Jigna Vora’s appeal to future journos: ‘Don’t get carried away by Breaking Stories’
Mumbai’s ace crime reporter Jigna Vora, whose ununsavoryrush with the law has now prompted a popular web series, Scoop, on Thursday demystified the glamour and glory associated with investigative journalists and warned aspiring scribes against “being carried away” by the hype and hoopla.
Jigna Vora, whose book “Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days In Prison” has inspired a popular web series, Scoop, exhorted journalism students at the prestigious Navrachana University here to beware of falling prey to the “addiction of Breaking Stories.”
She was accompanied by prominent woman journalist, Chirantana Bhatt, who was born and brought up as well as trained in Vadodara by her illustrious and aggressive journalist father, the late Kirit Bhatt.
The interaction with Vora and Bhatt was hosted by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Navrachana University. The university’s trustee, Sandhya Gajjar, the Registrar, Dr Sandeep Vasant, Dr PV Xavier, the Dean of the School of Liberal Studies and Education and Dr Jigar Shah, Program Chair of the department, also attended the interaction.
Jigna Vora, 45+, recently emerged unscathed from a grueling 7-year legal battle in the June 2011 murder of another prominent journalist, Jyotirmoy Dey, which shook the media and the underworld alike.
She was accused of conspiring with dreaded gangster Chhota Rajan to kill Dey. Finally, Jigna Vora was acquitted of all charges while Rajan was sentenced to life for the sensational murder of the daredevil reporter.
In a candid interaction with nearly 150 journalism and mass communication students, including from the historic MS University of Baroda, Vora said, “Crime journalism, or for that matter covering any beat, looks very glamourous and exciting from outside.”
“You get often get carried away by that Page 1 Story under your byline, which gives you a huge high like consumption of alcohol. Sometimes this breaking story (scoop) is a trap that someone interested in exposing it plants on a reporter. And during a high, you are either too naïve or even arrogant to bother that you are being used like a puppet,” Jigna said.
“I appeal to all aspiring journalists, females and males, to never lose your objectivity and not be taken in by all the hype you attract around you. Don’t ever commit the mistake that I committed,” Vora spoke her heart out, to loud applause by the students and the faculty alike.
Vora recalled, “As a journalist who knew her conscience was very clear right from day one, I was more worried after my name cropped up in the J Dey murder case that the stories, which I desperately hunted for every single day, suddenly started depleting. I was in panic because I was not getting my kinds of stories.” This was the August-September-October, 2011, period after my name surfaced in the murder case.
Chirantana, who grew up as an excellent reporter at equal ease with almost all genres of journalism in Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, is the Digital Editor for prominent Mumbai publication Mid-Day.
Bhatt, who developed an instant rapport with the students with her extempore talk, reflected on her journalistic journey “through the rough and tumble of an all-mans-world” told the students that it was all about confidence that spawned from hard-work. Chirantana has translated Jigna’s book from English to Gujarati.
