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Print and broadcast media facing advertising squeeze

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, June 28, 2012

New Delhi: As the economy grows at a slower pace, advertisers are spending less on brand marketing and promotions. Many advertisers have cut back on budgets for brand marketing and promotions in both print and broadcast media.

According to industry watchers, advertising expenditure growth rates projected earlier this year are being revised down for the industry.

Many advertisers such as real estate, banking, finance and insurance companies are holding on their money while a few others are prefering other media such as on-ground activities and digital.

Recently a leading business newspaper has also carried an in-depth report on the advertisers' shrinking budget. The report had the quotes of marketing honchos of some of the leading newspapers and channels, who accepted that advertisers are signing on for shorter periods and bargaining hard

For newspapers, the advertising squeeze comes at a time when newsprint imports are adding immensely to their cost burden.

3,500 vacancies in Prasar Bharati to be filled up this yr: Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 28, 2012

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said on Wednesday that there are as many as 14,000 vacancies in Prasar Bharat.

"Of these vacancies, 3,500 will be filled up this year," she told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Regarding the government framing norms for the online media, she said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal is going through various meetings with the stake holders.

Renowned film journalist Burjor K Karanji passes away

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 24, 2012

Renowned film journalist and former chairman of National Films Development Corporation (NFDC) Burjor K Karanji died in Mumbai on June 22. He was 92.

He was the former editor of Filmfare, Screen, Cine Voice, Movie Times and had authored several books on the entertainment industry. Karanjia was also the founder of the trend-setter Films Financing Corporation. He later became the NFDC chairman

IRS Q1: Aaj Tak is No. 1 across all news channels

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 23, 2012

Popular Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has again got the number one slot among news channel across India as per the first quarter (Q1) report of the Indian Readership Survey 2012. As per the survey, Aaj Tak with 59. 21 million viewers is higher than the rest of the national Hindi and English news channels put together.

According to Joy Chakraborthy, CEO, TV Today Network, with a lead of close to 50 million viewers over the nearest competitor, Aaj Tak proves that it is clearly the most preferred in India.

He added, "Our leadership position is well established with the closest challenger falling miles behind. The IRS numbers re-emphasize the viewer loyalty to the high quality of our content."

IRS Q1: TOI retains top slot among English dailies

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 20, 2012

According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) first-quarter report, The Times of India (TOI) retains its position on the top among the English dailies, followed by Hindustan Times.Among the top 10 English dailies, most dailies have posted a growth in the average issue readership (AIR) in the first quarter of IRS, 2012.

TOI has added 36,000 readers to its tally over the first quarter of 2012 taking its all-India readership to 7.65 million. That's more than twice that of Hindustan Times, and over three times the figure for the country's third most read English daily, The Hindu.

The other English dailies among the top 10 in this quarter are The Telegraph, Deccan Chronicle, DNA, The Economic Times, Mumbai Mirror, The New Indian Express and The Tribune.

Dainik Jagran has retained the top spot among the Hindi Dailies followed by Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan and Amar Ujala

Key ex-Aaj Tak duo may launch own news channel

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 14, 2012

G Krishnan and Qamar Waheed Naqvi -- the key men behind the launch of TV Today channels — Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Delhi Aaj Tak and Tez -- are likely to team up for a new television venture. Krishnan had resigned as the chief executive officer of TV Today Networks in September 2011, while Naqvi quit as editorial head and Aaj Tak news director in May.

Though there is no official announcement, yet it is reported in a section of media that the duo is in talks with financers and may launch a news channel and a crime-based programming channel. The names of the channels and launch dates haven’t yet been finalised

Krishnan had a 16-year stint with TV Today Networks Ltd since 1995. Prior to that he had a stint with Bennett, Coleman & Co and was instrumental in the launch of India’s first private FM channel, Times FM.

Naqvi, the veteran journalist, made two stints with TV Today Networks – the first one was from 1995 to 2000. He had rejoined TV Today Network in 2004 February. In his journalistic career, Naqvi has worked with three of the largest media houses of the country - Bennett Coleman, Anand Bazar Patrika and Living Media Group.

After Bengal & Assam, Kerala also plans own TV channel

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, June 12, 2012

New Delhi: After West Bengal and Assam, it is now the turn of Kerala to think of its own TV channel to reach out to the people of the state.

According to Kerala's Information and Rural Development Minister K C Joseph, his department is planning to launch a television channel soon. This is to take to the people, information regarding the various welfare programmes being implemented by the government.

Speaking at a function in Kochi on Monday, he said that the government has implemented a large number of new welfare programmes, but the people were largely unaware of these and hence they were not able to take advantage of these programmes. The channel would also be useful to get people's feedback on government programmes.

Earlier in April West Bengal and Assam chief minsters Mamata Banerjee and Tarun Gogoi had also announced to launch government-run television channels in their states.
“We all want to work. But we also want recognition…Hence the thought of a government-run channel and newspaper,” Mamata had announced.

Two days after Mamata's decision to launch a government-run television channel, Gogoi had also announced plans to start a TV channel by his government that will present the "official" side of stories.

Gogoi had accused the electronic media of going hyper and not being impartial in its reporting. He said a government-owned channel will help to bring the balance.

Chauthi Duniya to launch English newspaper

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 7, 2012

Chauthi Duniya, a Hindi weekly broadsheet which was re-launched after 17 years in 2009, has decided to launch an English weekly newspaper. Chauthi Duniya English, will be launched on July 1.

The paper will be published from Delhi and circulated across big cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and others. It will be a broadsheet having 16 pages and will have a cover price of Rs 5.

TOI No. 1 in Delhi by wide margin: ABC report

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 25, 2012

The Times of India (TOI) has emerged as the largest-selling English language daily in the capital by a wide margin.

According to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations certification for the period from July to December 2011, TOI's Delhi Edition has a circulation of over 12.72 lakh, which gives it a huge lead compared to the approximately 10.07 lakh copies of Hindustan Times' Delhi Edition.

As per the report, TOI has a circulation of about 9.72 lakh copies in the NCR, while HT sells some 9.45 lakh copies in the area. In Delhi city alone, TOI sells approximately 9.05 lakh copies, compared to HT's 8.97 lakh.

Editorial Head and News Director of Aaj Tak quits

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 25, 2012

Editorial Head and News Director of Aaj Tak, M Naqvi, has decided to quit TV Today Network. The veteran journalist made two stints with the organisation – the first one was from 1995 to 2000. Naqvi, 58, had rejoined TV Today Network in 2004 February and was responsible for successfully launching Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak.

In his journalistic career, Naqvi has worked with three of the largest media houses of the country - Bennett Coleman, Anand Bazar Patrika and Living Media Group.

Govt needs to have qualified control over web content: Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 22, 2012

Information & broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has said that government needs to have qualified control over web content. The minister said this on Aaj Tak's Seedhi Baat programme last weekend. She said that the government doesn't want censorship of social media but there is the need for some sort of a mechanism for reasonable restrictions.

"Some content is found to be inflammatory. That's why the government doesn't want to take chances. Sometimes, we need certain steps to maintain the unity and integrity of the country within such diversities," Soni said.

The minister, howevwer, distanced herself from Meenakshi Natarajan's Bill proposing curbs on the media. "We believe in self-regulation," she said of the private Bill proposed by Rahul Gandhi's associate.

Birla, Reliance in content search to support telecom biz

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 22, 2012

The media sector is a sunrise sector from an investment point of view, said Kumar Mangalam Birla on Friday, while announcing Aditya Birla Group’s entry into the nation’s fast-growing media industry. The Aditya Birla Group's move follows a similar announcement by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. in January.

According to industry experts, both Aditya Birla and Reliance are keen to get access to media content to support their telecoms businesses. Both the companies are looking to develop businesses delivering content over high-speed mobile internet. The telecom industry’s attempts to provide value-added services such as video and audio offerings are a major driver of such tie-ups.

Aditya Birla Group, which owns a 45.96% stake in Idea Cellular Ltd., will buy a 27.5% stake in Living Media India Ltd., which controls the India Today news magazine and TV Today Network Ltd., and also has tie-ups that bring out Indian editions of foreign publications like the Daily Mail, Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan.

Reliance Industries, in a deal with Network18 Group, has obtained preferential access to the media company’s content from all media, Web properties and digital content for its Infotel Broadband Services Ltd. unit. Network18 owns news channels. Infotel plans to push digital content across devices and the deal will give it access to ready-made content of entertainment, news, sports, music,weather and education.

Aditya Birla to buy stake in Living Media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 21, 2012

Aditya Birla Group has agreed to buy 27.5% stake in Living Media India, which is also known as India Today group,via its private investment arm. Living Media India holds 57.1% stake in TV Today.

TV Today Network gained as much as 17% to touch an intraday high of Rs 63.10 on Monday.

Kolaveri Di(di): Mamata's video goes viral in social media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 21, 2012

The video clip of a fuming Mamata Banerjee walking out of a talk show on CNN-IBN after calling students "CPM cadres and Maoists" went viral in social media in the last two days. People shared, tweeted and retweeted the link of angry Mamata.

Public opinion flowed freely on Facebook and Twitter. An interesting comment on the social media was that Mamata had walk out perhaps because she thought she was still in Opposition.

Social media expressed shock, surprise, anger and exasperation at the CM's vitriolic attack on students seated among the Town Hall audience for 'Question Time Didi', an interactive session organized by CNN-IBN.

During the discussion, Taniya, a political science student, had wanted to know whether Trinamool leaders like Madan Mitra and Arabul Islam should act more responsibly. But the CM thundered back, "You are a CPM cadre. There are 50 people in the audience and you have been picked to ask these sorts of questions. You have narrowed down the discussion to only three points. The CPM and Maoists have come together and are planting stories. They are Maoist students. I refuse to answer such questions. I will reply to the common man. You belong to the SFI cadre." Then, she took off her lapel microphone and walked out.

