“NDTV, Please FIRE Barkha Dutt Immediately”

There is something like making a mistake. We all do. When it comes to a public figure or a journalist we temper the mistakes by using the line “error of judgement” or “bad judgement”. The discussion last night (November 30) on NDTV with Barkha Dutt and other renowned journalists like Dileep Padgaonkar, Sanjay Baru, Swapan Das Gupta and Manu Joseph (of Open Magazine that exposed the Radia tapes), moderated by Sonia Singh of NDTV was a disgraceful display by Barkha Dutt. And to call it disgraceful would be putting it mildly.

The shrill tone, the self-righteousness, the kicking and screaming,  and the militant-like uncalled for attack on Manu Joseph was a horror show to say the least.  Barkha Dutt was worse than an uncouth politician that usually appears on her shows. There shouldn’t be any doubt whatsoever that Manu Joseph did the right thing by publishing the tapes and the transcripts and Barkha had no business to demand on a reference first.  There was nothing in the transcripts that she has denied or refuted. Had that been the case her grievance would have been valid.

Instead of humility, regret and remorse what was on display was utter shameless defence of unethical journalism on her part. It is Open Magazine itself which has accurately rebutted her entire defence and shown how hollow it is. Hartosh Singh Bal at OM has this to say about Barkha Dutt’s conversation with Nira Radia : “For any political journalist worth her salt, the alarm bells would have gone off at this stage, and should have led to one of the biggest stories related to government formation in this country: ‘Tata telecom PR chief handles negotiations for telecom portfolio.’ Did you happen to see this story on NDTV?” (Read his full article Here)

In an open letter to Barkha on this very blog (Here)  I had mentioned Barkha may not be outright corrupt but an expression of regret over bad judgement could deliver redemption. But having seen the NDTV program last night I am now convinced her histrionics, arrogance and utter lack of decency, which permeate most of her programs cannot pass for journalism anymore. In contrast the other journalists on the panel last night conducted themselves with extraordinary professional skill, something that Barkha doesn’t appear to have learnt at any school of debate.  At times, these journalists had to "counsel" an extremely agitated Barkha. A journalist that doesn’t understand the difference between legalese and ethics and insults the intelligence of both, the professional journalist and the common viewer should go.

Therefore, I have to strongly recommend NDTV to fire Barkha Dutt immediately and save themselves and protect the morale of others at the channel.  Prannoy Roy is often referred to as the ‘father of Indian news TV’. If he doesn’t sack Barkha, he might see his legacy as the ‘father of the most corrupt news channel in India’

Radia Tapes - Barkha's Response - An open letter to Barkha Dutt...

Dear Barkha,

I read your response (here) to the Radia tapes and allegations against you. Trust me, I can understand the deep anguish and hurt that you are going through. No one would want to be in your situation. Honestly responding, as you have done, is the right thing to do. And I sincerely hope you will come through this.

On the evening of November 18^th, I was among the first to re-post the Radia tapes on this blog when the Open Magazine site had crashed. I had posted the tapes (in one single file) along with the transcript without passing any judgement on them. It is nice of you to come out with your current response and to hear that there are lessons you have learned. I have been (in various articles on this blog) seeking nothing more than an expression of regret over your bad judgement in who you were dealing with. That said, let me also respond to some of the statements in your latest response. (Your statements are in Red Ital):

... I am astonished, angered and hurt to see the baseless allegations against me in sections of the media this week... The edited conversations .......have been headlined to suggest that I misused my role as a journalist to "lobby" for A. Raja, a man I have never met.

I don’t think anywhere in the media or in my own blog there was a suggestion that you lobbied for Raja. The inference was whether you were acting as a “power broker” for the Congress or participating in the alliance formation between the Congress and the DMK. If you were not, fine.

I can understand the anger and anguish that such a misrepresentation can create........Despite this, much of the commentary has been strangely selective in its focus. And quite often, vindictively personal. Consider, for example, that online it is being dubbed "BarkhaGate."

