Guys, I am sure that you are aware of the fact that Barkha Dutt & NDTV has sued a blogger Ckunte for writing a blog post about the shoddy journalistic ethos displayed by Bakra Dutt!

Here is an over view of the whole episode. Please feel free to comment and air your views!

Heres the full article before its removed from Google Cache…

Shoddy journalism
Date: Thursday, 27 Nov 2008 20:39

Appalling journalism. Absolute blasphemy! As I watch the news from home, I am dumbfounded to see Barkha Dutt of NDTV break every rule of ethical journalism in reporting the Mumbai mayhem. Take a couple of instances for example:

• In one instance she asks a husband about his wife being stuck, or held as a hostage. The poor guy adds in the end about where she was last hiding. Aired! My dear friends with AK-47s, our national news is helping you. Go get those still in. And be sure to thank NDTV for not censoring this bit of information.
• In another instance, a General sort of suggests that there were no hostages in Oberoi Trident. (Clever.) Then, our herione of revelations calls the head of Oberoi, and the idiot confirms a possibility of 100 or more people still in the building. Hello! Guys with guns, you’ve got more goats to slay. But before you do, you’ve got to love NDTV and more precisely Ms. Dutt. She’s your official intelligence from Ground zero.

You do not need to be a journalist to understand the basic premise of ethics, which starts with protecting victims first; and that is done by avoiding key information from being aired publicly—such as but not limited to revealing the number of possible people still in, the hideouts of hostages and people stuck in buildings.

Imagine you’re one of those sorry souls holed-up in one of those bathrooms, or kitchens. A journalist pulls your kin outside and asks about your last contact on national television, and other prying details. In a bout of emotion, if they happen to reveal more details, you are sure going to hell. Remember these are hotels, where in all likelihood, every room has a television. All a terrorist needs to do is listen to Ms. Barkha Dutt’s latest achievement of extracting information from your relative, based on your last phone-call or SMS. And you’re shafted—courtesy NDTV.1

If the terrorists don’t manage to shove you in to your private hell, the journalists on national television will certainly help you get there. One of the criticisms about Barkha Dutt on Wikipedia reads thus:

During the Kargil conflict, Indian Army sources repeatedly complained to her channel that she was giving away locations in her broadcasts, thus causing Indian casualties.

Looks like the idiot journalist has not learnt anything since then. I join a number of bloggers pleading her to shut the f⋅⋅⋅ up.

Update: In fact, I am willing to believe that Hemant Karkare died because these channels showed him prepare (wear helmet, wear bullet-proof vest.) in excruciating detail live on television. And they in turn targeted him where he was unprotected. The brave officer succumbed to bullets in the neck.

Update 2 [28.Nov.2300hrs]: Better sense appears to have prevailed in the latter half of today—either willfully, or by Government coercion2, and Live broadcasts are now being limited to non-action zones. Telecast of action troops and strategy is now not being aired live. Thank goodness for that.

Update 3 [30.Nov.1900hrs]: DNA India reports about a UK couple ask media to report carefully: The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on TV. — Lynne Shaw in an interview.

1. Oh, they have a lame excuse pronouncing that the television connections in the hotel has been cut, and therefore it is okay to broadcast. Like hell!
2. I’m thinking coercion, since Government has just denied renewing CNN’s rights to air video today; must’ve have surely worked as a rude warning to the Indian domestic channels.

Author: “Chyetanya”

Thanks Avaksi,

The entire post has been reproduced a number of times around the world, on many different blogs!

What I can’t understand is the poor response on Indian Pad – is there no one who is passionate about their freedom of speech?

How come there are so few posts about this episode on Indianpad? Yesterday it was Kunte, tomorrow it may be me or someone among us?

@ Coolkat007, Thanks!

We all are annoyed that a person with a micro phone thinks she is better than a bloke with a computer and whatever she does is right!

And that she can do no wrong and is averse to construtive criticsm – all the while as her reporting possibly could have caused the deaths of other people and possibly harm to many with her intense reporting.

Would you not be concerned? But Barkha is not even trying to learn lessons from the mistakes. Instead she is trying to stifle all the voices that protest against her atrocious behaviour!

@Arora,

I understand where you are coming from. Just two things I would like to clarify:

1. The Indian news channels are (these days) more tuned to increasing their viewer ratings rather than showing meaningful content. However, the fault also lies with the I&B ministry and the government to a large degree. When 9/11 happened in the US, there was a coordinated response – to both the media and the tragedy. A US aid agency FEMA swung in. When the wounded were brought out, Emergency response teams were waiting. In India, there was/is no such thing. There was no intelligence provided to the commandos – and victims were carried out like gunny sacks by rescuers. The commando team leader gives a BBC interview wearing a mask on his face. WTF? Whose fault is this?

2. I can’t speak for others but if you see my comment in this thread you will notice that I had said pretty much what the blogger was saying – that the media needs a different approach. They need to create an atmosphere of control rather than of fear.

they made him apologize like a school kid, he should never have done that. I hope he took some legal advise before doing that.

@ Chetanw,

I agree what you are saying about the Indian govt. – but here we are fighting for the freedom of expression which we all have and which has been curtailed by the very people who shout about it.

Just because she has more money & muscle than Kunte – she goes ahead and uses it.

I just wish he had decided to stand his ground and fight it out! But that is my opinion & I don’t know his personal circumstances etc.!

@ Tollywood,

It looks like he has printed a copy of what he was given , but the foolish lawyers have given him a leeway by repeating the very points (that he has made in his blog) ad-nauseum.

Guys, if you blog about it – let me know either by commenting on my blog or here and I will update my post and link to your post.

And if you link to my post that will be super!

This comment has been temporarily blocked as our filters suspect it to be spam. A 'real' person will read it to make a final determination.

Thanks!