EditIndia: Indian Media Journalism Website/Blog

Will Jagran's national edition catch readers' fancy?

2009-06-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Dainik Jagran is almost ready to launch its Delhi edition. The paper has presence in many Hindi-speaking states and now wants to be seriously taken as a national Hindi daily. But will it happen?

Is Jagran going to succeed in its new avatar. For a paper like Jagran, an image makeover is not an easy task. It was never known for highest standards of journalism and remained editorially allied to either one or the other political party.

The paper has been accused of communal and casteist bias in its reports for a quarter century. The owners want the paper to be taken as a national Hindi paper so that it can get better revenue.

They are changing language and layout to give it a funkier look. The paper succeeded in adding readers in Uttar Pradesh and other states. But it's unlikely that the paper will get a sudden response in Delhi.

It is considered an old-fashioned paper from UP. The reports are uninteresting and stories lack balance. For Delhi, Jagran is an outsider. However, coming days will see a sudden advertising blitz and effort to paint the town red with Jagran's banners and posters.

'Women are communal because of sexual frustration'

2009-04-19T07:10:00.001-07:00

Khushwant Singh's remarks that women who tend to be religious fanatics are sexually frustrated, have caused a stir. In a recent article, Singh analysed the behaviour and life of four women close to Hindutva ideology.

He also said that female species are often more deadlier than males and if a woman turn venomous, 'she can hiss like a cobra'. The BJP is aghast and has condemned Singh's column.

The nonagenarian Sardar cites examples of Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uma Bharti, Pragya Singh Thakur and Mayaben Kodnani. They are all from the ranks of the Sangh Parivar (RSS).

He says that Rithambara indulges in double-speak, on TV she is sugar and honey, holding children but in real life spouts venon against Muslims. Former MP Chief Minister Uma Bharti wears saffron robe and terms herself a protector of cows but openly claims her role in demolition of Babri Masjid.

The next on Singh's list is Sadhwi Pragya Singh Thakur, who is in jail for Malegaon blast case. Singh says that though she is a good-looking woman, she turned a killer (though yet to be established as case is in the court).

The last is Gujarat's ex-minister Mayaben Kodnani, who is in custody for her role in Naroda Patiya massacre where nearly 100 Muslims were killed. She is alleged to have incited mobs.

She is a gynaecologist and took the Hippocratic oath to save lives but provoked violence, writes Singh. They are all ladies and educated and love Lord Rama just like Gandhi did, he further writes.

The Dirty Old Man goes on to write that if these ladies had a fulfilling sexual life, the venom which they spout have been drained out of systems.

Sex is the best therapy against frustration. A woman has heavier responsibility than a man in bringing up children. I appeal to these worthy ladies and all others to ponder over the words of M.K. Gandhi....

Of course, some BJP leaders may object but it is equally true that in India writers rarely so candid. That's the reason why columnists don't have enjoy huge readership here unlike in the West.

Well in his 90s, Singh still keeps ruffling a few feathers and that should be inspiring for journalists who avoid writing things that would displease others.

Jorunalist Vs Activist: Throwing shoes is not journalism

2009-04-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

When a Sikh journalist threw a shoe at Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, the reactions varied. However, the worrying issue is that there was not enough condemnation of the action in media.

It is true that the act did help in delayed action against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. The anger among Sikhs community against these persons who were accused of involvement in the killings of 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi, is justified.

But a journalist should remain a reporter, a person who watches events as a bystander. A journalist should not become an activist. If he becomes one, he ceases to be a journalist.

It is a dangerous trend. Once you are a journalist and you are covering an event, you ought to forget your association with your caste or community. Tomorrow a journalist may wear any identity on his sleeve.

He may become a Muslim and the target of shoe-gate could be a BJP leader or a North Indian journalist may hit a Shiv Sena leader for campaign against migrants from UP and Bihar (or a Tamil Nadu politician for support to LTTE).

A Dalit journalist may hit an Upper Caste person or vice versa. Yes, it grabs attention but it is an unhealthy trend. Congress MP Naveen Jindal is the latest as he was hit in Kurukshetra when Ram Pal, a retired teacher hurled his shoe at the MP.

