NDTV Finally Pulls ‘The Buck Stops Here’

Wisdom seems to have finally dawned on NDTV. The channel has quietly pulled Barkha Dutt’s program ‘The Buck Stops Here’ from its usual night time slot of 10pm.

It would be apparent to Prannoy Roy & Co. that it is probably difficult to even get panellists to appear on a program hosted by a maligned journalist. In the face of mounting public anger and criticism it was probably getting difficult for Barkha Dutt to continue sermonising us on ethics, corruption and the like.

So what’s the next stop? That insufferable program ‘We The People’ should be the next to go and finally end the divisive discussions that have encroached our TV comedy channels for the last decade.

And what about Barkha Dutt herself? Well, I have to state that everybody deserves a second chance. If idiots in a nation can keep electing corrupt politicians then a bad journalist too deserves a second chance. So it might be wise for her to cool her heels in the backrooms of NDTV for six months or go on a reporting spree to foreign countries.

There is one more thing that NDTV needs to do. There are Facebook groups who have campaigned against Barkha Dutt ever since the 26/11 attack and the Chetanya Kunte episode. It may not be a bad idea to start a dialogue with members of such groups to recover lost ground and assure people that the channel intends to establish fair practice in reporting and analysing news. NDTV should also reopen its feedback and comments page on its website. That takes courage and humility at the same time.

Let’s see if NDTV has the courage and humility to interact with its strongest critics.

Note: This post is based on the fact that Barkha Dutt has not been hosting 'The Buck Stops Here' for some days now and the program is also not listed on the NDTV schedule on their website.

Changing Lanes: Alternative Career Choices For Barkha Dutt

The transition from journalism to another career will be quite easy for Vir Sanghvi.  The tainted journalist was already writing on ‘food’ and a full-time career as a ‘foodie’ would be the obvious choice for him to change lanes. He has already taken a break, in Bangkok, to contemplate his choices.

Changing lanes, however, is a problem for Barkha Dutt. Especially in her current mood she is unlikely to think straight.  For all the self-righteous kicking and screaming in her own defence her credibility has been severely dented.  More so after her particularly outrageous and disgraceful self-defence on NDTV (November 30) for which I asked her channel to FIRE her. 

So out of concern for Ms.Dutt I spent some time pondering what could be the alternative career choices for her. This is, of course, unsolicited advice, but that is of no consequence since the lady is not known to listen to any kind of ‘wisdom’ so frequently delivered to her. And I have been careful to restrict myself to offering only 5 choices, just in case she decides to try all of them. (My fear was that if I had offered 10 she might have taken up all, damaging many more industries or domains.) So here goes:

1.       Teacher in a school for journalists: This would be an excellent choice since she will be able to tell aspiring journalists what NOT to do as a journalist and how lack of ethics did her in.  I must admit I had thought of it on my own but I find someone else had thought of it long back. Sushant Kumar’s advice in December 2008 can be read here.

2.       Spokesperson for Hurriyat Separatists:  Swapan Das Gupta mentions he jokingly taunts her being the “Voice Of Hurriyat”. I for one think he wasn’t really joking. So this is another choice. She can become a full-time spokeswoman for the Hurriyat. In any case she understands the separatists and their goals quite well and has spoken up for their plight on many occasions. Hurriyat’s gain could be our gain too. A true win-win for all. 

3.       Campaign Manager for Musharraf:  It was Musharraf’s suprise breakfast presser in 2001, hosted by Prannoy Roy, that helped launch NDTV in Pakistan. Since the Kargil war-criminal has recently launched his own political party she might just fit the bill as his campaign manager. She does love interviewing this guy and she knows a lot about Kargil too.

4.       As model for M.F. Hussain: Since moving to Qatar we haven’t heard or seen much of Hussain’s nude paintings. Obviously, with a lot of women in ‘Burqa’ he would have struck a lean patch in the inspiration department. Who better than Barkha to fill in that void for her friend? Relax, I am not suggesting nude modelling by any stretch of imagination.

5.       Waitress at Starbucks:  In my own bloated opinion this could well do the trick for Barkha. Let’s see – she is definitely a ‘STAR’ and who in the world knows more about ‘BUCKS’ than Barkha? This could really be a perfect FIT!

Many of us have had to change careers at some point on account of one reason or the other. And at this moment if there is someone who dearly needs more suggestions and offers it has to be Barkha Dutt. Do you have any more suggestions? Barkha could surely do with some help!

Update: Quite a few people called me up and asked "why not spokesperson for Congress (I)?" I have specifically excluded that since she is already doing that job.

Parliament Blockade: NDTV's Dorab Sopariwala Gets It Wrong Again..