Media should know its lakshman rekha, says SC

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 3, 2012

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the exercise undertaken by it for framing norms for reporting court proceedings was not intended for taking punitive action against scribes, adding that the media should know where the 'Lakshman Rekha' of of reporting sub-judice matter.

“Whatever efforts we are making, please don't interpret it as being intended for punishing or taking punitive action. We only want the press to know the ‘lakshman rekha' for them. We want them to know what points have to be kept in mind,” a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice S. H. Kapadia said.

The court was hearing an application by the Sahara India Real Estate Corp voicing its grievance over a news channel reporting its proposal made to the Securities and Exchange Board of India on securing the money it mopped up from the market.

Murdoch not fit to run a big firm: UK Parliament

New Delhi, May 2, 2012

A UK parliamentary committee report on Tuesday accused two senior executives and an editor at Rupert Murdoch’s media empire of misleading MPs over Britain’s phone hacking scandal.The committee on culture, media and sports also declared that 81-year-old Australian-born media tycoon is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company.

“In failing to investigate properly, and by ignoring evidence of widespread wrongdoing, News International and its parent News Corporation exhibited wilful blindness, for which the companies’ directors — including Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch — should ultimately be prepared to take responsibility,” said the report.

According to agencies reports, the alleged contempt of Parliament by Murdoch’s right-hand man Les Hinton, former News of the World editor Colin Myler and former legal manager Tom Crone will now be put to vote in parliament.

The criticism could have major implications for Murdoch’s empire as it could lead the media regulator Ofcom to conclude that the satellite TV company BSkyB is not ‘fit and proper’ to hold a broadcasting licence as long as Murdoch’s News Corporation owns 39% of it, said agencies reports.

Some regulation of content in the press is needed: Katju

Media Hive News Network
Pune, April 27, 2012

Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju said on Thursday that some regulation of content in the press is needed as the media seems to have lost its sense of proportion between information and entertainment.

Delivering a lecture on ‘Media and Social Responsibility’ at Symbiosis Law School in Pune, Katju questioned the logic of sidelining of problems like poverty and farmers committing suicide, adding that a few years back there were 512 accredited journalists covering Lakme Fashion Week, while the same year the few rural reporters who covered suicide of farmers had struggled to get their stories printed.

“Indian society is going through a turbulent phase of transition. The media today needs to play the role of leader and lead the nation to positive transition. One needs to remember the role played by the likes of Rousseau, Voltaire and Thomas Paine who steered the French society from religious bigotry towards scientific thought,” said Katju.

Katju assails contract job system for journalists

Media Hive News Network
Pune, April 26, 2012

Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Wednesday criticised the contract employment system for journalists, saying it amounted to exploitation by the media houses.

Speaking at a function in Pune, Katju said, "Contract employment system exploits journalists in the absence of job security. It is not acceptable because it does not permit journalists to perform their duty with a free mind."

Contract employment system is like the Damocles's sword hanging over the heads of journalists, he added.

Kuldip Nayar to oppose SC guidelines on media

Media Hive News Network
Bangalore, April 26, 2012

Senior journalist Kuldip Nayar on Wednesday said he would lead a movement against the proposed Supreme Court guidelines to the media on court reporting.

Speaking at the VK Narasimhan Centenary Homage ceremony here, he said, "I will oppose the guidelines if the apex court tries to impose restrictions on freedom of the press. The issue of guidelines for media is tantamount to another kind of emergency.

Nayar expressed disappointment over the present day journalism, which has become "conformist, obedient and does not report something which is uncomfortable for the government".

Assam government to start own TV channel

Media Hive News Network
Guwahati, April 24, 2012

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi is following his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee's footstep. Two days after Mamata's decision to launch a government-run television channel and a newspaper, Gogoi also announced plans to start a TV channel by his government that will present the "official" side of stories.

Speaking to reporters in Guwahat on Monday, Gogoi accused the electronic media of going hyper and not being impartial in its reporting. He said a government-owned channel will help to bring the balance. He said the channel will cater to social issues, besides political news, and also give space to opposition groups.

Gogoi criticised local TV channels on their reportage during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's one-day trip to Guwahati on April 20. The banned ULFA had called for a state-wide bandh in protest against Singh's visit.

"The channels created an impression as if Assam runs on the writ of ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. What are the channels trying to prove by sending this kind of message?" the chief minister said.

Set up team to check social media's misuse: PCI to govt

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 23, 2012

Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has urged the Centre to set up a team of experts to find out ways to check misuse of social media.

Terming social media as "irresponsible" in its acts, Katju said on Sunday, "The social media often acts irresponsibly, which can irreparably damage a person’s reputation. He cited how a sleaze video featuring Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi had been uploaded on YouTube despite a court injunction.

In a letter to information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, Katju said that a new practice has developed in the social media of its misuse for defaming people/groups/religions/communities. The recent example is of dissemination of a CD which even the author admitted had been distorted for defaming a reputed senior lawyer of the Supreme Court and Member of Parliament, and the threat to defame a Union minister."

Recently Union minister Kapil Sibal and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had also demanded curbs on social networking websites for publishing allegedly defamatory and inflammatory content. But Union law minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday said the social media is now “a fact of life” and one has to take it in one’s stride.

Bengal govt to launch own daily, TV channel

Media Hive News Network
Kolkata, April 22, 2012

A day after issuing an advisory to the people of Bengal to avoid watching certain news channels and switch to entertainment channels instead, the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she will launch a government-run television channel and a newspaper, named Paschim Banga and Dainik Paschim Banga, respectively.

“We all want to work. But we also want recognition…Hence the thought of a government-run channel and newspaper,” she announced on Saturday.

Mamata said the proposed channel and newspaper will disseminate correct information and “publicise the activities and achievements of the government”.

Mamata had complained that a section of the media were trying to malign her government and highlight minor happenings negatively.

“There are two-three TV channels of the CPM that you should not watch. Instead, listen to songs on other channels. I do not care about fingers pointed at me. I only care for Ma, Mati, Manush,” she said on Friday.

In March, the state government had banned most mainstream English and vernacular dailies from state-funded libraries in the name of promoting "free thinking".

Wage Board: PTI employees end 30-hour strike

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 21, 2012

Employees of the Press Trust of India (PTI), the largest news agency in the country, ended their 30-hour countrywide strike on Saturday. They were demanding implementation of the wage board notified by the government over three months ago. "All employees of the PTI across the country were on strike -- from 2am on Friday till 8am on Saturday," said Federation of PTI Employees’ Unions.

I only favoured regulating media, not controlling it: Katju

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 19, 2012

Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju said on Wednesday that he only favoured regulating the media, not controlling it, but the regulation should be by an independent body and not the government.

Speaking at a press meet in New Delhi, Katju said, “Self-regulation is not always enough and that is why we have laws. Normally, negotiating with the media should be the way, but we do need laws under some extreme situations… I believe 90 per cent of the people who are doing wrong can be persuaded to do the right thing, but some people are incorrigible for whom we need laws.”

He justified the idea of bringing the electronic media under the purview of the Press Council. Katju said when every professional in the country was accountable, he saw no reason why the electronic media should not be.

On the recent cartoon controversy, Katju said the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must learn to function in a democratic and more mature manner as she is no more a street fighter.

“I think Mamata Banerjee should have behaved in a more mature manner. She is no more a street fighter, she is the Chief Minister...the manner in which she has behaved is totally unacceptable,” he said.

AFP, Huffington Post win Pulitzer Awards

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 17, 2012

AFP's Massoud Hossaini on Monday won Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for his heartbreaking image of a girl crying in fear after a suicide bomber's attack at a crowded shrine in Kabul.

His AFP photograph published December 7 shows young Tarana Akbari screaming after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a crowd at the Abul Fazel Shrine in Kabul on December 6.

News websites Huffington Post and Politico also won their first Pulitzer Prizes as the prestigious journalism awards highlighted global issues and online reporting.

Paid news affecting roots of democratic system: Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 16, 2012

The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni has called upon journalists and newspaper managements to ensure that the chair of the editor is more important than that of the commercial manager.

Describing paid news is affecting the very roots of the democratic system, she said on Sunday that the society would feel stifled and dissatisfied if it is prevented from free flow of information.

The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the 125th anniversary of a Malayalam Daily Deepika.

Bofors was a game-changer for Indian politics & journalism

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 14, 2012

N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu in an interview published in the paper recently discussed the challenges and excitement of covering Bofors story. He described Bofors as a game-changer for both Indian politics and journalism.

Following is the abstract of his interview:

"The investigation went on for more than two years and we published our Bofors stories in several instalments. The ruling party, the Congress, smelt a conspiracy, a plot, and many of its senior functionaries often reacted in a jumpy and highly insecure, if not paranoid, fashion. For us, it was decidedly a team effort, with many people, notably Chitra Subramaniam, Manoj Joshi, Malini Parthasarathy, and V.K. Ramachandran, making good, solid contributions that helped put various pieces of the puzzle together. Swedish Public Radio fired the opening shot in April 1987, alleging kickbacks and hinting at names before switching off; other newspapers, notably The Indian Express, were competing actively to get at the truth. Arun Shourie, a formidable journalist, and Ram Jethmalani, the ace criminal lawyer with his many interrogative questions hurled at Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, were in hot pursuit.

"I think what worked for us at The Hindu was a methodical approach, an investigative discipline, a way of journalism that was factual, persistent, patient — and fair and just. We relied almost exclusively on documents, more documents, hundreds of documents, in fact, all of them laid out across pages and published in facsimile form in The Hindu (in the pre-digital age). We played the devil's advocate on key story angles, verifying every detail.

"There was also the challenge of reconciling, or rather bridging the gap between, standards of evidence in journalism and under the Indian Evidence Act. But Bofors became a byword for top-level, political corruption, even entering the vocabulary of some Indian languages as a synonym for sleaze and skulduggery. Bofors, I believe, was a game-changer, politically and for Indian journalism. I won't say more, except that it was eminently worth it.

