Views on News, July 22 edition

Governance Section

LaMogate

YOGA GA

VIEWS ON NEWS STILL WIDE OPEN

MODI’S NEW HINDUTVA AGENDA DA

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www.viewsonnewsonline.com

JULY 22, 2015

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On The Chopping Block Iconic paper stares at imminent closure: Who’s responsible? 10

Nihal Singh, Raghu Rai speak out

MURDOCH EMPIRE: Sons Rise Over Horizon 26

OUTLOOK:

Sexist gossip boomerangs 42

CHOCOLATES: How to make fake research into news 16

EDITOR’S NOTE

THE SCOURGE OF DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING THE NESTLE-MANUFACTURED Maggi noodles story has social and economic ramifications that go way beyond the controversy of their suitability for mass consumption and whether lead and other poisonous substances were added to the product for taste enhancement and shelf-life longevity.

What is at stake is the very concept of advertising. Nothing sells or spreads without advertising —projecting the value of a message, a sermon, a product, a technology, a method. Advertising is as old a method of reaching out to others as the Sermon on the Mount or Buddha’s discourses at Sarnath. Nothing wrong with the use of a pulpit. But its misuse for spreading disinformation deserves punishment either by the gods themselves or, in the modern era, by specific laws designed to protect the susceptible from the devilish ways of snake oil salesmen.

One such defensive tool fashioned to safeguard children and susceptible audiences from the deluge of disinformation in the so-called Information Age is loosely known as the Consumer Movement which began gathering momentum in the 1960s in the US under the banner of the intrepid crusader, Ralph Nader. He saw the rapacity of unbridled corporations, working hand-in-glove with

4 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

politicians and the media to dupe vulnerable patrons and clients into buying unsafe and unreliable products, as the greatest threat to America’s freedom and entrepreneurial spirit.

His book, Unsafe At Any Speed, took on the mighty US automobile industry head on, exposing how it deliberately cut corners and endangered public safety for naked profit.

As a famous blurb for the book says: “The book has continuing relevance: it addressed what Nader perceived as the political meddling of the car industry to oppose new safety features, which parallels the debates in the 1990s over the mandatory fitting of air bags in the United States, and industry efforts by the industry lobby to delay the introduction of crash tests to assess vehicle-front pedestrian protection in the European Union.”

Nader’s crusade ultimately led to the introduction of seat-belts in all American automobiles, a practice that spread across the world. But the main lesson from “Nader’s Raiders”, as the followers of his movement were called, was that as the Information Age and Consumer Age were spreading with ferocious rapidity, consumers, in order to keep abreast with the misuse of advertising—increasingly through the electronic media—needed to be protected from predatory corporations and dangerous claims and products.

Even as the reach and power of advertising broadened, so did the skepticism and caution of the consumer. The introduction of seat belts was followed by landmark decisions such as banning cigarette advertising on TV and controlling violence in TV programming for children. And the US political system and Congress struck a delicate balance

between freedom of speech and opinion, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution and the right of the individual not to be bamboozled by false and deceptive advertising.

The major regulatory blow against false advertising was struck by the Federal Trade Commission, which started a special cell to monitor deceptive advertising, a term used for describing claims made by products on the basis of falsehoods or without scientific evidence.

The federal government, through the Federal Communications Commission which ensures fairness in spectrum allocation as well as broadcast content, armed itself with the powers to cancel broadcast licenses of TV channels if challenged by citizen petitions on the grounds of misleading ads or the failure of channels to uphold the highest standards of fairness and probity.

All this may sound draconian, but in practice, it is not. Industry associations, consumer groups and regulatory agencies work in close concert to ensure that the media remains free from political interference and control as well as free from deceptive advertising.

But this issue’s ProPublica story on chocolates shows that it is not difficult to “manufacture” scientific “evidence” and make some outrageous claim about the safety and efficacy of a product.

The Indian regulatory framework for consumer protection—except for the mostly dysfunctional MRTP —has not reached any real level of sophistication.

Actors wearing white gowns and posing as “doctors” make any claim they want to for medicinal products. “Scientists” cite statistics to sell curealls. Milk additive makers claim Horlicks will fortify

Anil Shakya

The ProPublica story on chocolates shows that it’s not difficult to “manufacture” scientific “evidence” and make an outrageous claim about the safety and efficacy of a product. milk without warning consumers that the product is a carbohydrate enhancer which could add to the Indian diabetes epidemic. Paint companies claim weather-proof colors and cement companies guarantee walls against earthquakes. Actors sell skinwhiteners. Do we know if these creams contain poisons? Do they whiten the skin? Do they exacerbate societal tendencies towards Aryan racism?

Even the benefits of yoga can be hyped!

The Nestle Maggi noodle controversy is a necessary, awareness-enhancing development in an India that hurtles into the universe of consumerism, unprotected from the accompanying specter of deceptive advertising.

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July 22, 2015 5

VOLUME. VIII

ISSUE. 20 Editor Rajshri Rai Managing Editor Ramesh Menon Deputy Managing Editor Shobha John Executive Editor Ajith Pillai Business Editor Shantanu Guha Ray

Political Editor Bhavdeep Kang Associate Editor Meha Mathur Deputy Editors Prabir Biswas Niti Singh Art Director Anthony Lawrence Deputy Art Editor Amitava Sen Graphic Designer Lalit Khitoliya Photographer Anil Shakya News Coordinator/Photo Researcher Kh Manglembi Devi Production Pawan Kumar

C O N

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6 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

LEDE

Unstately Burial?

10

The “possession” of Statesman House in Kolkata by SBI portends the demise of a newspaper that was once the pride of the city, reports SUJIT BHAR

MEDIA MONITORING

“I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss”

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A Pro-Publica exclusive report by JOHN BOHANNON on how sensational headlines and smart presentation can dupe lazy journalists

FOCUS

It’s A Woman’s World

23

VON team visits Bibipur village in Haryana where a unique selfie contest with daughters has grabbed the nation’s attention

T E N T S

Sons Rise Over Rupert’s Kingdom

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Rupert Murdoch hangs up his boots, handing over the top jobs to his two sons. MR DUA reports on the change and profiles the media baron

SPECIAL REPORT

What’s The Whole Truth?

Media circles are abuzz over Prabhu Chawla’s “removal” as editorial director of The New Indian Express

Governance

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YOGA INITIATIVE

Universal Panacea?

44

The media asked few questions about yoga’s claims nor warned about pitfalls, observes DINESH C SHARMA

MODI CONTROVERSY BOOK REVIEW

Dark Days of Excess

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RAJENDRA BAJPAI reviews Coomi Kapoor’s book on the Emergency, where she recounts how dictatorship in 1975 steam-rolled all democratic institutions

CONTROVERSY

Outlook In A Soup OBITUARY

A Passionate Crusader

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The passing away of Praful Bidwai was a huge loss to journalism and the leftist movement. SEEMA GUHA writes a moving tribute

SPOTLIGHT

WSJ says goodbye

34

The global daily shuts down its Indian edition, reports SHANTANU GUHA RAY

42

The magazine courts controversy by calling a lady IAS officer “eye candy” and is slapped with a legal notice. A VON TEAM report

LaMo Juggernaut Rolls On

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The government has belatedly sent ED officials to Singapore to probe money laundering by Lalit Modi, reports SHANTANU GUHA RAY

How deep is the rot?

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Despite clumsy damage-control, the Modi government has survived the first round of the LaMo crisis, reports ABHAY VAIDYA

R E G U L A R S Edit..................................................04 Grapevine........................................08 Quotes.............................................09 Design Review.................................36 Anchor Review.................................40 Breaking News.................................41 Cover design: Anthony Lawrence

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July 22, 2015 7

Grapevine Beti Bachao Campaign ONE OF the Modi government’s primary campaigns is Beti Bachao.

However, the slogan seems to have slightly gone off-track and is now mostly applicable to the majority party in parliament, the BJP, with four of their “betis,” Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje, Pankaja Munde and Smriti Irani, under fire. The BJP is doing all it can to save the “betis”. The prime minister mentioned #SelfieWithDaughter

campaign in his radio address, Mann Ki Baat. Meanwhile, the “One Year No Scam” slogan to celebrate the completion of a year in power, also seems to have hit turbulent waters. Everything started moving in the wrong direction as soon as the slogan was publicized. Is it just a coincidence that women are involved in the so-called scams.

More power to women?

Tamtams for Lalu

Party Politics

THE IRREPRESSIBLE Lalu Yadav has decided that his party will bank on tamtams (tongas) to counter the main rival BJP, in the upcoming Bihar elections. He feels that while the BJP moves on big wheels on highways, the RJD will move on tamtams, on smaller lanes and bylanes, carrying the message to all. So, the plan is to roll out 50 such horse-drawn carriages in each assembly constituency, with RJD candidates carrying the message of Lalu, from houseto-house. The tamtams are to be hired for `500 per day. The campaign will generate employment for drivers as well. Lalu certainly hopes to ride to glory on horsepower!

AT A SOCIAL gathering in Delhi recently, BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy was describing how Bihari politician Pappu Yadav had maltreated a stewardess of a private airline. No FIR was launched or any action taken, he complained. He said that he kept wondering where India was heading. Obviously, he was talking animatedly because the audience comprised Bihari politicians and bureaucrats, and he wanted to score political brownie points. A bystander was tempted to ask him why he was complaining when his own party was in power at the center. There was no answer from Rudy.

Jaya bats for Doordarshan RECENTLY, MEMBER of Parliament Jaya Bachchan, in a parliamentary committee meeting, took up cudgels on behalf of Doordarshan (DD). “There are still people in India who believe Doordarshan News to be the most authentic news,” she said. Does the extended Bachchan family watch DD? She said the main problem that afflicted DD was that the presentation was not attractive. She suggested that a consulting agency be hired for the improvement required. One wonders if she had herself or anybody from her family in mind.

And the option would work wonders for DD! 8 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

Secret Visitor A RECENT reply from the PMO said that business tycoon Gautam Adani’s visits to the PM’s Race Course Road residence in Delhi are exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act. The PMO said that the PM met people from all walks of life, not necessarily upon formal request, and often, guests want their meetings to be kept secret. Before this, we knew there were some politicians and ministers whose visits to the PMO were kept under the radar.

But anybody can guess as to why Adani’s visits are secret.

—Compiled by Roshni Seth Illustrations: UdayShankar

Q

U O T E S

It (drinking) is one’s fundamental right. Drinking is a social status symbol these days.

Alcohol does not increase crime.

People lose their consciousness after consuming alcohol and that's how it causes crime. The person who drinks within control, does not cause crime... one should not overdrink.

——Babulal Gaur, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister

I think the law minister was misquoted. Our party position has been that homosexuality is a genetic disorder.

— Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader, on scrapping of Section 377 of IPC

Rana Ayub, Journalist Ok BJP, can u please stop sending spokespersons on tv debates who want us to answer our (media) silence on scams during UPA regime ! Really?

Shekhar Gupta, Editorial Advisor, India Today 23rd witness dies in #VyapamScam, 1 accused dead too. Is it keeping pace with Asaram Bapu case dying witnesses? & we call #lalitleaks scam!

Nitish Kumar, CM, Bihar Bihar is too wise to be lured by BJP attempt to mask its failures with cocktail of brazen caste politics & rhetoric of Modiji’s global image.

Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader

History books were mostly written by rulers, so one must do a fair research and find out what had historically happened. They should be written by people of excellent academics.

——Abdul Kalam Azad, former president, in The Economic Times

All BJP leaders who are above the age of 75 were declared brain dead on 26th May 2014.

What right has Congi to ask for Smriti to resign ? In NH case Sonia and Rahul did not resign even after Summons was issued. Hypocrites.

Nikhil Wagle, Journalist Congress has no credibility to accuse Pankaja. The blacklisted NGO is supported by their leaders from Konkan region n favored by their govt.

P Chidambaram, Congress leader PIO who criticized #AFSPA deported.

Will citizens who criticized be deported as well?

—Yashwant Sinha, ex-finance minister

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July 22, 2015 9

Lede

The Statesman

UNSTATELY BURIAL? It was once the pride of Kolkata. But a July 24 “possession notice” by SBI has put the final nail in the coffin of a venerable paper and showed how even a great institution can sink if left to drift

BY SUJIT BHAR

T

HIS is the archetypal story one hears about an institution in decline. One afternoon, a couple of years back, two former Statesman journalists were walking down the Esplanade in Kolkata. They stopped briefly, almost by force of habit, at the gate of The Statesman House building on Chittaranjan Avenue and peered in. This had once been their hallowed place of work—a beehive of activity and regal ancestry with history virtually written on its walls.