It had started with Muntadir Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist, who threw his shoe at George Bush. He missed the target and again took off the other shoe to hit at Bush which the then US Prez ducked. Now the trend is catching on in India.

Ideally a scribe must respond as a reporter, with his pen. He should ask tough questions but must not act irresponsibly. He is privileged to meet the high and mighty as an unbiased representative of the citizens and society.

India TV upsets Bohras: Internet-based low IQ journalism causes major goof-up [Baitullah story]

2009-04-08T13:37:00.001-07:00

Excessive reliance of internet and declining standards of journalism have resulted in acute emarrassment for Rajat Sharma's India TV.

Searching the internet and trusting the results without verifying has put the channel in deep trouble. The blunder of showing the head of Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Burhanuddin, in a programme that focused on Taliban, has the entire sect up in arms against the channel.

If you search google image for any person or event, it is not necessary that the result is exactly what you want. Any other image present on the page can also be shown. It's not for nothing that the old adage 'one needs brains for copying' is repeated so often.

So they were doing a story on Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsood. It seems in search, the page showed up the image of the holy figure of Bohras. And without verifying, the dumb heads inserted it along side a fake 'created news' of Baitullah's so-called marriage 'nikah' ceremony.

His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) is the spiritual head of Bohras, who are a peace loving and gentle community. But their patience ran out. Many of them reached the India TV office and rest have protested in the towns wherever they live.

The channel has apologised. But will it learn? The standard of journalism and journalists are deteriorating. They read less and rarely consuled encyclopedias, rather prefer wikipedia or a search engine and don't use brain when they go for search.

India TV has been criticised for its stress on spreading rumours and showing news and shows based on superstitions, spirits and sensationalism. The latest incident has hit its credibility. But one expects that other channels would learn a lesson and urge their staff to use brains.

Does media ignore terrorist strikes in Assam?

2009-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Assam has again become the most terror prone state in India. The serial blasts that hit Dhubri, Sonitpur and Maligaon caused the death of ten persons.

Did national media give adequate attention to it? No. Though compared to past, the channels gave a few extra seconds but the coverage was far from satisfactory. There were hardly any analyses and detailed reports.

And there was no emphasis on talking to the families of victims. The fonts of headlines were slightly bigger because the bomb blasts occurred on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Assam.

Soon the news about Shahrukh and Amir Khan coming together, eclipsed all. Among newspapers, Indian Express covered the story better than other papers. This is not surprising as ULFA remainst just a militant outfit for the media.

It somehow doesn't probably qualify as a terrorist group in the eyes of our editors. Or is it that Assam and the entire North East still remain a distant part of India, which the newsrooms in Delhi don't relate to, as much as they do when the Cities ravaged are Bangalore or even a small town like Modasa?

Maya Kodnani: Justice Waghela's landmark judgment advocates death penalty for mass murderers

2009-03-29T02:17:00.000-07:00

The landmark judgment of Justice DH Waghela of the Gujarat High Court that sent Mayaben Kodnani in the custody, has once again proved that it is the judiciary that has become the sole hope for the poor and the underprivileged fighting against the high and the mighty.

Had the bureaucracy and politicians acted responsibly, the minister should not have roamed free for six years after the 2002 massacres. But Mayaben Kodnani, the minister for Woman and Child Welfare, who incited mobs to kill women and children, has finally learnt that there is a rule of law in this country.

Equating religious fanatics with terrorists, the judge clearly said that 'A murder committed due to deep-seated mutual and personal rivalry may not call for death penalty but an organised crime for mass murders of innocent people would call for imposition of death sentence for deterrence'.

The strong and scathing words of Justice Waghela that indicted politicians and police force, have raised hopes for victims of the Gujarat riots. He even came down heavily on the lower court for giving anticipatory bail to Kodnani.

A gynaecologist who runs a nursing home, Kodnani, had become the ugly face of Gujarat riots. The hands that gave birth to babies, distributed weapons to the mob that had attacked Naroda Patia and Naroda village inhabited by Muslims in post-Godhra riots.

It is not just the anti-Muslim and anti-Sikh riots, but in most cases involving the politicians and persons with clout, the police often prepare loose cases and tamper with the evidences.

