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Press Release [FREE Access]
Petro Intelligence » When Does A Scribe Cross The Line?

R. Sasankan"What is truth," Pontius Pilate famously asked at the trial of Jesus Christ. It's a question that has defied a definitive answer - and depends on which shade of grey you embrace in what many would like to cast as a simple black and white issue.

In many ways, it's the same with "news".

William Randolph Hearst, the famous US press baron, used to say: "News is what someone, somewhere, doesn't want reported; all the rest is advertisement." Lord Northcliffe, the influential publisher of the Daily Mail, once made a very perspicacious observation: "It is part of the business of a newspaper to get news and to print it; it is part of the business of a politician to prevent certain news being printed. For this reason the politician often takes a newspaper into his confidence for the mere purpose of preventing the publication of the news he deems objectionable to his interests."

But it is in the quest for "news" - the stuff that some people want to suppress - that the investigative journalist faces his biggest challenge in terms of how far he is prepared to go to unearth the grisly details of a story that someone, somewhere is going to do everything he can to conceal.

It raises some ethical questions for the hard-nosed journalist. When will he cross the invisible Line of journalistic ethics? Does such a line exist at all? Will he use subterfuge and false pretences to get the dope on a story? What place does a sting operation have in the world of journalism? Do the means justify the end?

In the West, the raging debate today is whether it is ethical for news organizations to pay for information, raising questions about the ethicality of what has been dubbed "cheque book journalism".

How hard will a journalist try to protect the identity of his source? Do whistleblowers have the right to protection when they work for the government and violate the terms of their employment by spilling the beans on a scandal to a journalist?

In my piece Of Journalism And Racketeering appearing in the free access column Petro Intelligence of the March 10th issue of www.indianoilandgas.com, I argued that "a professional journalist will need documentary support to not only substantiate his story but also use it to counter any counter-attack that the story might provoke. A hard-hitting story will wound someone or damage somebody's interests. An honest journalist will hunt for these documents and use them only to further a journalistic cause and not peddle it for a few pieces of silver. Journalism becomes a racket when such documents are traded."

We have been overwhelmed by the response from our esteemed readers. Those who reacted passionately to the article include former secretaries to the Government of India, anti-corruption crusaders, energy experts, consultants, and eminent journalists.

We feel that their response has immense information value and should be shared with our readers.

We don't expect serving bureaucrats to respond. But we have received comments from three former petroleum secretaries: Madhav Godbole, T.S. Vijayraghavan and Dr Vijay L. Kelkar. All the three are known for their honesty and integrity. E.A.S. Sarma, former secretary (Power), in his capacity as an anti-corruption crusader, has been slamming the government for its lack of openness. He was the first to respond to the article.

Dr Surya P. Sethi, India's foremost energy expert who was principal advisor (Energy) of Planning Commission sent in his comments. So did Maj. Gen S.C.N. Jattar, former chairman of Oil India, K.K. Kapoor, former CMD of GAIL, Kerala's respected journalist Thomas Jacob, petroleum trading expert Ravinder Kumar, independent consultant P. Balakrishna and Raman Swamy, a Delhi-based genuine journalist.

Here's what they said:

E.A.S. SarmaE.A.S. Sarma: Article 19 of the Constitution and the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 guarantee the citizen that the functioning of all public authorities will remain transparent. Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, all ministries and other government agencies should suo moto make a public disclosure of all material that is of public interest. More than 90% of the public authorities, including the Ministry of Petroleum and other ministries, have not complied with this requirement. On the other hand, even routine documents are unnecessarily classified as confidential, hurting the public interest.

By not divulging information to the public that is legitimately due to them, the various government agencies have created an artificial veil of secrecy and created scope for corruption that has resulted in an information asymmetry in favour of the corporates and against the public interest. This is where the media have also been forced to pursue unorthodox means of getting information that the ministries should have divulged on their own, to safeguard the public interest.

On the other hand, there is information that is sensitive in the case of Defence and other ministries that needs to be protected. Apart from unethical intermediaries bribing the officials to secure such information, cyber hacking has become commonplace and official data bases are accessed with ease. I had earlier addressed the government and also requested it to keep a vigil over private parties entering some sensitive buildings and form an expert group to suggest adequate firewalls to shield the official databases from hacking. There has been no response to my letters.

It is unfortunate that the citizen has to go through the expensive and cumbersome RTI processes today to seek information that is due to him from the government, whereas the corporates can get it with ease either by buying it or get it from the political executive to whom the corporates give huge donations for political campaigning etc.

