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Jun052007
Interview with Sagarika Ghose
Hello and a happy environment day. Today we have with us someone who is a noted journalist, an extremely well read scholar and a wonderful writer.
Sagarika Ghose studied History at St. Stephen’s College, D
elhi and Oxford University. She was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to the Oxford University where she gained a BA and M.Phil in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford and St Antonys College. She has been a journalist in India since 1991 and worked in Times of India, Outlook and Indian Express. She is currently (2006) senior editor and prime time anchor on the news network CNN-IBN.
Ujj: Sagarika, its great to have you with us. Last couple of years have seen a surge in blogging which seems to have given people their long forgotten freedom of speech and expression. so much so that a lot of people, at least the ones who have free internet in offices, schools etc, are considering these sources more genuine than the other sources and are consuming them. Where do you think this is going? Is it going to last?
Sagarika: I think blogging is a wonderful new avenue of freedom of expression and the efflorescence of opinion and thought as well as activism is really heartening. Many civic issues and issues of public interest are now being taken forward by bloggers, as seen in the Justice for Jessica campaign, the khairlanji killings and the netizens campaigns for justice for manjunath as well as satyendra dubey. But I am a little distressed by the venom and hatred that I see in the blogs..the destructive loathing that seems to be in evidence towards mainstream media is a little uncalled for as bloggers and mainstream media can often work in constructive partnership. I do think bloggers should take a collective vow: “We shall not hate!”
Ujj: TV News channels are also coming up with complete sites with blogs, user reviews and comments. So we see that they also understand this need to remain attached to the tech savvy group. Considering, there is about 5%-6% of India’s population connected to the web, why is this interface so important?
Sagarika: Yes most TV channels and newspapers have their own websites and blogsites. Thats because we believe in trying to reach as many people as possible and also are interested in knowing which issues agitate our sudiences and what are the issues and questions they would like to see reflected in the news.
Ujj: we believe that localized news is becoming important now, people are more concerned about what happens in the neighborhood than in the parliament. In my opinion this is one place where people are religiously following blogs. Could this be one place where blogs could play an important role or more importantly a more responsible role.
Sagarika: Local blogs play an important role. In fact during the Mumbai blasts for example, when the mobile phone networks failed, it was the blogsites that provided information to relatives and information about hospitals and relief operations. The blog sites really rose to the ocasion at this particular time. As I say blogs can play a very important role in public activism, generating awareness and providing an avenue for free speech. But the kind of open abuse, scandalous remarks, rude and furious jealousy, and vicious character assassination that I read on the blogs is totally apalling.
Ujj: There must be some very basic ethics of reporting that must always be followed. I myself am a part of such a blog where most of us have no knowledge of reporting and publishing, and if we or blog like ours are really becoming an important source of generation of public opinion, I think its only better that we keep them in mind.
Sagarika: A number of bloggers are frankly terribly immature, unthinking and have no idea about the rules of the press. The right to privacy is a right that every member of society possesses and it is a right that we are careful not to violate. Also when the press reports we actually have to be at the place where we are reporting from. We have to get the pictures, the soundbites and the instant footage. We do not have the luxury of armchair commentary and constant abuse that the blogger seems to have! Also we cannot quote without attribution, we cannot report off camera incidents and we cannot say anything for which we do not have pictures. Also, we have to find the stories, we have to generate the ideas, we have to create the excitement of the debate and not once a month or once a week but every day. So the press works under many more constraints than the bloggers do, who blog at their leisure on issues which grab their fancy.
Ujj: Well thats something I think we should keep in mind.
We faced a blogspot ban in India last year. Parzania was banned in Gujarat, at least unofficially. A student was locked up in Baroda earlier this month for painting something, MSU Baroda thought was against the Indian culture.
Do you think theres enough freedom of expression in our country? Have you ever faced any such thing?
Sagarika: The attack on Parzania and art is absolutely insupportable. To me art is an absolute freedom and must be treated as such. Let us recall with fear that one of the first things the Nazis did was to ban art that was objectionable and create the “officially sanctioned” art of the Third Reich. There are many obstacles we face in the exercise of our freedom, these obstacles come from powerful politicians, powerful corporates, particularly when we are doing an investigative story or an expose. But we have to dig in our heels and keep going and have to fight the court cases if they come.I believe journalism is a vocation, its not a career. Journalism means taking up for the underdog, the voiceless and the powerless and this means having to fight those that try and stop us from what I believe is our duty.
Ujj: Vocation, not a career.That says it all.
Finally, if you have to say one thing to all people involved with this medium of online publishing , what would that be?
