equidistance from various shades of politics but will not be found shy of grappling with any of these.
“In fact, the very first edition of the magazine joins issue with both, the ruling Akali Dal as well as the opposition Congress, as it critiques the politics of bitterness to which both have contributed,” Mr. Singh said.
When asked about the vaccum in Punjab for a quality weekly magazine that could compete for eyeballs and attention spans as well as on the cerebral index with the best of the journals at the national level, Kanwar Manjit Singh said he would rather let the magazine speak for itself. “Hold us up against the best, and do point out where we are lacking,” he said.
Asked about the proclivity of certain media brands to titillate to get attention, Mr. Singh said when Rupert Murdoch was asked why he allowed the idea of Page 3 to develop, he had nonchalantly replied, “I don’t know. The editor did it when I was away.”
He said he can only promise that he will never be away, and Punjab Today will remain accountable to its readers and patrons.
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