To read the full interview click here

Unregulated media institutes: Sr journalists in HRD panel

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 14, 2012

Senior journalists like Shekhar Gupta (Editor-in-Chief, The Indian Express), Siddharth Varadharajan (Editor, The Hindu), Sanjay Baru, Alok Mehta and Sonia Singh (Managing Editor, NDTV) have been made part of HRD ministry's task force to check the growth of unregulated media studies institutes that provide substandard education despite high fees.

Troop Movements: Katju terms HC order as 'not correct'

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 12, 2012

Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Thursday termed
the Allahabad High Court order which prohibited all media reports related to troop movements as "not correct".

He said that the council would soon challenge it in the Supreme Court. "The Press Council of India will be challenging the order of the Allahabad High Court in the Supreme Court of India very shortly," Katju said in a statement.

"I am of the opinion that without going into the question whether the news reporting was factually correct or not, there could not have been a valid prohibition of such reporting, because the troop movement was not at the Indian border or during war time," he said.

The HC had directed secretaries in the Home Affairs and I & B ministries along with principal secretary (Home) of the UP government to ensure that there is no reporting or release of any news item related to movement of troops.

Katju said the media has done an excellent job in exposing the Adarsh and Sukna scams in which senior army officers were involved and they were well within their fundamental right of freedom of the media under Article 19(1)(A) of the Constitution to do so.

Delhi court denies journalist Mohammed Kazmi's bail plea

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 4, 2012

Journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, arrested for his alleged role in the bomb attack at an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi, was on Tuesday denied bail by a Delhi court.

“I have gone through the case diaries brought to the court by the special team of Delhi police... I have not found any substance in the defence arguments,” the chief metropolitan magistrate Vinod Yadav said while dismissing Kazmi’s bail plea.

“...on the basis of call records of the mobile phone recovered from the applicant and the statement of witnesses, it is clearly apparent that the basis of allegations against Kazmi of conspiring with the actual assailants are there, which prima facie, show that he had a role to play in this terror strike,” Yadav said.

A native of Meerut and a PIB-accredited journalist listed as working for Media Star News Feature, Kazmi was based in Delhi for several years and took up journalism as a career in 1983.

Kazmi had earlier worked for IRNA, the Iranian news agency and also wrote in the Milli Gazette, Daily Sahafat, Action Bhopal, Urdu Times and Hamara Samaj. Kazmi had also been working as a news reader for Doordarshan since 1993.

Sadananda Gowda sacks media advisor

Media Hive News Network
Bangalore, April 4, 2012

Karnataka chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday shown the door to his media advisor RP Jagadish. Jagadish, a senior journalist, made it to the post when Yeddyurappa became the chief minister and continued in the post even after Yeddyurappa’s exit.

Jagdish's sacking is now seen as a reaction to the deteriorating equation between Gowda and Yeddyurappa. According to reports, Gowda was not happy with Jagadish as the later was seen taking active part in Yeddyurappa’s programmes and media management plans while enjoying the salary and perks as the media advisor to Gowda.

Zee News slashes ad air time by 30%, raises rates

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 3, 2012

Zee News Ltd has reduced the commercial time of its Hindi news channel while increasing the ad rates by 40%. Zee News has started 'Maximum News, Minimum Break' journey from April 2.

The channel will devote eight minutes towards advertisements for every half-hour slot. Zee News, which had 9% viewership share in the Hindi news genre last year, hopes to improves its position with more time for content.

As per market estimates, top rung Hindi news channels claim a rate of Rs 1,800-2,000 for 10 seconds. With a 40% increase, the new effective ad rates will range between Rs 2,500-2,800.

Meanwhile in another development, Zee group is close to buying out Dainik Bhaskar (DB) Corp from Diligent Media Corporation, which publishes DNA, the daily English language newspaper.

According to a newspaper report, Girish Agarwaal, director, DB Corp, said, "We are in the process of evaluating it." DB Corp, which publishes the country's second most widely read paper Dainik Bhaskar, has been gradually reducing its stake in DNA and wants to focus on the growth in regional markets.

DNA was launched in 2005 in Mumbai.

Jagran Group acquires Nai Duniya

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 3, 2012

Jagran Prakashan on Monday announced the acquisition of NaiDunia, which has a current circulation base of approximately 500,000 copies per day. Placed among the top 10 Hindi newspapers in India, NaiDunia was launched in 1947 and has multiple editions published from Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Raipur and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh.

Indore-based Suvi Info Management, the parent publishing house NaiDunia, publishes the paper in Hindi and Urdu. The Urdu edition is a weekly.

CBSE introduces mass media studies after class Xth

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 3, 2012

From the next academic session starting this month, mass media studies will be taught as a subject in all CBSE-affiliated schools across the country.

According to Vineet Joshi, CBSE chairman, the basic objective for introducing this subject is to provide more opportunities for the students. The National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT) is in the process of publishing textbooks for Class 11 and 12.

A total of 12,500 schools across the country are affiliated to CBSE.

CBSE had introduced the mass media subject in 2009 in 23 schools spread across Pune, Mumbai and Delhi as a pilot project. Now, it will be extended to all the CBSE schools.

Editord Guild: SC cannot tell media how to report

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 30, 2012

The Editors Guild of India on Thursday strongly opposed the Supreme Court's idea of temporary restraint on reporting of court proceedings.

Advocating freedom of press in the age of social media, the Guild said enforcing these guidelines would lead to “infringement” of the right to free speech.

Editors Guild counsel Rajiv Dhavan told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, "while a drawing a line between respectable media and yellow journalism, the only way to resolve errors in news reporting is for them to do it internally. Your Lordships do not have the power.”

Dhavan said, “We do not want self-regulation to be converted into statutory regulation.”

The SC had queried on Wednesday whether a judge can “postpone” the publication of news for fear that it would affect fair trial.

SC to set norms for reporting on court proceedings

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 29, 2012

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would frame norms for the media on reporting court proceedings, especially in criminal cases.

During a hearing on press freedom and individual rights, Chief Justice S H Kapadia said, “We will recommend to the government to frame a law, but pending that we will lay down some parameters.”

On Tuesday, the court had said that eleven complaints of misreporting proceedings had been pending with the court. It said it wanted to strike a balance between press freedom and rights of others as misreporting of court proceedings prejudiced the right of accused.

Refering to the CAG draft report being published in newspapers, it said, "The CAG report is not yet presented to Parliament. These are confidential matters. The reporting of such matters could have an effect on the economy."

Mamata bans all English dailies in state-funded libraries

Media Hive News Network
Kolkata, March 29, 2012

The Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal has banned all English dailies and two leading Bengali newspapers, Ananda Bazar Patrika and Bartaman, from the state-funded libraries. There are 2,482 state run libraries in West Bengal. Only eight newspapers will now be available in these librarires.

"In public interest, the government will not buy newspapers published or purported to be published by any political party either national or regional as a measure to develop free thinking among the readers," says a government circular.

However, visitors to public libraries have criticised the decision and suspected that the newspapers critical of the government have been banned.

The list of banned newspapers include, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Ganashakti and Bartaman.

However, the list of avialble newspapers in the libraries include Sangbad Pratidin, Sanmarg and Akbar-e-Masriq.

The issue was also brought up in the state Assembly by a Congress MLA who called the government circular undemocratic.

BEA turns down Katju's joint-front plan

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 23, 2012

The Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), an apex body of editors of national and regional TV news channels of India, has turned down Press Council of India (PCI) chief Markandey Katju's proposal to form a joint committee to protect the freedom of Indian media.

On Monday, Katju had written to BEA, proposing formation of a joint committee which would work to protect the freedom of Indian media.

Katju proposes joint panel to broadcast association

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 20, 2012

Press Council of India (PCI) chief justice Markandey Katju on Monday wrote to Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA), proposing formation of a joint committee which would work to protect the freedom of Indian media. "I suggest that a co-ordination committee be formed between the Press Council of India and the BEA consisting of 3 or more representatives of both bodies," Katju wrote in his letter to BEA president Shazi Zaman and general secretary NK Singh.

"Media freedom has of late been imperilled in many parts of the country, and we should jointly fight against this dangerous trend, otherwise the situation may grow worse," Katju wrote in the letter.

Katju also said that in many parts of India physical attacks had taken place against media persons, while in other places governments had pressurised the proprietor to sack or transfer journalists who write against them.

"I have been fighting for maintaining freedom of the media where it was threatened like in J&K,Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, UP and West Bengal, etc," Katju said in the letter.

He said that there were other issues relating to print and electronic media which also needed to be discussed.

Second GoM meeting on paid news soon: Ambika Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 20, 2012

Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has said a Group of Ministers (GoM) will shortly meet to examine Press Council of India's report on paid news.
The minister informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday, "The next meeting of GoM is scheduled soon."
The Press Council had submitted a report on paid news to the government for necessary action.
The PCI has recommended amendment to the Representation of the People's Act, 1951, to make incidence of paid news a punishable electoral malpractice and suggested that the PCI must be fully empowered to adjudicate the complaints of "paid news" to give final judgement in the matter among others.

Why does Obama want a Yemni scribe to remain in prison?

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 17, 2012

Why does President Obama want a Yemni journalist, Abdulelah Haider Shaye, to remain in prison? The imprisoned Yemeni journalist's story was featured on Thursday’s Democracy Now. Speaking to New York-based Democracy Now, independent journalist Jeremy Scahill described the plight of Shaye, who exposed how the United States was behind a 2009 bombing in Yemen that killed 14 women and 21 children. Shaye was sentenced to prison last year and has apparently been kept behind bars under pressure from President Obama.

In January 2011, a Yemeni court gave Shaye, a five-year jail sentence on terrorism-related charges following a disputed trial that was condemned by several human rights and press freedom groups.

