‘Hindi TV brings in accountability’

Aniruddha Bahal says he was hounded by the State for his Tehelka expose on defence deals

The role of Hindi TV channels in bringing about some degree of public accountability, and the effect they have on their viewers cannot be denied today, despite the criticism they face, said Aniruddha Bahal, founder and editor of investigative website cobrapost.com .

“It is a fashion to criticise the Hindi media, but it does bring in accountability, in the sense that issues are brought out to the public,” said Mr. Bahal, while addressing people during his talk titled Truth Alone Shall Prevail , here at the Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) 2015, on Sunday.

Talking about investigative journalism, the co-founder of the then online magazine

Tehelka , said he had spent a lot time appearing for court cases in the aftermath of the sting ‘Operation West End’ more than a decade ago. The sting had highlighted corruption in defence deals.

“An enquiry was made to persecute us. Different apparatuses of the State started hounding us, and we had a colleague jailed for a false po-aching case,” recalled Mr. Bahal, adding that an investor in the magazine was also jailed.

“After I parted ways with Tehelka, I realised that if I don’t have the media acumen, the State will be able to hound me, so I started Cobrapost ,” he said, and added that two years after founding it, he decided to make it a non-profit organisation.

Mr. Bahal mentioned that technology had become a game-changer, and may lead to media organisations being able to connect directly with their target audience, removing the dependence on ads for revenue.