It’s in our DNA, says Rajdeep Sardesai

Within the first week of its launch, Rajdeep Sardesai’s CNN-IBN has created a buzz - what with the elusive Sonia Gandhi granting an audience at 10, Janpath. This was her first major television interview post the UPA government’s coming to power.

Yet Sardesai displays equanimity, “I may be the face of the channel but it’s our young journalists who are breaking stories day after day, be it the Bangalore terror-attack or the BJP conclave.” He adds that at an individual level he has achieved “stardom only as a journalist.”

The journalist-driven channel Rajdeep reassures, “will never talk down to viewers and assume any high moral ground.” Drawing an analogy from cricket, he adds, “We will combine the robustness of a Virendra Sehwag with the solidarity of a Rahul Dravid, to create a Sachin Tendulkar.”

“We are trying to present the channel with an international feel. We want to present news without sensationalism,” says Sardesai.

When quizzed about his alma mater, NDTV’s attempt to outdo the Sonia Gandhi act with a follow-up interview with her, he retorts, “We were the only one to do a half-hour interview with her.”

Lamenting on the miniscule viewership of English news channels, Rajdeep admits, “English channels were simply lacking in energy. In our country we have to build bridges and I wish to do just that with CNN-IBN.”

Even though Rajdeep acknowledges that he learnt the ropes at NDTV, he says that he had to simply move on to establish a connection with people at large and create a platform exclusively for journalists and viewers. “We wanted to show that there is enough space for news channels to flourish,” concludes Rajdeep.

He has left the commercial aspects to his partners and is concentrating on building a news channel “without any attitude - a channel that represents the aspirations of the people.” The ‘Big Fight’ has indeed begun.