But on that day, it unfortunately looked unkempt and in a mess—all its glory had to be recounted in the past tense.

10 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

Even as the two were reminiscing the “good old days”, a passerby stopped and shared his thoughts.

“Do you know what a great paper used to come out of this building? It is in a shambles now. What a shame!” The journalists were speechless. The gentleman who had interrupted their conversation seemed to be voicing a sentiment that most Kolkatans would endorse.

Shame, probably is the appropriate word to describe the fall of a tradition and a brand as close to a Kolkatan’s heart as possibly Colgate toothpaste and Durga Puja. The Statesman was a paper on the very plinth of which a Kolkata kid’s future would be built.

Children would be virtually ordered by parents to read The Statesman if they were to be “any good in

English”. This was the paper that was respected as second only to the London Times during the heydays of the British Raj. Its editorial content was an example to follow for its style, substance and objectivity. And it continued to hold its sway much after the British gave up ownership in 1963. Remember how The Statesman did itself proud by standing up against the Emergency, much like how it refused to buckle to the diktats of the British government before Independence?

Those were the days... But what of now?

WHAT A FALL A July 24, 2015, advertisement says it all. A “Possession Notice”, issued by the State Bank of India (SBI),

Technically, The Statesman has 60 days (from the date of the notice) to cough up the `35.14 crore, plus interest, to have the attachment notice vacated. Any relief at this stage will be temporary. and released in all major dailies of Kolkata, confirmed the fears of many in the city: the venerable Statesman is on its deathbed and the very symbol of all that it stands for—The Statesman House building—would be attached to the bank. In short, as things stand, if the paper manages to operate from the premises from where it currently does, then it would do so as a tenant. Not an enviable situation VIEWS ON NEWS

July 22, 2015 11

Lede

The Statesman

RICH LEGACY

The Hall of Fame

(Clockwise from above) Robert Knight, the founder editor; CR Irani, at the helm during Emergency; Pran Chopra, the first Indian editor of the publication; Ravindra Kumar, the current editor; Sunanda K Dutta Ray, noted commentator

ROBERT KNIGHT was the founder editor who was also associated with The Times of India. Ian Stephens made news when he carried detailed accounts of the 1943 Bengal Famine although there was a gag order from the British government on graphic descriptions of the tragedy.

Evan Charlton responded to a Times London advertisement and was selected as a trainee journalist for The Statesman. He later became the last British editor of the daily.

Pran Chopra was the first Indian editor of the paper.

S Nihal Singh, Amalendu Dasgupta and Sunanda K Dutta Ray are all noted commentators associated with The Statesman.

CR Irani was the editor known for having taken a strong anti-government stand during the Emergency.

Ravindra Kumar is the current editor.

to be in for a paper which was established in 1875 and has occupied the building since it was inaugurated by Sir John Anderson, then governor of Bengal, on January 18, 1933.

Technically, The Statesman has 60 days (from the date of the notice) to cough up the `35.14 crore, plus interest, to have the attachment notice vacated.

According to a source, the management of the daily has gone to court for a stay on the order. Even if that is granted, it will be temporary relief—the debt will 12 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

remain and the credibility of the iconic daily would have taken a hit. As Nikhil Mookherjee, once a senior editor of The Statesman puts it: “The structure (of The Statesman) remains, but the soul has drained out.”

The debt that The Statesman owes to SBI is huge. Putting the building up for sale could provide the finances to clear the debt and start afresh. But selling the building may be easier said than done.

Several tenants—the Calcutta Electric Supply Cor-

“The bosses killed The Statesman”

Well-known photo-journalist Raghu Rai looks back on the time spent in this iconic paper

poration, for instance—may not readily vacate.

Added to that is the possible debt burden (apart from the SBI loan) that the management is burdened with. Once those are cleared, it will leave the publication with limited credit-worthiness in the market to generate immediate funds. So what is the other option? There is a possibility of a friendly business house willing to take over. But will The Statesman be the same again?

HERITAGE STRUCTURE As things stand, if the bank’s control of the Statesman House is confirmed by the court, there would be a statutory auction of the property. Whether the paper would be allowed to stay and function within the premises would be decided by the court.

However, there is one saving grace. The building has been declared a heritage structure, and its facade and basic structure cannot be changed. So the Statesman House is likely to remain intact although under a new ownership.

To get an idea of the institution that The Statesman once was, one has to dip into history. For the record, the paper was the direct offshoot of two publications, The Englishman and The Friend of India. They were both published from Kolkata (then Calcutta) and started in 1811 by Robert

“I feel sad, I am crestfallen.

The Statesman was my alma mater, I started my career with some old cameras and lenses from that red-colored building in the heart of Delhi.

We had some of the finest editors in India shaping the paper like Evan Charlton, Desmond Doig, who were fearless and made the daily fearless. They were not worried about their owners like present-day editors. They spoke the truth, walked the truth and were revered by the staff and readers.

They ensured that the newspaper’s loyalty was to its readers. That was the red line for them.

I sincerely feel that ever since CR Irani started taking an interest in the management of the paper and eventually took over it, the daily started declining. It went down, down and down.

I had some infamous brushes with Irani.

My repeated attempts to tell him that we needed new cameras and lenses always fell on deaf ears as he would skirt the issue every time by saying: ‘We will talk.’

Once, after returning from London, he called me to his room to offer a small gift, a pair of cufflinks. I expressed my gratitude, but still asked for new cameras and lenses.

Irani was furious. He argued that he was the MD and had many ‘pressing engagements’ and could not be only bothered about cameras and lenses. I threw the packet on his table, told him to keep it and walked out.

Irani complained to the editor, S Nihal Singh, who asked me—very, very gently — that evening: ‘You could have avoided that showdown, Raghu.’

After that, Irani started acting funny with me, pushing me out of some real good assignments. I resigned eight months later. It was 1977, when India saw a new government and also a new Cola that did not last.

I told Irani in my resignation note: ‘I will be a cameraman without The Statesman. But you cannot be an MD without the paper.’

I could foresee the paper’s death in 1977.”

— As told to Shantanu Guha Ray

Raghu Rai’s photograph of refugees from East Pakistan, published in The Statesman in 1971 VIEWS ON NEWS

July 22, 2015 13

Lede

The Statesman

“Rag in a city that once called it a Bible of news” S Nihal Singh, former editor of The Statesman, expresses his sorrow at the decline of the newspaper

“I AM shocked to hear the news of the State Bank of India acquiring the Statesman House building.

Some years ago, I was in Kolkata and was standing close to the building when a fire gutted the first floor and the entire editorial team was shifted to the top floor.

A rubble collector had brought his van and was loading all that had become black ARCHIVAL VALUE (Above right) A 1947 Statesman broadsheet, mounted in a Delhi museum

and distasteful after the fire swept through the building. I walked right into the room where I had worked as editor and nearly broke down. It was my room and now, all the books, clippings, furniture, were reduced to rubble and handed over to the collector.

The Statesman was not a paper; it was a part of Indian history. When the Calcutta Famine took place, the daily kept India and the world updated about the horrific incident. I spent 25-and-a-half years with that newspaper.

The editors, the ones from England, were brilliant, and cared only about journalism. Kids in Kolkata would be told by their parents to read the newspaper to improve their English.

And then, the decline started, mainly because of an over-ambitious management which did not know how to grow, and when to grow. Today, it is a pity that the paper is considered a rag in a city that once called it a Bible of news.”

—As told to Shantanu Guha Ray

Knight, who was later the principal founder and editor of The Times of India. It was on January 15, 1875, that The Englishman and The Friend of India were merged into one brand called The Statesman.

The Times of India may have started in 1838 much before The Statesman, but the former’s domain was restricted to the Bombay Presidency for a long period. The Statesman, however, started its Delhi edition as early as 1932 (The Times got to the national capital only in 1950) and therefore enjoyed tremendous clout at the seat of the Raj. Though it wielded influence, it was to the credit of its top management and editors that they never let

14 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

racist and colonial bias creep into its reportage. In fact, the paper was critical of several anti-India policies of the Crown and was the only mainstream Indian paper to go against the British government diktat to refrain from graphic coverage of the Bengal famine of 1943.

The Statesman continued its good work much after Independence. It was only in 1963 that its British owners decided to transfer ownership to Indian hands. But they decided that no individual should own the paper. So a consortium of respected business houses, among which the Tatas were understandably in the lead, were chosen. The paper’s broad policy was outlined in a charter signed by the new and old owners which underlined editorial freedom. A board of trustees was set up to ensure that the editor was protected from undue interference by the management. It was a unique arrangement that lasted a while, adding to the daily’s already humongous reputation.

SLOW DECLINE But this changed after the board was disbanded and CR Irani was appointed editor and managing di-

Statesman Snippets The stories that emanate from The Statesman are the stuff of legends. Here are a few that still do the rounds An editor with Oxbridge antecedents (it would be unfair to name him here) wrote his edits on paper napkins at the bar and sent it back to the office through a peon. The spirited edits were known for their quality.

Hamdi Bey, a senior and reputed journalist with the daily was an enigma.

Not because of his drinking—that never seemed to affect him anyway— but because of the sheer length and breadth of knowledge and his ability to write articles off the cuff at very short notice. In those pre-internet days, he was a wonder.

Dharani Ghosh headed a special obituary section called the “Morgue” in The Statesman. Ghosh used to painfully update himself with the lives of all important people around the country. Not only that, he had files on people of

rector. Though he is credited with the strong antigovernment stand he took during the Emergency, there is a view that he also presided over the decline of the paper (See Raghu Rai interview).

In 1982, under the editorship of MJ Akbar (the then editor of the weekly magazine, Sunday), the Anandabazar Patrika Group (ABP) started a new English daily, The Telegraph. Akbar was given 11 months to prove that the new publication would find its place in the market. He took up the challenge and delivered. Many years later, when The Telegraph had overtaken The Statesman in circulation, a huge hoarding facing the Statesman House declared: “Salaam Statesman”. It was a quirky salute to the once-leader for allowing an upstart to pass.

According to Mookherjee, the difference between the old paper and its young competitor was stark. “The Statesman was more of a desk-driven paper, unlike The Telegraph, which was reporter-driven and aided by a strong desk as well.”

Young readers soon switched allegiance to the modern, snappier and better-designed Telegraph.

The times were obviously changing but The Statesman refused to move from its stodgy ways. With circulation dipping, so did advertising and conse-

advanced age, or those critically ill. In the case of a late night death, even if Ghosh was not around, a sub-editor would be able to easily find the files and compose a fine obituary out of the information gathered by Ghosh. He was also a famous drama critic.

The Statesman canteen was no ordinary one. Neither was its lunch or dinner.

Liveried waiters were in attendance to serve what could be described as a meal fit for the sahibs. Old timers, such as Nikhil Mookherjee, would compare it with the best available menu served in any star restaurant or club in the city.

During one Durga Puja immersion ceremony, a photographer was instructed to click a fresh photograph. He, in his laziness, passed on an old picture and it was prominently printed on the front page. The following morning, a few people turned up at The Statesman office. Reason: Amid the crowd in the photograph, they had spotted a relative, who had been missing for a few years.

They wanted to know where and when the picture was taken. The photographer was caught out.

The Statesman Vintage Car Rally was possibly the best such rally in the country. It became a tradition every February. And being seen in that event, in your old reconditioned car, was a matter of immense pride for many.

NEW ORDER The swanky structure which has replaced the red old Statesman Building in New Delhi

quently, revenues.

Very clearly, the complacency that set in was never arrested. The Statesman went on a downward spiral and those in command simply watched the decline mutely. Many insiders say the alarm bells had begun to ring some two decades ago as the debts began to pile up. But it took time for the realization to sink in that even a great institution can sink if it is left to drift.

Today, there is gloom within Statesman House.

Many fear that the end is near. Only a miracle can save what once was the pride of Kolkata.

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July 22, 2015 15

Media Monitoring Health Research

Anil Shakya

“I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss” 16 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

A Pro-Publica exclusive report on how sensational headlines and smart presentation can dupe lazy journalists

BY JOHN BOHANNON

S

LIM by Chocolate!” the headlines blared. A team of German researchers had found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight 10 percent faster if they ate a chocolate bar every day. It made the front page of Bild, Europe’s largest daily newspaper, just beneath their update about the Germanwings crash. From there, it ricocheted around the Internet and beyond, making news in more than 20 countries and half-a-dozen languages.

