‘Journalists must show people the mirror of good, bad & ugly’

“Journalists are cockroaches in the system, not butterflies. And why the cockroach? Because if there is a nuclear explosion tomorrow, everything will be destroyed, but the journalist must be present to report next day,” remarked Rajdeep Sardesai, Senior Journalist, Columnist, Author and News Presenter, India Today Group at the e4m English Journalism 40 Under 40 Summit and Awards.

While delivering a keynote on ‘Journalism Kal Aaaj Aur Kal’, Sardesai said, “We should be the pesky people. People do not want to meet because that is how journalists are built. Otherwise, they should work in public relations. The distinction between journalists and public relations professionals is that public relations professionals aspire to be well-known. PR is about popularity. Journalists are not supposed to be involved in popularity contests; they are supposed to reveal and show people the mirror of good, bad, and ugly.”

Sardesai also spoke about how journalism was when he started working with a newspaper back in 1988, and how it has changed in today's times. 

He stated that today's generation is a multimedia generation because they can podcast, blog, be on the internet, television, newspapers, and engage in all forms of media communication in this digital age. "I'm from the newspaper generation," he noted. 

Sardesai went on to say that he would love to work for a newspaper. "I was a young editor at The Times of India in 1991-92, but in many ways, my favourite memories will be of all the early days of newsprint and television."

Sardesai explained that the world of newspapers was very different back then when he started his journey in journalism. “In 1988, we used to bring a newspaper manually. It was brought out on what we call hot metal. However, there was something about holding a newspaper the next morning that I actually brought out the night before which I'll never forget and I've been privileged enough to be part of that newspaper generation.”

He discussed his early days as a journalist when reporting was difficult due to a lack of communication options. "There was an earthquake in Latur, a city in Maharashtra, that flattened an entire village." I remember travelling and not being able to tell the story because every communication line was down. In one corner of Aurangabad, one telex machine was in operation. It took us 10 days to persuade this country that over 10,000 people had died. Today, you can do it in 10 seconds by taking a live view on your mobile device, and that app will allow anyone to agree on what is happening in any part of the country. The world has come closer. Ukraine seems like our neighbourhood. It never happened even with the Gulf War in the early 1990s.”

According to him, today’s generation has a weapon in that sense. “Technology enables you to become warriors of news that perhaps my generation didn't have that opportunity. And I am just amazed with how all the young people are able to use technology. I struggled with the typewriter.” 

“Let me also say that, while you are undoubtedly the fortunate generation to have technology as a weapon for innovation, you send out your stories in real-time.”

This is also the hyper-partisan and post-truth era, Sardesai added. 

Talking about WhatsApp and fake news, he said: “It can innovate, transmit news in a manner in real-time that can destroy reputations that can spread fake news that can completely distort the agenda. It is our job to break through and cut through that propaganda and expose it for what it is.”

The great joy of journalism was that it was not a 9-5 job. Every day is a new day and I hope that instils in you that you discover something. 

“One of my editors told me that you are only as good as your last role, interview, page that you edit, or the show you produced. I believe producers are far more important than anchors in TV in particular.” 

Talking about hate speech on TV, Sardesai said he worries about the fact that there is toxicity in the news. “TRP pressures lead to toxic debates on TV, while newspapers are under revenue pressure too.

“Many of you represent a wonderful pool of talent that we have in this country that I'm sure you will redefine the future and I say this all it is about English News but more specifically about Hindi and regional news. I have no doubt the future is very bright, and the sheer power of innovation and intelligence that you introduce to news gathering on a daily basis will make a better India.” 

“It's not about the TRPs, or how viral your videos are. Rather it's about how you make a small difference in building a Better India,” he concluded.