 Good morning ladies and gentlemen Sunday mornings are tough. So I appreciate you are coming out here to listen to Our favorite newscasters I'm a huge fan of television news In fact, I started my career in television news When it was state broadcasting and there was only one newscast every day at 9 o'clock in the evening I used to carry a huge camera on my shoulder and run around and the recording machine was on another person's shoulder And we did very difficult news at that time because doodharshan was the only place you could play those news clippings We have come a long way This morning. We have heard two very strong political people talking about television news I say that very specifically because every industry evolves and Television news in India is also evolving. It's gone through various phases It's come to a situation where India today has become an extremely important player on the world stage and Whatever is seen in India on television news is also viewed globally in that context while Rajdeep talked about Commerce content and conscience he missed out Two elements which are very important for television news in India going forward in the future credibility and country and a nation of 1.4 Billion people going on to become 1.73 billion people by 2047 needs those two things to be kept in mind Bupendra has been on television for Over two decades. He's a familiar name across the country. I've been a fan of some of his shows and I want to ask him as we go forward Should we talk about what ails Indian television or should we talk about what the positive sides are about what we have Accomplished in this short period Well, good morning. Good morning and thanks for asking that question. Let me first begin I think Anurag is not here, but it's his birthday today. Yes. Yes. So, you know happy birthday to Anurag in congratulations to the entire team of NBA for consistently doing this for for so long I'll I'll try and keep it, you know in a blend of both English and Hindi because I see Kapilog here Hindi media So today is the first day of Ravivar The day of Ravivar, we will start to relax a little bit, calm down a little bit And I was watching that when both of us were healthy, both of us have been healthy since the beginning, when they were talking What are the problems in front of you? All of them are in the morning of Ravivar. He will welcome us So I would like to talk a little bit about those problems in life. There are a few opportunities in life. Yes So why not discuss some good things Crisis of television Here I think I'm coming here for the eighth time and every year the crisis of television is discussed I also say a few things, the rest of the people also get a lot of questions Many times we have also tried something from our own Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't But one thing I will say with all honesty before this illustrious gathering I think journalists are the biggest hypocrites Including me, right? I'm no exception to this So I find it very strange that that someone comes and says that today you will give them an award Which is doing the work of spoiling the society You are connected to those people in the same world and you sit on the same chair So it was a very strange thing that you are asking Mr. Anurag that what award do you want to give them? And you are working with all the people We are hypocrites and none of us are perfect people. We have shades of gray That aside, I want to come straight to the question that you're raising that is there a crisis or not? Well, there is a crisis But you know what? Every crisis also brings with it several opportunities. I want to give you my own example In 2020 when I moved away from network 18 I also was bitten by this entrepreneurial bargain. I thought that TV news model was broken We tried to bring a new model Now when you bring a new model, what do you see in it? Your friends who want to work with you, they need money This is not a free medium. Everybody has to be paid. Where are you going to get the money from? Television newsrooms, unfortunately, got taken over by a phrase which I use quite regularly on social media platforms By news managers News managers unfortunately instead of raising the level of journalism For various reasons personal professional political whatever that level kept on coming down And I think now that level has come it has hit this rock bottom mechanism level Where you have nowhere else to go but to look for newer avenues to make your mark Have your word have your say and engage yourself with newer audiences So what are we doing now and that is where the opportunity that's where the future really is You know I have my friend here Gaurav Chaudhary And I'd urge all of you to look at his platform which he's launched with great fanfare He's been running it with great success over the last four years called earshot It's a it's a premier podcasting platform in India It's a great pleasure and privilege for me to be joining hands with them We're doing some some outstanding long format content I didn't know about it that exists and people can be his viewership But as we are taking a short step I'm seeing that the content that we used to think about two or three years ago That there will be a TV news content in a 30 minute cycle You will do a documentary or a story of 22 minutes All this has changed And this is not a matter of future, it's a matter of today All these things, whether you call it technology or commerce I don't believe in this at all that we don't have to take away from the commerce of journalists We have to take away from this because the expectations of journalists From this media, they will be fulfilled through commerce Or you say I go to so many media institutes I tell everyone there that you will work for 5,000 rupees If you want money Then there is a certain business model which exists Now if you want to challenge that business model Then you have to be ready to make some compromises as far as that money is concerned So there is opportunity Many new avenues are coming up Technology will guide us in the right direction I do not subscribe to this theory that all is completely devastated Mr. Bupendra, you