It was discussed on television news shows. It appeared in glossy print, most recently in the June issue of Shape magazine (“Why You Must Eat Chocolate Daily,” page 128). Not only does chocolate accelerate weight loss, the study found, but it leads to healthier cholesterol levels and overall increased well-being. The Bild story quotes the study’s lead author, Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D., research director of the Institute of Diet and Health: “The best part is you can buy chocolate everywhere.”

I am Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D. Well, actually my name is John, and I’m a journalist. I do have a Ph.D., but it’s in the molecular biology of bacteria, not humans. The Institute of Diet and Health? That’s nothing more than a website.

Other than those fibs, the study was 100 percent authentic. My colleagues and I recruited actual human subjects in Germany. We ran an actual clinical trial, with subjects randomly assigned to different diet regimes. And the statistically significant benefits of chocolate that we reported are based on the actual data. It was, in fact, a fairly typical study for the field of diet research. Which is to say: It was terrible science. The results are meaningless, and the

health claims that the media blasted out to millions of people around the world are utterly unfounded.

Here’s how we did it.

THE SETUP I got a call in December last year from a German television reporter named Peter Onneken. He and his collaborator, Diana Löbl, were working on a documentary film about the junk-science diet industry. They wanted me to help demonstrate just how easy it is to turn bad science into the big headlines behind diet fads. And Onneken wanted to do it gonzo style: Reveal the corruption of the diet research-media complex by taking part.

The call wasn’t a complete surprise. The year before, I had run a sting operation for Science on fee-charging open access journals, a fast-growing and lucrative new sector of the academic publishing business. To find out how many of those publishers are keeping their promise of doing rigorous peer review, I submitted ridiculously flawed papers and counted how many rejected them. (Answer: fewer than half.)

Onneken and Löbl had everything lined up: a few thousand Euros to recruit research subjects, a German doctor to run the study, and a statistician friend to massage the data. Onneken heard about my journal sting and figured that I would know how to pull it all together and get it published. The only problem was time: The film was scheduled to be aired on German and French television, so we really only had a couple of months to pull this off.

Could we get something published? Probably. But beyond that?

I thought it was sure to fizzle. We science journalists like to think of ourselves as more clever than the average hack. After all, we VIEWS ON NEWS

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Media Monitoring Health Research

have to understand arcane scientific research well enough to explain it. And for reporters who don’t have science chops, as soon as they tapped outside sources for their stories—really anyone with a science degree, let alone an actual nutrition scientist—they would discover that the study was laughably flimsy.

Not to mention that a Google search yielded no trace of Johannes Bohannon or his alleged institute. Reporters on the health science beat were going to smell this a mile away. But I didn’t want to sound pessimistic. “Let’s see how far we can take this,” I said.

Onneken and Löbl were working on a documentary film about the junk-science diet industry.

They wanted me to help demonstrate just how easy it is to turn bad science into the big headlines behind diet fads.

THE CON Onneken and Löbl wasted no time. They used Facebook to recruit subjects around Frankfurt, offering 150 Euros to anyone willing to go on a diet for three weeks. They made it clear that this was part of a documentary film about dieting, but they didn’t give more detail. On a cold January morning, five men and 11 women showed up, aged 19 to 67.

Gunter Frank, a general practitioner in on the prank, ran the clinical trial. Onneken had pulled him in after reading a popular book Frank wrote railing against dietary pseudoscience. Testing bitter chocolate as a dietary supplement was his idea. When I asked him why, Frank said it was a favorite of the “whole food” fanatics. “Bitter chocolate tastes bad, therefore it must be good for you,” he said. “It’s like a religion.”

After a round of questionnaires and blood tests to ensure that no one had eating disorders, diabetes, or other illnesses that might endanger them, Frank randomly assigned the subjects to one of three diet groups. One group followed a low-carbohydrate diet.

Another followed the same low-carb diet plus a daily 1.5 oz. bar of dark chocolate. And the rest, a control group, were instructed to make no changes to their current diet. They weighed themselves each morning for 21 days, and the study finished with a final round of questionnaires and blood tests.

Onneken then turned to his friend Alex DrosteHaars, a financial analyst, to crunch the numbers.

One beer-fueled weekend later and... jackpot! Both

18 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

of the treatment groups lost about 5 pounds over the course of the study, while the control group’s average body weight fluctuated up and down around zero. But the people on the low-carb diet plus chocolate? They lost weight 10 percent faster. Not only was that difference statistically significant, but the chocolate group had better cholesterol readings and higher scores on the well-being survey.

THE HOOK I know what you’re thinking. The study did show accelerated weight loss in the chocolate group— shouldn’t we trust it? Isn’t that how science works?

Here’s a dirty little science secret: If you measure a large number of things about a small number of people, you are almost guaranteed to get a “statistically significant” result. Our study included 18 different measurements—weight, cholesterol, sodium,

blood protein levels, sleep quality, well-being, etc— from 15 people. (One subject was dropped.) That study design is a recipe for false positives.

Think of the measurements as lottery tickets.

Each one has a small chance of paying off in the form of a “significant” result that we can spin a story around and sell to the media. The more tickets you buy, the more likely you are to win. We didn’t know exactly what would pan out—the headline could have been that chocolate improves sleep or lowers blood pressure—but we knew our chances of getting at least one “statistically significant” result were pretty good.

Whenever you hear that phrase, it means that some result has a small p value. The letter p seems to have totemic power, but it’s just a way to gauge the signal-to-noise ratio in the data. The conventional cutoff for being “significant” is 0.05, which means that there is just a 5 percent chance that your result is a random fluctuation. The more lottery tickets, the better your chances of getting a false positive. So how many tickets do you need to buy?

P (winning) = 1 - (1 - p)n With our 18 measurements, we had a 60 percent chance of getting some “significant” result with p < 0.05. (The measurements weren’t independent, so it could be even higher.) The game was stacked in our favor.

It’s called p-hacking—fiddling with your experimental design and data to push p under 0.05—and it’s a big problem. Most scientists are honest and do it unconsciously. They get negative results, convince themselves they goofed, and repeat the experiment until it “works.” Or they drop “outlier” data points.

But even if we had been careful to avoid p-hacking, our study was doomed by the tiny number of subjects, which amplifies the effects of uncontrolled factors. Just to take one example: A woman’s weight can fluctuate as much as 5 pounds over the course of her menstrual cycle, far greater than the weight difference between our chocolate and low-carb groups. Which is why you need to use a large num-

The key is to exploit journalists’ incredible laziness. If you lay out the information just right, you can shape the story that emerges in the media almost like you were writing the stories yourself. ber of people, and balance age and gender across treatment groups. (We didn’t bother.)

You might as well read tea leaves as try to interpret our results. Chocolate may be a weight loss accelerator, or it could be the opposite. You can’t even trust the weight loss that our non-chocolate lowcarb group experienced versus control. Who knows what the handful of people in the control group were eating? We didn’t even ask them.

Luckily, scientists are getting wise to these problems. Some journals are trying to phase out p value significance testing altogether to nudge scientists into better habits. And almost no one takes studies with fewer than 30 subjects seriously anymore. Editors of reputable journals reject them out of hand before sending them to peer reviewers. But there VIEWS ON NEWS

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Media Monitoring Health Research

are plenty of journals that care more about money than reputation.

THE INSIDE MAN It was time to share our scientific breakthrough with the world. We needed to get our study published pronto, but since it was such bad science, we needed to skip peer review altogether. Conveniently, there are lists of fake journal publishers. (This is my list, and here’s another.) Since time was tight, I simultaneously submitted our paper—“Chocolate with high cocoa content as a weight-loss accelerator”—to 20 journals. Then we crossed our fingers and waited.

Our paper was accepted for publication by multiple journals within 24 hours. Needless to say, we faced

20 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

no peer review at all. The eager suitor we ultimately chose was the the International Archives of Medicine. It used to be run by the giant publisher BioMedCentral, but recently changed hands.The new publisher’s CEO, Carlos Vasquez, emailed Johannes to let him know that we had produced an “outstanding manuscript,” and that for just 600 Euros it “could be accepted directly in our premier journal.”

Although the Archives’ editor claims that “all articles submitted to the journal are reviewed in a rigorous way,” our paper was published less than 2 weeks after Onneken’s credit card was charged. Not a single word was changed.

THE MARKS With the paper out, it was time to make some noise.

I called a friend of a friend who works in scientific PR. She walked me through some of the dirty tricks for grabbing headlines. It was eerie to hear the other side of something I experience every day.

The key is to exploit journalists’ incredible laziness.

If you lay out the information just right, you can shape the story that emerges in the media almost like you were writing those stories yourself. In fact, that’s literally what you’re doing, since many reporters just copied and pasted our text.

Take a look at the press release I cooked up. It has everything. In reporter lingo: a sexy lede, a clear nut graf, some punchy quotes, and a kicker. And there’s no need to even read the scientific paper because the key details are already boiled down. I took special care to keep it accurate. Rather than tricking journalists, the goal was to lure them with a completely typical press release about a research paper.

(Of course, what’s missing is the number of subjects and the minuscule weight differences between the groups.)

But a good press release isn’t enough. Reporters are also hungry for “art,” something pretty to show their readers. So Onneken and Löbl shot some promotional video clips and commissioned freelance artists to write an acoustic ballad and even a rap about chocolate and weight loss. (It turns out you can hire

people on the internet to do nearly anything.)

Onneken wrote a German press release and reached out directly to German media outlets.

The promise of an “exclusive” story is very tempting, even if it’s fake. Then he blasted the German press release out on wire service based in Austria, and the English one went out on NewsWire.

There was no quality control. That was left to the reporters.

I felt a queazy mixture of pride and disgust as our lure zinged out into the world.

THE SCORE We landed big fish before we even knew they were biting. Bild rushed their story out—“Those who eat chocolate stay slim!”—without contacting me at all.

Soon we were in the Daily Star, the Irish Examiner, Cosmopolitan’s German website, The Times of India, both the German and Indian site of TheHuffington Post, and even television news in Texas and an Australian morning talk show.

When reporters contacted me at all, they asked perfunctory questions. “Why do you think chocolate accelerates weight loss? Do you have any advice for our

Here’s a dirty little science secret: if you measure a large number of things about a small number of people, you are almost guaranteed to get a “statistically significant” result. readers?” Almost no one asked how many subjects we tested, and no one reported that number. Not a single reporter seems to have contacted an outside researcher...

These publications, though many command large audiences, are not exactly paragons of journalistic virtue. So it’s not surprising that they would simply grab a bit of digital chum for the headline, harvest the pageviews, and move on. But even the supposedly rigorous outlets that picked the study up failed to spot the holes.

Shape magazine’s reporting on our study—turn to page 128 in the June issue—employed the services of a fact-checker, but it was just as lackadaisical. All the checker did was run a couple of sentences by me for accuracy and check the spelling of my name. The coverage went so far as to specify the appropriate cocoa content for weight-lossinducing chocolate (81 percent) and even mentioned two specific brands (“available in grocery stores and at amazon.com”).

Some dodged the bullet. A reporter from Men’s Health interviewed me by email, asking the same sort of non-probing questions. She said that the story was slated for their September issue, so we’ll never know.

But most disappointing? No one dipped into our buffet of chocolate music videos.

Instead, they used vaguely pornographic images of women eating chocolate...

THE KNOCK So why should you care? People who VIEWS ON NEWS

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Media Monitoring Health Research

Reporters asked perfunctory questions.

“Why do you think chocolate accelerates weight loss?

Do you have any advice for our readers?”

Almost no one asked how many subjects we tested. Not a single reporter seems to have contacted an outside researcher.

are desperate for reliable information face a bewildering array of diet guidance—salt is bad, salt is good, protein is good, protein is bad, fat is bad, fat is good—that changes like the weather. But science will figure it out, right? Now that we’re calling obesity an epidemic, funding will flow to the best scientists and all of this noise will die down, leaving us with clear answers to the causes and treatments.

Or maybe not. Even the well-funded, serious research into weight-loss science is confusing and inconclusive, laments Peter Attia, a surgeon who cofounded a non-profit called the Nutrition Science Initiative. For example, the Women’s Health Initiative—one of the largest of its kind—yielded few clear insights about diet and health. “The results were just confusing,” says Attia. “They spent $1 billion and couldn’t even prove that a low-fat diet is better or worse.” Attia’s non-profit is trying to raise $190 million to answer these fundamental questions. But it’s

22 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

hard to focus attention on the science of obesity, he says. “There’s just so much noise.”

