Anger Management

Being a business journalist in the television medium, the quarterly results of the listed companies are keenly tracked and being in Bangalore, Infosys and Wipro are usually the most sought after. I see it more as a quarterly ritual more than actual reporting unless something dramatic (which never happens) is announced.

And today at the Wipro results press conference, I witnessed yet another episode of the Chairman dealing with the media with unnecessary arrogance. I hold high respect for the man but just the way he treats the media is apalling and sometimes plain rude. Either he does not see the need for a fourth estate to exist for his business to run smoothly or he simply does not see the point wasting his time with journalists.

Today he was asked a harmless questions on his company's recent dealings with the World Bank and he plainly refused to answer the question. His reasoning was that there was enough spoken about this subject and he had nothing more to add. But the journalist persisted and this is where he lost it completely and even said 'that is a ridiculous statement'. It was an awkward moment for all of us as journalists as we were not sure of how to react to this. With the permanant scowl on his face, he does look and sound intimidating and I did expect him to just stand up and walk out. He has done that a couple of quarters back where in the middle of the conference, he just got up and left citing a customer meeting.

This is a stark comparison to its peer Infosys who understand the role of the media and sometime use it to their advantage. It reflects in the coverage that they get and makes a huge difference to their public perception.

Next time Mr.Chairman, just simply answer the question!