Fortunately, the higher judiciary hasn't come under pressure and delivered judgments that symbolise hope and give a message that everybody is similar in the eyes of the law. Justice Waghela' judgment is another reminder for the bureaucracy and politicians to reform themselves else courts step in to act in the space left by them.

After all, in the age of free media, someone can't get away easily with crimes just because they are supposedly high-profile and well-connected. Read a related article about the BJP leader: The rise and fall of Mayaben Kodnani

Times of India affects salary cuts

2009-03-19T12:46:00.001-07:00

The Times of India (TOI) has decided to cut the salaries of its staffers due to the 'recession'. Several editorial and non-editorial staffers are also being sacked.

It is laughable if the TOI managers say that the company is not making profit. For decades the organisation has made huge profits and even if we agree that there is a slight loss this year or lesser profit, the company is not poor enough that it needed to take such steps like cutting salaries.

Sadly, while the employees in other departments can get jobs elsewhere, for editorial staff the options remain less, as they have to search for jobs among the few available newspapers.

Despite being one of the oldest and among the highest circulated English dailies in the world, TOI has failed to earn respect. It was the first newspaper that ended the supremacy of editorial and the editor.

It made the managers all powerful, began publishing junk at the cost of hard news, gave excessive space to news about celebrities and gossip, covered little of the problems faced by the poor and even put the editorial space up for advertising.

Now it has again added a new chapter to its 'rich' history. Sadly, Hindi and other vernacular papers where journalists are paid even badly, can take similar decisions. After all, the Times has done it now.

Shameful. Especially because the Bennett, Coleman and Company has pockets deep enough to survive such meltdowns.

Varun Gandhi's speech: Why newspapers misinformed readers on anti-Muslim comments?

2009-03-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Even after reading the mainstream newspapers, many readers were left wondering that what Varun Gandhi had exactly said in his communal and provocative speech at an election rally in Pilibhit?

The situation arose because strangley most of newspapers didn't report the offensive parts of the speech. Rather, the less provocative part was mentioned in the newspapers.

Take the example of Hindustan Times. It mentioned that Varun said if anyone raises a finger at Hindus then I swear on Gita that I will cut the hand. But this is the least of provocative part from his speech.

Even if the correspondents had seen the video footage on any of the channels, they could have realised that Varun had said lot more. The speech was inflammatory because he allegedly used the word 'katua' (circumcised) for Muslims and vowed to kill them.

On murder, rape and cowslaughter
The words could have been replaced by asterixes but the newspapers didn't report this at all, leaving the readers perplexed. Even the next day, HT's senior journalist Shekhar Iyer who covers the BJP beat reported the same sentence without mentioning the inflammatory lines about Muslims and wild charges about rapes of Hindu girls and cowslaughter or the comment regarding Pakistan.

The Times of India was no better. The Hindu was an exception. One reason was that print journalists didn't bother to watch the barely 2.36 minute video clip available on the internet and websites of other news channels. There is another reason.

Excess reliance on news agencies
The reliance on news agencies. The agencies like PTI are always extra cautious. They didn't report the harsh words and the extreme parts about the statement. The desk guys didn't take the trouble to find out more. Neither the reporters did.

As a result the readers who hadn't watched the video on TV channels, couldn't understand why the speech was considered so offensive that everybody was gunning for Gandhi junior and asking for his arrest.

Journalist or politician?

2009-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

It was interesting to see eminent journalist Chandan Mitra sent as special emissary to Orissa to save the BJD-BJP coalition. Mitra is not just editor of The Pioneer but also its MD and a Rajya Sabha member close to BJP.

But it does raises a question whether it is appropriate for a journalist to take sides and align himself openly to a political party? Doesn't it affect his credentials (as also the newspaper). Though Mitra, who is credited with turning around the 130-year-old newspaper, is not the first of the 'journalists' who nurse political ambitions.

He has surely gone beyond being a pro-BJP editor. He should have realised that the moral authority of a journalist (or editor) gets eroded when you get involved in the game of power. Journalists get more respect because of their supposed fairness.

Once you are not just an editor but also own the paper, do you need anything more? Rather being a political broker hurts the image. As in the case of Mitra, who returned empty-handed. He was not taken seriously by Naveen Patnaik.