You can thank people like me for that. We journalists have to feed the daily news beast, and diet science is our horn of plenty. Readers just can’t get enough stories about the benefits of red wine or the dangers of fructose. Not only is it universally relevant—it pertains to decisions we all make at least three times a day—but it’s science! We don’t even have to leave home to do any reporting. We just dip our cups into the daily stream of scientific press releases flowing through our inboxes. Tack on a snappy stock photo and you’re done.

The only problem with the diet science beat is that it’s science. You have to know how to read a scientific paper—and actually bother to do it. For far too long, the people who cover this beat have treated it like gossip, echoing whatever they find in press releases.

Hopefully our little experiment will make reporters and readers alike more skeptical.

If a study doesn’t even list how many people took part in it, or makes a bold diet claim that’s “statistically significant” but doesn’t say how big the effect size is, you should wonder why. But for the most part, we don’t. Which is a pity, because journalists are becoming the de facto peer review system.

And when we fail, the world is awash in junk science.

There was one glint of hope in this tragi-comedy.

While the reporters just regurgitated our “findings,” many readers were thoughtful and skeptical.

In the online comments, they posed questions that the reporters should have asked.

“Why are calories not counted on any of the individuals?” asked a reader on a bodybuilding forum.

“The domain (for the Institute of Diet and Health website) was registered at the beginning of March, and dozens of blogs and news magazines (see Google) spread this study without knowing what or who stands behind it,” said a reader beneath the story in Focus, one of Germany’s leading online magazines.

Or as one prescient reader of the 4 April story in The Daily Express put it: “Every day is April Fool’s in nutrition.”

Focus

Bibipur’s Selfie Contest

Photos: Anil Shakya

A unique selfie contest in a small village in Haryana has shown the way forward to the rest of India as to how daughters should be respected and loved

BY VON TEAM

I

N a state with the lowest sex ratio, Bibipur, a nondescript village 10 km from Jind, Haryana, stands out as a shining beacon of hope. For not only is the girl child loved here, its inhabitants actually want one and have increased the sex ratio through sustained efforts.

Even the entrance to this Haryana village displays this sign: The Woman’s World. It came into national prominence on June 9, when in a novel initiative, Bibipur’s sarpanch, Sunil Jaglan, started a unique selfie contest with the tagline: “Beti Bachao, Selfie Banao”. Parents were asked to take a selfie with their

WORLD AT HER FEET Girls of Bibipur village are empowering themselves through education

It’s a WOMAN’S WORLD daughters and send it to the sarpanch through WhatsApp. The results surprised everyone, as not only did it get an overwhelming response—794 entries—but people participated from all over the country. On June 19, three selfies were adjudged the best and awarded `2,100 along with a trophy.

Jaglan, naturally, is pleased as punch over how his small initiative left such a large social impact.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought it VIEWS ON NEWS

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Focus

Bibipur’s Selfie Contest

PRIDE OF PLACE (From left) A two-km road in Bibipur has been named “Lado Marg”. Lado means girl in Haryanvi A woman taking a selfie with her daughter

LEADING FROM THE FRONT (Below from left) Sunil Jaglan’s wife with her two daughters One of the winning selfies

up in his recent Mann Ki Baat, where he said: “Because of this (contest), every father wanted to get a selfie clicked with his daughter. I really liked this concept. Since it comes from Haryana, where the gender ratio is the worst, it raises hope.”

And this initiative did have a poignant effect.

Jaglan says: “After the contest was announced, many parents who didn’t have a girl child, called to say how sorry they felt.” Mindsets too have started changing. Kavita Khan, a mother of two, says: “Previously, I used to think educating daughters was a

waste of money, but now I want my daughter to become a doctor. I am not scared of sending her to Jind.” This shift in attitude came about after 2010 when Jaglan took over as the sarpanch. Before that, parents were reluctant to let their daughters take up higher studies, forget about sending them to Jind.

T

his change should be lauded considering Haryana’s pathetic sex ratio. In the 2011 census, it was 834; Bibipur’s was even lower at 832. But with sustained efforts by Jaglan and the panchayat, the skewed sex ratio has changed for the better.

This year, 41 boys and 51 girls were born, says Sheela Devi, member of the committee against female feticide.

But then, Bibipur is no stranger to such initiatives. In July 2012, it shot to fame when it held the first-ever khap panchayat led by women. Launching a campaign against female feticide, it passed a resolution to slap murder 24 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

“I didn’t want my daughters to face discrimination” The sarpanch of Bibipur, SUNIL JAGLAN, says that his women-centric initiatives were born out of a wish to see his daughters get equal opportunities. Excerpts from an interview with VON: How did you think of this unique “selfie with daughter” idea?

I have been working on women’s issues for the last five years. I didn’t want my daughters to face discrimination when they grow up. Every year, I celebrate my birthday (June 19) by highlighting women’s issues. This year, I thought that since everyone is crazy about clicking selfies, why not start a “selfie with daughter contest”. I didn’t expect such an enthusiastic response, and on June 19, instead of one, three best selfies were awarded. I gave the prize money from my own pocket, not from gram panchayat funds.

How does it feel to be mentioned by the prime minister in his Mann ki Baat?

It was a proud moment, not only for me but for my village and my state. I want to thank all those who sent their selfies, because of which it got noticed by the prime minister.

Panchayats generally site scarce funds for lack of development. Do you expect more assistance to flow in now?

We are tirelessly working against female feticide, we don’t want to divert from this cause just for the sake of funds. The previous government gave us `1 crore, which we have utilized for development.

So it is not that the government does not give us funds.

Will you join any political party?

Not presently, as I want to focus on my work. I would like to work on a bigger scale later though.

There are many MLAs and MPs who do not visit their constituencies, so it is not necessary to be a politician in order to do social work.

In March 2015, you were suspended by the Jind deputy commissioner for installing a submersible pump at friend’s house instead of in a public place.

charges against anyone indulging in it. Last year, the panchayat announced that the all-women gram sabha would have rights to decide how to spend half the development funds allotted to it. Soon, a two-km road was constructed through the village and named “Lado Marg”. “Lado” means girl in Haryanvi. Similarly, a lake, “Lado Sarovar”, was dedicated to the women of the village.

The panchayat has also formed a number of committees for women’s upliftment. The one against female feticide has seven members; four women and three men. It looks after pregnant women and makes sure they aren’t forced into sex determination tests. Another is the shiksha committee, which gives financial assistance to underprivileged students, looks after teachers’ attendance and sees that teaching standards are maintained.

There are also surprise visits to the school. “This

That was political agenda. Eighteen inquiries were initiated but no irregularity was found. A day after my suspension, I got stay from the court as I had complete faith in the judiciary.

has improved the quality of education significantly,” says Jai Bhagwan, a committee member. And after the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, even a “Swachta” committee has been formed.

Bibipur’s women-centric initiatives can set an example for others. To discuss issues pertaining to women, a Mahila Shakti Sthal (meeting place for women) has been set up. Plaques listing all laws related to women’s rights have also been put up. Decisions taken here are forwarded to the panchayat, thereby helping them frame policies for women.

The village has a library with more than 450 books and is open round-the-clock for girl students.

Employment opportunities are also given to women. Ritu Jaglan, a women’s activist, says: ‘‘A girl who completes a diploma in knitting is provided with a kit.’’ These initiatives are worth emulating in the rest of the state. What’s lacking is the will.

VIEWS ON NEWS

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Focus

Murdoch Empire

Sons Rise Over Rupertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kingdom As this media baron hangs up his boots, he hands over top jobs in his over 100-year-old empire to his two sons

BY MR DUA

W

HEN media tycoon, founder, chairman and CEO of the globally-renowned News Corp and 21st Century Fox, Rupert Murdoch, 84, announced that he was retiring and handing over the reins of his 100-year-old empire, spanning three continents, to his two sons, from July 1, 2015 onwards, the corporate world was taken aback. Murdoch is known for his pragmatism, ruthless business acumen, incredible toughness and relentless ambition.

HANDING OVER CHARGE Rupert Murdoch (centre) with sons Lachlan (left) and James Getty Images

26 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

Murdoch has been variously described as “media mogul”, “media baron”, “mass media titan” and “media titan”. Keith Rupert Murdoch (his rarely known full name) was 21 years old when he plunged into the newspaper business after taking over his father, Keith Arthur Murdoch’s, shaky daily, The Melbourne Herald. He made a success of it within a short period. Having tasted the joy of journalism, as well as the prosperity and respect that the business of news inspires, Murdoch never looked back. Married and divorced thrice, Murdoch is the father of six children.

HIS REACH Total Revenue In Financial Year 2014 : $31.87 billion

$12.27 billion Fox networks -News, Sports, Business, International, FX, National Geographic, YES networks $9.68 billion 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox 21, Blue Sky Studios, Shine group $6.03 billion British-Sky-Broadcasting $5.30 billion Fox Broadcasting networks, Fox Sports, Fox Television group. MY Network

Cable Film Satellite television Television News and Information Services

The New York Post, Dow Jones— The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Market Watch, Factiva.The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times News Corp Australia—The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Herald Sun

Book Publishing

HarperCollins

Market stock ownership: market cap $67.69 billion

Murdoch family stake Others Voting power - Murdoch Others

THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH He has played a number of games to win all kinds of favors from the high and mighty to stay in business. But now, after prolonged deliberations, Murdoch has realized that it is time to call it quits, so that he may witness how well his two sons, Lachlan, 43, and James, 42, steer the hitherto one-manowned, world’s sixth largest media conglomerate.

A media critic at The New York Times pointed out matter-of-factly: “James and Lachlan are being pushed and positioned to fill the shoes of a largerthan-life media titan, known for following his instincts and taking bold strikes in the course of building Fox into a $67 billion behemoth, spanning broadcast television, cable-news channels like FX and Fox News, and the film television studios.”

Under the new arrangement, Murdoch will assign the two distinct media segments of his empire—print consisting of News Corp, and electronic, comprising 21st Century Fox—to his two sons.

Thus, as he relinquishes charge, he expects the business operations to expand and win new laurels.

He has placed a three-fold agenda for the incumbents:

14.8% 85.2% 39.4% 60.6% (Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times)

He has played a number of games to win all kinds of favors from the high and mighty to stay in business. But now, Murdoch has realized that it’s time to call it quits.

One, boosting the sagging television ratings; Two, building future strategies in the fast-moving television threat to cable channels; Thirdly, keeping the print units competitive.

Murdoch shall continue as the company’s executive chairman; his eldest son Lachlan will be the executive co-chairman; and the Harvard drop-out, former cartoonist, James Murdoch, will be the chief executive officer of the company from July 1.

According to a company statement, currently 21st Century Fox’s holdings include: Fox, Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network-business, 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox Searchlight, Fox international cable and the satellite television operation BSkyB. VIEWS ON NEWS

July 22, 2015 27

Focus

Murdoch Empire

Robert Thomson, one of the editors of Murdoch’s business and financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, had once said: “Rupert is not going to die”.

TRACKING NEWS The Fox TV newsroom

THE NEW MANAGEMENT Rupert Murdoch, 84, chief executive officer, takes

over as co-executive chairman Son Lachlan, 43, co-chairman, takes over as

co-executive chairman Son James, 42 , co-chief operating officer, takes over

as chief executive officer Chase Carey, 61, president and chief operating officer

takes over as advisor to Rupert Murdoch. He retires on June 30, 2016 (Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times)

The News Corp’s holdings comprise New York Post and The Wall Street Journal in the US; The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun in the UK and The Daily Mirror and The Australian in Australia.

The book publishing company, HarperCollins, also forms part of Murdoch’s print media set-up.

DAILY BUSINESS The day-to-day operations will be under the current president and chief operating officer, Chase Carey, 61, who has been designated as advisor

28 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

from July 1.

According to a 21st Century Fox announcement, Rupert, Lachlan and James will be the overall bosses of the sprawling Murdoch media empire, and assume new leadership roles. This means that the control of the company shall rest with the family only.

Murdoch will stay as executive chairman and the largest shareholder of Fox. Interestingly, the legendary Hollywood Studios and the broadcast television network, Fox News Channel, are virtually “the source of American political power”, with the Republicans providing permanent backbone.

Robert Thomson, one of the editors of Murdoch’s business and financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, had once said: “Rupert is not going to die”.

