I wanted to interview Narendra Modi but he refused says BBC HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur

I wanted to interview Narendra Modi but he refused says BBC HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur, as his programme is axed, to Karan Thapar for The Wire
…………………….

In an interview to discuss the BBC's decision to axe its well-known and highly-regarded programme HARDtalk and make its renowned anchor Stephen Sackur redundant, Stephen Sackur has revealed that he wanted to interview Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and apparently over the years HARDtalk made several efforts to do so, but Mr Modi refused.

In a 35 minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Stephen Sackur says the BBC’s decision to scrap HARDtalk “is a very serious mistake”. The BBC has claimed this is part of a cost-cutting exercise which initially will save £24 million. But HARDtalk only costs 1.2 million a year, a mere 5% of 24 million. So is the BBC losing valuable viewership and influence for very little saving?

HARDtalk will end in March and that means the last episodes are presently being broadcast. But does the BBC realise what HARDtalk represents to its international viewership? For tens if not hundreds of millions HARDtalk is perhaps the most popular and widely watched programme on BBC World after The News. Scrapping it feels a bit like cutting your nose to spite your face.

HARDtalk was also, in a very real sense, unique. It was the BBC’s only one to one long-form interview programme and very few channels offer anything similar. Yet the BBC has axed the programme.

These are some of the many issues raised with Stephen Sackur. You have to watch the interview to find out what he says.

Stephen Sackur also talks about his own future. He is writing a book on journalist heroes. He has offers to do interview programmes on other channels. He could even do podcasts.

Whilst discussing his future he mentions two other politician he always wanted to interview - Donald Trump and Viktor Orban.

Finally Stephen Sackur says he was always very proud to work for the BBC. “I still love the BBC” he says.



Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month.    / @thewirenews