(This article is from The Quint archives and was originally published on March 14 2015. It is being re-published following his decision to quit as Times Now and ET Now’s Editor in Chief.)
Had he been alive, Vinod Mehta would have been delighted.
Normally, the nation doesn’t dare bash prime time czar Arnab Goswami but Outlook magazine’s cover story this week screams, “The Man Who Killed TV News.”
The story by Anuradha Raman quotes Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India, as saying that Arnab Goswami has as much right as Outlook does in articulating his views. But it also notes:
On key news events in recent weeks, most involving ‘the nation’ – the ban on the BBC documentary on the Delhi gangrape; the denial of permission to a Greenpeace activist to go to England; the burning of the Pakistani boat that was allegedly on a 26/11-style suicide missions – Arnab has emerged as The Great Polariser, with his acid tongue stripping complex issues of all nuance, in favour of jingoistic noise. Why, even the screen is on fire, with the flames threatening to lick the participants.
Of course, the issue also has a tribute section to Vinod Mehta himself. The magazine’s Founder-Editor passed away last week, and among articles by Tarun Tejpal and Pankaj Mishra is one by India’s most controversial essayist Arundhati Roy.
Roy, whose writings were all published by Outlook regardless of controversy, speaks of her relationship with Vinod Mehta, even touching upon the topic of Arnab:
I had a last phone call from Vinod just before he fell ill. He said... “You have to launch my new book, Editor Unplugged. I know you don’t do these things, but you just have to.” I laughed and said I would. A few days later he called again, naughtily. “Oh, I didn’t tell you, but the other person on stage with us will be Arnab Goswami.” I don’t think he told Arnab his plans. The crafty old fox was playing us!
With its touching tributes and its questioning of television news’ current style, this one is a collector’s edition.
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