He doesn’t enjoy sharing ownership of media units, and eventually kicks out his partners, as happened in the case of London-based weekly, News Of The World, in 1969, and later with the telecom company, BSkyB. As one of his many biographers recorded, Murdoch owns some 150 newspapers across the globe, but earns more from Fox television channels and by film companies.

“No matter what happens to him, he has shown that there will always be a market in the US for tendentious, right-leaning cable talk shows, state-ofthe-art coverage of cowboys vs Redskins and genre-crushing big budget movies.” he said.

Finally, as one senior WSJ journalist has written: “One of the jobs of the editor of The Wall Street Journal is to keep Rupert Murdoch happy with what he’s doing, because we’re reliant on News Crop for resources at a time when newspapers may not be the world’s greatest investments.”

The statement appropriately and amply reflects the current state of the newspaper industry in the US.

Focus Profile Murdoch Empire

Plots and Gameplans

L

IKE Murdoch, like his journalism. It is difficult to ignore media czar, Rupert Murdoch.

With some 150 newspapers and news entities across the globe, he influences life in a major way. STAR’s numerous channels in India are a living proof of this. He has been called “an empire

Scandalous news coverage and unethical practices have rocked the mogul’s boat more than once

BY MR DUA

David Shankbone/wikimedia

builder and a political kingmaker.”

When he entered journalism, the profession was not only highly respected, it was immensely paying as well. It was only around the end of the 20th century that the media scene transformed, with scandals, sex, juicy and sensational stuff changing the spirit of news journalism altogether. Murdoch’s numerous publications have uniquely contributed

POWER COUPLE Rupert Murdoch with his former wife Wendi Murdoch in happier days

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July 22, 2015 29

Focus Profile Murdoch Empire

to serve the people. At the launch of his daily newspaper, The Australian, in July 1964, in Sydney, he had outlined his mission: “…impartial information, independent thinking…speak fearlessly, outspoken, vigor, truth, and information without dullness, new approach to national journalism.”(sic) However, Murdoch’s journalism, as practiced in the UK or the US, did not exactly pursue the path of high journalistic ethics that he had vouched for. In over 65 years that his media establishments worldwide have operated, almost all of these edicts have been compromised.

When Murdoch’s mass-circulation Londonbased weekly, News of the World (NOW), was caught resorting to fraud, untruths, sexual sensationalism and other scandalous reportage through voicemail hacking, the fraudulent practices came to light.

Murdoch’s mass-circulation London-based weekly News of the World was caught resorting to fraud, untruths, sexual sensationalism and scandalous reportage. to this trend worldwide: The New York Post and The Village Voice in the US; News of the World and The Sun in the UK, for instance.

In the process, Murdoch’s publications have multiplied in circulation and his cash registers have been constantly rising.

THE SCREECHING HEIGHTS When he started, Murdoch was brimming with ideas 30 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

STORM TOSSED The matter catapulted to a big scandal when 14-yearold Miley Dowler’s voicemail was breached; she felt humiliated, and committed suicide. The unfortunate incident resulted in a high-level probe by a British parliamentary panel.

The panel’s report leveled unprecedented and unparalleled reprimand and censure against NOW’s staff.

Murdoch, along with his eldest son Lachlan, and all of NOW’s reporters and editors, were in hot water.

They not only abundantly apologized, the paper paid millions in damages to all others whose voicemails were hacked; some of NOW’s journalists were put behind bars to serve long jail terms, and some were fined. NOW was shut down for good.

The investigators discovered that Lachlan, in-charge of NOW, didn’t exercise strict vigil on what was appearing in its columns. The parliamentary committee censured Lachlan for “willful ignorance” and “astonishing lack of curiosity” regarding the criminal behavior of his subordinates. He later quit and went to New York.

Murdoch’s Fox Television News channel is notorious for its patently biased, prejudiced, one-sided

MURDOCH’S RISE 1952: Joins father Keith Murdoch’s newspaper, The

News, at 21 years.

1969: Enters Britain, purchases the Sunday tabloid,

News of the World.

1973: Comes to the US, buys two dailies, including

The San Antonio News. Purchases, sells, and repurchases The New York Post,The Chicago, Sun-Times, Village Voice and The New York magazine.

2005: Purchases website Myspace for $850 million,

sells for $35 million.

2007: Buys Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The

Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion.

2011: After alleged voicemail hacking of a British

schoolgirl by his London-based Sunday tabloid, News of the World, faces a British parliamentary investigation team. Paper shuts down; pays millions as damages to the girl’s parents after the girl commits suicide.

2014: Withdraws bid to purchase British-SkyBroad-

casting cable for $ 80 billion June 2015: Announces retirement and hands over his

media empire to sons, James and Lachlan.

talk shows and news coverage of the opposition Democratic Party, the White House, and even the 2016 presidential nomination hopefuls such as the former First Lady and Secretary Of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition, daily talk programs anchored by Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, morning news coverage, and weekly shows like Mike Huckabee and Ann Coulter dole out endless acrimony, sowing the seeds of racial upheaval and social dissatisfaction.

TEETERING EMPIRE ?

Meanwhile, rumors are rife in the US that at The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), major reorganization is on the agenda, as the paper is passing through a rough period. It will cut 100 editorial jobs and “shift resources to the digital media and core coverage areas.”

Also its blogs and overseas bureaus would close to effect “full transformation of the newsroom with

a bold, simple aim: to become the premier digital news organization in the world.” WSJ, however, plans to beef up hiring in “mobile offerings, interactive graphics and data driven journalism”, and invest in top newsroom executives with core coverage strength of economics and markets.

Murdoch was also in the news in India recently, though for not very pleasant reason.

The Murdoch-owned STAR television channel reported email leakages that led to the controversy involving former cricket baron Lalit Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj involving the IPL’s T20, and its $975-million broadcast commercial rights to the Murdoch-owned, ESPN Star sports.

Murdoch’s business practices and journalistic ethics have rarely been above board, though his versatility in the news business has never been in doubt. While his media enterprises have touched and expanded to almost every nook and corner of the globe, and he has undoubtedly earned loads of money everywhere, he has hardly won a solid amount of reverence or spontaneous respect or sincere praise from his audiences, readers or clients.

How the enterprises will fare managerially, journalistically and financially in the coming crucial years, only time will tell.

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July 22, 2015 31

Obituary Praful Bidwai

A passionate crusader and a true friend P

The passing away of Praful Bidwai was a huge loss to journalism and the leftist movement. Here is a moving tribute by a close friend

BY SEEMA GUHA RAFUL Bidwai was in a happy frame of mind before he left for Amsterdam. I had not seen him like that for years. Much of this was relief at completing his book on the Indian Left. He had worked hard to meet the deadline, and the day he finished it, he called to say that he was in a mood to celebrate and we should meet for dinner.

He suggested Oh Calcutta, the South Delhi restaurant which serves authentic Bengali food. Unfortunately, we did not make it that evening and promised to do so another day.

Praful was a foodie and loved to discuss the many herbs and spices he would pick up on his travels. He was forever badgering me about Assamese recipes and loved to have “tenga and fish’’, a traditional dish from Assam. And as everyone knows, he loved his drink.

ASSAM AGITATION I first met Praful when he came to Assam to report on the anti-foreigners agitation led by student leaders. This was in the early 1980s. I think he was then an assistant editor with The Times of India in Mumbai and had not yet shifted to Delhi. He came with two other journalist friends: Ivan Fera (Ivan later worked for The Illustrated Weekly and died of cancer a few years later) and Yogi Agarwal. I was in my first job with The Telegraph, and had no idea that an assistant editor in TOI was a big deal. “Giri’’ came up in his conversation quite often. I had no idea who Giri was. It was much later that I realized that Giri was none other than Girilal Jain, the editor of TOI. Unlike many journalists who flew in to Assam to do 32 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

LEFTIST TILT Bidwai was close to the Left Front, though he was upset about their apathy towards environment concerns

the story that was grabbing eyeballs and got overwhelmed seeing mass protests where women, including traditional housewives, took to the streets, Praful realized very quickly the anti-Muslim overtones of the movement. Left leaders of Assam were also targets of public anger. The fact that top BJP leaders frequently came to Assam to lend their support convinced him that it was not an issue which deserved his support.

Though Praful remained at heart a supporter of the Left (he was a Trotskyite in his student days), he was deeply disappointed with the CPMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dyed-in-the wool ideology. The fact that the Indian Left did not pay any attention to the crying issues of environment and global warming frustrated him no end.

NUCLEAR PLANTS He was passionately anti-nuclear, and one of the few issues about which we argued was the IndiaUS nuclear deal. I felt it was good for India and Manmohan Singh had done well to bring India out of its nuclear isolation. Praful would bombard me with facts and figures and try and convince me that nuclear power plants were dangerous.

Like many liberals, he was wary of Narendra Modi, worried about the rise of right-wing forces

Praful was wary of Narendra Modi, worried about the rise of right-wing forces under the BJP and anxious about the future. But mainline Delhi papers were reluctant to give him space. under the BJP and anxious about the future. This was reflected in a hard-hitting piece he wrote about one year of the Modi government. Unfortunately, mainline Delhi papers were reluctant to give him space. They possibly found his anti-business stand inconsistent with company policy. It was a pity, because even if you did not agree with Praful, he always argued his case well.

While Praful could be scathing in his criticism of politicians and those he felt had sold out to the authorities, he was a loyal friend. I have never heard him say a bad word about anyone whom he considered a friend, though they could have parted ways later.

His birthday was earlier this month, and he hosted a small dinner for a few of us. I did not get time to buy him a present. I was waiting for him to return from Amsterdam and take him a belated birthday gift. That was not to be.

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July 22, 2015 33

Spotlight

Wall Street Journal

WSJ SAYS GOODBYE The global daily shuts down Indian edition

BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY

I Insiders in the daily’s Delhi office said the management was keen to reduce output that generated little traffic.

N the last three years, The Wall Street Journal has made three important announcements, all pertaining to India. In 2013, its Asia Editor, Paul Beckitt, called the Indian media market among the most fascinating in the world; the following year, the daily snapped its content deal with Mint, produced from the stable of Hindustan Times and last month, The Wall Street Journal announced it will be downsizing its India operations and pull the plug on its Indian edition.

The India website, http://www.wsj.com/india, will be merged with its global website though its blog, India Real Time. Its operations will be scaled down considerably. It will continue to function along with the Hindi edition of the blog, India RealTime Hindi. The Delhi operations of the daily will be scaled down and the Bangalore operation closed.

Interestingly, New York Times also shut down its India-specific blog, India Ink, in July last year after running it to target Indians and those who follow news about India from abroad, for a little over twoand-a-half years.

On the contrary, WSJ has kept the blogs but scaled down its India operations.

Along with India, the daily closed its Bahasa website in Indonesia and bureaus in Prague and Helsinki, cities not synonymous with tremendous

34 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

business growth, or for that matter, business news reporting.

Dow Jones & Company, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, said in a note the changes were a part of the group’s global restructuring.

“These closures and realignments do not reflect on the quality of the work done by these teams, but simply speak of the pressing need to become more focused as a newsroom on areas we believe are ripe for growth,” Gerard Baker, Editor in Chief at WSJ, said in a signed note in June.

REDUCED TRAFFIC Insiders in the daily’s Delhi office said the management was keen to reduce output that generated little traffic. A freelance researcher, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said there were chances that regional stories in the dailies would be “trimmed considerably” and the daily could even move into a “single edition”.

The researcher said an estimated 15 people could lose their jobs in the scaling down. The researcher did not elaborate. WSJ and Dow Jones wires have a little over 40 people in India.

Early June, WSJ had said it would launch by mid-September a “new global newspaper” in Europe and Asia, with regionally-relevant content.

The daily’s main target would be key financial capital cities, such as London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Paris and Shanghai.

A notable absence from this list was Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

No one commented whether it was a signal for India as a nation or for its blue chip companies aspiring to be global giants.

Special Report Express Group

WHAT’S THE WHOLE TRUTH? F Media circles are abuzz over Prabhu Chawla’s “removal” as editorial director of The New Indian Express and the likely takeover of Express by the Ambanis

BY VON TEAM OR more than 48 hours, from July 1 to July 3, the rumor mills worked overtime among Delhi journalists. And all of it emanated from The Indian Express and The New Indian Express, both dailies known for top-class news reporting and run by family members of the late media baron, Ramnath Goenka.