This is the age of Twitter and Facebook. Therefore a word like “barkhagate” is easier to twitter the essence of what is being communicated. After all, you yourself chose to respond to the tapes first on Twitter. Didn’t you? And yes, I do agree calling it Barkhagate is excessive and personal when there were other journalists involved too. (I would have personally liked to have called it ‘Veer-Gati’) BTW 'Barkhagate' was used way back in January 2009 during the Chaitanya Kunte episode here, so its not really a new term.

Ironically, the one sentence being used to damn me, "Oh God, What should I tell them", is in fact two separate sentences, neither of which are related to A Raja or the telecom portfolio at all......The excerpt, "What should I tell them," was in response to her repeatedly saying to me over several different phone calls, that if I happened to talk to anyone in the Congress, I should ask them to talk the DMK chief directly.

Well, it is natural for a magazine or a TV show to pick out the most sensational line from any conversation, speech or event. This should hardly come as a surprise to a seasoned journalist like you. Are you suggesting you and NDTV have never used this ploy? So picking on that particular line and calling it misrepresentation doesn’t really sell. I also don’t think people like me are going by such sensationalist headlines. We watch them all year round. Don’t we?

As a matter of record, I never passed on any message to any Congress leader....

The tapes sound as if you were willing to act upon what you said. Still, since you have clarified this I will accept it and believe that you did no favours or pass on any message to the Congress. That rests.

Anyone who has bothered to read the entire transcript of these conversations instead of just the headline, would notice that the conversation is essentially a journalist soliciting information from one of the many people plugged in - something all journalists do as part of newsgathering.

I have indeed bothered to listen to those tapes over and over again before I posted the files on this blog. And I have to disagree...and I have stated elsewhere too, that on these tapes it is the journalists who appear to be a source for the lobbyist than the other way around. Still, this is hardly incriminating or anything serious and shouldn’t bother you in the least. Journalists talk to even scumbags so no problems with that. Even Arundhati Roy is a journalist with her real and ‘imaginary’ sources so there is no problem with that either.

The only "benefit" I ever got from talking to Nira Radia was information; information I used to feed the news. ....It is important to remember that at this point, in May 2009, none of us were aware of the present investigation against Nira Radia. Like most other journalists in India, I knew Nira Radia professionally as the main PR person for the Tata Group.  

And not Mukesh Ambani group? That sounds a bit like a ‘babe in the woods’ explanation but I will still accept it. Though its hard to imagine a journalist (of your stature, influence and access) wouldn’t be aware of what all a PR person like Nira Radia would be up to.

Strangely, when I complained to the editor of Open magazine about the smear campaign against me, he sent me a text saying , there was "not much remarkable" in my conversations and went on to even say that, "there is one bit in the strap where the word go-between is used that I don't like myself." I have to wonder then, with anger, why he did not pause before using such a defamatory description.
Now, this is where I have to wonder if you really realise the strength of what you have stated above, if it is truly intended. Let me state some points and ask you some questions too:

1.      These tapes are only the climax of a long held belief by many that you and NDTV are not impartial or unbiased, which is why the strong and widespread reaction against you. That NDTV is a Congress puppet. Much of this started with your reporting on the Gujarat riots. I need not go into details. If NDTV does have leanings toward any political party it would be honourable to be open about it. There is nothing wrong in a media house having its own political leanings.

2.      Do you have any idea how a person like Narendra Modi must have lived when you, Rajdeep and all the media threw wild, baseless allegations at him with no evidence whatsoever? Do you realise that you allowed liars like Teesta Setalvad to freely propagate their lies on your channels and shows? There are even accusations that you and Rajdeep were funded to present  biased stories. Are you aware of that?

3.      You and the media have labelled Modi as a perpetrator of genocide, holocaust and what not. Your friend and frequent guest on your channel and then editor of the newspaper (HT) you write for – Veer Sanghvi called and continues to call Narendra Modi a “mass murderer”. Do you agree with Sanghvi? Did you ever  chastise Sanghvi for this atrocious character assassination? Wait, haven’t you yourself indulged in extraordinary character-assassination of Modi?

