12-11-2005, 07:35 PM
Vinod Mehta in his own words..
http://www.outlookindia.com/diary.asp?list...odname=20040913
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Yours, Partisanly
Among the tons of abusive mail I get, one theme remains constant. My bloodline, of course, is questioned but in volume it does not compare with "bias". According to my critics, I wear my biases on my sleeve. Pro-Sonia, pro-Congress, pro-stray dogs, anti-BJP, anti-Brajesh Mishra, anti-Hindutva etc, etc, is my infirmity. Since I am the editor of Outlook, my purported partisanship runs from the contents page to the one you are reading now. Like Oscar Wilde I do not propose to justify my prejudices, but to explain them. I will not waste your time by denying that many of my prejudices and preferences have been fairly accurately identified. The question is, I also take great pride in being a professional and am toying with the idea of inscribing my tombstone with the lines: "Here lies a professional journalist." So, how do I square my biases with my alleged professionalism?
To begin with, an objective journalist is a myth. The species does not exist. Simply because one has chosen to be a scribe does not mean the individual has become an emotional and intellectual eunuch. A journalist who is prejudice-free is going to be a very boring journalist, besides being a contradiction in terms. What I try to do is balance my prejudices with my professionalism. In other words, the basics of my trade impose a discipline which ensures that instinctive or acquired biases are tempered with the simple and clear rules of the profession.
Still, I wouldnât claim I am a 100 per cent unbiased editor! <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
He used to be editor of Debonair. An entertainer, an "intellectual pimp" as Fanne-ji pointed out once..
http://indiaforumarchives.blogspot.com/200...ere-psyops.html
http://www.outlookindia.com/diary.asp?list...odname=20040913
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Yours, Partisanly
Among the tons of abusive mail I get, one theme remains constant. My bloodline, of course, is questioned but in volume it does not compare with "bias". According to my critics, I wear my biases on my sleeve. Pro-Sonia, pro-Congress, pro-stray dogs, anti-BJP, anti-Brajesh Mishra, anti-Hindutva etc, etc, is my infirmity. Since I am the editor of Outlook, my purported partisanship runs from the contents page to the one you are reading now. Like Oscar Wilde I do not propose to justify my prejudices, but to explain them. I will not waste your time by denying that many of my prejudices and preferences have been fairly accurately identified. The question is, I also take great pride in being a professional and am toying with the idea of inscribing my tombstone with the lines: "Here lies a professional journalist." So, how do I square my biases with my alleged professionalism?
To begin with, an objective journalist is a myth. The species does not exist. Simply because one has chosen to be a scribe does not mean the individual has become an emotional and intellectual eunuch. A journalist who is prejudice-free is going to be a very boring journalist, besides being a contradiction in terms. What I try to do is balance my prejudices with my professionalism. In other words, the basics of my trade impose a discipline which ensures that instinctive or acquired biases are tempered with the simple and clear rules of the profession.
Still, I wouldnât claim I am a 100 per cent unbiased editor! <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
He used to be editor of Debonair. An entertainer, an "intellectual pimp" as Fanne-ji pointed out once..
http://indiaforumarchives.blogspot.com/200...ere-psyops.html