The first buzz started after The New Indian Express, which also prints a broadsheet, The Sunday Standard, dropped Prabhu Chawla’s name as editorial director, along with that of V Sudarshan, the executive editor. The printline has GS Vasu—till recently the resident editor of the Hyderabad edition—as the new editor of the paper, along with that of the chairman, Manoj Kumar Sonthalia.

However, Chawla, in an interview to The News Minute, said he was still the editorial director and had not quit. “It is not just my name which has been taken off, even executive editor V Sudarshan’s name is not there.

The paper did not have an editor, and now we have a person in that full-time role so his name will appear. If a person in the organization is doing well, we have to encourage him. So GS Vasu has been appointed the editor.” He further added: “Look at the website, my name is still there. I am still the edi-

powers-that-be to ease out Chawla, who was recently named among those defending Modi in a London court?

Chawla has not responded to the Twitter rush; he is equally silent on his name not being on the printline. To a few friends, he said he was looking to “re-designate himself”.

torial director.”

Hoot, a portal which focuses on Indian newsrooms, mentioned the movement but did not specify the reason. Chawla is seen as part of the Rajnath Singh camp. In BJP politics, this means you are in the opposite camp of finance minister Arun Jaitley.

It is rumored that Chawla could be on his way out or may even be joining another news organization.

Hoot even speculated that Chawla’s removal was triggered by a top cricket administrator, whose proximity to Sonthalia and hatred for disgraced cricket honcho Lalit Modi is clearly known in the market.

So would it be safe to presume the cricket administrator spoke to Sonthalia and the THE FINE LINE (Below) The July 4 online version of The New Indian Express’ Chennai edition (Page 10) clearly shows editorial changes in the paper

M

eanwhile, things are brewing in The Indian Express too. Ever since its chairman, Viveck Goenka, sent a mail to employees that he would do a podcast at 1600 hours on July 3 and asked all of them to be present (including members of the company’s printing press in Vashi in Mumbai), rumors have flown thick and fast of a possible merger of the two groups, or even a takeover. And the buyers, high on the imagination of journalists and non-journalist staff, were the Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil.

The two remained silent. The duo, claim those in the know, are looking at various media acquisitions.

Strangely, in his podcast, Goenka talked about a new advertising film that the group had made for Indian news channels and announced the launch of its Jaipur edition. But the rumors have not died down. After all, you do not need a podcast to talk about a film and a new edition, right?

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July 22, 2015 35

Design

DESIGNS THAT MADE IMAGINATIVE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS, FONTS, COLOR AND WHITE SPACES TO LEAVE AN IMPRESSION

By ANTHONY LAWRENCE

The Economist’s cover brings most world leaders and statesmen together, of course as a great cut-paste job, with some faces in black and white. Their beliefs, icons and key agenda are brought to you in an interesting, playful manner. If any sinister messages are sought to be conveyed, the playful icons don’t really bring it across. We wish the world were as harmonious a place as depicted here.

36 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

It’s red card for former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter on The Week cover. An imaginative illustration and caricature.

A contestant at a book jacket competition to mark the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach in 2011 came up with a great combination of paper cutting and photography. This contestant highlighted some of the high-points from the book using different materials, shapes and textures. Aptly captured mood.

Brazilian artists Janiana Mello and Daniel Landini are known for their rope installations like this one. It’s open to one’s own judgment, as to what the overall emptiness of the space connotes.

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July 22, 2015 37

Book Review

The Emergency – A Personal History

DARK DAYS J OF EXCESS Coomi Kapoor’s timely book on the Emergency recounts how dictatorship in 1975 steam-rolled all democratic institutions

BY RAJENDRA BAJPAI 38 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

OURNALIST Coomi Kapoor’s book on the Emergency, perhaps the darkest period in the history of independent India, is a timely reminder of events that terrorized the country 40 years ago.

Coomi was personally traumatized by the Emergency—her husband Virendra was arrested and other family members, including her sister, Roxna, and brother-in-law, Subramanian Swamy, were hunted and haunted by policemen taking orders directly from the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s son, Sanjay.

Public memory is notoriously short and those under 50 years probably know nothing about a period when people were thrown behind bars at the slightest excuse and often, for no rhyme or reason.

For instance, Mamchand, who sold newspapers

and magazines at India Coffee House in Connaught Place, New Delhi, was arrested because he sold copies of the weekly, March of the Nation, edited by Piloo Mody, an MP and one of the founders of the Swatantra Party.

Mamchand was illiterate. He could not read the newspapers and magazines he was selling and did not know who Piloo Mody was. But officials and policemen were not bothered about that and they kept the unlettered Mamchand in jail for more than a year.

HATED FIGURE Villagers in most of northern India, mainly UP, hated Sanjay for his much-despised family planning and forced sterilization program. People were being rounded up and forcibly vasectomized.

They often slept in the open on their agricultural farms to escape arrests for sterilization.

Both Coomi and I worked together at The Indian Express when Emergency was imposed. The newspaper’s owner was Ramnath Goenka, a foxy old man, who kept testing the limits of the government’s patience. In the summer of 1976, he took ill and VC Shuka, then I&B minister, tried to pressurize him to sell The Indian Express to his nominees. Goenka, who was recovering from a heart attack, told us he agreed to sell the paper, but insisted he wanted `2 crore by cheque. Then he had a hearty laugh and said he knew nobody had `2 crore in the bank in those days.

Newspapers were being censored and there was little to do except rehash official press releases. I took to flying gliders to while away my time, while Coomi spent her time visiting her husband, Virendra, in jail as often as she could and bringing up her newborn baby.

IN THE DARK In the autumn of 1976, I quit The Indian Express to join Reuters where I found far greater freedom to write. Within weeks, several opposition leaders were freed from detention and it became clear that

Indira Gandhi might call elections, still unaware how resentful people were of her Emergency as well as her son’s unpopularity.

How angry people were became apparent as soon as she called elections the following year.

Soon enough, it began to dawn on her that things were not hunky-dory and she began to apologize for the excesses of the Emergency although that did not help.

In the run-up to the elections, I visited the constituencies of Indira Gandhi and her son, Sanjay. The visit was an eye-opener. A day earlier, newspapers reported that unidentified gunmen had fired at Sanjay in Amethi, his constituency.

There was no evidence that any such incident had taken place. I stopped at roadside tea shops and found that anger against Indira and her son was so great that even those who were their die-hard supporters were not willing to say so openly.

BANG ON I came back and told my colleague Bernard Melunsky that Indira Gandhi and Sanjay had no chance of winning. Reuters carried the report but Bernard refused to believe me. He said he was willing to bet a bottle of champagne that they would win. He lost the bet. Indira Gandhi’s party lost all 90 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The opposition was united under the banner of the newly created Janata Party, but there were far too many aspirants for the prime minister’s post. Morarji Desai became the prime minister, but it did not end the squabbles and Indira Gandhi was back in power in the early 1980s.

Coomi’s research has been consummate and she has interviewed all key Emergency players who are still alive. Forty years after the event, it was easier for people to discuss all that happened during 19 months of Indira Gandhi’s oppressive rule. It is a book all those below the age of 40 should read to know what dictatorship is all about and what would happen if Emergency was imposed again.

THE EMERGENCY – A PERSONAL HISTORY

By Coomi Kapoor Publisher: Penguin Viking Price: `599; Pages: 389

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July 22, 2015 39

Anchor Review Karan Thapar

THE REAL TRUTH BEHIND

EMERGENCY

By being restrained, Karan Thapar extracted much out of RK Dhawan in To The Point

BY VON TEAM

H Kudos to Thapar for his ability to keep the audience glued to the program despite the topic being four decads old.

ISTORY has been unfair to Mrs Indira Gandhi.

Leaders are trying to denigrate her for their selfish ends. She was a nationalist to the core and loved the people of the country.” These were the remarks made by Indira Gandhi’s aide RK Dhawan in an interview to Karan Thapar. Dhawan was the personal secretary of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency.

Thapar introduced Dhawan as the “political heart” of Emergency and presented him as the only person who could thread together incidents and decisions taken during and prior to the Emergency in a comprehensible manner.

Did Indira Gandhi impose Emergency because the Allahabad High Court judgment went against her and the Supreme Court put a conditional stay on the judgment? Who played the central role in declaring Emergency and influenced the PM’s decision?

What kind of relationship did Sanjay Gandhi maintain with her mother? Did Indira Gandhi know about Sanjay’s five-point agenda, which included mass sterilization? These were some of the pertinent questions raised by Thapar.

Dhawan revealed many interesting facts. The reasons behind the Emergency, he said, had nothing to

40 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

do with the Allahabad High Court judgment; rather, the PM was ready with her resignation as soon as she came to know about the verdict. But before she could do that, senior ministers, including Jagjivan Ram, started thronging 1, Safdarjung Road, pleading with her not to resign, as the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court judgment. He revealed that PN Haksar, who later became a prominent critic of the Emergency, had drafted the statement that she was not going to resign.

The mood in the country was slowly becoming anti-government. The opposition had created an atmosphere of hatred against her. These were the actual reasons behind the proclamation of Emergency, Dhawan revealed.

Throughout the interview, Thapar was controlled and let Dhawan do the talking. He would raise a point and steer the discussion to another point without irritating the guest. Unlike his other interviews, Thapar gave ample time to Dhawan.

This episode of “To the Point” was to the point in the real sense.

Thapar deserves credit for his ability to keep the audience, especially the youth, hooked to the program, despite the topic being four decades old.

Here are some of the major news items aired on television channels, recorded by our unique 24x7 dedicated media monitoring unit that scrutinizes more than 130 TV channels in different Indian languages and looks at who breaks the news first.

DATE 22/6/15

29/6/15

29/6/15

1/ 7/15

1/ 7/15

1/ 7/15

2/7/15

2/7/15

NEWS MS Dhoni says he is ready to step down as captain and play as a team member, following the one-day series defeat in Bangladesh.

NEWS

CHANNEL TIME

10:00 AM

Congress levels fresh charges against Vasundhara Raje and Lalit Modi; says Dholpur not a private property. Jairam Ramesh says Raje’s son Dushyant Singh too involved.

12:32 PM

Indian team announced for Zimbabwe one-dayers. Ajinkya Rahane to lead in three one-dayers, two T-20s. Rohit, Virat, Raina, Ashwin rested. Harbhajan returns.

11:33 AM

12:36 PM

12:40 AM

1:04 PM

1:05 PM

1:06 PM

Lalit Modi tweeted Varun Gandhi visited him at his home and assured that his aunt could set things right, and Sonia’s sister wanted `360 crore. Varun denies charges.

9:23 AM

9:43 AM

Congress slams Modi govt over hacking of Nehru’s wikipedia page. The page claims his grandfather was a Muslim. A deliberate attempt to show him as a Muslim: Congress.

11:02 AM

11:20 AM

11:25 AM

PM launches Digital India. Digital India week commences. E-voting, improved governance, more work opportunities, free wi-fi and rural connectivity on the anvil.

4:17 PM

4:18 PM

4.19 PM

Minister Rijiju under fire for offloading of three passengers from AI flight from Leh to accommodate him and two others. Minister claims he had no knowledge about it.

10:08 AM

10:15 AM

10:17 AM

10:23 AM

10:45 AM

11:06 AM

Kejriwal government hikes funding for publicity. `520 crore earmarked. Congress attacks AAP for 21-fold hike, calls it unfortunate.

9:59 AM

1:10 PM

10:02 AM

4:21 PM

11:06 AM

4:28 PM

11:25 AM

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July 22, 2015 41

Controversy

Outlook Legal Notice

Outlook in a soup The magazine courts controversy by calling a lady IAS officer “eye candy” and is slapped with a legal notice. The media would do well to keep away from scurrilous and sexist reports

BY VON TEAM

I

T is not often that a snippet in a gossip column comes to haunt a publication. Last week, Outlook magazine found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons after its July 6, 2015, issue carried an item: “No Boring Babu”, in its weekly “Deep Throat” column, for which it was sent a legal notice. The 160-word piece in question targeted Smita Sabharwal, additional secretary to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. She was portrayed as a “junior bureaucrat” who made it to an important posting only because of her good looks and her habit of making a “fashion statement with her lovely saris” and serving “as ‘eye candy’ at meetings”.

The accompanying caricature showed her on the ramp in tights and a skimpy top being photographed by the Telangana CM and winked at and cheered on by politicians in Gandhi topis and khadi whites. The

Sabharwal has an impressive track record as a bureaucrat. One of her initiatives in the health care sector in Karimnagar was nominated for the Prime Minister’s award.