However, within a month of Shaye’s sentencing, then-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced he was going to pardon the journalist. But Saleh changed his mind after a phone call from President Obama. Thirteen months later, the journalist remains remains behind bars.

Shaye’s case has got the new attention following an exposé by Jeremy Scahill called "Why Is President Obama Keeping a Journalist in Prison in Yemen?"

For the uninitiated, Jeremy Scahill is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of the bestselling book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He recently returned from Yemen, where he interviewed Shaye’s lawyer, Abdulrahman Barman, who described the impact of President Obama’s phone call. To read the full story and transcript click here

SC to set rules for media coverage of proceedings

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 14, 2012

The Supreme Court has decided to frame guidelines for media coverage of the court and its proceedings following a report published in a leading daily on Tuesday. Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia said on Tuesday that he was upset by a front page news story in The Times of India about proceedings in PIL filed against former CJI K G Balakrishnan in a disproportionate assets case. (To read TOI report, click here).

SC questioned the news report (Large Amounts Paid to KGB Kin: Govt to SC) on the ground that statements have been attributed to attorney general which he neverstated in court.

In another development,the apex court had earlier set up an eligibility criteria that the court correspondents should have a law degree and several years of reporting experience. But this was later relaxed.

Ravenshaw varsity's journalism students on hunger strike

Media Hive News Network
Cuttack, March 13, 2012

Protesting against shortage of teachers in Journalism and mass communication department, the students of Ravenshaw University launched an indefinite hunger strike from Monday.

The agitating students of the department alleged there are only two teachers to cater to 128 students of the course. The students also complained that the department lacks basic infrastructure such as adequate classrooms, computer room and library.

Activists and journalists condemn Syed Kazmi's arrest

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 12, 2012

While veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi has called the arrest of Delhi-based journalist Sayed Mohammed Ahmed Kazm as a step to reduce the power of the press, another senior journalist Seema Mustafa demanded immediate release of Kazmi, saying that his arrest was an attempt to interfere on the expression of views and public thinking.

Meanwhile, the family members of Kazmi has reiterated that he was not involved in Israel terror attack. “My father has been framed and he is innocent. Police have no evidence about his involvement in the case. He has been made scapegoat,” said Sahuzab Kazmi, the elder son of Kazmi.

A group of social activists and Delhi Union of Journalists on Saturday also condemned the arrest of Syed Mohammad Kazmi, saying that the police had falsely implicated him in the terror attack on an Israeli diplomat's wife last month.

English, Aussie media praise Rahul Dravid

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 12, 2012

Admiration for Rahul Dravid, who has announced his retirement from Test cricket a few days back, keeps pouring in English and Australian media.

Sydney Morning Herald heaped praise on Dravid, saying that his retirement from international cricket was a great loss at a critical period of the game.

"In his (Bradman) oration, Dravid implored us to revisit the one-dimensional images of India and its cricketers. At age 39, the time is undoubtedly right for Dravid, the batsman, to call stumps. But at a critical time for cricket, the game cannot afford to lose him," it said.

Lets have a look, what other international newspapers said about Dravid:

The Guardian: To talk of Dravid's ability tells only half the story. He exhibited greatness at its most humble, and is one of the most impressive men to play the game: dignified, fair-minded, eloquent (he never used a ghostwriter), gentle, yet tougher than we will ever realise. A Gary Cooper for the new millennium; the kind of man you'd want your son to grow into. Sourav Ganguly observed that Dravid had the eerie habit of almost always saying the right thing. He pretty much always did the right thing, too.

The Telegraph: Was Rahul Dravid better than Sachin Tendulkar? No, but he was more beloved in England. It is hard, sacrilegious I dare say, for Indian fans to consider, but I believe that in the UK at least, Rahul’s bravery, modesty, professionalism and courtly determination make him even more loved than Tendulkar. There is, to us non-fanatics, a machine-like efficiency to the run-compiling machine from Mumbai that makes him somehow less of a romantic figure than Rahul and, for that matter, VVS.

While Sachin and his lesser successors are bathed in the fierce gleam of the modern India, Rahul’s greatest moments seem to be shrouded in a dimming light, like the form of the game to which he was best suited.

If it is to be retirement, he will be cherished in the hearts of English Test cricket fans for a very long time. Let's just hope he doesn't take Indian Test cricket with him.

The Independent: Dravid will be remembered as the man in the middle of India's great triumvirate. VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar may have performed feats more easy on the eye, but Dravid is the ultimate team man. If it meant dropping anchor, down it went and there it stayed. He is the most steadfast player in the modern game. Equally, if a different tempo was required, Dravid did his utmost to deliver.

A near flawless technique was mixed with consistent form and fitness: he did not miss a Test from his debut until December 2005. India were fortunate to have the careers of three great batsmen coinciding, as well as the emergence of a feisty leader in Sourav Ganguly.

Centre plans to regulate media schools

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 10, 2012

The Centre is planning to bring guidelines for media training schools to ensure minimum standards of quality. I&B minister Ambika Soni has taken up the issue with HRD minister Kapil Sibal in light of a "mushrooming" of media schools in the wake of the media industry's high growth.

At an award function here on Friday, Soni said, "This growth rate, this interest in the media has led to a lot of so-called training schools."

She said there were complaints about the high fee charged by media schools, often not even recognized.

"High prices, one lakh-two lakh rupees for a six month course, for a diploma and then people do come and complain that we paid two lakhs for a diploma after six weeks, but that diploma is not recognised," Soni said.

"I wrote to the HRD minister that we must do something about these mushrooming media institutes. There must be some ground rules that all of them must follow," Soni said.

Delhi-based PIB-accredited journalist arrested

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 8, 2012

Three weeks after an Israeli diplomat along with three others were injured in a bomb attack on an Israel embassy vehicle in New Delhi, police on Tuesday night arrested a Delhi-based journalist Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi (50), a resident of B K Dutt Colony near Lodhi Colony, and took him into custody for 20 days.

Police said it zeroed-in on Kazmi after analysing his phone calls to Iran. He was a regular visitor to the Iran Embassy. He often visited Tehran and played host to Iranians at his residence.

A native of Meerut and a PIB-accredited journalist listed as working for Media Star News Feature, Kazmi was based in Delhi for several years and took up journalism as a career in 1983.

Kazmi had earlier worked for IRNA, the Iranian news agency and also wrote in the Milli Gazette, Daily Sahafat, Action Bhopal, Urdu Times and Hamara Samaj.

Kazmi had also been working as a news reader for Doordarshan since 1993.

He had also covered Iran-Iraq war in 2003.

Newspaper headlines on 'Cycle of Hope'

Davesh Singh
Media Hive News Network, March 7, 2012

New Delhi: The much-awaited results of five assembly polls were declared on Tuesday. Let's have a look on page one headline of different newpapers of Wednesday's edition: The Times of India says: UP HAS SPOKEN, NO RAHUL MAYA. The Hindustan Times says IT'S AKHILESH PRADESH.

While The Indian Express calls Anti-Congress, Asian Age's headline is SP sweeps out Maya raj. Some of the headlines from foreign media are: Voters deal heavy blow to India's next Gandhi (Reuters); Gandhi dynasty humiliated in Indian poll (Ottawa Citizen); Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star (swissinfo.ch); State election routs cripple India's ruling party (Boston.com)

TOI only English daily in top 10 publications: IRS

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, March 6, 2012

New Delhi: The fourth quarter results of Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2011 has indicated that The Times of India is the only English daily to feature in the top 10 list of publications. The daily, which had lost a marginal 4,000 readers in the last quarter (Q3 2011), has added 1.49 lakh readers this quarter and has an Average Isuue Readership (AIR) of 76.16 lakh in Q4 IRS 2011.

Seven of the top 10 publications have seen growth as per IRS 2011 Q4 results. Dainik Jagran maintains its lead and has reported an AIR of 16,410,000 in IRS 2011 Q4, down from 16,458,000 in IRS 2011 Q3. Dainik Bhaskar too has seen a decline in its AIR at 14,602,000 from 14,876,000 in the previous quarter.

The top 10 Indian dailies are (from top): Dainik Jagran,Dainik Bhaskar,Hindustan, Malayala Manorama, Amar Ujala, The Times of India ,Lokmat, Daily Thanthi, Rajasthan Patrika, Mathrubhumi.

The Top 10 English dailies are (from top): The Times of India, Hindustan Times,The Hindu,The Telegraph, Deccan Chronicle, DNA, Mumbai Mirror,The Economic Times, The New Indian Express,The Tribune

TV News Channels Gear Up for Counting Day

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, March 5, 2012

New Delhi: The wait for who will rule the five states will end on Tuesday (March 6) when counting of votes for Assembly elections will be taken up.

After the exit polls, TV news channels are now leaving no stone untouched to grab maximum eyeballs on the counting day.

They have gone all out to market their programmes. Taking the lead, Times Now is advertising in TOI and ET for the last 3 days about its 100-hour programme, starting 7 am on March 6. NDTV India has put up hoardings, saying Sarkar ka Semi Final, while NDTV english channel on its website running a banner saying fastest election coverage with Pranoy Roy.

Meanwhile, taking a dig at TV channels' exit polls, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Sunday said such surveys should at best be on entertainment channels.

"Opinion and exit polls should at best be on entertainment channels!," Quraishi tweeted.

The reaction of the CEC came as television channels on Saturday predicted results of the current assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Broadcast Editors Association decries attacks on scribes

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, March 4, 2012

The Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) on Sunday expressed concern over the incident of lawyers attacking mediapersons in Bangalore. The country's apex body of electronic media professionals said the incident was aimed at frightening the media into submission.

"There seems a pattern in all these incidents suggesting that an attempt is sought to be made to frighten the media into submission particularly because it works in most sublime public interest," said BEA.

Citing examples of the recent incidents in Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal, the Association said, such "incidents and concomitant responses from those holding high and constitutional positions only establish the contempt that powers-that-be have for the media in particular and freedom of expression and public interest in general."