In Indian Express, Coomi Kapoor wrote in her weekly column on March 15 that 'when Patnaik learnt that LK Advani had sent Mitra as the emissary for negotiating seat sharing, any little hope of reconciliation with the BJP ended.

Patnaik felt that BJP did not take its alliance with the BJD very seriously else they would not have sent a light-weight who is not even a party functionary'. Though Mitra is surely not a light-weight, it is true that he is no politician either.

A journalist will get far more respect from all the parties and the society if he remains fair. However, if you align yourself with a party, your stature doesn't go up, rather it becomes a liability.

Once you are seen as partisan, it hurts your credibility and your voice or writings no longer carry the same weight. And you can't expect yourself to be treated as a celebrity politician just because you have been a journalist.

The Statesman editor's arrest & media over-reaction

2009-02-25T11:29:00.001-08:00

It was interesting to see the outrage over the arrest of The Statesman's editor after re-printing an article.

The writers conveniently ignored that if there is a police complaint made against you, the police have to arrest you. The names of editors and news editors are published in the paper's printline for them to take responsibility for both the good and bad.

The editors who are blaming pseudo-seculars easily forgot that whenever an ordinary Indian is called to the police station or is arrested, he doesn't get this VIP status of police completing the 'formality of arrest' and releasing the person within minutes.

Read the editors' (Vir Sanghvi, R Jagannathan and Rajinder Puri) angry pieces here, here and here. They should remember that whether right or wrong, everybody in India has the right to protest and lodge a complaint. Howsoever absured may be the reason for demonstration, we can't negate them the right.

Editors shouldn't feel that laws would be made more flexible for them.

Indian TV channels' obsession with Taliban

2009-02-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

First, it was the India TV that got bitten by this bug. Now almost every channel has become obsessed with the Taliban.

You see a story about Taliban every time your switch on the TV. One day we are threatened that the Taliban are just a few 'hundred' kilometres from Indian border and the next day we are told that the Taliban are ready to sneak in into our territory.

Then there are reports about Taliban sending heroin and drugs to India and all sorts of story angles possible under the sun--either its about their ruthlessness or their growing power. Aaj Tak, IBN Khabar, Star News and News 24 love it.

Even English channels are now trying the Taliban trick for TRPs. Though the reports are often compiled amateurishly without any research work and mostly aimed at riveting viewers by causing a scare.

These 'special stories' about Taliban are telecast almost every day. It is not certain how much TRPs the channels get by airing such reports. Of course, its easy to create them because there is adequate masala that just needs to be put together and spice added to create a new hysteric report.

But isn't it going overboard? Taliban would surely like such international publicity.

Indian Media's softness on LTTE's terrorism

2009-02-23T04:43:00.000-08:00

The Al-Qaeda like attack by the LTTE in Colombo didn't generate any outrage in Indian media.

In most newspapers, the air-craft attack in Sri Lankan capital were termed as 'daredevil attacks' by 'rebels' or 'Tamil Tigers'. There was no mention to the word Terrorism.

This is the same Indian media that brands any body who is a mere 'suspect' because of a police version, as terrorist. From SIMI to Abhinav Bharat (Malegaon blast accused case) and Sri Ram Sena, the word 'militant' and 'terrorist' is used quite easily.

Even words like 'Hindu terrorism' and 'Muslim terrorism' are used commonly. But the organisation that is responsible for the first suicide bombing on Indian soil--LTTE is let off easily. Most papers called the attackers as either LTTE guerillas, separatists, Kamikaze or rebels.

None termed them as Tamil Terrorists or LTTE Terrorist or just Terrorists. Its important for Indian media to deliberate discuss and arrive on a definition of terrorism.

Else, it must be answered why the group led by V Prabhakaran that is responsible for killing of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is never termed as a terrorist organisation?

Noida 'strip tease' MMS scandal & Media's role

2009-02-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

The print media has come under severe criticism for publishing facts about the victim in the Noida 'strip tease' MMS scandal, which is unethical and establishes the girl's identity.

Further, the papers didn't stop at naming the locality and even publishing the visual from the clip (just face blurred) of the MMS. Everything about the girl was mentioned.

