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Journalistic license: The ethics of it all
The tehelka scandal has, once again, brought to the center stage the controversy surrounding the means used in journalism. What should be the tools or the method used to uncover a scam or create a story? Does the end justify the means? The government and those who have borne the brunt of the tehelka expose are crying hoarse about the tehelka brand of journalism. Are they justified? Sumit Nagpal finds out.
Report: Sumit Nagpal
The tehelka scandal has, once again, brought to the center stage the controversy surrounding the means used in journalism. What should be the tools or the method used to uncover a scam or create a story? Does the end justify the means? The government and those who have borne the brunt of the tehelka expose are crying hoarse about the tehelka brand of journalism. Are they justified?
Under normal conditions, responsible journalism should be accompanied by ethical means. But when the sin is so severe and unpardonable, when it involves compromising national security, the question of means becomes trifle.
Investigative journalism is not new to India. One of the pioneers of investigative journalism was Mr A Raghavan. He uncovered the unannounced recruitment of Gorkhas in the British Army on Indian soil in 1952. Later, he brought to light the involvement of M O Mathai in the Chachamma Trust scandal. This, eventually, led to his resignation as private secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru. Arun Shourie an erstwhile investigative journalist of merit, now a minister with the tainted NDA government, justifies unconventional methodology. His support is expected. In 1981, he had launched a one-man crusade against A R Antulay, the chief minister of Maharashtra. Antulay had extorted millions of dollars from businesses dependent on state resources and tucked away the money in a private trust named after Indira Gandhi.
There is nosegay of such examples. The Securities Scam of 1992 exposed by Sucheta Dalal or Bofors uncovered by Chitra Subrahmanium. The list goes on and on.
So, along with questioning the ethics of journalism, let politicians also answer the ethics of their murky deeds. When society and the top echelons of the system become corrupted, it falls on the shoulders of journalists to attempt and clean up the system. When looked at from this perspective, tehelka has done a great servive to the country. They effort needs to be saluted.
Investigative journalism is not new to India. One of the pioneers of investigative journalism was Mr A Raghavan. He uncovered the unannounced recruitment of Gorkhas in the British Army on Indian soil in 1952. Later, he brought to light the involvement of M O Mathai in the Chachamma Trust scandal. This, eventually, led to his resignation as private secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru. Arun Shourie an erstwhile investigative journalist of merit, now a minister with the tainted NDA government, justifies unconventional methodology. His support is expected. In 1981, he had launched a one-man crusade against A R Antulay, the chief minister of Maharashtra. Antulay had extorted millions of dollars from businesses dependent on state resources and tucked away the money in a private trust named after Indira Gandhi.
There is nosegay of such examples. The Securities Scam of 1992 exposed by Sucheta Dalal or Bofors uncovered by Chitra Subrahmanium. The list goes on and on.
So, along with questioning the ethics of journalism, let politicians also answer the ethics of their murky deeds. When society and the top echelons of the system become corrupted, it falls on the shoulders of journalists to attempt and clean up the system. When looked at from this perspective, tehelka has done a great servive to the country. They effort needs to be saluted.
The lesson then is, if politicians keep their slate clean, journalists wouldn’t have to resort to debatable methods.