He invites hoard of panellists who also scream like him; they have their strong views and they don’t shy away from yelling out their opinions. Arnab stands for that agitated mind of several unnamed Indians who are sick of the politicians and bureaucrats. The educated, middle class Indians are sick of tolerating injustice being meted out to them. Arnab raises those questions to the powerful and mighty that many have wanted to ask. Other TV journalists avoid direct confrontation. Arnab has the presentation skill and the guts to raise your adrenalin. I remember the year 2010; it was one of the most revolutionising years in the history of Indian journalism with Arnab being at the forefront in chasing one of the powerful politicians Suresh Kalmadi over alleged corruption during the Commonwealth Games. He was perhaps one of the first few journalists who raised the issue and chased it with all his grit.
One thing which needs high appreciation in his case is that he does his homework well. He has the right details and therefore does not allow the interviewee go scot-free. In many instances in the past Arnab has publicly admonished the keepers of the law. Should reporters insert their personal opinions into news stories? We don’t think so, but it’s now a fact of life.
He single-handedly brought Times Now – the English News Channel to the limelight in India. It’s because of his unique style of conducting debates on his show ‘’The Newshour’’, which occupied the prime-time slot of 9-11pm. There are few who can challenge his charisma and volume in the present field of TV journalists. His notable accomplishments include stepping up with the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, interviewing over 200 politicians and analysts during the Trust Vote in October 2008 within a span of 26 hours of live anchoring and hosting the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attacks for over 65 hours. One thing he’s liked by many is because of his style of asking very direct questions and he doesn’t allow panellists get away with slanted answers or diversions. He reputedly asks the same question to the panellists.
Arnab comes with his own personal views and he goes too far. Well, at times the primary purpose of getting all facets of a problem becomes difficult. Journalism cannot all the time guarantee to portray truth, but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism.
Arnab Goswami tries to bring facts to the table. Also, journalists must have their independent voices; they should not act, formally or informally, on behalf of special interests whether political, corporate or cultural which he follows to a great extent.
Most stories have at least two sides. While there is no obligation to present every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and add context. Objectivity is not always possible, the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslims. Arnab Goswami, who hails from Assam, has also voiced out against the controversial Bill and lambasted the BJP for imposition of the same. From the platform of his show The Debate, Arnab said, “The BJP must understand that what is wrong is wrong. I am from Assam, viewers, and today I speak to you not as an Assamese, I speak to you as an Indian. In Assam we all know what the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis has done to the state. It’s been swamped. And I hold the Congress Government because they used these Bangladeshis as vote banks.”
A sure sign of responsible journalism is the ability to be accountable while broadcasting the facts. In my opinion, Arnab Goswami has brought so many facts to the table on his show: he courageously broke many scams – Coal Scam, Chopper scam, Adarsh Housing Society Scam, Telecom scam, recent banking frauds, Swami Nityananda and Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s sex, money scandal and fake spirituality, D.K.Shivakumar’s money laundering case, IMA ponzi scheme…the list is big.
Someone once said “Arnab doesn’t beat around the bush, he beats the bush dead”… all in all, they guy has guts and we as a nation certainly want to know more and more facts.
