At a time when cynicism of the Indian media is growing, both within and without, Rupashree Nanda of CNN-IBN, the winner of the Chameli Devi Award for outstanding woman journalist of 2007, has delivered a rousing acceptance speech, in which she underlines the core values of what Gabriel Garcia Marquez called “God’s Chosen Profession”.
“I believe, journalism is the most significant human achievement. Not man’s landing on the moon, or the splitting of the atom, or the Vietnam war, or communism. It is the very simple idea of news.
“I believe just as it is the nature of water to wet, of fire to burn, it is the nature of journalism to effect change. And just as the water that nourishes can also kill, fire that sustains can also destroy, journalism can effect change for better or for worse. I believe, it has no limitations except the ones it imposes on itself.
“I believe, if it is true to its nature, it is radical, it cannot be otherwise.”
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Photograph: courtesy The Hindu
IJR 