42 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

IN THE EYE OF STORM Bureaucrat Smita Sabharwal

cartoon was inspired by Sabharwal’s appearance at a recent fashion event in Hyderabad, where she was photographed dressed in smart, presentable casuals.

(Outlook called it a “trendy trouser and frilly top.”)

YELLOW JOURNALISM The general consensus among right-thinking people is that Sabharwal has reason to be upset. She has dashed off a legal notice to Outlook, in which she has alleged that the magazine had indulged in “yellow journalism” and accused it of defaming her and undermining all the good work she had done in her 14 years in service merely because she was attractive.

To quote from the notice sent by her lawyer: “...my client invites you to act like a journalist and investigate my client’s job profile before indulging in cheap and mindless caricatures and storytelling, satirical or not, that are completely disrespectful, demeaning, distasteful and more importantly extremely misogynist and sexist in nature where my client’s hard work, dedication and her excellence in her profession are washed away by the mere fact of her being an attractive young woman who has accomplished quite a lot professionally, owing to her dedication and perseverance.”

By all accounts, there is no denying that Sabharwal has an impressive track record as a bureaucrat.

Her work in the districts of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh has been appreciated. In fact, one of her initiatives in the health care sector in Karimnagar district was even nominated for the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in public administration. She is seen as an upright and conscientious officer who deserved better than the uncharitable manner in which she was portrayed by Outlook.

MAGAZINE APOLOGIZES The magazine has already withdrawn the offending write-up and caricature from its website and carried an apology. But since the print edition has been circulated, it will probably have to apologize in its next issue as well. On its part, Outlook has clarified that the “said piece was part of satire carried by the mag-

azine in the usual course and was not intended to be derisive or derogatory, and was meant to be received in lighter vein”. It pointed out that it did not “cite names or specifics”. However, it must be noted that the “Telangana” strap line to the snippet and the fact that there is only one woman bureaucrat in the chief minister’s office was a dead giveaway that the reference was to Sabharwal.

This is not the first time that Outlook has come under flak for its sexist observations. A little over three months ago, the magazine carried a cover story against HRD Minister Smriti Irani. One story in the five-part package was about bureaucrats fed up with the minister’s style of functioning. It began with the rather meaningless opening line: “How an actress who has faced the biggest of television cameras of all sizes and shapes could get rattled by a pinhole CCTV eye, we will never know.” The reference was to Irani registering a complaint about a CCTV camera in a Fabindia outlet in Goa which, she alleged, was placed to look into the trial room.

Meanwhile, many have come out in support of Sabharwal. Noted lawyer Indira Jaising tweeted: “Shame editor Krishna Prasad. Outlook 6th July refers to IAS officer Smita Sabarwal PA to Telangana CM as ‘eye candy’”. Journalist TS Sudhir tweeted: “Shocked to read an extremely sexist & offensive piece abt a lady IAS officer in the latest edition of @Outlookindia. Not expected. Bad taste” Another tweet tellingly says “The article on Sabarwal in @Outlookindia is the lowest point in journalism. Im sure @vinodedmehta wouldn't have appreciated it” Unfortunately, Outlook’s Hyderabad correspondent, Madhavi Tata, who wrote the offending snippet has been receiving threatening emails, calls, SMSes and tweets. She has also been subjected to sexist abuse. The magazine has written to the DGP and the chief minister, among others, to ensure her safety.

Is there a lesson for journalists from the latest controversy? Well, you can’t always get away with scurrilous and sexist writing in the garb of gossip.

Notice sent to Newshour IN this season of legal notices to the media, Dushyant Singh, son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, reportedly sent a legal notice on July 2 to Times Now, accusing the channel of making “false and defamatory statements”. The notice refers specifically to the Newshour debate on June 29 anchored by Arnab Goswami, in which it alleged that that the City Palace of Dholpur in Rajasthan belonged to the state and not to Singh as claimed by him.

The notice demanded a retraction by the channel on Newshour, failing which Times Now would be sued for Rs 100 crore.

Criminal charges under Sections 499, 500 and 505 of IPC would also be filed against the channel, its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and director of Times Group, Vineet Jain.

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July 22, 2015 43

Governance

Yoga Initiative

T

HE declaration of June 21 as International Yoga Day by the United Nations and the Indian government’s decision to celebrate it on a grand scale has provided the media an opportunity to focus on this ancient form of physical and mental exercise. The coverage began almost a week prior to Yoga Day and continued for a few more days after the event was over. For about a fortnight, yoga grabbed headlines in all kinds of media, be it TV, print, online or social.

However, there has been a controversy over making yoga compulsory for all, chanting of “Om” while performing certain asanas and the likely inclusion of surya namaskar during the June 21 function. Spokespersons of political parties, religious leaders, yoga teachers, gurus and political commentators participated in television discussions and were quoted widely in print and online media.

RIGHT PRESCRIPTION? A large chunk of the coverage focused on yoga’s health benefits, which were touted as the main reason why people should embrace it. Yoga was projected as the right prescription for lifestyle diseases—diabetes, hypertension, obesity, hy-

Universal

PANACEA?

Has media hyped the PM’s initiative? There are legitimate questions about the ancient practice and the science behind it. It neither asked questions about yoga’s tall claims nor gave warning about its pitfalls

BY DINESH C SHARMA 44 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

perthyroidism, spondylitis and cancers—which are on the rise in India.

But it is here that one runs into a problem— some of the coverage was blind faith. Barring a few exceptions, the media went out of its way to project yoga as a panacea for all health problems. The real reason for the UN dedicating a day for yoga was overlooked completely. The UN resolution establishing June 21 as Yoga Day notes “the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health”. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “Yoga is a sport that can contribute to development and peace.”

The purpose of Yoga Day as declared by the UN was three-fold: Yoga as one of the means to reduce physical inactivity and thus reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases; yoga as a sport that can promote peace; yoga helping people make healthier choices.

No media discussion cared to highlight this.

AYUSH MINISTRY The Ayush Ministry is largely to blame for this oversight as it set the agenda for public discourse.

The ministry stated that “yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and nature”. In other words, it rejected the UN’s and WHO’s focus on yoga as a means of tackling physical inactivity which is recognized as a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases.

Instead of offering yoga as a motivation for people to undertake physical activity, the government and the Ayush Ministry projected it as a solution for the “holistic well-being” of people. The exclusion of the Ministry of Health from the inter-ministerial expert panel to oversee Yoga Day celebrations also made it clear that the government did not wish to highlight the public health angle as suggested by the UN. Media accepted this skewed projection without asking any questions.

The format of studio discussions on yoga was also different. Some channels had yoga teachers and exponents discussing yoga and also demon-

strating different asanas. It was during these programs that sweeping statements about the health benefits of each asana were made by yoga teachers.

Ill-informed anchors further generalized sweeping statements to exhort viewers to take to yoga. No questions were asked about the claims being made or about the side-effects of yoga being taught through television. Yoga was freely confused with meditation, spirituality, breathing exercises and the like. Exponents like Baba Ramdev and new age gurus like Jaggi Vasudev, as well as BJP leaders like Uma Bharti, participated in such programs. One media house, India Today, organized a special event on yoga which was televised. While teaching the anchor yoga postures, Baba Ramdev claimed that yoga can “cure” hypertension, hyper thyroidism and even hepatitis, and professed that research studies had published this in “international research journals”.

THE FITNESS MANTRA

DANGEROUS CLAIMS TV channels which could not get celebrities like Baba Ramdev or Shilpa Shetty did the next best

(Facing page) Shilpa Shetty lends Bollywood glamor to yoga; (Below) Baba Ramdev performing an asana

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July 22, 2015 45

Governance

Yoga Initiative

the laughing exercise we do every day. I practice yoga for 45 minutes a day," he says. Parikh said he eats everything, but recommends only water and a banana before yoga. Parikh’s guru, Atul Modi, says: “Babubhai couldn't even walk or speak properly.

Now, he is active and can take two rounds of the whole park. Breathing exercises helped him a lot.”

NewsX channel had this headline: “Did you know that yoga helps you fight obesity, diabetes, blood pressure and even cancer?” The story goes on to say: “Scared of chemotherapy, radiation treatment, immunotherapy? Are these terms boggling your mind and giving you goosebumps? Here’s a simple treatment to answer your cancer—Yoga!

For cancer recovery, try gentle yoga therapy, restorative yoga, yoga for healing, and yoga for beginners….Adequate exercise of the arms can help prevent breast cancer.”

THE FITNESS MANTRA (Above and facing page) Yoga on Rajpath

thing—they got “beneficiaries” of yoga to give testimonies. For instance, India News channel spoke to ten people who had been “cured” of nothing less than cancers, brain tumors, diabetes, hypertension and so on through one particular type of yoga taught at Patanjali Ashram of Baba Ramdev. Minor benefits such as lower dependence on drugs and pain relief were not touched upon.

Newspapers were not far behind. Ahmedabad Mirror published a testimony of Babubhai Parikh, 69, under the heading: “Yoga is my pacemaker.” He said that before he started yoga, only 20 percent of his heart was working, his liver had failed and his body had turned black due to the absence of blood.

He claimed that he was asked to be put on a pacemaker. But his neighbor, a professional yoga teacher, introduced him to a laugh club in Joggers Park.

Soon, his health improved. Parikh claimed that for the last nine months, he hadn’t visited a doctor or undergone any medical tests. “My favorite asana is

46 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS Words like “cure” were frequently used, while some stories quoted research studies but did not bother to give vital information. For example, if the study was published in a peer-reviewed journal, few asked how many people participated in it, what factors other than yoga were studied and were these studies case-controlled or randomized clinical trials?

Thus, ill-informed, imbalanced and unscientific messages about yoga spread through mass media. This could have a deleterious effect on public health, given the fact that India has a huge burden of non-communicable diseases and equitable access to health services is still a huge problem. The rising cost of private health services, especially for chronic diseases, could drive people to cheaper options in alternative medicine and to Indian systems such as Ayurveda and Siddha. While these systems offer different treatments, they have to be practiced by trained and qualified practitioners. In the absence of any robust system of education, accreditation of practitioners and an opaque system

of quality control of indigenous drugs, gullible people are being subjected to quackery.

Dr Anil Bansal, chairman of the anti-quackery cell of Delhi Medical Council says: “Already regional and local television channels are full of advertorials and sponsored content about miracle cures for cancer and everything else. Now, mainline channels have also started doing this, as they did with the yoga coverage. This will definitely encourage quackery.” He said it was an offense to claim any miracle cure for cancer and other such diseases listed in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

“Yoga is good for health, just like any other physical activity such as brisk walking. Instead of highlighting such messages, media has put yoga on a pedestal as a cure for everything. We need to motivate people to change sedentary lifestyles,” Bansal added. “We have seen yoga teachers posing as doctors. We caught one such teacher in Delhi recently; he was giving his disciples allopathic drugs in high doses. High decibel media coverage is acting as an advertisement for such people.”

NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE The situation is particularly dangerous when it comes to cancer cases. “Yoga and such techniques

have a role before and after cancer treatment. But to project yoga or meditation as a cure for cancer is Newspaper headlines on yoga: grave,” said Dr Manoj Sharma, proThe Times of India: Yoga session lined up fessor of radiotherapy at Maulana for cancer patients Azad Medical College. “At time, The New Indian Express: Yoga Can Help cancer cases become severe beKeep Heart Disease, Cancer, Dementia Away, Says Study cause people leave the treatment The Hindu: Yoga Therapy for cancer patients midway for some cure from a baba.

Business Standard: Embrace yoga to By the time they come back, the check disease disease has progressed further,” Deccan Herald: Yoga and diabetes he added.

Asian Age: Yoga helps cancer patients live The coverage of Yoga Day longer points to larger maladies. Yoga fits with soft coverage of health (fitness, wellness) on TV channels. The trend of advertorial “health” programs to peddle questionable remedies for ailments like cancer is the larger issue. Media houses need to rethink their coverage of health-related subjects. If Baba Ramdev claims on TV that he can cure hepatitis, he should be asked to substantiate it, and the views of medical experts must be taken. Mumbo-jumbo should not be allowed to pass off as health communication. After all, we are dealing with lives of people. Let’s do it responsibly.

The writer is Fellow at the Centre for Media Studies.

