NEW Age steps into its 24th year today. For the 23 years that the newspaper completed the day before, we have held the fort against any odds that have surfaced to practise the kind of journalism that is independent, distinct, credible and committed to the tenets that hold power to account, inform the readers of what goes on inside the political and business quarters and rise against injustice in an outspoken manner and with a bias towards people. We have been able to do this because of, apart from the unflinching commitment of New Age to democratic journalism, the intellectual support that our readers have extended to us by embracing what we could offer, the financial support that our advertisers have extended to us to take forward the spirit that we have shown, the moral support of our well-wishers, the criticism that has emboldened us and the band of hands and minds that has worked with the newspaper over the years. In our journey, we have never toed the line that a government has erroneously walked, when the powers that be have done wrong and injustice or have made any decisions that we thought could put people and the country at risk or cause pain. We have never hesitated to rise to the occasion, spanning the tenure of eight governments.
And we have always given the harness bells a shake as we have always put credibility at the top of our priority agenda. But the journey of 23 years has, understandably and arguably, been no smooth affair, with pitfalls within the newspaper, upheavals on the financial front and other constraints, internal and external. And we have continued, not having emerged as the most successful venture, not having been financially rich and not having been the most influential. Yet, we have championed what we believe proper journalism should mean, with the credible discharge of our professional duties, holding odds at arm’s length and holding out hands to welcome meaningful changes that came in. All this has happened not only in the governance of the newspaper but also in the management of news, the content and the form in ways that are neither too orthodox nor too unorthodox, yet reflective of a fiercely critical editorial stance. We, at New Age, believe that there is no limit to being ingenious and being better. Every day is an occasion for improvement. On this day of stepping into the 24th year of New Age, we would like to state that we strive to grow further, in content, form, governance and news and views management that would better cater to our readership.
We, on this day, therefore, further commit ourselves to the kind of independent journalism that we have so far practised, the fearlessness that we have embraced in the discharge of our professional duty and our adherence to democratic values, riding on the continued support of various kinds that we have so far received.