Sagarika: As I said before, my advice to all bloggers, is stop the hatred, stop the venom, stop the character assassination and get down to some real constructive work. many many other bloggers are doing it: giving voice to citizens campaigns and campaigning for justice and spreading awareness that the mainstream media may have ignored or neglected. So become citizens and not constant critics. Stop the abuse and put yourselves to good use. As a sadhu said to me at the Kumbh mela: to be happy in life one must have a constant sense of purpose. Purpose that takes you beyond yourself. So shed the self-centeredness and the spite and become citizens of India!
Ujj: Sagarika, thanks a lot for your time, I really hope this sets somethings straight in the blogosphere.
Sagarika: Thanks a lot.
Ujj: Have a very good day.
And have a very green day (in the environment sense) to everyone.
The views expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by Mutiny.in
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chacko
001
7:10 am
Ujj, I love you! Nice interview but I think you should have asked her about the future of regional and print media.
woke
002
7:59 am
Ujj, great job with interview again.
I don’t understand why a blogger is being compared to a journalist. I would associate blogging with a form of self-expression rather than responsible reporting and activism.
So if a blogger is immature in posting an article it should be treated like an individuals opinion outside the constraints/responsibilities that a profession like journalism involves.
gentledude
003
1:06 pm
Thats a good interview! really liked it.
ace
004
9:45 am
Sagarika Ghose is know to be a typical leftist journo. She will protest against parznia, but will keep quite on da vinci code being banned. She will also not support the freedom of expression when is comes to danish cartoons. Freedom of expression has been reduced to paint hindu gods and and goddesses paint. These leftist journos are baised against hindus. For all their outcry in support freedom of expression, it was pathetic to hear their deafening silence when Taslima Nasreen was attacked by Islamic Radicals.
Ujj
005
2:12 pm
@ace: I didnt get your “biased against Hindus” logic.
Revathi
006
2:27 pm
While there are offensive bloggers, one knows how to deal with them, they dont get prime time on TV. They are ignored. How do you deal with offensive journalism?
Ronny
007
6:01 am
” I didnt get your “biased against Hindus
Ujj
008
10:04 am
Cmmon Ronny stop cursing your dad.
Im sure he hasnt even hear of Sagarika.
..and btw I have an empty dustbin next to my desk, are you looking for a place to stay?
razor Mirage
009
12:49 am
I confirm that this Sagarika is either a script reader of Congress or extremely biased psedu secular journalist.
I think she is following the dikhat of Congress or CNN.
We all know how CNN used to control American Mindset by saying there are WMD repeatedly when there are none.
Here in India they have started this propoganda campain against Indian culture and deep rooted values.
I ask Sagarika that
1) Why she is not seeing Rama Sethu as sentimental point of Hindus .
2) Do she know that Rama Sethu campain was started in Houston , TX and not by VHP.
3) Why she repeatedly have to say “MYTICAL” when refering to LORD RAM.
Kunal
010
4:07 am
Sagarika is anti-Hindu no doubt. She and Rajdeep have a very convulated view of what Hinduism stands for and tend to view the ancient Hindu religion through the prism of the Abrahamical religions. Alas this is what a western education does to you.
srean
011
10:42 am
So thus rolls the slander corps, vindicating Sagarika nonetheless.
A pertinent point that did not comeup about the discussion about blogs vs news houses is institutional censorships. Be it an active censorship or an effect of the subconcious herding in the media houses and soceity at large, nowadays it’s quite common to find news on certain topics to drop out from the radar. So much so that many of the so that many readers have lost their trust on editors of media houses to filter the best news and do an even coverage.
On a separate note Houston is a major hub of VHP activity or what they call VHP-America (VHPA) that is engaged in massive fund raising, lobbying for hindutva etc. So the origin does not come as a great surprise.
1conoclast
012
7:12 pm
I think people should read about Sagarika’s education at the beginning of this post before they start putting their stupid labels on her.
She is more qualified to comment on the state of the nation & the state of the religion than some of the other rabids here.
After all, which commentor here can boast of an education that matches hers?
Alas indeed… the irony of Kunal’s statement is lost on him. He speaks a western language on a western technology platform & laments the very education that ensures that he doesn’t sleep hungry like millions of his less fortunate countrymen!
huji
013
5:46 pm
iconolast i am more educated than you, i am telling you that you are wrong, please accept my advise and retire
1conoclast
014
6:56 pm
huji…
Are you looking for a place to stay? Here: http://mutiny.in/2007/06/05/interview-with-sagarika-ghose/#comment-6841