are right I am also attending the exchange for media events since the last 5-6 years Every time this is discussed I have to ask you a question The question of credibility If a journalist, you say we are all hypocrites But a journalist loses his credibility Then what is the right of him to lecture others That there are a lot of problems in the industry, there are issues Look, the reason is that there is a word called what about tree Nowadays, what has happened is that you Ask anyone anything that why did you do this He will say that you did this 5 years ago Someone said that whatever I am saying Because we all are friends here Someone said that when an interview of the Prime Minister is held Then it is asked that what do you keep in your hands So people said that you are asking this But when you talk to the leader of Vipakshi Dal Then you said that what do you eat I was watching a video on some channel That Rahul Gandhi was being asked, did you eat samosa Did you eat Jalebi What is the taste of this I think all these things are all divergent things Because this is the truth I have used this hypocrisy word with great responsibility All of this is wrong This was also Rajeeb's dialogue Vikram is sitting here Rajeeb used to use this dialogue a lot When we were young journalists But as we have grown up I must be very honest to you I have absolutely no hesitation to say this That there is, at least in my life I don't know any senior journalist with over two decades Of experience behind them Who at some stage would either not have buckled under pressure Or would not have taken a specific side Maybe sometimes for very personal reasons So what is credibility You do stories every day You tweet every day, you do podcasts every day Your engagement will increase What is that engagement The way we are trying to define the credibility we are trying to define Does it really qualify Does it really quantify in that sense I have my serious doubts today Because if I say that I am the most credible person There will be 10 people here who will point out who the hell am I To sit on this high pedestal of credibility Because I may have done maybe five or seven or different things For some reason I don't know But I also have a lot of memes That I am a participant of a hate brigade Although I have never done anything like this in my life But it is possible that maybe I do not know That is why I do not have any rights And I feel that journalists do not have the right in their minds To question the credibility of others in today's date Because you will raise your finger in front of them That is why I do not consider this debate to be a very different thing Bupendra ji, but look at it in one way You guys are so close to major political leaders You can access any political party And in that situation There is the possibility of accepting state patronage If a journalist gets Padam Shri, Padam Bhushan, etc. So if you do not keep credibility and ethics in front of them Then your vision will naturally be towards them Some people even become members of the Rajasabha Now whether they are journalists or politicians It should be separated from this If we look at it from the point of view of a viewer Which we try to see in our country Because this channel will give a balanced view It will talk about both sides Some channels talk on one side So credibility is important for the existence of this business Otherwise we will not have anything Let me give you one example One of our former colleagues You may understand that today is Ravibar Until Friday at 8-9 Whatever show he was doing on a prominent channel Till Friday Monday he was joining a political party Tuesday he became a key leader of that political party Wednesday he became a candidate of that political party Cut to a near down the line The guy is back to doing journalism Now is he a journalist? Is he a politician? Is he an anchor? Is he an activist? How will you change? I am challenging credibility because I am saying that whatever you are saying If there is no credibility then everything will be destroyed I am saying why should we leave the viewer here? Some people say that there is a confirmation bias Viewers would see what they want to see If you don't see maybe it's an easy exit route for all of us I can turn around and say that if you don't like me Or if you don't like whoever Don't watch it Switch it off who is forcing you to watch it But then there is a certain I would argue There is a certain social responsibility If not a moral responsibility Or at least informing the person If I am lying Today you have so many platforms There are so many mechanisms That you can find out That this person is telling the truth or lying Now there should be no credibility Now that credibility question of fact checker Because that too has become their dirty habit One fact checker will check one kind of comment One fact checker will check one kind of comment When you can't change his credibility How can you not do it How can you change the credibility of an anchor This is another question You are in a situation that is in front of you You are on location, we have a camera The situation can be explosive Riots can happen Now if you don't keep an eye on yourself And say such a thing That somewhere in another country There is a certain point of view That comes into the fight This responsibility is on our journalism But I have seen that many journalists Are totally ignorant They behave like this on TV Like they are taking a position in a situation And many times they shouldn't be able to see this Because there is a reaction time of law and order Somewhere there is something To establish there The people there They have to reach there You have already reached For breaking news You cannot sometimes compromise On the law and order and security of the country You are talking about the law and order And you are talking about the riot situation I am sure our great friends who are sitting here I have seen a video I am not joking I am talking about the situation in Delhi The riot situation So I have seen a video That traffic was on the road Everything was fine And under the metro station There was some water Now this is a