Almost none of our mainstream media houses has done us proud when it comes to economic and financial reporting. From the way economic and financial issues have been covered since independence, it’s apparent that not much thinking goes into it. In fact, the entire edifice of economic reporting looks incidental in nature, rather than being deliberate and well thought-out.

Have our editors ever deliberated upon such vital matters as how to deal with confirmed and chronic tax evaders? Should such violators of law be treated in the same manner as any law-abiding citizen must be?

A related question is: how appropriate is it for the media to cover extensively viewpoints of the retailers and traders who mount protests or issue persuasive and provocative statements for the sole purpose of avoiding paying direct taxes? If yes, should their pictures and videos be published and telecast as well? Is there any wisdom in treating them on a par with, say, teachers who have not been paid their salary for six months?

It’s been observed that in the absence of prior instructions on the matter, most economic reporters write about the chronic tax evaders as well as their protests and demands in somewhat sympathetic terms. Thus, the editors’ carelessness — rather thoughtlessness — unwittingly and inadvertently turns their newspapers into “powerful well-wishers” of the untaxed sectors. And their readers, because they are never schooled in the virtues of good citizenry, never learn why we should oppose every move aimed........

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