“Dorab is someone who studies elections on a daily basis and makes predictions based on them and for his efforts gets paid by NDTV 24/7 and NDTV 12/3 and a half. If Dorab says that the Congress party will win an election then I immediately prepare for a BJP victory. If Dorab says that the BJP will win then I prepare for a CONGRESS victory. In simple words, when Dorab says that something will happen I prepare for the EXACT OPPOSITE....that way I’m never wrong..... There is a word to describe people like Dorab and it’s a combination of two words which are ASS and HOLE.”  That is stock market wiz Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on his blog.  Here’s another piece, which clearly shows how NDTV makes a mockery of polls. 

Well, it’s not all poor Dorab Sopariwala’s fault. That NDTV is a Congress puppet must have a bearing on everything it peddles. Last night (December 2) on NDTV Dorab strongly castigated the Opposition for stalling parliament and stated that the “minority” in parliament cannot dictate the course of parliamentary transactions or actions of the government, and that it is the "majority” that must have the final say. Technically, he is correct.  What Dorab does forget, of course, is that in his profession of election observing and exit polls there is something called the “people’s mood”. This does not have some scientific measure but can be gauged with an ear to the ground. Dorab in this particular situation doesn’t seem to have his ear to the ground, like in most of NDTVs exit polls.

Let me digress a bit. Many in the USA are in favour of gun-control. But there is an underlying reason for this freedom under the 2^nd Amendment  to the US Constitution:  “The 2nd Amendment provides an interesting insight into the Founding Fathers' attitude toward government. The new nation had recently freed itself from a government controlled by others, not themselves. They saw themselves as a people, and government as a separate, sometimes despotic and oppressive entity. If they could not have arms, they would be helpless before this other entity; they would be like slaves. They also feared that despotic forces might usurp whatever government they established, and they would be at the mercy of those forces.....The most important reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, if necessary, at (as a) last resort to protect themselves from tyranny in government". This can be referenced anywhere but specifically here.

This season of scams is not a normal situation and therefore suggesting that parliament should function normally as if nothing disastrous has happened is inept to say the least. Dorab just doesn’t seem to appropriately measure the deep sense of anguish and betrayal inflicted upon the people of this nation by the ruling Congress and its allies. To hell with parliament for the moment. If parliament has to be suspended for a few months, so be it. To hell with all the bills that are pending, those can wait. This nation is at war! At war with the severest of corruption and plundering of the country. It’s the people’s emergency and people should not rest until the scamsters are in jail. There is going to be no transaction in parliament that is going to be worth over 1.76 lakh crores that has been stolen from the people. Once again NDTV’s Dorab doesn’t seem to have his ear to the ground.

Media morons cannot stop telling us how much it costs us everyday when parliament is disrupted. A few 100 crores now looks like small change when compared to the daylight looting and plundering of the nation. We are not worried about peanuts anymore. People first and foremost want to see the crooks brought to justice. In any case what does our parliament do? As much mental masturbation our media does.  Passing bills and laws that they neither respect nor implement or ones that are meant for appeasement of a section of the society or for corporate lobbyists. Enough of this nonsense.

There is a reason why Americans are allowed to carry guns. It is not for just protection against criminals and intruders. It is for protection against the tyranny of their own government. Of course, since 1791 US voters are far more sophisticated and Indian democracy is yet to reach that stage. A revolt by the Indian public in the current context would be very justified and is warranted.The Opposition is doing the right thing by staging this revolt as did Jayprakash Narayan against a tyrant called Indira Gandhi. Learn some history, Dorab. If the opposition cannot get the government to budge on the JPC they should now lead a people's revolt on the streets. Nothing short of a complete disclosure of the truth behind all the scams will do.

Constant and consistent looting of public money, ignoring concerns of ordinary people is nothing short of tyranny. To that end some days of parliament lost should be the least of anyone’s concern right now. Shut down parliament till the next budget session and sort out the whole scam mess and put people in jail, and get the people's money back. That is what people of India want to see. As for the media, some of their crooks need to serve time as well.  I may have picked out Dorab Sopariwala because of his strident position against the stalling of parliament, but this goes for all the mediacrooks who’ve been shedding crocodile tears over the economic loss arising out of this.

The worst joke has to be Congressmen sacrificing their “parliamentary allowance”. That is like tyrants dropping a coin in the ‘begging bowl’ of the people, after having looted 1.76 lakh crores of their money. Get after the scamsters, parliament can wait! A JPC is now an absolute must, and the opposition shouldn't budge.

“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’

The Muck Stops Here...

