The Times Now Editor-in-Chief on the Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi interviews, expectations from the new I&B Minister, the channel’s poll coverage strategy that worked and being ‘just another journalist in the passage of time’
By Priyanka Mehra
Say ‘The Nation Wants to Know’ and the image that surfaces in your mind is that of Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, sharp interviewer, incisive analyst and commentator, and known in no small measure for his lung power. Outside the studio, however, the 40-year-old Goswami comes across as mellow and soft-spoken, and makes a conscious effort to maintain a low profile outside his professional role.
As he debates and questions people with equal zest each day on critical subjects facing the nation and the world, he seems to enjoy every moment of his work. He considers himself fortunate to be part of the television news industry when it is going through a sea change. “We are simply giving the people a voice. Today, you give the people a voice; tomorrow someone else will. That does not mean that you are the voice of the nation. It simply means you have a great responsibility to be as straightforward, as unaffected and as objective,” says Goswami, who attributes the channel’s large viewership during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections to being ‘aggressively objective’.
Times Now, launched in 2006, faced a lot of criticism in its early phases and even went through a revamp. But over the last four to five years, the channel has witnessed steady growth, riding on the popularity of Goswami’s prime-time show, the Newshour and Frankly Speaking, wherein he interviews high profile celebrity guests, the list includes names such as Salman Khan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the slain Benazir Bhutto. Industry sources estimate Newshour as one of the hottest properties and an attractive advertiser destination in the English news genre (the show is estimated to get Rs 25,000 for a 10-second spot, indicate industry sources, and it has also seen an increase in ad rates around four months ago).
Goswami rates the channel’s election coverage as one of the high points in the 8+ years of Times Now’s existence. The channel claims to have led the counting day ratings with 908 GVTS and 45% market-share (as per TAM ratings provided by the subscriber Period: 16th May’14 | Market: All India 1Mn+ | TG: CS M 25+ AB | Daypart: 24 hours), and Prime Time (1900- 2300 hours) with 253 GVTS and 51% marketshare (as per TAM ratings provided by the subscriber.) | Period: 16th May’14 | Market: All India 1Mn+ | TG: CS M 25+ AB | ).
MEDIA UNDER THE NEW I&B MINISTER
Newly appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, champions freedom of the Press, and the new government comes with many new promises. But will these see the light of day? “I don’t want to be presumptuous at all about the new government - about what they will do or not do, all I know is that when I interviewed Prakash Javadekar after he was sworn in as Cabinet minister, I asked him these questions and he did say that he would be open to criticism.
He had said ‘democracy will not be effective without criticism’. I think this government starts from a stated position, it does not want to regulate the media, but support an independent and free media. This is the right attitude for any government, whether today or a hundred or thousand years from now,” says Goswami, who believes this is a good starting point for any government, including a government that comes with a very large mandate, and needs to have a fair amount of objective criticism on its work and policies. He feels that there is no reason to believe that freedom of media is going to be trampled upon, and the media is fully capable of defending itself.
And what does freedom of the media really mean to a veteran journalist who questions decision-makers and individuals in power day after day, and demands answers on behalf of the nation? “Freedom of the media means setting the rules of the game, not being told what to do editorially, having strong internal and self-regulation. But no form of external regulation on editorial content,” states Goswami.
NEW CABINET APPOINTMENTS
There has been talk about the new Cabinet appointments, and popular opinion is that there is a consolidation of key portfolios under key people that Prime Minister Narendra Modi trusts. Goswami feels that this Cabinet gives a lot of opportunity to newcomers with key portfolios. “This is not a bad thing, it will be good to see if the ministers who have been given responsibility can perform. If they do perform, we will end up having a lot of fresh talent brought into middle and senior level positions in the government.
It is always good to encourage fresh talent. The Cabinet is an interesting mix of experienced and inexperienced youth. At the end of the day, passion and hunger defines everything and I am sure those who have been brought into the government will want to prove themselves,” he says on a positive note.
THE GANDHI & MODI INTERVIEWS
Arnab Goswami made waves for his interview of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Times Now, the latter’s first television interview, which was one of the biggest political interviews when the election campaign had just kick-started. It became more news-worthy due to Gandhi’s deemed unpreparedness for the questions. Moreover, Gandhi had not been seen talking to the media at all before the interview, which went on to create not only nationwide but worldwide news, and remained a topic of discussion for weeks on end.
This was followed by the Narendra Modi interview on the channel, during the last phase of the elections. Modi, however, faced Goswami squarely. Ask the latter about the difference in his approach to the two interviews, and he says they appeared to be as different as chalk and cheese. “For Rahul Gandhi, the question for me as an interviewer was ‘Where do I start?’ But in the context of Narendra Modi, the question was ‘Is there anything left to be asked?’ They were different challenges in terms of the subjects you could pick up, many things that had to be asked to Modi had already been asked. It became a question of asking questions that had not yet been asked, or persisting on a few questions which were important, whereas with Gandhi, there was a whole new canvas to be covered,” he explains.
Goswami feels his challenge was to do as professional a job in the best possible manner with these two individuals. “It was very significant that Times Now was the only channel and I the only person to whom these individuals spoke. It is recognition of the leadership position that Times Now has got among all the other channels. Our show ‘Frankly Speaking’ was chosen by both these individuals, and it was a great opportunity for me. I enjoyed both these interviews, and people watched. We got maximum viewership and both these interviews were trending worldwide on Twitter. We got a huge amount of attention - positive and negative, both. Not only for those interviewed, but also for me,” relates Goswami.
But popular perception is that whilst the Gandhi interview left a lot unsaid and led to immense criticism of Gandhi, in the Modi interview, people seemed to miss the sharp ‘Arnab Goswami’ quotient. Goswami, however, refuses to comment on people’s perceptions. “I look at an interview and ask myself, have I asked everything that possibly needs to be asked, in an objective manner? And have I asked the follow up question, whether I needed to ask it or not? I think I managed to do all these things in both these interviews. But these are different individuals - I cannot respond to perceptions on social media. Perceptions don’t matter to me, it is a news interview. In a news interview, you are actually interviewing the person and not playing to the gallery,” he explains.
On another note, he says, “An interview is different from a debate. A debate on News hour is a proper debate; and when I interview a newsmaker, it is an interview. These are two different journalistic formats, you don’t do one like the other. When you are interviewing someone, you are not at war with the person. The idea is to draw the person out,” he observes. “What is our media industry without the opinions of all these people? I will never assume that I am above criticism, I am still low down in the learning curve as a journalist. I have a long way to go. I am not being modest but telling you a fact; after all, there have been so many great journalists before me and there will be many great journalists after me. I am just another journalist in the passage of time,” says Goswami on a candid note.
Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com
