Overcautious media managers throw protective ring around Vajpayee

Atal Behari Vajpayee may be the world8217;s finest orator on the maidans of India, but the American media, with its emphasis on brisk and cogent articulation through the medium of the sound byte, is a different deal altogether. The Indian Prime Minister8217;s increasingly halting and deliberate style, compounded by his age and illness, decidedly does not present a media-friendly picture, according to media mavens familiar with the problem.

As a result, the media managers are struggling to put together adequate press exposure for Vajpayee during his 10-day stay in the United States while at the same time protecting him from the demanding arc lights of American television. One solution to the problem: try and get the print media to meet the Prime Minister while fielding External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for television.

Not that the American television studios are falling over themselves to interview the Indians or anyone else for that matter. With more than 150 world leaders trooping into New York this week for the Millennial session of the UN General Assembly, the TV cameras have more VIPs than they can handle.

Besides, the familiar annual feature about grid-locked Manhattan and the consequent ire of New Yorkers makes a more compelling story for insular Americans than the inanities of inarticulate political leaders.

So as things stand, the leader of the world8217;s most populous democracy will have negligible exposure in the media capital of the world. Things may improve by the time he comes to Washington on September 13 8212; by which time the UN millennium jamboree would have repaired home 8212; but it will be nothing like what a Putin or Blair or Jiang Zemin would attract.

Vajpayee media advisor H.K. Dua travelled across the US last month briefing editors and editorial boards about the Prime Minister8217;s visit, and officials here saythere have been 8220;several8221; requests from media outlets, including the ubiquitous CNN, for interviews.

But Vajpayee8217;s media managers are still hesitant to expose him fully to the Washington press corps. Although the White House is ready and willing, theIndian side is unsure about whether to agree to an open and joint press conference following the Prime Minister8217;s one-to-one meeting with President Clinton.

Chances are it will be a limited and 8220;controlled8221; press exposure like the ridiculous one witnessed in New Delhi during Clinton8217;s visit when overcautiousmedia advisors allowed only four questions, two of them from hand-picked and hopelessly inarticulate Indian journalists.

The Indian side also did not respond quickly enough to an offer from Washington8217;s National Press Club to host the Prime Minister and even the External Affairs Minister, NPC sources said. As a result, NPC will hostleaders from Moldova and Kazakhstan among other countries during the time the Indian PM is here.

The last Indian leader to address the media at NPC was Rajiv Gandhi, who brought the roof down when he pungently advised a group of demonstrating Khalistanis to go establish their country in Lahore MaharajaRanjit Singh8217;s capital.

The unfortunate part is, left to himself, Prime Minister Vajpayee is an extremely personable and engaging man who can hold anyone in thrall, officials familiar with the issue say. But panicky media managers, unsure of the state of his health, are seeking to protect him from even the most rudimentary exposure in a scenario where they feel the Indian leadership does not exactly make inspiring television.

Ironically, while the leadership of the world8217;s largest democracy struggles with decisions on how to woo and handle American media, Chinese President JiangZemin gave a rousing interview to the widely watched network program 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Amid brutally tough questioning from Mike Wallace, the iconic 81-year-old American newshound, Jiang charmed the American viewership by reciting the Gettysberg Address and singing patriotic songs, speaking mostly in Mandarin while lapsing occasionally into English.

Elsewhere, while the Indians are trying to shield Vajpayee from the media the Pakistanis are desperately seeking exposure for Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the hope of acquiring some legitimacy for the military regime. The cocktail of an Islamic military dictator with nuclear weapons being irresistible, several media outlets have lined up for interviews.

Vajpayee is no stranger to the American media, having visited the Big Apple several times for UN-related work even as a parliamentarian. But his visits to Washington have been far and few in between, his last foray being in 1978 when he addressed a meeting at the Constitution Hall, old-timers say.