CNN-IBN finally broke its silence on the Radia-Barkha-Sanghvi tapes on Monday, November 22 on their program “Face the nation”. While the discussion was sober, one must compliment CNN-IBN for finally taking the initiative to do the right thing.  Only yesterday, I had posted the article “Hammam mein sab nange hain” referring to Rajdeep Sardesai’s favourite line.  So it was pleasant to see them talk about the Radia tapes on their evening show.

One can be “neutral” about news but one cannot, or at least need not be “neutral” with his opinions. This is what the news media needs to differentiate.  I am quite comfortable if both CNN-IBN and NDTV openly admit their loyalties to the Congress (I) party. That would be an honourable thing to do as against frequently touting oneself as “independent”, “unbiased” and “non-partisan”. It is common in many countries for media houses to endorse candidates in elections.

To ensure the muck stops here with this current scam, here is what media houses need to do:

1.   Stop giving out awards like “Indian of the year” etc., especially to politicians. It is unbecoming of a mainstream media organisation to be rewarding the very people whose actions and inactions it is supposed to watch over. It becomes all the more intriguing when the same government rewards media persons like Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai with government awards. A peer-group or industry award is worth far more.

2.   Stop excessive activism. “Lighting candles”, “Petitioning the President” and such actions for victims like Jessica Lall and many more are not what the media should be doing.  Yes, reporting on miscarriage of justice and focussing on it is an absolute must. On the other hand also stop conducting media trials. Sagarika Ghose questioning Ram Jethmalani defending Manu Sharma is absurd and uneducated to say the least. Every criminal has a right to defence, its a lawyer’s sacred duty. This is a democracy and that’s the law.

3.   Stop trying to influence major foreign policy decisions and actions by running spurious campaigns such as “Aman Ki Asha” by the Times of India. Of course, the TOI has many other dubious innovations to its credit – Private Treaties, Medianet and what not.(Read the Aman Ki Asha crap here and here)

4.   Stop the practice of “paid news”. There cannot be any bigger malpractice by the media than this. The PCI’s final report on paid news (even the watered-down version) was totally ignored by the media and hardly received any coverage.

5.   Stop jumping the gun for sensationalism. The humiliation handed out by the media to the parents of Arushi (the teenager’s murder case) and the victim herself is a lesson by itself. No one has forgotten the indiscriminate conduct of the media during the 26/11 attacks.

6.   Stop being “communal” and “politically correct”. These are domains for politicians and not for the media. The mainstream media’s unwillingness to accept the Ayodhya verdict and painting it as a victory for “religion over law” or “panchayati justice” are not stands that the public will gloss over.

7.   Stop hounding politicians like Narendra Modi. The more you hound him the more popular he becomes with his electorate. You have unwittingly conferred upon him “victimhood” ! Ever heard of Mark Antony’s speech?  The public tends to react in the opposite when you excessively bash or boost someone.

8.   Stop sympathising with separatists and anti-nationals.  Sure, give their voice and opinions adequate space on your channels but do not appear to become one of them.  Stop campaigning for them.

Of course, you, the media, have the complete freedom to carry on in your merry ways.

NDTV and CNN-IBN might well ask themselves why they are considered Congress puppets. The Cash-for-votes scam of 2008 is not too old for CNN-IBN to have forgotten. But here’s another test. When was the last time either channel or any newspaper ran a critical piece on Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.  Is questioning them blasphemy? My own opinion on Sonia Gandhi runs like the one Jack Nicholson uses to describe how “he writes women so well” (in the movie “As good as it gets”)  and he says “I think of a man and take away reason and accountability” (I intend no offence to women at all) But here is a woman who is supposed to be the most powerful in India and one of the most powerful in the world. Yet the media simply doesn’t get it that she neither has any “responsibility” nor any “accountability”.  She dictates the course of this nation and the media doesn’t find her responsible or accountable for anything.  In the last few days the media didn’t spare even the Prime Minister, which the SC has strongly condemned.  Yet the real power behind it all, Sonia Gandhi, seems untouchable for the media.

It is an irony of sorts that the very media channels that appear to be puppets of the Congress were trapped on phone conversations monitored by a government agency under the Congress government.  Instead of phoo-phooing the tapes or threatening “appropriate action” both Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi would have redeemed themselves by stating “it was an error of judgment” and that would have been honourable. That is exactly what it is, an error of judgment, they are no criminals.

On being asked  “Where do you see the biggest gaps in news gathering and reporting in India and what recommendations would you make to fix these?”  noted media person Sevanthi Ninnan responded by stating  “.....Basically each news organization has to make sure it has a seasoned, sharp, and ethically oriented news editor or resident editor as a gatekeeper. And it’s time everybody had a readers’ editor who has the independence to do his or her job well”. (Read the full interview here.) That’s when the Muck might really stop.