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Before 26/11, I used to be an Arnab Goswami regular. The ‘Newshour’ show moves fast, the debates are brief, he moderates the debates well and comes prepared with the stuff. But post 26/11 and the attendant success for Times Now, something has changed, says BV Rao.
If, as a society, we are turning out to be actors for TV, venting anger at the drop of a hat, ignoring acceptable norms of behaviour, I think I owe an apology to my professional mates. I suppose every society gets the media it deserves. But that does not mean the basics of news journalism can be brushed aside to load more emotion into an already sad story, says BV Rao.
Justice Verma had enough scope for making an example out of India TV for its omissions and commissions. But a judgement delivered without a hearing to the accused knocks the bottom out of justice. In his eagerness to establish his authority early on in the game, Justice Verma seems to have just missed a sitter at the net, says BV Rao.
Jarnail Singh has been soundly condemned by journalists for shaming the profession when he crossed the line between journalism and activism. But my embarrassment as a journalist began much before Singh tossed his shoe, with deliberate miscalculation, into an empty chair two places away from P Chidambaram, says a candid BV Rao.
On seeing US President Barack Obama go on air on Jay Leno’s ‘The Tonight Show’ about 10 days ago, BV Rao wonders when one can see such a development in India. According to him, no Indian channel is even thinking of it, perhaps because they can’t see beyond their larger-than-life editors; and no Indian head of state has bothered to face the public directly after being elected to the high post.
Even as the nation remained glued to the TV sets during the 60-hour Mumbai terror attacks, the ‘live coverage’ came in for a lot of flak. Veteran journalist BV Rao in an open letter to the National Broadcasting Association (NBA) analyses what was wrong with the coverage and why the need of the hour is better content more than a self-regulating content code.
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