Sorry I haven't debated this point here, because I've been debating on three different facebook pages, and with readers who responded to my piece.
My basic points are: 1. The real story is about how the Raja scandal has been forgotten in this. 2. How Ratan Tata's reputation will take a hit. 3. How Ambanis continue to control the levers of power. 4. How Delhi journos suffer from delusions of grandeur. 5. How corrective action can only be taken by the media organisations themselves. 6. How Barkha Dutt seems less culpable than Vir Sanghvi. 7. How many other journalists are heaving a sigh of relief - and praying that the other tapes don't include them. 8. How the profession needs serious soul-searching. I don't believe what Dutt/Sanghvi are accused of doing can be called lobbying. Message-ferrying, perhaps. It is unprofessional, but it isn't necessarily a hanging offence. I'm also disappointed by the way they've responded to the crisis. As for Lakshmi-Saraswati - I agree with Shoba here - there was no pursuit of Lakshmi. Calling it bribery, or Barkhagate, cheapens the debate, and to me, shows unbridled misogyny. (Why not Sanghvigate, if we must look for a fall guy from the media?) Salil
