Our bunch of Davids will make old monopolies fall once again: Arnab Goswami

Walking the last mile before the launch of his independent media platform Republic, its Founder and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami threw down the gauntlet at legacy media during his address at the ongoing FICCI Frames 2017. 

Sounding his bugle as only he can, Goswami said, “Those who will understand the hidden script – because I don’t mince my words – will understand what I am saying today: This is a David Vs Goliath fight.” 

“And I stand here before you proudly to say Goliath has tried to crush me and already failed. Because you can’t crush a thought. David thought on his feet, Goliath did not. David had the speed and David out-thought Goliath. I want to tell Goliath today: Come, out-think me, if you can,” he said. 

He further declared, “I have with me a bunch of Davids. Davids have emerged on their own. And they want to shackle the Davids. Because a bunch of Davids free is a threat to the Goliath. Our bunch of Davids will make old monopolies fall once again, as they have in the past.” 

Speaking on his new venture, Goswami said that Republic would ensure that new guys would come who would show the world from right here in India that content is king, not money. “Money will fail and people will watch the screens that they believe in and not the screens that sell to them,” he pledged and promised that “putting the focus back on each one of you is my only determination”. 

Slamming the Capital-based national media for being so “content in Lutyens Delhi that you stop fighting for the people of the country”, he demanded, “How can you be so satiated in Lutyens Delhi?” 

“What has the media done to itself? And what version plays out in the everyday if there are petitions after petitions for allowing legal sanctions and constitutional validity to break up India and not a single word raised on national television, against the everyday corrupt, the everyday rowdy, the everyday bully who in the life and make it a purpose to disgrace this country?” he asked. 

Goswami spelt out that the focus of Republic would not just be the common Indian it speaks for, but also on the language the common Indian speaks. “The focus is on India and the focus is on English, but English done the Indian way. When I started off as a journalist...they said I should take pauses at the right places. I won’t speak in the polished way...I will speak English the Indian way...I want to speak in the language that the 25-year-old in the Indian newsroom relates to,” he announced. 

Throwing the gauntlet again down – this time at the old traditional definition of journalism, Goswami said, “They’ll tell you facts are sacred and opinion is free. I say facts are available and opinion is sacred. Opinion in the media is especially sacred because it is a differentiator between a journalism that is confrontational and a journalism that is happy to be docile and subdued. Opinion in the media is especially sacred because it is a differentiator between a journalism that chooses to take the right side of the truth and one that prefers to be falsely neutral in order to perpetuate the status-quo...opinionated media that has the potential to be activist. It is opinionated media that has the potential to be a change agent to being merely a supplier of information. I refuse to be simply a supplier of information.” 

Adgully caught up with Arnab Goswami to know more about Republic. While he refused to divulge the launch date for the upcoming news channel, he did not hold back while speaking about his team. “I have brought in so many new people, done so many collaborations, partnerships and met so many people who support us and most importantly, I have been able to build a really fantastic team. Vikas Kanchandani has joined us as CEO. S Sundaram, ex-Times Now CFO has also joined us. Charu Thakur, Head of Production at the Times Network, has joined us as Chief Executive Producer and Head of Content. She is undoubtedly the No. 1 news production professional in India. Jay Chauhan has joined us as Chief Operating Officer from NDTV Digital, while Niranjan Narayanswamy has joined us as Editor on the news desk. Priya Mukherjee is the Head of Distribution. In all, we have around 300 people working with us. It’s a joy to see this family grow and there is so much positive energy and also I feel so responsible. We are very excited and there is so much love and warmth from people across India, making us more confident.” 

While speaking on the distribution strategy for Republic, Goswami wondered why there was so much paranoia and worry about the new channel. Speaking on ne such instance, he shared, “I have heard about a channel, which is worried about its falling share and has begun approaching distributors saying that they will try and pay extra money if the distributors don’t take Republic channel. Of course, no one has taken them seriously!” 

He added, “We are not here to crush or defeat anyone. Embrace us and let’s work together. Eventually everyone will realise that one cannot buy their way through in this industry anymore. So, we can all co-exist.”

Sounding confident about the road ahead for independent media houses, Goswami affirmed, “We will be more than surviving. If you look at the audience out there and the response received from the people from the industry and the way we have worked over the years, you will know that this form of journalism cannot be shuttered anymore. I don’t hold myself back. Today, coming out after a long time and seeing how the industry has responded to us, I am touched by the warmth of this media industry. I will not fight fake battles. My only battle is for the hearts of the people of this country.” 

When asked whether news media and digital can happily co-exist, he replied, “I think print is slowing down, and as it slows down drastically, the focus is going to be on TV and digital. So, now do we look at digital as a collaborator or as an enemy?” 

He added that he is here to collaborate with digital and everybody at the digital side. “Television grows on a bigger base of revenue, so it will be much larger for a significant period of time, maybe the next decade. The question is not whether digital will catch up, but how both will grow and co-exist. The network news, cable news, television news and broadcast news in America is still very big and so it is in the UK, and they both have a very evolved digital media. So, I think the future for both digital and TV is quite good. It does not matter what the growth rate is; eventually there is space for everyone,” Goswami concluded.