reporter He ignored the road And went into the water And the cameraman told him That this is a very dangerous situation And that video was shot Now what happened? Someone else Who was walking on the other road He showed the video What is this? If you jump into the drain And say there is water in the drain There is a flood in the drain Now who is responsible for this? Are you talking about the usefulness You are talking about an explosive situation I am saying in a very ordinary situation When you are stuck With a problem like this Where is the question Hold on to your Your calmness Should it happen? I will give you an example Many years ago In Haryana I was doing a television program Suddenly Somebody whispered in my ear That boss you are asking for the resignation Of a very senior person That is not on I said hurry I am the only person You asked for a political accountability So many people died Who is responsible for this situation No I am very worried You do one thing Say something good about that government One is a slave One is a riot And if someone says this in your ear And if a senior person says this Then you think what are you doing I don't want to take the name I have been in such a time Because we are old friends Our old friend told me Don't interview the person Who you called in the studio Because he was sitting there And he was a very prominent person Because he will get upset And today we are talking about credibility So that's why I say You know Let's not beat about the bush This calmness Credibility These are very good things That is If there are 100 television anchors Of 100 television anchors There are 5 television anchors Who are moving ahead Why are you taking that You can ask questions You should not take orders from anyone If you take it, what is the result If you don't take it, what is the result That's why I say that much better That we look for ways out We look for solutions If in a long format It is happening in comedy Say, terrorists according to me today Stand up comedians are doing the best journalism Wherever you are In Mall of India, there is a work on weekends It's fantastic Would I not want to see that on television Why not? I'd love to But I know any channel which attempts to do that Will be shut down I have a difficult question for you Mr. Chaube There is a very famous woman In Bollywood You have contributed to her Say it directly She is talking about her She is an important part of my life So now you tell me What happened to her Did you ever think that I did something wrong Or something personal Did I ask you a wrong question Did you ever think that I didn't ask her a question That she didn't ask before Or I think that question Can be different Let me tell you a story Interesting that you have raised this question Because Gaurav and I For Earshot we want to do this podcast with her Where I want her to question me The same question that you have On your mind I think in 2017 We interviewed her From where we reached But she After that she made a documentary Based on that interview She has just made a film Based on that interview I have not seen any of her films But she has made a film In which she claims That she was given that role Not because of her acting abilities But because a director and producer Saw her in that interview with me So I am very happy If I have had such a deep impact And contribution in someone's life I am very happy with that But there There were two of us And one of our friends We interviewed her 7 hours late So I thought I was interviewing her It was an uncomfortable chair That was a big learning experience When you are You cannot take anything Lightly before a television camera Because I was tired I was feeling Uncomfortable So I kept on changing my position On the chair People thought I was feeling uneasy Or unnerved in her presence So it's not Maybe You could well argue that The tonality of some of the questions could have been different I would accept that But were those questions wrong In any way whatsoever To the best of my ability Because they were misogynist in any way I think That's why I said that we are all hypocrites In some way If I If I raise this question to someone That if you were to restart your life Would you like to be a porn star again You know And I think that was one of the questions I had raised Which triggered a lot of holier than Thou kind of conversation She gave me a good answer To the best of my memory I am being judgmental But is that Is that an unfair question to raise In today's date What you have seen is that From OTT platforms Supposedly not to be read A former Or maybe even now Chief Information Commissioner Mr. Mawrkar He made the entire Save India Foundation Correct And you know Yeah We are almost Over with our fireside chat One last question There are many people here who are just starting out They have next 30-40 years Of their career ahead of them And somebody who spent over 20 years Here What would you like to tell them I think they should They should shun cynicism Please don't listen to Journalists who are 20-25 years They should tell you what is wrong And I am here to tell you With 20 years behind me That all is not wrong It's not as if things are broken When I joined television I would walk into a press conference And I remember Print journalists at that time Doins of print journalism Oh these TV wala's are here Why are you troubling us I anticipate that something similar Is happening to the media ecosystem And broadcasters Long format content Linear content creators I now Think that the opportunity very Clearly is in these New age mediums The more you engage with these new age mediums There may be business challenges There may be monetary challenges Regulatory challenges But I certainly believe That all is most certainly not lost With the business of news media Platforms have changed You got to take your own decision In terms of which is that platform Which works for you the most Great to hear a positive note this morning And thank you very much Mr. Chopin Thank you E for M and thank you Exchange for media Thank you So much gentlemen May I please request Dr. Lal to present A token of love and appreciation to Sir