4.      Did you not threaten a small time blogger called Chaitanya Kunte for his blog criticising you? Now that you are faced with a mainstream magazine why isn’t NDTV going ahead with any legal action?

5.      Do you still hold bloggers in contempt or are you willing to rethink your opinions?

6.      I am sure you are aware that you are possibly the only celebrity journalist to have hate pages on Facebook. Why do you think there are pages like “Take Barkha off the air” and “Barkha for worst senior journalist on the planet”? Why? Are these people (more than 10000 of them) simply vindictive towards you? Did you not see the writing on the ‘walls’ of Facebook?

7.      There are many pages on the net that describe you as “anti-Hindu”. You will, of course, strongly deny that. But is that impression gathered by people who are idiots? Is there only saffron terror and no Islamic Terror? Swapan Das Gupta states he jokingly calls you "voice of Hurriyat"! Is that true? Is that why NDTV never has a program on Kashmiri Pandits and their plight? Were the tapes of Varun Gandhi 100% verified before being put on air?

8.      Do you realise that being in the centre of this avoidable controversy affects the morale of your co-workers and journalists at NDTV? That you singularly possess the potential to bring that company down by actions attributed to you. Should journalists possess such power? And this doesn’t apply to you alone, it also applies to Rajdeep and Arnab. If you people talk about “politics of identity” being undesirable then why is it so desirable for TV news channels?

9.      Finally, do you realise that the very people who released these tapes to a journal might be a political party itself? The ones who are likely to be in possession of such tapes are the ones who run the government. I don’t think Open Magazine is really your enemy here. Those guys just did what NDTV or any other journal/channel would have done too.

Are there learnings in this for me? Yes, of course there are.....The takeaway from this debate for me pertains to the everyday practice of journalism..... This controversy has made me look at the need to re-draw the lines much more carefully.... There is also another learning. I have always operated by a code of ethics that holds me as accountable to the public.......The selective and malicious nature of some of the commentary against me has reinforced my awareness of how responsible we ought to be before we level an allegation against another.

If what you have stated above is true then I for one would congratulate you. I have criticised you frequently and will continue to do so. That is because I also happen to watch your programs just as frequently. We do not see you as corrupt and do not doubt your integrity, at least I do not. It is up to senior journalists like you to bring back credibility to our media. I hope you will work towards that. For a public figure like you, you can just see this as a temporary setback and move on. People do not hold grudges and are not vindictive, they simply want trustworthy reporting and journalism.

Best Wishes

Ravinar

Barkha Dutt – Nira Radia Tapes & NDTV’s Response

In the famous blog by Chetanya Kunte after the 26/11 attacks which Barkha Dutt and NDTV decided was “appropriate” for legal action for defamation, NDTV managed to suppress Kunte’s voice, but made his blog and his message a phenomenal success on the net. They are now set to popularise the so far relatively unknown Open Magazine (OM). So not surprisingly, in response to the Barkha Dutt-Nira Radia tapes NDTV has once again chosen to play “victim” by using the D word. Defamation? It must be the primary education for any journalist or public figure that “truth” does not constitute defamation. It Exposes. And truth is the best defence against defamatory action. In the response to the expose NDTV has threatened to take “appropriate action”. (One has to wonder what that appropriate action would be – Mud-slinging? Legal action? Conducting a sting on Manu Joseph? Digging up juicy tit-bits from Joseph’s past? What could that possibly mean?)

NDTV’s response here.

Now then, NDTV has perhaps forgotten all the sting operations it carried against various people. Filming and recording people without their knowledge to be used against them as investigative journalism and as evidence in their reports. It is Barkha’s singular misfortune that she was trapped in the phone-tapping by government agencies when the primary target of investigation would appear to be Nira Radia. Let’s examine the NDTV response to the Open Magazine (OM) expose: (NDTV responses are in Red)

First, Barkha and NDTV have nowhere in their response questioned the authenticity of the tapes itself. Therefore, one must proceed with the belief that they accept the tapes to be authentic and accurate (unless they question it in future statements)

“In response to the Open Magazine cover story dated 20th November, 2010 NDTV would like to object in the strongest terms to the clear misrepresentation of conversations between Barkha Dutt and Ms. Nira Radia, that took place in May 2009.”