The photo clearly shows the cupboard, the chair and the room in such a way that every relative and acquaintance of the girl's family will have no problem in identifying the victim. The carelessness and disregard to the prestige of the girl's family has been shocking.

First, it was the English tabloid Midday that printed the story. Later Hindustan (Hindi) carried it on its front page. Other Hindi and English papers also found it 'juicy' and published information about the girl without giving any thought.

The girl, a 23-year-old, was in love with a fellow student at a business school in Delhi. She did a strip tease for him, which he shot using his cell phone camera. But when they fell out, he sent the video clip to friends through email. He allegedly hacked her mail inbox.

Sad times for journalism.

Statesman editor arrested for 'provocative' article

2009-02-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

The editor of The Statesman, Ravindra Kumar, and the publisher Anand Sinha were arrested following a complaint against the paper for publishing a provocative article in the newspaper.

There were large-scale protests in Kolkata against the newspaper for publishing the article. The protests had forced police to cane charge the demonstrators. On the complaint of Jamat-e-Islami, the police registered a case of insulting and hurting religious feelings of Muslims.

The organisations said that the sexual references to holy figures in the article were clearly written with malicious intent and the publication showed insensitivity and recklessness of the local Kolkata paper.

The police booked the two persons. They were detained and soon after released on bail. The editor regretted the publication and issued an apology. He said that it was an error of editorial judgment to reprint the article that was published in the Independent (UK) earlier.

HT praises, Express 'exposes' Narendra Modi on development

2009-01-26T03:05:00.000-08:00

If you read the two national English daily newspapers, you would wonder which of them to believe.

Indian Express' lead story 'Report by own Government punctures Modi's Gujarat hype' says that the claims were proved wrong. The government said that 61% of promised investments came to the state but the truth was that just 21% could materialise. Read Indian Express report.

In sharp contrast is the report published in the Hindustan Times (HT). Here the writer, Neelesh Misra, tells us a different story. Though it was neither a Sunday paper or a supplement but it was a full page promotional campaign for Gujarat with a headline 'Prime Minister of Gujarat'.

Misra appears going overboard on Modi's success in governance. The story is not a sort of impact feature but goes extra mile in promoting Brand Modi, just when there is a section within BJP that wants to prop him as PM candidate.

Isn't it confusing for readers? It's true that Modi has attracted investment and the governance in Gujarat is miles ahead of other states. There is less redtapism and bureaucracy works faster than in other parts of the country.

But should a paper look like a propaganda pamphlet? Sadly, it has become a norm for papers (and journalists) in India, to promote and help people in building their images.

After the Mumbai terrorist attacks, every journalist worth his name was busy in eulogising the Taj Hotel, for its spirit, its values, its history and its staff. Vir Sanghvi had written an almost never-ending story in the Sunday supplement about how they considered him and his kid as the part of Taj family.

Shekhar Gupta and other senior journalists appeared to outdo each other in lauding Taj. They forgot the CST (formerly VT). They forgot that Taj is not the symbol of Mumbai or even middle-class Mumbai.

Even more sad was the fact that five star hotels held New Year celebrations, just a month after 26/11 though hotels in other faraway cities across the country had either shunned the parties or opted for low-key functions.

Even then, the editors were all praise for Taj and calling it an iconic structure though 90% of Mumbaiites can never step into the hotel in their entire lifetime. But that's what image-building is.

After all, it's fashionable to call yourself middle-class though you have your breakfast in Singapur, lunch in Dubai and dinner in London or Paris. If these editors belong to middle-class, I wonder what's the class the rest of Indians earning between Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 (or even Rs lakh) per month belong?

Another daily newspaper faces closure: Meltdown hits Media

2009-01-22T12:25:00.003-08:00

Metro Now, the joint venture newspaper of Hindustan Times and Times of India, is going to be a weekly paper. The daily newspaper, which had started publication in early 2006 had a life of just over 2-1/2 years.

The paper was borne out by the fears of HT and TOI groups. They had sensed that India Today was all set to launch a paper and DNAs Delhi-launch may further erode their circulation and revenue.

It was in this backdrop that the groups had come together and the daily tabloid paper was born. But two years down the line, the paper is being turned into a weekly.
And India Today's evening (afternoon) paper Mail Today has already become a success in Delhi.

