`I’ve learnt to project the good and the bad’

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj has emphasised the need to make DD International a more effective medium. The reas...

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj has emphasised the need to make DD International a more effective medium. The reason she and her Minister of State have given is that foreign news channels tend to misrepresent India abroad. Swaraj feels that India has been projected in a bad light to international audiences by foreign channels such as BBC and CNN. DD International could correct this imbalance.

CNN bureau chief in Delhi, Anita Pratap defends the news coverage on her channel. Excerpts from an interview with Anuradha Nagaraj:

Is there negative portrayal on CNN?

The notion is completely false. At CNN we do not present any country in a positive or negative manner. We are a professional channel with accurate, fair and quick news as our guidelines. News often happens to be bad news, though I do make a conscious effort to also highlight the diversity of India. People have to realise that a bomb blast or plane crash in any part of the world will be reported and it is not unique in case of India only.

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What are the parameters you follow while reporting a news story?

We are a worldwide news channel and have an international audience. The stories we are looking for from this region have to be relevant to the global scene. The news is packaged in a comprehensive manner, without generalising.

What are the problems on reporting from India?

People have to understand that in India there is no one reality, there are a million realities. The primary goal is to present all these different facets. Part of my job is to present India in its entirety, which I do. Having spent years in reporting on various issues in this country, I have learnt to project both the good and the bad.

Will a new and improved DD International eat into CNN viewership?

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A professionally run DD International will definitely beat us when it comes to the quantity of news generated. They will be exclusively giving Indian news, which we do not, considering our global setup. However, the question is whether they are going to do it professionally.

Do you think quality on DD International will be a problem?

Politicians have robbed Doordarshan off its credibility. They have used a strong weapon to spread awareness as a propagation tool for their own interests. Indian politicians have to get out of their feudal mindset.

Is it fair to say that western news channels present a biased view?

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No news channel can distort truth and reality. It is the tendency of people to look for stereotyped images. In India, for example, we only see the gun culture of America. There is no reason for us to be hypersensitive about the western view when we also have stereotypical images of the West.