Karan Thapar’s new book, Devil’s Advocate, has got people talking once again about access journalism, New Delhi’s close-knit Lutyens’ circle and the importance of protecting a source. In this interview, Madhu Trehan addresses a host of these issues. About being a Lutyens’ journalist, he responds, “Falling into the Lutyens’ category means you are not desi and ganwar and I don’t wish to be ganwar in any sense of the term.” Thapar has devoted a full chapter on his attempts to uncover the Bharatiya Janata Party’s boycott and refusal to appear on his programme. Madhu reads an article by Thapar where he exposes Narendra Modi as a source and writes of him, “The man I discovered last week is a mere creature – of prejudice, of petty vengeance, of double standards and forked-tongue utterances. The first Mr Modi deserved to be chief minister. The second deserves to be sacked.”
Madhu also asks about the ethics of quoting Pavan Verma without his permission and betraying Sambit Patra who was trying to help him. Thapar also leaked a story to a newspaper about Amitabh Bachchan after his boss demanded he remove that section from the recorded interview. Watch what he has to say.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