Lawyers attack journalists in Bangalore

Media Hive News Network
Bangalore, March 3, 2012

Lawyers of a city court in Bangalore attacked media persons on Friday as they were waiting to cover BJP leader Gali Janardhan Reddy’s appearance in the court.

According to eyewitnesses, the confrontation ensued between journalists and the lawyers at around 10 am. A TV cameraman of a Kannada channel was injured while several other mediapersons suffered blows as lawyers targetted them with stones when they were coming out of the court where Reddy had appeared in illegal minning case.

According to media reports, Friday's assault on journalists was apparently in protest against media coverage of a lawyers' agitation in Bangalore in January which had led to a massive traffic gridlock in the central business district for over seven hours. The lawyers were upset over the negative media coverage.

Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju condemned the attack on media persons in Bangalore. He said that the advocates who have committed the "outrage" deserve "severe punishment in accordance with law".

Be careful while reporting crimes on women: PCI to media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 29, 2012

Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Tuesday warned the media not to identify the victims while reporting crimes against women, particularly sexual assaults,

“The woman's name should not be published, particularly if she is unmarried in the case of sexual assault. Then her chances of getting married will get jeopardised. It should not damage their marriage prospects,” he said.

Since India is a conservative country, publishing their names might harm their marriage prospects, he said. “If you publish a report that a woman has been raped or whatever, people may not like to marry her. They should avoid mentioning her name.

Inquiry told of corrupt culture at Murdoch tabloid

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 28, 2012

Media baron Rupert Murdoch's top-selling UK tabloid, The Sun, had a culture of making illegal payments to corrupt public officials in return for stories, a senior police officer on Monday told the Leveson Inquiry on media ethics and practices, led by Lord Justice Leveson.

One source was paid £80,000 over a period of years, while one journalist channelled more than £150,000 to various sources over time. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, who is leading the criminal investigation into Murdoch’s newspapers, said that the “vast majority” of the stories written from the information obtained by corrupt payments were “what I would describe as salacious gossip”, not articles written in the public interest.

According to reports, Ms. Akers said illegal activities had been rife at the paper. “There appears to have been a culture at The Sun of illegal payments, and systems have been created to facilitate such payments whilst hiding the identity of the officials receiving the money.”

Meanwhile, Murdoch has announced that the paper's first Sunday edition Sun on Sunday had sold more than 3 million copies.

Senior journalist George Joseph dies

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 28, 2012

George Joseph, Political Editor of IANS, died on Monday following cardiac arrest.Joseph, who shot to fame in early 1990s for his reporting on militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, is survived by his journalist wife Aasha Khosa and a daughter. He worked with many organisations, including the Indian Express, BiTV and Free Press Journal.

Are journalists in Bihar a harassed lot?

Media Hive News Network
Patna, Feb 26, 2012

The day after Press Council chairman Justice Katju's remark 'no freedom of press in Bihar', RJD president Lalu Prasad charged Nitish Kumar government of forcing media to act as "mouthpiece" of his government.

Justice Katju, who on Friday targeted the Bihar government alleging the media in this state was harassed if it wrote against the government, continued his tough stance on press freedom being apparently curtailed in the state. He said in Gaya, “Journalists in Bihar are being harassed in many ways and nobody has the guts to write against the state government. This is wrong. This is a violation of the Constitution, which guarantees press freedom. This government must realise it is under the Constitution. If it violates the Constitution, I will not allow it to continue”.

Supporting Katju's statement, Lalu Prasad said, "Justice Katju is right in his observation about the fate of the press under Nitish Kumar government in Bihar."

"Newspapers who dare to write against Nitish Kumar government is deprived of advertisements and the reporter is punished. There are 7,500 press persons in Bihar of print and electronic media and all of them are working under pressure of the NDA government," the RJD chief said.

Though chief minister Nitish Kumar declined to comment on Katju's statement, deputy CM objected to PCI chief's remark. An agency report, quoted Modi, "Katju is in the habit of making such uncalled for, unwarranted and 'anaap shanap' (nonsense) ... He should join active politics instead of making such remarks."

No freedom of press in Bihar, says Katju

Media Hive News Network
Patna, Feb 25, 2012

Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Friday targeted the Bihar government alleging the media in this state was harassed if it wrote against the government. “I have to say something on Bihar. I heard that there was no freedom of press here. If this is true, I will get it examined,” he said at a seminar on “four pillars of democracy” at Patna University.

He said if any reporter wrote anything against the government, ministers or officials in the state, pressure was built on the owner and the management of the media house for removing him from service or to transfer him to small towns.

“Whatever I have heard or come across I am narrating here ... I have not yet established my opinion at this stage fully ... but whatever information I have gathered on the basis of it I can at least say that I will get it inquired into," Katju added.

He said PCI will soon send a three-member team to Bihar to know if media’s freedom had been under threat from the present government.

Press needs self-regulation, says Ambika Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 25, 2012

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni on Friday said though the concept of content regulation had been debated for a long time, it is necessary to give the process, time and space to establish its credibility and acceptance.

Highlighting the efforts made in this direction, the minister said that NBSA, IBF and ASCI had provided a roadmap for the process to move forward and that the government is committed to facilitate the various mechanisms taken in this regard.

The minister also dispelled all doubts regarding the intention of the government in controlling tools of mass communication. She reiterated, Prime Minister’s stand on the issue of media autonomy as stated during the speech given by him in January 2012 at a media function.

'Miriam ageism victory attack on creative free expression'

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 24, 2012

Johnny English and Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson has waded into the TV ageism debate, criticising presenter Miriam O’Reilly’s successful legal claim against the BBC as “an attack on creative free expression”.

O’Reilly sued the BBC after she was dropped as a host of Countryfile - along with three other female presenters in their 40s and 50s - when it was given a peak-time revamp in 2009. She was awarded a six-figure compensation payout and returned to the BBC to host daytime series Crimewatch Roadshow. According to radiotimes.com, in a letter to Radio 4’s The Media Show, Atkinson said that film- and programme-makers should have “complete creative latitude to include or exclude anybody or anything for any reason.”

Katju writes to Maharashtra CM on attacks on journalists

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 23, 2012

Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Wednesday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over attacks on journalists in the state and threatened to recommend to the President dismissal of the state government.

A delegation of journalists from Maharashtra had met Katju recently and apprised him of attacks on journalists and media houses in the state, including the one on The Times of India building in Mumbai.

Katju said in a letter to the chief minister that it is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order in the state, but it seems that the government is neither able to maintain law and order nor prevent attack on journalists, which seriously imperils freedom of the press.

"You are, therefore, requested to now showcause why I should not recommend to the President of India to dismiss your state government under Article 356 of the Constitution since your government apparently seems to have failed to uphold the Constitution as it has failed to uphold the freedom of the press under Article 19(1) (a)," he said.

J Dey murder: Journalist Jigna Vora chargesheeted

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Feb 22, 2012

Three months after she was arrested in connection with the Jyotirmoy Dey murder case, woman journalist Jigna Vora was on Tuesday chargesheeted by the Mumbai Police for allegedly conspiring and abetting the killing of the senior crime reporter.

Police charged 37-year-old Vora, deputy bureau chief at The Asian Age, with passing details including the address and motorbike registration plate number of Dey, who worked for the Mid Day, to a gang shortly before Dey was gunned down while setting off for work on June 11. Investigations have revealed that Dey was killed at the orders of Chota Rajan.

Dey, who turned to journalism in his 30s, had become a celebrity in the world of Mumbai crime reporting. Sachin Kalbag, executive editor of Mid Day and a former colleague, told a newspaper, "In Mumbai many journalists get paid by one gang or another to write their side of a story or take stories planted by the police. From time to time he got carried away by the glamour of the underworld but Dey never favoured anyone."

Journalist, family murdered; hand of mining mafia suspected

Media Hive News Network
Bhopal, Feb 20, 2012

A journalist, his wife and two children were found murdered in their house on Saturday night in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria distict. The victims appeared to have been hit on the head by a heavy iron object.

The murder of Chandrika Rai (42) and his entire family has sent shockwaves across the state with fingers being pointed at the illegal coal mining mafia active in the region.

Rai worked as a freelancer for dailies Navbharat and Hitavada. He had been writing consistently against the illegal coal mining in the region. He had written a series of articles alleging the involvement of a local leader in illegal mining.

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee wins award for best media teacher

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 19, 2012

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee, Professor & Head, IIMC, Dhenkanal, has got 6th Indy’s Award for best media teacher. The award recognises excellence in mass communication, marketing communication, advertising and public relations.

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee has written two books on mass media. He has also contributed write-ups for www.mediahive.co.in

Katju writes to UP govt over journalists' rights

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 18, 2012

Press Council of Indian chairperson Markandey Katju has taken a serious note of complaints from journalists in Uttar Pradesh against the state government regarding violation of press freedom.

“Many complaints have been coming from the state of Uttar Pradesh that press freedom is being violated in various ways e.g. denying Government advertisements or accreditation of journalists to the newspaper/journalist which is critical of the government,” Katju wrote in a letter to the state chief secretary.

"Denial of government advertisements and accreditation to deserving newspapers or journalists is often done to make them toe the line of the government. This in my opinion is wholly unconstitutional."

Katju directed the state authorities to comply with the Model Rules of the Press Council for protection of journalists’ rights and report the action taken. “Delay in this matter is wholly unacceptable, and those responsible for it will be held accountable,” he wrote in the letter

Jawhar Sircar to be Prasar Bharati CEO

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 17, 2012

Senior IAS officer Jawhar Sircar is all set to be appointed the next CEO of Prasar Bharati after a panel headed by the Vice-President recommended his name to the government.

