NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan quits Television, heads to Harvard to Teach

Journalist Nidhi Razdan announced she will be quitting NDTV and joining Harvard University as an Associate Professor. Razdan worked at NDTV for 21 years and is considered one of the country’s most credible media faces. Razdan will be heading to teach journalism at Harvard University later in the year. Until recently Razdan anchored the award winning show Left Right and Centre on NDTV and has been at the forefront of covering many key international and Indian assignments.

Razdan is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award. Her show picked the International Press Institute Award-India for its “expose of the conspiracy to scuttle” the Kathua rape and murder case probe. This expose of the hypocrisy in the case was termed as “excellence of Journalism” by the India chapter of the Vienna-based press institute.

Nidhi shared more details on this move saying as follows:

Some personal and professional news: after 21 years at NDTV, I am changing direction and moving on. Later this year, I start as an Associate Professor teaching journalism as part of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. 

NDTV has taught me everything. It has been my home. I am proud of the work we do, the stories we cover, the values we stand for, especially at a time when the much of the media has surrendered its objectivity

I will miss my colleagues deeply. Most of all, I want to thank Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy for being the most incredible mentors and bosses. You took me in as a 22 year old and believed in me. I never say never, so TV may one day beckon again. Wish me luck

Nidhi Razdan tweeted the above message announcing her departure from NDTV. Nidhi has been at the forefront of many of India’s big stories from hosting the show Left Right and Centre to reporting on Kashmir, The rape of young girl in J&K, Egyptian Revolution and many others. Razdan has also authored a book on her show also titled Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India, which was published in July 2017.

Nidhi Razdan’s show picked the International Press Institute Award-India for its “expose of the conspiracy to scuttle” the Kathua rape and murder case probe. In her power-packed speech at the award ceremony, Razdan had talked about the crisis that Indian Media is facing today. “Those of us who do our jobs as journalists are labelled anti-nationals. The sad truth is that very few are willing to speak truth to power, and you have – with some exceptions- a media that fawns over the establishment, unwilling to ask tough questions instead preferring to merely reproduce government handouts and pass that off as news,” she had said.

In an earlier interview with SheThePeople, Razdan addressed this very issue of shutdown of media, and the increased pressure on them to hold back the truth or face attack.

SheThePeople: How can we ask questions without being shut down? How can we express ourselves in an environment where a lot of what we say is considered anti-national or an attack?

Nidhi Razdan: By asking the questions anyway, come what may. NDTV, me — we are called anti-national almost everyday online. But that’s far from the truth. Those who are busy handing out these patriotism certificates, are to my mind, fake nationalists. They only beat their chests, make noise and bully those with a different viewpoint. That doesn’t make you a nationalist. It is not anti-national to ask questions, it is not anti-national to hold all institutions accountable in a democracy, and it is most certainly not anti-national to question the government. 

For her views on media, she was often the subject of trolls and threats. When we asked her about her perspective on social media she said it came with dangers of fake news.

SheThePeople: Even though there is a rise of social media, have we become a less informed society? Have we in fact become more divided?  

Nidhi Razdan: I don’t think we are less informed, but we have become more divided for many reasons. Social media is a terrific source of information PROVIDED that what you’re reading is NOT fake news. Unfortunately, many Indians today are fed on a daily diet of fake news over whatsapp, which is circulated as the gospel truth. Those are the dangers we need to be wary of. Social media has no accountability, Zero. Anyone can write anything and in India, that means they can pretty much get away with it. – shethepeople