Punjabi Antenna
Thrills and threats
Randeep Wadehra

In pursuit of a newsworthy story, Daljeet Singh of PTC News put his life at risk

Daljeet Singh of PTC News represents the breed of TV journalists that became more visible during 2008. In pursuit of newsworthy stories, these newsmen are prepared to jump into situations where, let alone angels, even the devil wouldn’t dare to tread. No wonder, the year witnessed an unusually large number of big and small skeletons tumble out of various cupboards with scandalous regularity—be it sale of SIM cards (without filling the requisite forms) in Punjab’s border districts, the sandbag scandal during the floods, sale of liquor on Gandhi Jayanti, sting operations against corrupt officials in different government departments, black-marketing of cricket match tickets and taking local authorities, including MLAs, to task on developmental issues.

One of the enduring images is that of Daljeet chasing a delinquent heavyset liquor vendor on October 2 down a market in Mohali, resulting in an ugly face-off, with timely police intervention preventing possible violence. Risky, isn’t it?

"Unlike print media journalists, TV journalists are easily identifiable," says Daljeet, "so there is every chance that someone caught on camera doing something illegal gets violent. But that’s one professional hazard you can’t avoid." Cameraman Deepak, who has been a part of many such exposes, adds: "If you have exposed a powerful person’s wrongdoing, you are a marked man."

Similarly, Rajesh Indrepall, PTC’s Ludhiana- based senior correspondent, narrates incidents of quite a few brushes with violence while reporting on road rage occurrences involving spoilt brats of local bigwigs or policemen beating up a rickshaw-puller for refusing a free ride.

However, Akshay Chowdhary of Zee Khabran says that he has never been threatened by anyone. On the other hand, Surinder Dalla, also of Zee Khabran, avers that sometimes even journalists become helpless witness to injustice. He gives instances of how innocent people are put behind bars, especially in dowry cases, just because the police and media instinctively side with the bride’s family. Later on, when the accused persons’ innocence is established in the court, it is too late to make amends for the loss of reputation and other damages.

Dalla also points out the dire need for government guidelines for conducting sting operations in order to prevent the possibility of blackmail by faux journalists. In fact, a news telecast on December 23 showed Punjab’s TV journalists passing a resolution to banish black sheep from their midst.

PTC’s producer-anchor Devinder Pal Singh, on the other hand, feels that danger from vested interests is minimal because the media works in a genuinely democratic environment. Even when his team has exposed wrongdoings or lacunae in a department’s functioning, nobody has ever even whispered a threat. "If you go by the facts and stick to your profession’s ethics, you are safe," Devinder asserts.

The same channel’s News Editor Ritesh Lakhi corroborates this view and avers that the tendency to push the envelope must be scrupulously eschewed. Giving a personal example, he narrates an incident that had happened in Rawalpindi a few years back where he had gone to cover a jatha’s tour. Contrary to protocol, he and his team began filming a particularly attractive building when they were arrested. That particular building was located next to an unmarked office of a Pakistani intelligence agency. The interrogation was nerve-wracking, and only timely intervention by the protocol official saved their skin.

He further states that if matters become a bit awkward, journalists must use tact to prevent them from getting ugly. Of course, sticking to professional norms always helps.