Rajdeep Sardesai: Journalist by accident

 Rajdeep Sardesai has been working as the editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network, which includes CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and IBN Lokmat. He comes with 22 years of journalistic experience during which he has covered some of the biggest stories in India and the world. Prior to setting up the IBN network, he was the Managing Editor of both NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India and was responsible for overseeing the news policy for both the channels. He also worked with The Times of India for six years and was the city editor of its Mumbai edition at the age of 26

In conversation with  Rajdeep Sardesai...

You graduated from St Xavier’s and then you did your masters in LLB from Oxford .Why so?

See, teenage is a time when you don’t have any idea of what to do with life and career.  So the option left with me was to study. Graduation is something you really have to do and I was really interested in doing Master’s in Law, thinking that it has large options for career. And, above that, I liked the idea of arguing and debating. But, destiny kept something else for me, and I became a journalist. However, the training I received as a lawyer has helped me a lot in my career as a journalist.

You were never went to a journalism institute and was not a journalism student at all. How did you get into this field?

Writing always remained to be one of my passions and I always loved to write. During my graduation days, which were in mid-1980s, Behram Contractor started the newspaper Afternoon. The newspaper office was close to my college and one day I approached Behram and asked him whether I could help him with his work. He showed interest in me and I joined Afternoon as a trainee reporter.

After my graduation, I went to Oxford to do Master’s in Law and after coming back from there, I joined Crawford Bailey, a leading law firm, as a lawyer. After working there for a while, I wanted to take a break. At that time, there existed a tradition in Times of India: they offered a post for those who come from Oxford – Assistant Editor.  So I joined Times and continued there for another 6 years. So journalism was purely an accident in my life.

What about your transition from print-media journalist to television journalist?

The transition was a difficult one, but with the course of time, I got adapted to it.  Though print don’t pay as much TV does, I will go back to print journalism if given a chance. Even after so many years, I still feel that I am more comfortable with print media than the visual media.

What is your opinion on the relevance of journalism education?

Once Journalism and Mass Communication course was neglected by all, but these courses have a lot of demand among students these days. I think the boom in the visual media sector is the main reason for this mass demand. Journalism has become one of the most sought after course in the country.

Does new media democratise journalism?

Yes, the new media is acceptable to everybody. New media has become cheaper and affordable to everybody. Gadgets of new media are more and more affordable to the common people. Mobile phones available in the market have cameras with high resolution and the photographs and video clippings of many historic incidents like the tsunami were captured by ordinary citizens and they were the ones who passed the clippings to different TV stations and news media. So, in short, what am trying to tell is that the thin line between journalists and public is disappearing.

There is a strong criticism that TV journalism is not taking up issues in depth but is running after sensationalism. What is your comment?

We, as visual journalists, have a lot of pressure on us. I partly agree with that, but the scenario will change in the course of time.

Five tips to broadcasting journalists

§  Always be confident

§  Be a good communicator

§  Be honest to yourself

§  Be honest to the story you are doing

§  Always have the capability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong

Message to aspiring journalists      

Chase your dreams, be loyal to your profession, don’t get carried away by anything. Changes are inevitable, get adapted to it. There is always room for improvement.

PC: edinburghnnapierjournalism.com

Article first appeared in the Education Insider magazine