Arnab's Republic a reflection of what India has become- noisy and chaotic

Republic TV is about Arnab Goswami multiplied 24 by 7

Arnab Goswami’s new English news channel Republic TV is bang on target. It is very much a reflection of what India has become – a noisy, chaotic place where coherent debate without shouting, screaming and name-calling is impossible. 

For someone who has not watched Indian news channels for over two years now, the first hour of watching a show on Republic TV on Sunday night was frazzling. I just couldn’t figure out what the issue was, who the people were and what they were fighting about. There were five panellists on a show that was wrongly titled 'The Sunday Debate'. It was not a debate. It was a one-sided haranguing of the panellists by Republic TV’s biggest shareholder and editor-in-chief, the inimitable Arnab Goswami. Not that the panellists were bothered – they were all shouting at the same time trying to get their point across. It was something to do with accusations of corruption against Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal. But mid-way Goswami asked one panellist, “Where are the pseudo secularists, where is the Lutyens media?” 

More than a month back I had asked Goswami, who is more charming in person than on TV, why he harangues his guests so much? Why is his journalism so polarising? “I think of it as raising issues that need to be raised and in the process polarisation happens,” he said. He pointed to a Times Now campaign for Right to Pray on women’s right to enter religious places early in 2016. It led, in part, to a Mumbai high court judgement that stated that it is a woman’s fundamental right. Goswami was then the editorial head of Times Now, a channel he came to define with his blustering style. 

“Our media is obsessed with party politics while these issues were relegated to back of the book features. I look back and say what impact have I had on society, not on ratings. Why did I go after Suresh Kalmadi and CWG, after the 2G scam, after Lalit(Modi)gate? Do we really have serious investigative journalism happening in India? Why is there no activist journalism?” He added that“I will do the journalism I like because people like my journalism. There is a want/desire for this kind of news. Lutyens media should go into deep introspection. It is not connected with the rest of India, metaphorically and literally.” 

Lutyens is an area in Delhi designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens. It is the administrative heart of  India with the Rashtrapati Bhavan, prime minister’s house, Parliament and other key buildings. It ‘Lutyens’has over the years become a euphemism for elitism. It is a word Goswami seems to be obsessed with. He mentioned it several times in the over 60 minute long interview I had with him late in March. “I want to de-Lutyenise media. These are a group of people who exist only for themselves; they are easily influenced and have done nothing to get new young journalists in,” said Goswami. 

However, shorn of all the posturing, the fact is Goswami has discovered something. His editorial philosophy has clearly touched a chord and found an audience in middle class India. It explains why Times Now became the number one English news channel and stayed true to his blustering style even after Goswami left. It also explains why almost every news channel in India presents loud, judgemental reporting and anchoring as reporting of news. That is the power of Goswami.

There is one big catch though. Times Now made money as a part of one of India’s largest media group. How ARG Outlier Media, which launched Republic TV, will do is a question for now. It joins over 390 odd news channels fighting for a measly Rs 3,500 crore ad pie in the world’s most overserved news market. Of this English news TV is a minuscule part. It reached an average of 4 million people every day compared to say 117 million people that Hindi news reached in 2016, going by Broadcast Audience Research Council data.Advertisers spent an estimated Rs 700 crore reaching those 4 million people. This tiny market has ten serious players with Times Now, CNBC-News18 and India Today TV in the lead. 

ARG has raised about Rs 150-200 crore. A senior news broadcasting person estimates Republic TV’s capital cost at Rs 50-75 crore and operating costs in the first year at Rs 50-60 crore. It has to hit the top spot in the shortest possible time if it wants advertiser attention and to break even. 

Brace then for a lot more shouting and screaming as it tries to get there.