What exactly was the misrepresentation? The report was the tape and the transcript. So where exactly did Barkha find misrepresentation? On the contrary, I wonder if such an explosive tape about some other people had landed in the hands of NDTV how would Barkha handle it. It would have been with extraordinary cacophony and screaming headlines and even conviction of the people involved as guilty by Barkha herself.

“In the pursuit of news and information, journalists talk to an array of people from all professional backgrounds; this case being an  unfolding political story on cabinet formation, after the general elections.”

Sure, we expect journalists to talk to a lot of people from all walks of life. Journalists talk to politicians, businessmen, lobbyists, terrorists, criminals, maoists. And they should in the interest of fair reporting.  However, it is not just WHO you talk to but WHAT you talk about that is also significant. If the Barka-Radia conversation was one where a journalist was seeking inputs or even inside information on political formations that would be perfectly legitimate. Is that the case here? My interpretation is different and each person hearing that may have a different interpretation.  But what would be the inference made by a “reasonable” man? Laws are made on the assumptions of people behaving and acting reasonably.  In the case of this conversation it doesn’t seem reasonably convincing that it was merely journalistic pursuit in an unfolding political story. All the more so since it appears that it is the “person” calling the journalist frequently when normally it would have been the other way around.

“The fact that the very editor of the magazine that has published this story accepts the distortion in the story's caption and goes on to say that there is nothing "remarkable" in the content speaks for itself.”

No where in the NDTV response does Manu Joseph say anything of that sort. Also,  I am sure Joseph will respond to NDTV’s stand in due course in his own magazine under a response in his name. Interpreting private communication between Barkha and Joseph does not constitute anything. The word “distortion” also does not appear to be one used by Manu Joseph, it is clearly NDTVs interpretation.

“NDTV believes the magazine should first verify and corroborate facts before participating in a defamatory smear campaign.”

I completely agree. Only, this is fundamentally no smear campaign against NDTV. It is just co-incidence that in exposing lobbyists like Nira Radia, Barkha Dutt happened to be one she communicated with. However, who should OM verify with? With NDTV or Nira Radia or Barkha Dutt? NDTV forgets that the expose is not primarily to tarnish NDTV or Barkha but a report that adds to the fire that is the 2G Spectrum scandal. Such noble thoughts do not seem to occur to NDTV or Barkha in their own reporting. Let me just quote a few examples: Where was corroboration for all the ranting of Teesta Setalvad against Narendra Modi or NDTV’s own ranting against Modi? Where was all the corroboration for the humiliation heaped on Arushi’s parents in that infamous murder case? Where is all the corroboration for the explosive “saffron terror” syndrome?

It doesn’t seem to be apparent to Barkha Dutt and NDTV that the phone conversations were tapped by a government agency investigating serious economic offences or criminal activities. The target of the investigation obviously seems to be Nira Radia. In all of Radia’s conversations anyone else could have been at the other end of the telephone line. A politician, a corrupt businessman, a criminal, a money-launderer. But the fact remains that it happened to be journalists in this particular expose. In this case Barkha Dutt and in another Vir Sanghvi. If anything, this has only served to strengthen the public belief that our journalists are no different from our politicians.And there is no reason to believe that the government agencies do not possess tapes of Radia's conversation with many other people too.

Barkha is also extremely fortunate that NDTV has chosen to respond to this expose in her support. Does it mean the conversations Barkha was having with Nira Radia was approved by or in knowledge of NDTV? Any major organisation would have typically stated that the conversation Barkha was having was in her “individual and private” capacity. This is also a warning for all media channels not to have their brand names be so heavily associated with "personalities". A media channel needs to be bigger than personalities. Else, one flawed celebrity would be enough to bring the house down.