Sircar was selected from among 12 candidates by a panel which also included Press Council chairperson Markandey Katju and Uday Kumar Varma, secretary in the I&B ministry. Following the suspension of the previous incumbent BS Lalli, the duties of the CEO Prasar Bharati were being discharged by an additional secretary in the I&B ministry.

Anthony Shadid, NYT journalist, dies on assignment in Syria

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 17, 2012

The New York Times' two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid died of an asthma attack while covering a story in eastern Syria on Thursday. He was 43.

According to The New York Times, the cause of Shadid's death "appeared to be an asthma attack." The correspondent had been working in Syria for a week, developing a story on the resistance forming against President Bashar al Assad's government.

Shadid, an American of Lebanese origin, won Pulitzers for his reporting from Iraq in 2004 and again in 2010. He was working for the Washington Post at the time.

Shadid, who was held captive by the Libyan military last year, had recently said that the story he had been pursuing at the time (in Libya) wasn't worth the harrowing ordeal it led to.

Patna University likely to set up college of journalism

Media Hive News Network
Patna, Feb 17, 2012

Patna University (PU) is expected to start a college of journalism to promote media education and research in the state.According to the university, the college would be set up on the pattern of Columbia School of Journalism so that it could impart training in all aspects of journalism to its scholars.

The college is also likely to have 10 departments dealing with different aspects of print and electronic media. Besides, it would also provide short-term training to working journalists. According to university officials, the details of the proposal are being formulated and would be placed before the various statutory bodies of the university for their approval. The state government would be approached for sanctioning posts of teaching and secretarial staff for the college.

Assam Tribune first newspaper to implement Wage Board

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 14, 2012

The Assam Tribune Group of Newspapers has become the first newspaper house in the country to implement the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board with effect from January this year.

It is over a year since the Majithia Wage Board submitted its report to the Centre, consequent to which, the government issued a notification on November 11, 2011.

However, some of the media houses are not implementing the recommendations as a petition in this regard has been filed in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, ML Talwar, the general secretary of the All India Newspaper Employees Federation, has thanked the management of the Assam Tribune Group and called upon all the newspaper owners of the country to implement the recommendations of the wage board immediately.

Welcoming the decision to implement Majithia Wage Board recommendations, Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has also called upon other newspapers to follow the example set by The Assam Tribune. In a joint statement today, DUJ president Sujata Madhok and general secretary SK Pande said that the Union has sent letters demanding implementation to the ministries concerned.

5 Journalists Arrested at Rupert Murdoch's Sun Newspaper

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 12, 2012

Five senior Sun journalists were arrested in police payments probe in London on Saturday morning. The arrest of top journalists from the News Corp.-owned Sun newspaper has opened a new scandal at another flagship paper for the media conglomerate. The news came as a shock to the newspaper staff in the wake of last year’s closure of News of the World in a phone hacking scandal.

However, Murdoch is flying into the UK to reassure Sun staff that he will not close the paper in the wake of the latest arrests. Murdoch is expected to visit News International staff in London towards the end of next week, reported a news channel.

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge, who replaced disgraced executive Rebekah Brooks and is responsible for The Sun, said, "I am very saddened that a further five colleagues from The Sun have been arrested this morning by the Police."

According to Reuters, Mockridge said that deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and deputy news editor John Sturgis had all been arrested in an investigation into payoffs to police and public officials.

They are being investigated on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office and conspiracy. They are being questioned at police stations in London and Kent. Police officers have also been arrested.

Katju debuts on Twitter, welcomes criticism

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Feb 5, 2012

Chairperson of the Press Council of India Justice Markandey Katju hasdecided to take up blogging and log on to Twitter to “make his views and opinions known and also clarify his statements”. His blog — — and Twitter account — mark_katju — are already generating huge curiosity: in less than 48 hours, he has 2,497 followers on Twitter.

His views on most subjects often make headlibes. Katju’s views on the intellectual level of Indian mediapersons caused a furore.

Katju also took exception to newspapers giving front page space to news reports on the death of actor-director Dev Anand, suggesting their “lack of sense of priority” when there were more pressing social and economic issues to be addressed such as farmers’ suicide.

His opening lines on Twitter read: “I welcome all of you. I am now on Twitter. Feel free to criticise me. I will never take offence. I would like to interact with all of you.”

Sardesai, Mehta take part at KLM media debate

Media Hive News Network
Kolkata, Jan 30, 2012

Veteran journalists Vinod Mehta and Rajdeep Sardesai and two politicians Omar Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir chief minister) and Dinesh Trivedi (railway minister) engaged themselves in a debate on "Trial by media: The media goes too deep without going far enough" at Kolkata Literary Meet on Saturday.

They tried to find out answers of some questions related to the media industry like -- Is media losing credibility in its rush for news? Is it trying to play the role of prosecutor, jury, judge - everything clubbed into one? Or is it just trying to play a stronger role as the fourth estate?

Abdullah and Trivedi said the media should not play the role of a judge -- because it can hurt a person's image.

Trivedi said, "We don't have any problem with the truth. But if you (media) create something and want us to believe that a snake is a rope because that's your breaking story, then we have a problem."

Abdullah said: "I don't have a problem with the media playing the role of a prosecutor. It can ask uneasy questions, it can do investigative stories. I have a problem with the media playing the role of a judge. It should not pronounce a judgment that a man is guilty."

Vindo Mehta, however, refuted Trivedi's argument, saying clashes between politicians and the media are signs of healthy democracy. He admitted that at times there are excesses committed by the media but at the end of the day, media is trying to play a stronger role when most of the institutions of the democracy are eroding away.

Confessing that there are aberrations caused by media while trying to sensationalize incidents to catch viewership,Rajdeep Sardesai said, "You (politicians) are in public life. If you can't stand heat, get out of kitchen."

Sardesai said the media is accountable to its viewers and readers.

He pointed out the instances of the Jessica Lal and Nitish Katara cases where justice was delivered after an extensive media campaign seeking justice.

Author and ad-woman Anuja Chauhan was the moderator of the debate.

Mark Thompson to step down as BBC director general

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 28, 2012

Mark Thompson, the BBC's director general, has signalled to senior colleagues that he is ready to step down, with insiders believing he will quit at the end of 2012 or early in 2013, at the end of the broadcaster's Olympic year.

According to the Guardian, Britain's most powerful television executive has not given an exact timetable for his departure, but friends say he acknowledges that he has entered the final chapter of his eight-year director generalship and is "psychologically ready" to leave a job that paid him £779,000 last year.

The story wasn't worth it: NYT reporter held captive in Libya

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 28, 2012

New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid, who was held captive by the Libyan military last year, said that the story he had been pursuing at the time wasn't worth the harrowing ordeal it led to.

Shadid, the paper's Beirut bureau chief and a Pulitzer Prize winner, said this while giving an interview to a foreign paper.

Shadid was covering a battle in Libya when he was captured along with three other Times journalists. They were held for six days, during which time they were threatened and beaten.

He said, "What's so regrettable to me about Ajdabiya (where he was kidnapped) was that I didn't feel like that story was worth taking that risk for, and I was too late in understanding that, and at great cost: the cost of our driver's life. That's something that all four of us have to live with."

Senior journalist Raghunath Rau passes away

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 27, 2012

Senior journalist Raghunath Rau died here on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 67. Rau started his career with the Times of India in 1966 and shifted to the Statesman in 1976. He worked with the Sunday Mail in 1989 and switched to freelancing in the early 1990s.

He began career as a sports journalist, but later also covered other news.

While covering the infamous 1990 Meham by-polls, during which then Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala unleashed a reign of terror against people opposed to his bid to enter the Haryana assembly, he was struck on the back of the head but survived without major injury.

As a freelancer, Rau wrote on a variety of subjects for different newspapers including Newstime and New Indian Express.

Rushdie is sub-standard writer: Katju

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 25, 2012

Press Council chief Markandey Katju on Wednesday termed author Salman Rushdie as a poor and sub-standard writer who had been elevated to a hero.

Attributing obsession with Rushdie to a colonial inferiority complex, Katju said, "Salman Rushdie dominated the Jaipur Literature Festival...I have read some of Rushdie's works and am of the opinion that he is a poor writer, and but for 'Satanic Verses' would have remained largely unknown. Even 'Midnight's Children' is hardly great literature."

He added that the "whole problem with the so-called educated Indians of today is that they still suffer from the colonial inferiority complex. So whoever lives in London and New York must be a great writer, while writers living in India are inferior."

"Kabir and Tulsidas are no good because they lived on the ghats of Benares. Rushdie is great because he lives on the ghats of the Thames! This is the mental level of our intellectuals and literati," Katju said.

Media offering opium to masses, says Katju

Media Hive News Network
Jaipur, Jan 24, 2012

Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Sunday called upon scribes to promote scientific and rational ideas in society and raise the intellectual level of the masses.

Justice Katju said while the nation is “sitting on a volcano,” the media is offering four kinds of opium to the masses in the shape of religious bigotry, films, cricket and falsehood. “The intent is clear. Keep the people drugged so they do not revolt against poverty and the terrible mess created for them.”

Delivering the Jhabarmal Sharma memorial lecture here, Justice Katju asked journalists to extricate people from the morass of superstition, casteism, bigotry, communalism and feudal tendencies. “You (media) have lost your sense of proportion, but this cannot go on for long. As your critic and well-wisher, I will bring you to the right path,” Justice Katju toldthe audience comprising journalists, academicians and others.

TOI film critic Nikhat Kazmi passes away

Noted film critic Nikhat Kazmi succumbed to breast cancer on a Friday. Her movie reviews were widely read and followed by stars as well as cinema enthusiasts. She was 53. Nikhat joined TOI in 1987.

She headed The Sunday Times of India, Delhi Times Nikhat joined TOI in 1987. She headed The Sunday Times of India (STOI), Delhi Times and more recently the Newspaper In Education edition of TOI.

