It’s not so
very long ago that we had a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ from NDTV where the anchor was caught advising a panellist
“Thoda
Congress ke taraf se defend kar dena”. That gave us a glimpse into what
anchors do when they think it’s a break or the camera or audio is off. But we
now have another case of an anchor dwelling upon what would be good news for
the day. This one is from Headlines
Today. Meet Ruchica Tomar:
What Ruchica and Headlines Today do not realise is that lately
even their “off-air” comments and
conduct are being watched. This happened during the coverage of the Uttarakhand
tragedy by Shiv Aroor and Ruchia was just about to report on a Compounder who had managed a 200-Crore scam.
Watch the video below (43secs) and particularly Ruchica’s comments from 0.10 onward.
I’m
reproducing what she said in Hindi: “Bhagwan yaar! Yeh hai success story. Isko dikhana chahiye
good news today. Isse bolte hai success story. Pakda kaise gaya bechara?”.
Why not! A 200-crore scam is indeed a success story these days. I have
reproduced what I heard but if there are any corrections please do point out. I
also leave the English translation to readers and their imagination. Now, do
bear in mind that I am not accusing the anchor of anything; it may have been
just anguish. I don’t know. But what it does show is that HT and AajTak who are
frequently touting their “Anchor-training”
programmes may have to add a chapter on “off-air
expressions and conduct”.
Our news
channels scream Justice4This and Justice4That but behind the scenes they can be
quite hollow as we have come to know. This video was not on air on Headlines
Today. It was a ‘behind-the-scene’ stuff picked up by someone. TV News channels will now want to realise
they are being watched from the outside and also from the inside. That’s a
good sign for people.
Update: (July 8, 8.17am): It was pointed out by a commenter that the anchor in the video is not Nida Khan but Ruchica Tomar. I have made the correction and apologise to Nida Khan for wrongly identifying her as the anchor.
Update: (July 8, 8.17am): It was pointed out by a commenter that the anchor in the video is not Nida Khan but Ruchica Tomar. I have made the correction and apologise to Nida Khan for wrongly identifying her as the anchor.
Note: The eerie laughter you hear at the end of the video is not mine!
