Ranjona Banerji: Has Times Now’s News Hour gone totally beyond journalism as we know it?

By Ranjona Banerji

Times Now remains India’s favourite English language news channel, or so it seems. And much of this popularity has to do with Arnab Goswami, its editor-in-chief and star anchor. Goswami has evolved a very particular combative television style, full of the sound and fury of the righteous. Often, he asks the moral question: should people behave like this, should we tolerate that and so on. Often it works. But more and more regularly, especially recently, Goswami has ventured into territory that is no longer strictly journalism by usual standards and is more a combination of a hectoring pulpit preacher, a government spokesperson and Jerry Springer-type talk show host.

We realise that almost all “prime time” debates on news channels are platforms for cacophony and bad manners. We realise that little is to be gained or learned from watching these except the enjoyment of drama and spectacle. Many people I know, myself included, have stopped watching Times Now because of the noise and nonsense. However, there are times when we need to take stock.

According to Asad Ashraf, a journalist who has done stories on the Batla House “encounter” and studied at Jamia Milia University, he was invited to Times Now for a discussion on the encounter after a recent IS video was made public. However, according to his report, the discussion turned into the usual yelling match – so far so normal. But then Ashraf was accused by Goswami of being a cover for the terrorist group Indian Mujahideen. Other guests on the show also agreed. Ashraf was not allowed to defend himself. Now, the video of the debate has been taken down from the website.

This is Ashraf’s account of what happened:

When Arnab Goswami called Muslim journalist cover for Indian Mujahideen

This is what I found when I went to the Times Now website:
http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-BatlaManInISIS/videoshow/4489589.cms

This is not the first time that Goswami has let loose on his own panellists or encouraged his guests to attack each other beyond all norms of civilised behaviour. But each time, it is getting more and more dangerous and less and less convincing as any form of journalism. It seems a bit over-the-top to call the programme “News Hour”…

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The Guardian has issued an apology to its readers about the work of a freelance contributor accused of fabricating quotes and information. Unfortunately this remains a problem for all newspapers and news agencies, even those with fact-checking departments. A person’s opinion is one thing. But a person’s ethics is quite another. It is sad and indeed problematic for all good freelancers when these bad apples spoil the pool.
Incidentally, what is taught in journalism schools these days?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/26/open-door-column-note-to-readers

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Since the Narendra Modi government completed two years in office on May 26, every news channels scrambled to get any Union minister they could to talk about the government’s achievements. As usual, no perspective, more like PR efforts. As some wag on Twitter pointed out, the only way you could escape a politician was by watching a sports channel!

Newspapers and websites concentrated more on editorials, columns and analyses to assess the government but here too, we were treated to BJP president Amit Shah and Venkaiah Naidu, Urban Development minister, extolling the party’s and government’s virtues. Still, better than those loooooong TV interviews.