HT's business daily Mint has published a report that informs us about 'possible jobless' and the casual statement of Sidhant Khosla about the steps needed to make the paper more 'efficient' (and in process lose some staff).

The HT-TOI experiment seems over now. One wonders whether the plans to run a weekly would materialise or it's just a way of winding up things. The only consolation is that it did have a longer life than the Mumbai tabloid 'Yuva' which had closed down recently.

Sanjay Dutt-Manyata & Priya Dutt: 'Surname' controversy & role of Channels

2009-01-21T01:26:00.000-08:00

How news channels love to invent stories and then create hysteria is not a new thing in Indian media. Hours are wasted over the ongoing controversy surrounding late Sunil Dutt's son and daughter.

Even NDTV India, a comparatively sobre channel gave unusual airtime to it. Specially, it took cudgels on behalf of Congress MP Priya Dutt. Firstly, Sanjay Dutt is an adult and it his prerogative to fight election on the ticket of any party.

When his sister Priya objected and criticised the step, it became news. However, Sanjay Dutt must have felt infuriated and he suggested that she had no reason to poke her nose in their matters.

His indication that the Dutt surname belonged to the couple, is now blown out of proprotions and the channel appears ganging up against him and trying to unite women to speak against Dutt for his male chauvinism.

Of course, it is the inaliebale right of any man or woman to to retain their earlier surname after marriage or even discard it. The problem is that it is basically Priya's dislike for Manyata, which is quite evident, and is at the root of the problem.

When Sanjay married Manyata, his sisters didn't accept the marriage. It was his choice to marry her. Now she is playing an important role in Sanjay's life, which Priya seems unable to digest. The troube is that Priya and his sister Namrata appear biased against Manyata because she was a 'mere item girl' and not a star.

Why this 'class bias' is not being talked about? The daughters of Dutt household aren't comfortable with a girl who isn't as 'sophisticated or stylish' and feel that they have to cut a sorry figure because their brother went a step down to marry Manayata.

Isn't this insulting for Indian women? NDTV that is quite vocal on 'surname' controversy, should first focus on this issue. After all, why Priya doesn't approve of Manyata, and treat her as daughter-in-law of Sunil Dutt's household.

Is a person approved just because of his/her social status? These double standards also need to be exposed.

Bhadas: A window to the world of Indian media

2009-01-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

A website has become a forum for raising media-related issues in India, especially the Hindi print and electronic media.

No longer can a newpaper refuse to pay salaries to a stringer or a group sack its staffers without a whimper. It was an irony that exploitation within the media world remained unreported and nobody could raise voice.

But the website Bhadas4Media has changed all that. Yashwant Singh, who is the editor of the site, is credited for brining this change. When Bhadas reported that a particular media group hadn't paid its stringers, the news reached across the Indian media world and the money was released.

When Dainik Bhaskar, a prominent Hindi newspaper group, that is a profitable venture, started sacking journalists without rhyme and reason, the site raised the issue and Bhaskar editors had to send emails to stop the panic and put an end to the controversy that was bringing negative publicity.

The website has achieved this fame in little time. Literally Bhadas (or Bhadaas), a Hindustani-Urdu-Hindi word is used for giving vent to one's angst, frustration or pentup anger.

The website has brought a sea change as things which couldn't be printed in papers, are being openly reported and discussed. News from this journalistic watchdog website spreads across media circles in a matter of minutes.

Apart from news from within media, the interviews and autobiographical accounts of journalists have made the site, a successful venture. Our congratulations to Bhadas4Media Team and the Editor Mr Yashwant Singh.

Arnab Goswami faces flak for war-mongering on Times Now

2008-12-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Editor-in-Chief of Times Now channel, Arnab Goswami, was always considered a balanced anchor in comparison to several other journalists who wage wars on the screen.

But in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist strike, he has also received criticism for his role. Though most of the viewers' anger was directed at Barkha Dutt, the unusual statements of Goswami have also been condemned.

Writers, media-watchers, bloggers and journalists were shocked to see the 'level-headed' Goswami lose his sanity and lash out at Arundhati Roy and Prashant Bhushan who were neither on the show, nor the channel was talking to them, absolutely without context.

