An old story

"His revolutionary idea of inviting CEOs to his office and doing open air interviews at Nageswara Rao Park found favour as he rolled out 100s of insightful interviews but a whistleblower act cost the CA rank holder his job.

Can we, as men, decide to raise our individual voice, rather than keep quiet, when gender injustice happens in front of our eyes? Can we rise above our individual interest and blow the whistle when gender prejudice grabs the air time and pollutes the work atmosphere around us - D Murali in an audio address a year after his exit" (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/d-murali-journalist.html)

Ref:

1) A whistleblowing story in SlideShare https://lnkd.in/gxTNP7D

2) Whistleblowing story-Sequence of mails https://lnkd.in/gN5B3Ss

3) Audiobiography in Soundcloud https://lnkd.in/gPsQS6v

4) Be agitated about gender prejudice https://lnkd.in/gyy3f6T

5) Demand for apology https://lnkd.in/gwFu4Bf

6) Why are you agitated https://lnkd.in/gx6p65H

7) Mylapore Times article by S. Prabhu https://lnkd.in/g6e2vsy

8) This article in SlideShare https://lnkd.in/g6uJbaH

9) Mylapore Times article link https://lnkd.in/g6jKHhs

10) Tweet https://lnkd.in/gMX9FCk

11) This https://lnkd.in/g3Bf2gB

12) FB https://lnkd.in/g8aDd82

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Supplementary material (in the form of Q&A) - (This could not be added in the original post https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/muralide_d-murali-journalist-activity-6661878686062645248-9Zp0 owing to character limit. Hence given here.)

Q: Are you a Malayali?

A: No.

Q: Why did you quit?

A: Office letter gave two options – quit or get fired. I chose the former.

Q: Why did you share it in the public domain?

A: Close the story, get it out, and move on.

Q: Any voice in the paper that spoke for you?

A: People were afraid.

Q: Except for “noted” was there any other exchange?

A: No. Leadership was lacking.

Q: Why are your ex-colleagues still silent on the exit part and the issues surrounding that?

A: Fear, denial. When you do what’s right, as per your moral compass which sees you through many a crisis, you’re really not expecting any validation in the form of approval by others. As for exit route, I have generally been grateful for whatever has happened to me, with no expectations of the good things to last forever. Almost like beginning everyday with the readiness that it could be my last working day.

Q: Did you ever think that your actions could cost you the job?

A: Likely scenarios that crossed my mind, yes.

Q: What transpired over three months that you suddenly sent the mail to all?

A: The answer is not evident in the slides... In the intervening period, he was actually targeting Malayalis and getting a few fired. He was sending many intranet mails to all; even calling a reporter ‘dog’ if remember.. As if in response to my initial mail, I was nudged out of my pages. It was too obvious that a mercenary was at play, with support from the top. The situation was like a hostage drama, which is when I decided to step in with a mass mail, knowing fully well the risks involved. But I was ready to leave.

Q: How did your family react to your decision?

A: Generally, I have been keeping the family out of my journalism work. Better that way. Also, the issue that came to the fore at the time of my exit from the newspaper was one about ethics which merited businesslike approach without blending in any sentiments. Quite importantly, however, family support plays a great role when the riding gets rough.

Well, keeping aside the predictable sentimental angles, what a smart reader would probably like to read about are the following:

1) Is there a legal perspective to the story, as regards discriminatory practice and employee treatment?

2) Why did the ed omit mentioning the demand for apology in his long group mail? Does he still hold the opinion of not having to be ‘agitated’?

3) How would other prominent business leaders, across sectors, in the city respond to a similar situation in their organisation?

4) Can I see the quotes of a few women in employment, across sectors, about their views?

5) Likewise, quotes from a few male employees on how they would have responded to such a situation.

6) Since the issue is one of governance, what does the other side, the Board, have to say on this?

7) Does the story hold the potential to be transformed into a case study for B-schools or a journalism course?

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