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NEW
DELHI: CNN IBN editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai today said
that to establish higher credibility the channel, which is
going to hold its Indian of the year felicitations on January
29, will look at redefining the "Politics" category,
in the wake of various criticism in the media of another channel
which held it own similar programme recently.
There
have been some critical comments in newspaper columns in the
Capital, Sardesai sought to state that for his channel the
sole criteria behind the men chosen is achievement not celebrity
status, though he refrained from commenting on any rival channel's
awards.
"For
the Indian of the year for CNN IBN the process is far more
important than the finale, which is the conclusion of the
process, and we have kept the entire process transparent,"
he told indiantelevision.com.
It
is in this context that he said that the criterion for choosing
the Politician of the Year needs serious rethinking, as till
date most such awards have been looking at impact, whereas
it could be a better idea to have 'inspirational leadership"
as the correct criterion.
"This
is what we have learnt and we are in serious discussion on
this," Sardesai said, adding that otherwise the whole
thing becomes populist.
But
what is the need for an award anyway and how is CNN IBN going
to prove it is different?
Sardesai
opined that being a news channel they owe it to their viewers
to show them the best of the year, and said that the transparency
level they have kept far surpasses anything else, with SMSes,
Vote by 150 Eminent Indians and finally the vote by the jury
member.
Asked
how CNN IBN would say its SMS is not rigged, Sardesai said
that over-voting cannot be discounted, but the SMSes would
carry only 30 per cent marks, with the Eminent Indians accounting
for another 30 per cent marks for each nominee. The rest 40
per cent would come from the jurors.
"Besides,
SMS points have also been rejected by the Jury as some senior
politician was ahead in the SMS polls, but the jurors felt
that someone else was more inspirational, hence it has been
given to him.
"The
real achievers are in the public service category, where we
have gone for true achievers who are not even known, and this
is the test of our pudding, when we say it is about achievements
and not celebrity.
None
of the seven nominees in the public service category are celebrities,
none of them are on Page 3, but they are doing amazing things
quietly," Sardesai emphasised, adding that the stress
was on credibility, and not symbolism.
Likewise,
in the entertainment category, though the SMS polls showed
one superstar way ahead, finally the award went to two people
who were the brains behind the concept of one of last year's
blockbusters.
"Yes,
there will be questions, for example why is it that we have
chosen P Chidambaram as Best Politician over Modi or Mayawati,
who were ahead of him in the SMS polls, and we have explained
this to the people when they asked, and that is what I call
true transparency," Sardesai said.
Sardesai
said that their criterion has been all Indians who have done
truly inspirational work, not how often they have come into
news, which he says is their greatest differentiator.
He
disclosed that this year there will be a Life Time Achievement
Award, which has gone to a person who cuts across all ideological
frontiers, though he did not disclose the name.
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