Mala Bhargava writes that 'Arnab Goswami was acting like God on Judgment Day'. "There should be an etiquette school for the media. Well, someone’s got to stop them interrupting their own guest speakers!"

The standards of journalism plummeted sharply in the period. Blogger Smoken Frog writes, "While the Sangh Parivar does not seem to have come to a final decision over whether or not it is anti-national and suicidal to question the police, Arnab Goswami, anchorperson of Times Now television, has stepped up to the plate. He has taken to naming, demonising and openly heckling people who have dared to question the integrity of the police and armed forces."

Poet and Novelist Prakash Kona says that "Arnab Goswami had no right to take the names of Arundhati Roy and Prashant Bhushan and to term them “disgusting.” How dare he do that just because he has the power to do so!"

"Firstly, directly or indirectly he’s associating Roy and Bhushan with the Mumbai attackers in the minds of the viewers. Just because she’s offering a perspective on the attack it doesn’t mean she sympathizes with the attackers. Secondly, apart from being entitled to personal conviction, she’s offering a point of view that needs to be carefully thought about. Most importantly she is making her audience think in alternate ways.

As another blogger middlemiddlemuddle gave a advice:

'You can redeem yourself, everybody makes mistakes'. It will not be easy for the once adorable and balanced person, Arnab Goswamy, to redeem himself after he sounded the battle cries and in process lost a part of his journalistic identity--credibility.

Bush Booted: Iraqi journo throws shoe at outgoing US president

2008-12-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

The moment cameraman Muntadir Al-Zaidi threw his shoe at George Bush and the later ducked it to face another one which also flew past him, it caused a storm in diplomatic circles as also creating ripples in the media and blogosphere.

The ugly incident did reveal the rage of Iraqis who feel Bush responsible for messing up their country. Over a million have died in Iraq over the years due to economic sanctions, war and local militias' regular battles.

Heavily escorted Bush may not have faced protests on the street but the journalist took up cudgels on their behalf and did his best to insult the once-most-powerful-man-on-the-earth.

To Dubya's credit, he did gain composure within seconds and handled the situation well. But in Arab media and blogosphere, Zaidi's action has also evoked some sort of sympathy and support.

Zaidi also called Bush, 'Dog', which was heard on television across the world. Now he has been arrested and faces a minimum sentence of two years but there are demonstrations organised to secure his early release.

His outburst in Arabic can be translated roughly as, 'This is a farewell kiss, you Dog!'. In the middle-east, from Egypt to Yemen, Zaidi is hailed as a hero and termed the 'Proud Arab'.

Media's role during Mumbai terrorist attack

2008-11-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

Indian media failed to rise to the occasion once again. It was a tragedy that unfolded in Mumbai for 48 hrs but channels didn't appear sombre and regulated.

Instead, they were over-excited and showing everything as if it was a 'live war reporting' though wars aren't reported in this manner either. There were alerts, flashes, scrawls and breaking new for 50 hrs.

The aim was to grab eyeballs. Ads were not shown as the viewer could switch to other channel in the meantime. The news channels wanted highest TRP in this troubled times, so that they can later demand higher rates for advertisements and stay up on chart.

Much will be discussed in the coming days whether it was prudent to show the positions of police, commandos and officials in the initial stage of encounter in Taj Hotel that left officers, ATS chief Hemant Karkare and others dead.

Worst was the conduct of the so-called celebrity reporters who wanted their cameramen to zoom on everything as they lay on the ground. A star reporter-cum-anchor spoke lying on the ground to create the impact that he was reporting from warzone.

Others were not sure how to be on the ground and either grotesquely prostrated themself on laid down on their back or side. The same anchor was drunk when he first appeared in the first hour of the tragedy.

The slur was visible and he was cut short. He later re-appeared on Thursday morning. In the end, all these channels together made a tamasha of the tragedy and served it to audience as if it was any other tamasha.

Where on earth the reporters are allowed to mob such a site? The government also woke up very late and by the time the TV channels stopping showing 'live' [7 pm on Friday], it was already too late. But our electronic media made a mockery of itself.