Tall Claims

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July 22, 2015 47

Governance

Modi Controversy ED Action

LaMo JUGGERNAUT ROLLS ON T

Even as the government is diving for cover over the Lalit Modi issue, it has belatedly sent ED officials to Singapore to probe money laundering by him

BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY

HEY are calling it The Emperor Strikes Back, the line drawn from George Lucas’ Star Wars series to explain Delhi’s latest move to silence fugitive cricket czar Lalit Modi. The latest to jump into the fray is his father, tobacco tycoon KK Modi, who said his company had offered a lawyer's retainership to Swaraj Kaushal for looking after the company's interests. “We did it at the request of Lalit,” the senior Modi told media.

And then, it was the start of another round of blitzkrieg across all news channels and newspapers.

Ever since the former IPL commissioner triggered a storm involving external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, the NDA government has drawn considerable flak.

WASHOUT SESSION Political analysts have even predicted a “washout” monsoon session when parliament convenes on July 21. “I do not think there will be any concrete work,” remarked CPI's D Raja.

Probably aware of the impending crisis, the gov48 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

ernment has now sent Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials to Singapore to expedite the letter rogatory (LR) sent there last week. Delhi’s move follows two years of virtual inaction by the ED, which did not send a revised LR as demanded by the UK in 2013. Modi has been staying in that country despite the Indian government revoking his passport in 2010.

On June 29, 2015, the ED sent two LRs—a request for assistance from an Indian court to a foreign court through the external affairs ministry— to Singapore and Mauritius under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These pertain to the ED’s investigation into a deal between Sony’s Singapore-based subsidiary Multi Screen Media (MSM) and World Sports Group (WSG), signed by Modi in March 2009.

IN THE DARK In the LR, the ED has asked for the banking transactions of both MSM and WSG to investigate their links with Modi. MSM was given `470-crore media rights for the IPL in 2009 and Modi allegedly entered into a back-end agreement with Sony to ensure a `125-crore payment to the little-known WSG, which had been awarded a contract by him earlier. The Indian Cricket Board, a guarantor to the agreement, was kept in the dark about details of the agreement, allegedly by Modi.

An investigation under the PMLA could provide grounds for a Red Corner Interpol notice for Modi’s extradition.

In February 2015, the ED had issued a showcause against Modi under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for not taking prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India before standing guarantee for MSM in case of a payment default to WSG. In this notice, Modi was charged with heading the negotiation and being signatory to the deal.

The ED had started investigations into the alleged `470-crore foreign exchange violations after Modi’s ouster from the BCCI. He is accused of sign-

ing a “sham” contract with WSG in 2009 when he was in-charge of IPL. SRINIVASAN COMPLAINT The ED’s investigation against Modi under PMLA is based on a complaint filed by former BCCI head N Srinivasan in October 2010, following a showcause notice issued by the BCCI to Modi.

In the complaint to the police, Srinivasan said: “This agreement was never placed before the governing council of the IPL, nor the working committee of the BCCI, and to our shock we find that all along you (Modi) have not only been aware of payment of a commission of several crores to WSG Mauritius but also have made the BCCI practically guarantee that such payment is made”.

In India, FEMA is a civil offence. As a result, it cannot become a predicate offense for extradition under international norms. But in London, the former cricket tycoon sits unfazed and tweeted: “I want to know who are they protecting. I will continue to spill the beans. I will push Indians to seek answers from corrupt politicians and equally corrupt cricket administrators.”

His latest bombshell was about BJP leader Varun Gandhi, who Modi claimed had visited him in London with a promise of “sorting out all problems with Sonia Gandhi”.

Varun Gandhi rubbished the charges against him saying they were patently untrue. “It is beneath my dignity to delve deeper into this ridiculous nonsense,” he reportedly said.

MIND GAMES (Facing page) Lalit Modi’s fusillade of disclosures have forced the center to act against him (Above) The ED probe against Modi is based on a complaint filed by former BCCI chief N Srinivasan in 2010

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July 22, 2015 49

Governance

Modi Controversy National Fallout

HOW C DEEP IS THE ROT?

ONFLICT of interest and crony capitalism are the mother and father of corruption in India.

They run so deep in Indian public life and the body politic that they are virtually laughed off. A large number of people in high places do not equate conflict of interest with corruption and treat it as a matter of fact of Indian society. This then leads to impropriety, unprofessionalism, unethical conduct and, eventually, to corruption.

If our politicians are guilty of conflict of interest leading to corruption, there are also instances of it happening in other fields: media houses indulging

Conflict of interest is not taken seriously in India. This is why the Modi government survived the first round of the LaMo crisis despite involvement of some ministers.

BY ABHAY VAIDYA

50 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

in paid news journalism; doctors prescribing unnecessary tests, medicines and surgeries for the sake of cuts and commissions; sports administrators and players hobnobbing with fixers and even our scientists indulging in wanton plagiarism. Take the case of top scientist CNR Rao, decorated with no less than the Bharat Ratna, who was accused of five instances of plagiarism by the Society for Scientific Values. Rao later issued an apology, describing one instance of plagiarism as an “oversight”.

CLEAN CHIT Thus, it is hardly surprising that the BJP high command swiftly gave a clean chit to Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on the very day when it was revealed that three former Supreme Court judges, senior editor Prabhu Chawla and former Mumbai police commissioner RD Tyagi had also given testimonies to a British court in favor of Lalit Modi’s appeal for immigration.

While the judges opined that Modi’s passport had been wrongly revoked by the Congress government, senior Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaising said in a TV debate that it was wrong on the part of the judges to give that “paid for legal opinion” in the Modi case.

It was also wrong as it would weigh heavily with “brother judges of the Supreme Court” in the event of a case being heard in India, Jaising said.

What also helped ease the pressure on the BJP was Lalit Modi’s revealing tweet that he had met Congress icon Priyanka Gandhi and her husband, Robert Vadra, in a London restaurant.

The BJP then defended Raje by stating that (unlike Prabhu Chawla and RD Tyagi), Vasundhara had not appeared in a British court to stand testimony for Modi. Secondly, while her signature was verified on the last page of her statement, the rest of it could not be verified as it was with the British authorities.

When asked for the govern-

ment’s response on Lalit Modi’s investment of `11 crore in Dushyant Singh’s firm in 2008, Jaitley recently said: “It’s a commercial transaction between two individuals...with all banking approvals in a declared loan transaction.”

There’s been much smoke around this seemingly innocent transaction: Hindustan Times on June 28 reported that between 2008 and 2009, Modi acquired 815 shares in Dushyant’s Niyant Heritage Hotel Pvt Ltd for `11.63 crore, valuing each share at `96,000—a hefty premium of 9,600 times. Raje held 3,280 shares in this company, valued at `10 each in 2013 “years after Modi had

NAMO PREVAILS The Modi government has survived the storm for now, despite damning allegations of proximity of BJP leaders to former IPL chief Lalit Modi (right)

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July 22, 2015 51

Governance

Modi Controversy National Fallout

ONE OF THE ILK? Senior editor Prabhu Chawla (left) and former Mumbai police commissioner RD Tyagi (center) gave testimonies in a British court for Lalit Modi; Vasundhara Raje (right) was keen that her support to Modi be kept secret

allegedly bought significant stake in the company for an eye-popping `96,000 a share,” the newspaper reported. Thus, at the end of the first round of Modigate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi got to keep face, albeit with some spots and blemishes; Vasurandhara retained her seat as CM and Sushma continues to be the foreign minister.

SUSHMA’S FOLLY However, it is Swaraj’s “spotlessly clean” image that has suffered the most as she is now seen as “damaged” goods. Till last year, she was seen as PM material and the Shiv Sena had even named her as their choice for this post. She even had the best media rating among all the ministers in the NaMo

It is Sushma Swaraj’s “spotlessly clean” image that has suffered the most as she is now damaged goods. Till last year, she was seen as PM material and had the best media rating among ministers.

52 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

cabinet in the one year review of the government’s performance. Was it an inside job of “a snake in the grass” which got Sushma fixed through Modigate, as alleged by party leader and former cricketer Kirti Azad? Swaraj may not have been punished by the party, but has ended paying a high price for her impropriety.

In the case of Vasudhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj, the BJP asked: “Where is the corruption?”

In their view, it did not matter that Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri and husband Kaushal were LaMo’s lawyers and that Swaraj had allegedly requested Lalit Modi to help her nephew gain admission to Sussex University.

Kaushal later denied this charge. It also did not matter that Swaraj did not inform the finance ministry, which was pursuing cases against Lalit Modi, before assisting him in getting travel documents from the UK government.

In Vasundhra’s case, it did not matter to the BJP that there were questionable financial transactions and share transfers between Dushyant, Lalit Modi and herself and in her signed testimony, she had

Goswami appeared cocksure that his aggressive campaign would result in Vasundhara’s downfall. That didn’t happen because conflict of interest is treated as a minor transgression.

requested that her support to Modi not be revealed to the Indian government.

What about the impropriety of this request and conflict of interest issues? Were these quid-pro-quos for favors done? Even a learned scholar and commentator like Surjit S Bhalla, contributing editor of The Indian Express, is silent on this point in his June 27 editorial page essay: “Is Lalit Modi a fugitive?” co-authored with Kirtivardhan Dave. In the essay, Bhalla eruditely demolishes the media’s charge and that of BJP MP RK Singh that LaMo is a “fugitive”.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST A person of authority is guilty of conflict of interest when he shows undue favors towards a person or a company instead of serving and protecting public interest. Thus, Sushma Swaraj should not have kept the finance ministry, specifically the Enforcement Directorate, in the dark while aiding Lalit Modi.

And given the business dealings between her son and Lalit Modi, Raje should not have issued a testimony in Modi’s favor and then hidden it from the government.

In India, politicians have always explained conflict of interest business deals as purely commercial transactions between their relatives and the concerned business entities, even in cases of undue government favors. This was how the Congress explained the Robert Vadra-DLF deal. Sharad Pawar gave similar explanation for the Lavasa shareholdings of his daughter and son-inlaw, who also had links to 2G scam accused Shahid Balwa’s DB Realty through Pune firm, Panchshil Realty. Then, there was Maharashtra Sadan and other corruption or conflict of interest cases involving former Maharashtra deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal and his close relatives.

The media, this time, didn’t give up on this issue. On Times Now, at any given point of time, there are three people shouting, one of them being anchor Arnab Goswami (or his substitute). Since shouting is the norm on this channel, BJP spokesman Sambit Patra too has made it a point to drown his opponents with his shrill interruptions.

This channel was at the forefront of the Modigate story, repeatedly calling Modi a “fugitive”. Goswami appeared cocksure that his aggressive campaign would result in Vasundhara’s imminent downfall.

That didn’t happen because “conflict of interest” is still treated as a minor transgression in India.

SAD PRECEDENTS Goswami’s brand of journalism is often a onesided, no-holds-barred attack, where he plays to the gallery and succeeds in boosting TRPs. But what about holding him accountable when he’s VIEWS ON NEWS

July 22, 2015 53

Governance

Modi Controversy National Fallout

GENTLE RAP (L-R) Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi didn’t face severe consequences of Radiagate

wrong? Bhalla opens his essay with the words: “There is a serious crisis in the media. This has to do with presentation—sorry shouting—of biased opinion.”

When the Radiagate dam burst, thanks to Open and Outlook magazines, some top Indian editors said that journalists like Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi would have had to resign had they been working in an organization like the BBC. Sanghvi got a rap on the knuckles with the discontinuation of his popular column in Hindustan Times, while Barkha was allowed by NDTV to defend herself in a televised debate with two top editors.

CNR Rao, decorated with the Bharat Ratna, was accused of five instances of plagiarism by the Society for Scientific Values. Rao, in his apology, described one instance as an “oversight”.

54 VIEWS ON NEWS July 22, 2015

This strange mechanism of dealing with a serious conflict of interest issue was criticized heavily on social media. Barkha may have retained her job, but what she and the channel lost was credibility.

The late Vinod Mehta has devoted 12 full pages to Radiagate in his autobiography, Lucknow Boy, saying that he turned down Prannoy Roy’s request to be a part of the televised debate with Barkha and was subsequently “banned” from NDTV. India is still found wanting when it comes to high professional standards and this is the reason why conflict of interest violations are not dealt with seriously. This culture has pervaded our politics, bureaucracy, judiciary, journalism, academia and many other sectors. This is not an issue restricted to a Sushma Swaraj or a Vasundhara Raje. The rot will be stemmed only when benchmarks are raised and high professional standards are set and followed. Exposing instances of conflict of interest in order to cleanse the system will remain an important part of this journey.

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