Rajdeep Sardesai offers to disclose his assets
TIA Correspondents
NEW DELHI: The episode of Nira Radia’s controversial tapes continue to haunt media community. The anger and resentment among the journalists over the issue was so visible at a seminar of journalists here that some heated arguments took place within the community. The debate was so intense that chief executive of the CNN-IBN Rajdeep Sardesai forced to say that he is willing to disclose his assets.
The Nira Radia episode could not get any support from majority of journalists present at the seminar at the Press Club of India here. Every journalist was agitated over way profession is being tainted.
" I, as the chairman of the Editor’s Guild is willing to disclose my assets. But I am not sure if too many editors who are members of the Guild would be willing to do that," said Sardesai.
While differing on the journalistic breach committed by the journalists on the tape the panelists asked the media to look inwards and put more searchlights on itself.
Speaking on discussion on “Radia tapes and journalistic ethics”, Rajdeep said there was worrying proximity between corporate, politicians and journalists but finally it comes down to individual morality. “Each individual has to draw a Lakshman Rekha, or boundary line…it is clear that some journalists in the tapes crossed the Lakshman Rekha,” he said.
He made it clear that he was not here to hold brief for some one but the journalists who are apprehensive of the role of the three leading journalists must give them benefit of doubt till they are ‘proven guilty. “ Vinod Mehta, who carried resignation letter in his pocket, erred as he did not provide an opportunity to those exposed to give their version which is the cardinal principal of journalism," an emotionally charged Rajdeep said.
Vinod Mehta, a former president of Editors Guild and the editor of Outlook magazine that published the taped conversations between journalist and lobbyist Nira Radia said there were no complex issues in conversations of journalists with the lobbyist. “I can’t understand what is the complex issue. If she is a lobbyist, you have to be aware what she is trying to do. How much of what she is saying is part of her brief. You should listen, but it should not be part of the story you write.”
"You need to use your sources and not let the sources use you. These are the first lessons one gets in a journalism school," said Mehta towards the end.
He said that he was quite unhappy with what has happened. Mehta said he would welcome any further deliberations on the issue, adding that his critics must see the latest issue of the Outlook also where every reaction and rejoinders have been published.
Outlook broke the story alleging that some of the senior journalists including Vir Sanghvi, Barkha Dutt and M K Venue had fallen prey to corporate lobbyist Nira Radia.
Chairperson of Parsar Bharati and former editor of Dainik Hindustan Mirnal Pandey who faced some tough question from the audience, said while English journalists use discretion, the language journalists often fall prey to monetary needs.
Eminent columnist Kuldeep Nayyar stressed the need to break the nexus in regional language newspapers where the ownership and editorship all pass through family network. " We must fight the contract system introduced by managements and we should not hesitate to go to the courts he said.
Press Club of India president T. R. Ramachandran said the tapes episode had affected the trust quotient of journalists. “There have been debates on television if journalism has taken an unpalatable turn,”
The Editors Guild, Press Association, Women’s Press Crop and PCI had jointly organized the discussion on the ethical and moral conduct of the journalists in light of disclosures made in the Outlook magazine and Open magazine in the Nira Radia tapes in the 2G spectrum scam.