T.S. VijayraghavanT.S. Vijayraghavan: An excellent article, especially on Lovraj. He was a gentleman and knew when to apologise. Wahi was a good man with visions though too much enlarged and out of focus. Yet, in spite of his other faults and his attempt during my tenure to thrust one of his "favourites"(?) as an "Adviser" in the Petroleum Ministry to control me and keep him informed (which she certainly would have faithfully done) was a good man.

Madhav GodboleMadhav Godbole: I believe that your kind of journalism, which is so insightful and well researched, is highly necessary to keep a counter-check on the goings on in our public life. What has come out recently is not new. What is new is that it was ever permitted to come out. The question is whether the investigation will ever reach the real culprits.

Dr. Vijay L KelkarDr Vijay L Kelkar: An excellent and welcome piece after the recent happenings!

Dr Surya P. Sethi: Sasankan provides a cogent defence for investigative journalism and what it entails. Official secrecy is critical in a democracy but so is its fourth pillar - the press. The Dharma of an upright journalist is to walk the thin line between protecting public or national interest and personally benefitting from information obtained through sources cultivated over a life time. Crucify him/her if he/she crosses the line but celebrate his/her efforts if the fourth pillar of a democratic society is strengthenDr. Surya P Sethied by his/her reporting. Selling secret documents is a crime but protecting public or national interest is a duty of every citizen.

We cannot erupt with glee at the expose of Watergate and the doings of Wikileaks while condemning our own brave journalists who expose mis-governance before it happens. We should also not forget that a brave individual, no less than Arun Shourie, laid the foundation of investigative journalism in the post-1970 India and neither should we forget that it required public servants of substance such as Lovraj Kumar and Colonel Wahi to accept a mistake when one was made.

S.C.N. JatarMaj. General S.C.N. Jatar: I entirely agree with your views in Of Journalism And Racketeering, with one caveat. The leaks should not compromise security and should be shared with all and not be sold to selected industry houses so that they have an advantage in future planning.

K.K. KapoorK.K. Kapoor: I wish both these examples could be taught in the schools who teach journalism. You had verified your facts so thoroughly that even those who were supposed to know things better, could go wrong but not the journalist who was reporting on the subject. I also give full credit to both the Late Lovraj Kumar and Col. Wahi who took no time in accepting their mistake, in spite of the public embarrassment involved.

Thomas Jacob: Your piece on temptations in journalism has come at the right time. This should help to expose a few so-called journalists who give a bad name to the profession. The great C. P Ramachandran once wrote about them: most of them are agents and contractors of businessmen. Thomas Jacob

Ravinder Kumar: No doubt that information is power. It is no secret that stealing of information from offices and corporates for strategic and commercial gains is big a racket and traded worldwide. The recent news of leakage of documents from the Government offices in Delhi has becomRavinder Kumare national news, though it has been going on since ages. The author has very rightly stated that professional and investigative journalism cannot survive without access to sensitive /important information. Due to trading of sensitive information, though illegally, even journalists have to resort to dubious deals. In all fairness, it should be available to the journalist for journalism but not for trading without resorting to underhand practices.

It is high time to have a transparent mechanism to officially provide information to the journalists, confidentially and in a time bound manner. Denial on wrong and flimsy grounds, giving vague or wrong information should be punishable.

P. BalakrishnaP. Balakrishna: R. Sasankan's column makes interesting reading. The two incidents he has related not only revives memories of colourful personalities - the silver-haired Lovraj Kumar and the tall talking Col Wahi who strode the petroleum sector in the eighties but also makes out a cogent case why a journalist, if he wishes to break stories and not be content with press releases and PR puff pieces, may need to source original documents.

However, a journalist worth his salt would use documents so sourced judiciously and write readable copy that conveys all the essential information to the reader without taking the lazy route of reproducing the documents verbatim. Unfortunately, this has become the norm nowadays. S. Mulgaonkar once wrote that the copy should convey that the writer knows much more than what he has revealed in his copy!

In any case, there can be no justification for a journalist who, in the course of his work, obtains a document to sell or pass it on to corporates or other interests.

Raman SwamyRaman Swamy: I read your column with great interest. My first emotion was personal - I felt a surge of pride that I have a friend of courage and integrity like you. There are very few journalists these days who have a clear conscience in matters of basic professional ethics.

You have written it very well. Yes it is lengthy but it is necessary to narrate the anecdotes in some detail in order to convey the point effectively.

And the key message comes out strongly and convincingly. The distinction between procuring official documents for the purpose of investigative reporting and using such documents for information-peddling to make illicit pecuniary gains have been brought out with clarity.



To download the latest issue 'Volume 30 Issue 24 - March 25, 2024', click here
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