Trading journalistic ethics for a few dollars more

Vinod Mehta,the fearless journalist with a sense of humour passed away last fortnight. From editing Debonair, India’s answer to Playboy, to launching The Sunday Observer, the best Sunday newpaper ever, to Indian Post which he left after two years as he was unwilling to take any dictates from the bosses, to starting and editing Outlook where he gave full journalistic freedom to his staff, Vinod was one of the frontline captains of the profession. On his sense of humour, a columnist paying a tribute to him remembers how after a tipple or two he would get gregarious and crack bawdy Punjabi jokes.

In memory of Vinod Mehta let me today take you through some of the editors who crossed my path during my long innings with Khaleej Times, Dubai.

During the Eighties and Nineties, the Gulf was the El Dorado journalists and editors chased. Khaleej Times and Gulf News were largely the ports of call.There was a strict code of conduct for all journalists. Dissenting views on the ruling family guaranteed a one-way ticket home. Coverage of government news was restricted to photographs etc supplied by their own agency. Investigative journalism was taboo. Tabloid journalism was taboo. Any journalist who practiced journalism was taboo. Clearly this El Dorado was not for the likes of Vinod Mehta, resulting in either senior retired editors or new kids on the block coming in largely for tax-free US dollars and the BMW lifestyle, in lieu of a few years of intellectual barrenness.

Khaleej Times launched by the Galadari Group in 1978 had two British editors to start with, Michael Payne followed by John Collier who left as soon as his retirement funds began to overflow. Next came MJ Zahedi from the leading Pakistani newspaper Dawn. Those who worked for him during his eight years at the helm found him sharp, witty and totally ‘hands on’editor. One story goes that it was past midnight and five feature pages still had to be made for a bumper issue the next day. With just one staffer still pounding the keys, there was no way the paper would have gone to print on time. Zahedi himself sat down and subbed stacks of copies, eventually finishing around 4am.

Gulf News then was a fledgeling newspaper that had changed hands and was being re-launched. They were looking for new talent. In stepped Bikram Vohra. Bikram, a classic bon vivant of India’s journalist frat, was stuck in a job (resident editor Indian Express, Ahmedabad). So when the offer as editor of Gulf News flew in, Bikram flew out. His charm offensive drew in talent from India and around the region — columnists, cartoonists, sports journos, designers et al. As captain of this team, he was determined to challenge the reigning champions, which he did. Not with news which was left to Reuters and wire stories but with glamour and humour, his own daily column Between The Lines in the style of our own Behram Contractor Busybee.

With Zahedi resigning, Khaleej Times, a bit concerned with the rising stars of Gulf News, KT did what they do best in that part of the world — made Bikram an offer he could not refuse. Bikram moved into the captain’s seat at KT and reigned there for the next five years. Bikram, not satisfied with just captaining the team, wanted to be head coach, head selector, head administrator, which irked the owners, and he had to leave, bringing in one of India’s frontline editors Surinder Nihal Singh in the captain’s seat. 

As my journey with KT editors continues, I am reminded of how special this weekend is with five big celebrations rolled into one short weekend. Maharashtrians celebrate Gudi Padwa, Sindhis Cheti Chand, South Indians Ugadi,  Parsis Jamshedi Navroze and the biggest of them all --  India’s entry into the semi-final round of the Cricket World Cup ! So let’s today celebrate the Vinod Mehta style with a tipple or two and remember his unique contribution. Cheers!

The author is a well-known stage personality