Open Magazine Faces NDTV Ire

Barkha Dutt has been portrayed as a political ‘Lobbyist’ by the Open Magazine which has also put up the taped conversation on the web. NDTV called the allegations preposterous and baseless and said that it was a serious defamatory distortion of the journalistic practices. Barkha Dutt herself brought up the issue to Open Magazine editor, Manu Joseph, who gave a rather ironical reply to in her statement. Manu Joseph admitted that the story had nothing remarkable and the only catch was when Barkha Dutt used the word ‘go-between’ was used. He also added that he would appreciate a response from the ace journalist and surely publish that in the next issue.

Barkha Dutt has also questioned the cover story of the Open Magazine on moral grounds and asked why she was not made aware before the publication of the story. To this the Open Magazine editor said that he was afraid that if the word got out, he was afraid that the story may no longer remain exclusive. The NDTV statement from Narayan Rao, the Group CEO and Executive Director, adds that NDTV reserves the right to take action against the defamatory journalistic values exhibited by Open Magazine.