Pankaj Pachauri appointed as Communication Advisor in PMO

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 20, 2012

Senior TV journalist Pankaj Pachauri, who is Managing Editor of NDTV India, has been appointed as Communication Advisor in the PMO. He will report to Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.

A PMO announcement on Thursday said that Pachauri will advise the PMO on communications strategies on print, electronic and social media.

Pachauri had earlier worked with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London, The Sunday Observer and India Today.

Meanwhile, Harish Khare, Media Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, resigned on Thursday after serving more than two years in the PMO.

Khare resigned hours after Pachauri's appointment amid speculation that he was unhappy over the manner of the appointment of a new communications advisor in the PMO who would work independently of him.

Jaipur Literature Festival kicks off

Media Hive News Network
Jaipur, Jan 20, 2012

The Jaipur Literature Festival kicks off on Friday. As mystery still surrounds the visit of Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, the festival brings some of the best-selling writers Michael Ondaatje of 'The English Patient' fame, Richard Dawkins - one of the foremost evolutionary biologists and author of the best-selling 'The Selfish Gene' as well as Ben Okri - author of 'The Famished Road'.

The fine art of writing scripts for movies and plays will also be in focus when Tom Stoppard, of the Oscar-winning "Shakespeare in Love" fame, speak on "adaptation" in plays and films. Stoppard will team up with leading playwrights Girish Karnad, David Hare and Annie Proulx on January 23.

Around 40,000 people are expected to attend the festival which is from Jan 20-24.

EC monitoring pre-poll 'paid news'

Media Hive News Network
Panaji, Jan 17, 2012

Taking note of the fact that politicians are increasingly resorting to paid news, the chief election officer of Goa S Kumaraswamy urged the media to help the commission eradicate the scourge.

"Politicians were circumventing election expenditure laws through paid news," Kumaraswamy said here on Monday.

He said identifying paid news content is a challenge but the commission is monitoring the print and electronic media.

Joint CEO N Navti said that a model code of conduct on paid news could be expected in the next 15 days. He said that EC has proposed the inclusion of paid news under corrupt practices, as part of electoral reforms.

Publishers must scout for literary talents: Katju

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 16, 2012

"Where is the Prem Chand of today? Where is the Sharat Chandra Chattopadyay of today? Where is the Charles Dickens of today? Where is the Upton Sinclair of today?" These were the questions raised by Press Council chairman Markandey Katju on Satuday while saying the country desperately needs writers who could enlighten people about social problems.

Addressing Federation of Indian Publishers here, Katju asked leading publishers to scout for the best literary talents. He said Indians are thirsty for of good literature.

He said India is passing through very difficult times and great writers are required to enlighten the people about the problems they are facing.

Goa paid news story makes headline in Press Gazette UK

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 15, 2012

The Goa-paid news story, which attracted widespread attention in India and was featured on the front page of leading national newspaper The Hindu and various news portals, including mediahive.co.in, has now also been featured in UK press.

Writing on his blog, the Goa-based journalist Mayabhushan Nagvenkar claimed to have contacted a leading regional daily pretending to be fictional local election candidate Bernard Costa in October 2010 and asked for coverage in return for money. That paper is now suing him for defamation.

Giving coverage to this news, Press Gazette, gave the headline Indian paid-journalism sting prompts defamation trial. To read the Press Gazette story, click here.

Rushdie, Stoppard, Kunzru to attend Jaipur Lit Fest

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, Jan 12, 2012

The stage has been set for 2012 edition of Jaipur Literature Festival. The festival, which is beginning from January 20-24, will see the luminaries from the world of literature talking on differnt topics. Author Salman Rushdie will take part in a discussion on Chutnyfication of English. Among other invitees at the festival are playwrights David Hare and Tom Stoppard and novelists Hari Kunzru and Annie Proulx

The fine art of writing scripts for movies and plays will also be in focus when Tom Stoppard, of the Oscar-winning "Shakespeare in Love" fame, speak on "adaptation" in plays and films. Stoppard will team up with leading playwrights Girish Karnad, David Hare and Annie Proulx on January 23.

2011 saw ton of activities on Indian literary front

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, Jan 10, 2012

In the fist month of a new year, the country is hosting a literature festival in Jaipur, which will certainly set the tone for ton of activities on the literary front for rest of the year. However, before we move on, it's time to have a quick look at the activities on the Indian literary front in 2011.

Awards and Recognitions

Indian-American physician Siddhartha Mukherjee's book on cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, won the prestigious Pulitzer prize in the general non-fiction category.

Five novels by Indian writers -- Amitav Ghosh (River of Smoke), Tarun Tejpal (The Valley of Masks), Anuradha Roy (The Folded Earth),Jahnavi Barua (Rebirth) and Rahul Bhattacharya (The Sly Company of People Who Care) figured in the Man Asian Literary Prize long list, which also has works by novelists from Bangladesh and Pakistan among other countries.

High-Profile Visitors

Nobel laureates Orhan Pamuk and J M Coetzee, Aussie author Germaine Greer and Pakistani writers Mohammed Hanif and Fatima Bhutto visited India in 2011.

Book Release

Among the scores of top books by Indian writers were Amitav Ghosh's River of Smoke, David Davidar's Ithaca, Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020, Aravind Adiga's Last Man in Tower, Amish Tripathi's The Secret of the Nagas and Ashwin Sanghi's Chanakya's Chant.

Festivals

The year saw writers and authors from the country and abroad gathered in events like the Jaipur Literature Festival, Hay festival (Thiruvananthapuram), Kovalam Lit Fest (Kerala) and Goa Arts and Literary Festival.

People Movement

Chikki Sarkar, former editor in chief of Random House India, took over as the publisher of Penguin.

Loss to Literary World

Noted Assamese litterateur Indira Goswami, Jnanpith winner and former Delhi University professor of Modern Indian Languages, passed away in 2011.

British PM David Cameron to face UK media inquiry

Media Hive News Network
Jan 10, 2012

David Cameron is expected to be summoned to give evidence to the Leveson inquiry about his relationship with Rupert Murdoch (in the pix) and senior figures from News International under investigation for phone hacking.

According to a news agency report, Lord Justice Leveson is "99.9 per cent certain" to call the Prime Minister to be questioned under oath about his meetings with newspaper proprietors and editors.

Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister, and Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, are also expected to be called to give evidence during the section of the inquiry considering relationships between police and politicians, said the agency report.

The inquiry team has indicated that it plans to call Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, parent company of News International, which publishes The Times and published the News of the World until its closure in July.

Cameron, who is likely to be called after the local elections in May, has said that he is willing to attend if asked.

He is expected to be asked about his decision to employ Andy Coulson, the former Editor of the NoW, as his spokesman despite warnings from executives at The Guardian that phone hacking was rife under his editorship.

Kelvin MacKenzie, the former Editor of The Sun, has accused Mr Cameron of setting up the inquiry to "escape his own personal lack of judgment" in appointing Mr Coulson.

Cameron is also expected to be questioned about his friendship with Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, who was also arrested and bailed in July, said Associated Press in its report.

Media is fighting against corruption, says Chawla

Media Hive News Network
New Delhii, Jan 9, 2012

Prabhu Chawla, editorial director of The New Indian Express,said on Sunday that media is never hated like this before. Nobody questioned the credibility of media earlier, but in the past one year, a lot of questions have been raised against media and journalists.

While delivering a lecture on ‘Media - Is self-censorship required?’ at Shimoga, the senior journalist said, “You are asking the fourth pillar of democracy to have censorship. When you ask for media censorship, I am afraid of being a journalist. Am I responsible for the situation around us? But it was media’s responsibility to inform the people about it".

Citing examples of media exposing big names like Suresh Kalmadi, A Raja and B S Yeddyurappa, he said media is fighting against corruption, and it is responsible for exposing them. “Should it be censored?,” he asked.

Chawla said exposing corrupt politicians is in the interest of the public and in the interest of journalism. A professional journalist should report what he saw without giving any colour to it.

Pix Row: Rajkot top cop files FIR against scribes

Media Hive News Network
Rajkot, Jan 8, 2012

Rajkot Police Commissioner Geeta Johri is upset over a local newspaper for publishing her New Year's eve party picture. The state top cop Geeta Johri has asked her officers to file a complaint against the newspaper Divya Bhaskar. Johri has also filed an FIR against the journalists.

Johri is angry because the picture of her dancing at the party is placed alongside the picture of a couple kissing at the same party. Johri alleges that the storyline accompanying the picture suggests the couple were indulging in immoral acts in her presence.

In the FIR, she alleges, two unrelated pictures were clubbed to give it a sensational angle. The scribes had gatecrashed and clicked her picture despite her objections.She also accuses the journalists of criminal trespass and criminal conspiracy to defame her.

The journalists, however, say it was a public function and they had gained entry with valid passes.

Reliance Industries inks media deal with Network18

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Jan 4, 2012

Reliance Industries has embarked on a major diversification into the media and entertainment sector with the Mukesh Ambani firm making a major investment in the Raghav Bahl-controlled Network18 Group, one of India’s largest broadcast firms that owns several news channels. RIL is also divesting a majority of its stake in the Hyderabad-based Eenadu Group’s various broadcast channels to the Network18 Group.

The two companies on Tuesday announced two rights issues of up to Rs 2,700 crore each. Since NMIL is the promoter of and a majority shareholder in TV18, it will subscribe to around Rs 1,400 crore worth of shares in TV18’s rights issues.

No outside control over media, says PM

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Jan 3, 2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday ruled out any outside regulation of the media and said that the media in the country can itself take care of the 'ills' like paid news and urged it to reduce sensationalism in coverage.

Speaking at function here, the prime minister said, "In my opinion, there is a general consensus in our country that no outside control should be imposed over the media. But I am also of the view that the representatives of media should among themselves find a way by which objectivity and impartiality gets encouragement and sensationalism is reduced.

"I am very happy that the media of our country is by and large independent and alive...Ever since we have got independence, discussions have been going on in the country about the role of the media and the manner in which it functions.

