Channel wars

DOG does not usually eat dog in the media world. Though journalists pass judgment with alacrity upon everybody else, they refrain from criticising fellow media players as a rule. But there are exceptions.

Unnoticed by the national press, a channel war of sorts is on in Kerala. Last fortnight Kairali, the channel floated with the support of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the State, telecast a two-part investigation under its slot titled "Neeru Thedal" (In Search of Truth.) On the face of it , it was an amazingly slanderous attack on the man who is currently the president of Asianet, Kairali's main rival in the Kerala cable TV scenario. K.P. Mohanan, the programme said, had a warrant out for his arrest in Kuwait where a court is examing a case filed against him and two others by the management of the Indian school there, for financial irregularities. One of the accused is in jail, the other is out on bail, and Mr. Mohanan is in India, a country with which Kuwait does not have an extradition treaty. He has been here for some time, presiding over the operations of Asianet.

The story is not new: at one time or another over the past year or so, publications in Kerala have reported it, though the big newspapers have refrained from doing so. To send its Delhi Chief of Bureau to Dubai to mount a full scale investigation into this story at this point in time, Kairali needed to be extraordinarily motivated. It was. Since its birth six months ago, Asianet has faithfully reported every attack on the channel by the CPI(M)'s political opposition, be it the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress(I). Mr A.K. Antony of the Congress(I) has been particularly critical. And last October when there was an illicit liquor tragedy in Kerala, it transpired that two of the main accused were shareholders of Kairali. Asianet is said to have played up that angle repeatedly in its telecasts during that period.

Last fortnight's story on Mohanan related to alleged deeds committed before he joined Asianet, yet at every opportunity the TV report referred to him as president of Asianet. There are four cable TV channels now in the State, including Doordarshan's Malayalam channel and Sun TV's Malyalam channel Surya, but two more are scheduled to be making their debut soon: India Vision and Jeevan TV. The Asianet people say that it is in Kairali's interest to discredit the leading channel, because competition for it is going to become even tougher once the new channels enter the market. Kairali's retort is that 40 per cent of its shareholders are in the Gulf and it is in its commercial interest to do stories which are of concern to that constituency.

Is the story true? K.P. Mohanan says it is a cruel and slanderous programme that seeks to negate his 30 years in journalism, and not once did anyone from Kairali contact him for his version. They swear they did. The reporter who did the investigation, Kairali's Delhi Chief of Bureau, John Brittas, says there is a standing offer from his channel to the Delhi bureau of Asianet that they will carry Mohanan's version whenever he chooses to give it.

The report is damaging and libellous. Whereas it is true that there is a warrant for his arrest in Kuwait, Mohanan's supporters say that the charges aired misrepresent the facts, and records and quotes obtained by Kairali are from a pro-CPI(M) group in Kuwait, some of whom do not even have children studying in the Indian school. They allege that quotes from another faction have not been included in the programme because they did not suit Kairali's purpose. The main aim of the programme seems to be to establish that the head of Kerala's leading TV channel is a criminal and a fugitive from law. And it makes no bones about it. As a tactic, it is in the same league as Jain TV's slanderous expose on Brajesh Mishra, the Prime Minister's National Security Adviser. Are cable channels beginning to be used with alacrity to fight battles that are of no concern to viewers? Brittas says that if a channel is headed by a man with charges pending against him, it should be of concern to the viewer.

The larger issue is that of politics in the State. Asianet, until a year and a half ago, was directed by Sashi Kumar whose political sympathies are with the CPI(M). But when he sold his equity in the channel to his uncle and withdrew from managing it, the channel is believed to have become more centrist in its political stand. Kairali's backers think it has swung to being pro-Congress(I), even pro-BJP. Mohanan's response to that is that post-Kumar the channel decided it would be politically neutral and the CPI(M) is not happy with that. He says Asianet is Kerala's leading channel with 1.7 crore viewers, a considerable segment of them are pro-left, and the channel would no be so foolish as to antagonise them by being conspicuously anti-left. He claims that Asianet still remains a channel very balanced in its quality of news.

But will it rebut Kairali's below-the-belt attack? The State is waiting to see.

* * *

A fine actor: Last week there was the unusual pleasure of watching a wonderful actor watch his own memorable performances on screen. As the Golden Globe Awards honoured Al Pacino with a Cecil B. D'Mille award for lifetime achievement, you could watch an inset of Pacino, poker-faced, his hair standing up, his fingers occasionally scratching his head, as he stared intently at the screen. There were some wonderful performances that came to life, from films such as "Godfather" and "The Scent of a Woman".

The smooth, young, dark-haired face on the screen contrasted with the somewhat ravaged appearance Al Pacino now has. But the eyes remain luminous. Later, he took to the stage to recall how his mother would take him to see Cecil B. D'Mille movies and how he would act out all the roles he had seen, after he came home. Some of the charm of watching any Hollywood awards ceremony is in its clubbiness: the knowledge that win or lose, the people gathered there, in their bow ties and minimal dresses, constitute the pinnacle of show biz.

A poor actress: What the TV cameras showed of Sonia Gandhi gingerly essaying her half dip into the Ganga was almost comical. The lady should resist photo-ops that only demonstrate that she has no natural flair for either histrionics or populism.

Public service television or propaganda?: "Tainaat" is a potentially interesting programme on national security issues on the Doordarshan News Channel. It has both a review of headlines, as well as two or three stories each week. The focus is usually on Kashmir and on the North East, as well as on the armed forces, and on developments on the technology front. Given more balance, more analysis and better anchors, it could have been a programme that is interesting and different. But it falls woefully short of that. Private TV channels have shown that armed forces personnel can be pretty articulate.

There are also marvelous human interest stories that even "Tainaat" has aired. But its current approach is both timid and propagandist. Nobody believes that all is rosy between the security forces and the people whether it is in Kashmir or in the North East. So why air only positive sound bites by local people which deprive the programme of its credibility? Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on DD News, and repeated at 12 noon on Monday on the same channel.

SEVANTI NINAN

E-mail the writer at sevantininan@vsnl.com

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