An outside persepective

CHAT TV show host Tim Sebastian talks about his new show and the issues that India faces

August 28, 2012 06:56 pm | Updated 06:56 pm IST

NEW DELHI, 12/07/2012: Television host Tim Sebastian at a Press Conference in New Delhi, who shall be hosting a show 'The Outsider' to be aired on Bloomberg UTV worldwide. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

NEW DELHI, 12/07/2012: Television host Tim Sebastian at a Press Conference in New Delhi, who shall be hosting a show 'The Outsider' to be aired on Bloomberg UTV worldwide. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

He has worked in many publications across the world, has been part of the immensely popular Hardtalk series on Tim Sebastian began his career in Journalism in Reuters, and has also worked as one of the founders of the Doha Debates series.

Tim is currently anchoring The Outsider , a 13-part series that will feature debates on some of the major social, political and economic issues faced by India, including subjects like education, Kashmir, relationship between business and corruption, dynastic politics etc.

On The Outsider , to be telecast on UTV Bloomberg Tim says, “India has a massive population of politically aware youngsters. This series will give them a chance to listen and participate in discussions on issues facing the country such as dynastic rule in political parties and lack of inner party democracy and such issues,” says Tim. He adds, “I have a similar team that I had when I used to work on Hardtalk. All issues will be througly researched before it is presented.”

Tim says that this is probably the best time to do a show that focuses on India. “I hope the show will help put India on a global stage. Countries draw interests when a crisis is building up. India does not face any major crisis as such, though the India story has dimmed and the national mood is low, compared to the congratulatory mood some years ago. India is at the crossroads again. It is a country that matters a lot to the outside world.”

Each debate will have speakers arguing for and against the motion. Speakers will include politicians, business people and activists. The debate will be conducted in the presence of a live audience. The audience will vote for or against the motion at the beginning and at the end of the discussion and the votes will be compared at the end of the show. The motion will then be thrown open in the viral world for people from across the globe to post their vote to determine the majority sentiment for the motion.

Tim says that playing anchor in the Doha debates was a great experience. “For many people in the west, it gave an opportunity to view the Arab world outside the prism of the many stereotypes that the region is slotted under. I hope that the series has made people aware that the region is very diverse and cannot be typecast as one homogenous unit.”

The Outsider will be aired on UTV Bloomberg on Saturday at 8 p.m.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.