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Vinod Mehta: End of an era in Indian journalism




There are two types of editors in today's media world. The first type work absolutely for their owners, they are invested in their position, political connections and hefty salary. The second type is a much rarer breed. They will fight with their bosses day and night, ethics matter to them, they stand up for journalism and journalists. They are true editors. And a star among them was a certain 'Lucknow Boy' - the veteran journalist  Vinod Mehta who passed away on Sunday morning in New Delhi. Something that many iconic editors seem to have in common is their training in the school of hard knocks, their immersion in the churning cauldron of human experience. This certainly holds true for the trajectory of Vinod Mehta's life. http://huff.to/1Gmhfip






Vinod Mehta died on the eve of the Waning Gibbous Moon of March 9. A chart for the Moon phase at Delhi is shown here. Notice that the Sun as lord of the 8th house  of death is placed in the 3rd house associated with newspapers and magazines and by extension with their editors . This brings out the essence of the news – the death of an editor. But as always a representative chart will have several elements that flesh out the details of the news.

The Gibbous Moon phase places a powerful T-square on the meridian.  In our context, the Uranus-Pluto square represents the courageous  individual who,  on behalf of the people's liberties (Uranus in Aries), struggles against the misuse or abuse of power by those in authority (Pluto in Capricorn).

Conjunct the MC is the TNP Zeus along with the stars of Corvus and the Virgin. In yesterday’s post [1] on the BBC, we had discussed the challenge posed by these stars. An extract from the post is reproduced below.  It would appear that while BBC failed in its journalistic duties, Vinod Mehta met the same challenge with complete integrity.

Corvus is the Latin name for both the raven and the crow and these two birds are usually paired together in mythology. From the same family, their obvious intelligence and ingenuity, as well as their distinctive caw, has given them a widespread association with trickery, storytelling, the relaying of messages, and the serving of self-interest. But the colour of their plumage has also drawn a universal connection with malevolence, sinister forces, and ominous warnings. The stars of Corvus share this reputation and the classical myths that relate to the constellation speak of mistrust, shameful motives, insincerity, glorification in the misfortune of others, and the bearing of bad news.

The Crow is a talking bird, and these are people in love with gossip, tidings, what’s happening, what’s new, what’s up – many journalists, newsmen and media people are born under these stars. Gutsy and intellectually curious they often reach positions of power and influence but weakness of character and poor judgement can cause them to become nasty, destructive and even malevolent. The worst of them become greedy, scavenging and exploiting opportunists.  But also here are the stars of the Virgin which longs for “truth” and “purity”. Both the stars of the Crow and the Virgin are  in tropical Libra which seeks a sense of balance.



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