Extraordinary terrorist attack on Mumbai: 150 dead, hundreds injured

2008-11-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

It was nothing less than a war in Mumbai. Sophisticated guns were used in firing, grenades were thrown and bombs exploded as everybody appeared clueless in face of a terrorist strike of such magnitude in Mumbai.

The hotels like Taj and Oberoi were targeted. A restaurant, cinema hall, bus stand, railway station and a hospital were also among the sites that were attacked. Firing and explosions were heard on TV as journalists frantically ran for bytes and looked for the eyewitnesses.

It was an unprecedented attack and TV reports said that fidayeen were involved. Though it will take a few hours for the complete picture to emerge but TV channels were reporting 15 deaths*. The commando operations were planned to rescue the hostages in hotels.

However, the electronic media must think why it goes for sensationalism in an hour of extraordinary tragedy with constant alerts. Shouldn't they facilitate rescue operations rather than causing panic?

When OB Vans and reporters-cameramen from every channel reach each spot, it makes the job of police and relief workers more difficult.

This is an aspect, which the media must reflect on quite seriously. The army had been called and hostages were rescued as the operation was on till early hours of Thursday. After 50 hrs the siege at Jewish cultural centre, Nariman House, ended.

Later reports have confirmed that over 10 police officials laid their lives in the battle against the terrorists. ATS chief Hemant Karkare, ACP Ashok Kamte and Crime Branch officer Vijay Salaskar achieved martyrdom. The total number of deaths have exceeded 150.

[Photos: The dome of Hotel Taj that was set on fire and the Leopold cafe that was a target of terrorists]

Current: Weekly English newspaper relaunched

2008-11-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

'The boldest national weekly', is back and available on the news stands.

Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra is now the Chairman of Editorial Advisory Board while Asif Syed and Shahid Faridi hold the posts of Managing Editor and Resident Editor respectively.

The 20-page weekly tabloid doesn't have much competition in this segment. It is priced at Rs 10. Current was originally founded in 1949. The newspaper's launch ahead of Assembly elections in various states and the Parliament elections next year, doesn't come as a surprise.

Many papers are busy in the relaunches and several new magazines have begun publication recently. However, Current does have a good team. The New Age Media Private Limited is the publisher of the paper.

If the initial issues are any indication, the papers seems doing well. There is an element of agressive journalism visible in the stories. Manjula Lal and Sanjeev Acharya are the other names in the editorial team. Let's see how long the steam lasts though one hopes that it does.

TV journalist murdered by father

2008-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

The murder of a TV anchor didn't find any mention in mainstream media. Sripad Pandey, an anchor with ETV Marathi, was killed by his own father.

Pandey, who hailed from Aurangabad, was about to marry a fellow journalist. The girl was also an anchor. All his family members except father had agreed to the marital alliance. But Pandey's father, an RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) worker, was opposed to the marriage.

He hit his son on the head with a heavy object. Shripad died in the hospital. A Hindi news website has report about the incident. The website also mocks at media house and other newspapers and channels for blocking the news.

India Today circulation goes down, TOI readership dips

2008-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

The circulation of magazines has been hit badly this year. The trend is not restricted to any particular section of magazines, rather magazines focusing on news, fashion, movies, gossip and even competitive examinations have seen a decline in readership.

As per the report of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) the readership of India Today fell from 71.3 lakh (in the last survey) to 68.5 lakh. Readers Digest was hit even badly and its readership is down from 49 lakh to 40 lakh, while Star Dust is down from 26 lakh to 19 lakh.

Among English newspapes, Times of India saw a decline in readership though it was barely a lakh. Still, it is significant. TOI now has a readership of 133 lakh, far ahead of nearest rival Hindustan Times (HT) that surprisingly added more than 3 lakh readers but is still far behind HT with a readership of 64 lakh. The Hindu remains static at 52 lakh followed by Telegraph at 29 lakh.

The magazines in Hindi, Bengali and other languages have also suffered. However, major newspapers have seen a growth in readership. Jagran remains the leading daily in Hindi followed by Bhaskar though the latter added more readers. The readership: Jagran [557 lakh], Dainik Bhaskar [338 lakh], Amar Ujala [293 lakh] and Hindustan [266 lakh] followed by others.