Rajdeep Sardesai To Sermonise On Role & Responsibilities Of Media ?

DNA newspaper reports a seminar is being organised by Divya Bhaskar in Ahmedabad on 'Role and Responsibilities of Media'. Excellent topic, considering the current circumstances in the media. Only one problem. The sermoniser-in-chief is going to be Rajdeep Sardesai. The DNA goes on to add “Some other topics which will be discussed in the seminar include values, professionalism, and freedom of media as well as political intervention in media”. Isn’t that neat? And Rajdeep will be moralising in the very state of Gujarat which brought him fame through his venomously biased reporting of the riots (along with Barkha Dutt, of course). So let’s check out how responsible Rajdeep Sardesai is.  Both mediamen and politicians have long believed that public memory is short. Unfortunately, in the new tech-age that’s not easily done.

Ask yourself a question. Would you, as a host, want to ever humiliate or attempt to insult your key speaker at a seminar? I wonder how Rajdeep would feel if the seminar host tried to humiliate him every step of the way. It would be safe to say as a responsible host or media person that is probably the last thing you would want to do. But not our Rajdeep.

Flashback to October 2007 at the HT Summit, of which CNN-IBN is a partner, where Rajdeep Sardesai was the host of the event. Narendra Modi was the key speaker in one of the events and following his address,  the behaviour of Rajdeep Sardesai was most irresponsible and disgraceful to say the least. Deviating from the topic of the program Rajdeep tried his best to humiliate Narendra Modi, even as the audience applauded Modi’s address and replies. He even went on to refer to Modi the favourite title of ‘Mass Murderer’ bestowed upon him by the editor of HT, Vir Sanghvi and complimented Modi with the title of ‘hero of hatred’.  He completely forgot the sheer decency and grace of Modi attending a summit hosted by HT despite being called a mass murderer by Vir Sanghvi of HT. Would Rajdeep agree to be the key speaker for an organisation that calls him such names? Responsible media? Values? Professionalism? Watch the video below:

Rajdeep did get a resounding figurative slap from Narendra Modi. But he doesn’t seem to have learnt any lessons. Modi directly accused him and the media of dividing the nation. And rightly so. Let’s open another dark chapter from CNN-IBN and the sham ‘Indian of the year awards’ that Rajdeep’s channel doles out, quite probably as ‘quid pro quo’. In 2009 the award was given to the moron extraordinaire Rahul Gandhi. Why? For energising the Congress in UP! Energising the Congress in UP is an accomplishment worthy of the title of ‘Indian of the year’? Mind you, Congress didn’t even win UP, it was Mayawati who wiped out the other parties. We are used to sycophancy in the Congress (Italian) but sycophancy from the media is the specialisation of the likes of CNN-IBN, NDTV. To bestow such a title on a man who has practically achieved nothing for India or done nothing speaks a lot of about media values, responsibility and professionalism. In fact, campaigning in Bihar in February 2010 Rahul Gandhi stated: “To change India, we must change Gujarat” ! Change Gujarat? A development model that other states are trying to follow? This happens to be one in a long line of moronic assertions by Rahul Gandhi who got thoroughly spanked by the student audience of L.N. Mishra College in Darbhanga. Watch the video below:

Now, the students in that meeting had put up the video on Youtube. Aaj Tak carried a part of it. But CNN-IBN ? No, CNN-IBN did not carry the news at all. They black out all the stupidity at Rahul Gandhi’s meetings. So much so, when Rahul was in Ahmedabad sometime ago he himself blacked out the media, knowing he was bound to goof up. And the students did ask him serious questions. Yes, serious questions which Rajdeep Sardesai will not ask Rahul Gandhi and yet his channel will honour the moron with awards carrying the ‘India’ name.Professional and responsible, indeed!

Regardless of how many faults I might find in Rahul Gandhi, if I were the host of a seminar where he were to be the key-note speaker I wouldn’t subject him to the hostility and humiliation that Rajdeep attempted to dish out to Narendra Modi. Yet Rajdeep will sermonise people on values, professionalism and responsibilities of media. Take that! And if any more proof of Rajdeep’s morals and ethics were needed, you just have to wonder how he was quick to jump to the defence of Barkha Dutt and her thoroughly unethical interaction with Nira Radia. Rajdeep Sardesai needs to learn ethics, values, professionalism and responsibility before he can sermonise anyone. Would any sensible journalist want the same reputation that Rajdeep has today? You decide. The seminar is on Saturday, 18th December, and the banner below from Twitpic says it aptly.