"I am confident that Indian media will itself take steps to wipe out the ills like paid news and will also be successful in it. You should also pay attention on how to increase the coverage of those issues, which are really important for our country."

Sebi to guide media about stock market reporting

Media Hive News Network
Chennai, Jan 1, 2012

Sebi plans to have interactions with mediapersons soon to make them aware about the "do's and don'ts" when reporting on the stock market.

The market regulator feels that the media should exercise more "self regulation" when it comes to writing about the stock market. Sebi chairman U K Sinha told a news agency in Chennai, "Sebi will have a series of interactions with media personnel on the do's and dont's in the industry. They should exchange notes (with Sebi) on what is happening in the industry and how to educate people. There is a need to educate the public."

In 2007, the then Sebi chairman M Damodaran had also mooted the idea of a self regulatory organisation for print and the electronic media, among others.

In 2010, Sebi had made it mandatory for media groups to disclose details about private treaties for a stake in listed companies in lieu of promoting their brands. The regulator had also made it compulsory for media houses to disclose in news reports their stakes in companies being written about.

Total Recall: Top News Story Of 2011

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, Dec 28, 2011

In a total recall, Media Hive brings you some of the 2011's top stories:

Killing of Osama bin Laden: In May, the long manhunt ended with a nighttime assault by Navy SEALs on his hideout in Abbottabad in Pakistan. Bin Laden was shot dead by one of the raiders, and within hours his body was buried at sea.

Arab Spring: The Arab Spring protests began with demonstrations in Tunisia and spread to Egypt that ousted Hosni Mubarak. The protest fueled a civil war in Libya that climaxed with Moammar Gadhafi's death. The protests also created unrest in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen

Gadhafi's death: After nearly 42 years of rule, Moammar Gadhafi was toppled by his own people. Anti-government protests shattered his regime, and Gadhafi finally was tracked down and killed in the fishing village where he was born.

Earthquake in Japan: A 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan's northeast coast in March unleashed a tsunami in which 20,000 people dead or missing and wreaking an estimated $218 billion in damage. The tsunami also triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl after waves knocked out the cooling system at a nuclear power plant, causing it to spew radiation that turned up in local produce.

Death of North Korean leader: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (69) died of a heart attack in December, plunging the nuclear-armed and deeply isolated nation into a second dynastic succession. Pyongyang urged people to rally behind Kim's youngest son Jong-Un, describing him as "great successor" to the leader who presided over a famine that saw hundreds of thousands die, but still built an atomic arms arsenal.

Among the other major news events of 2011 were the deaths of Vaclav Havel, Czech playwright & president and Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. co-founder, EU fiscal crisis, Occupy Wall Street Protest in US, Continuing protest over Lokpal Bill in India and MS Dhoni led Indian cricket team winning World Cup etc

Give security to journalists: Katju

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Dec 27, 2011

Press Council chairman Markandey Katju expressed concern over the rising number of cases of assault on journalists in Maharashtra. Katju on Monday flayed the Prithviraj Chavan government for not seriously taking up the issue.

"In view of the large number of assaults on journalists taking place in your state, some protection must be given to journalists, but it seems your government is not serious about this," Katju said.

Katju cited the day-light murder of journalist J Dey, attack on Yogesh Kute by a builder two years back for exposing his unlawful activities and group of criminals assaulting TV reporter Ganesh Solanki and said that some protection must be given to mediapersons.

Media should behave with responsibility: President

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Dec 22, 2011

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday urged Indian media not to compromise with basic journalistic principles.

"The need of the hour for the media is to uphold its core values of honesty, subjectivity and loyalty. It is not correct to think that just because you (media) have the freedom, you can be irresponsible," she said at a function in Mumbai.

Regretting over-commercialisation of the media, Patil said it (media) should also focus on issues like female foeticide, dowry, child marriage and alcoholism which if cured could go a long way in eradicating poverty.

43 journalists killed worldwide in 2011; Pak Most Unsafe

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 22, 2011

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 43 journalists has been killed worldwide so far in 2011.

For the second consecutive year, Pakistan has been identified as the most dangerous country for journalists with the killing of seven scribes there in 2011.

“The CPJ research shows Pakistan to be among the worst countries in the world in bringing the killers of journalists to justice. The best known case in Pakistan this year involved Saleem Shahzad, a reporter for Asia Times online who died in May after writing a report which alleged that al-Qaeda had infiltrated Pakistan navy,” CPJ said in its year-end report.

Mukesh Ambani in talks to buy Network 18: WSJ

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 20, 2011

Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani is in talks with Raghav Bahl to buy later's television and internet company, Network 18, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting people familiar with the situation.

Ambani, the paper said, has been in talks with Network 18 founder and controlling shareholder Raghav Bahl on the issue.

"The talks may yet lead to nothing. It also isn't clear what the value of Ambani's investment would be and whether he is operating on behalf of Reliance Industries or whether he would put his own cash into a deal. Network18 Media and Investments, the holding company for the conglomerate, has annual revenue of about $300 million but isn't profitable," said the paper.

Meanwhile, shares of the publicly-listed units of Network 18 jumped on Tuesday on the news. The stock price of Netwrok 18 Media & Investment Ltd.—the holding company for the conglomerate—jumped 15% in early morning trading on Tuesday to Rs 41.55 and that of TV18 Broadcast Ltd., which includes the broadcasting and film business, rose 9.36% to 31.55 rupees.

For the last few days, Network 18 has been in news for its various possible tie-ups on different fronts.

Thomson Reuters, the global news agency, has also reportedly started discussions with media baron Raghav Bahl to acquire a minority stake in his news agency, NewsWire18 Pvt Ltd, a part of the Network18 Group.

A few days back, an Indian financial daily had also reported that the Raghav Bahl-controlled Network18 Group was inching close to a deal with ETV.

According to five independent sources, Network18 Group is likely to merge ETV’s bouquet of 11 regional channels and one Telugu news channel with itself through a share swap, said the report.

Press Council of India faces pendency of 931 cases

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 20, 2011

The Press Council of India is currently facing pendency of 931 cases and the average time taken to dispose of a matter is six months. This was informed by minister of state for information and broadcasting CM Jatua on Monday.

In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, he said, "In cases where the papers are complete with comments/ written statement/counter comments and the matter is ready for listing before the Inquiry Committee, the matter is disposed of on an average within a maximum of six months."

In the year 2011-12, till November 18, 458 complaints have been received while 574 have been disposed of leaving a pendency of 931 cases, Jatua said.

DAVP ad rates for newspapers to be revised

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 20, 2011

The Union government on Monday said it is in the process of revising the government advertisement rates for newspapers. Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, while responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, said, "In the last two-and-a-half years, the rates have already been revised twice... The Rate Structure Committee is in the process of finalising the latest rates."

“The rates of publication of advertisements, given out by the DAVP, are reviewed at regular intervals…In addition to that, as a special measure, the commission, which used to be charged by the DAVP has not been charged in order to enhance the rates being charged by the newspapers,” she said.

The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal multi-media advertising agency of the government.

EC forwards Herald 'paid news' complaint to PCI

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 19, 2011

The Election Commission has forwarded the Herald 'paid news' complaint to the Press Council of India (PCI) for action. Chief Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi told this to reporters in Goa on Friday.

Quraishi along with other members of the Commission were conducting pre poll preparations.

Goa Union of Journalists has also submitted a complaint to the ECI about the 'paid news' expose in Goa.

Reuters moves news jobs to Bangalore

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 17, 2011

Thomson Reuters is moving its global online newsroom from Toronto to Bangalore. According to media reports, the company confirmed the develoment on Thursday.

The online operation, which creates content for the publicly accessible Reuters.com website, has been based in Toronto since 2005.

"The move is just the latest example of a wider trend in the news business toward outsourcing editorial functions," said a report, quoting Kelly Toughill, director of the School of Journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

Meanwhile, in another development, the global news agency is also reportedly started discussions with media baron Raghav Bahl to acquire a minority stake in his news agency, NewsWire18 Pvt Ltd, a part of the Network18 Group.

“Increasingly, a lot of foreign news organisations want to cater to the Indian market, as they are aware about the standards they bring in and also that the readers here are hungry for content,” said a newspaper report, quoting Jehil Thakkar, executive director, media and entertainment at consulting firm KPMG India.

Rohit Saran puts in his papers at Economic Times

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 16, 2011

Rohit Saran, who is Executive Editor of The Economic Times has resigned. He had joined the daily in July 2010. Prior to ET, Saran was Editor of Business Today from July 2008 to June 2010. It is learnt that Saran plans to start his own entrepreneurial venture.

Indian-origin journalist becomes editor of LA Times

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 15, 2011

Davan Maharaj, Indian-origin journalist, has been named the new editor and executive vice president of the Los Angeles Times. He will succeed Russ Stanton.

According to the paper,49-year-old Trinidad-born Maharaj takes over as the 15th editor of the paper and is currently the managing editor.

On his new role, Maharaj said, "I am humbled and honoured and propose to push forward the newspaper in the digital and mobile space."

Maharaj holds a political science degree from Tennessee and a Masters degree in law from Yale and has worked at the paper for 22 years.

CNN-IBN’s Citizen Journalist show gets Asian TV Awards

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 13, 2011

CNN-IBN's Citizen Journalist Show has received the prestigious 16th Asian Television Awards 2011 in the category of Best Cross Platform Content.

The awards function was held in Singapore on December 8. Asian TV Awards recognise excellence in programming, production.

According to IBN18 Network, the show has helped hundreds of citizens to raise their voice against injustice prevailing in society and thereby continue to inspire citizens everywhere to fight to revive an infallible justice system. CJ has been at the realm of CNN-IBN’s philosophy of inclusive journalism and It’s a true recognition and an honour for team CJ to receive this prestigious award.

Print media facing challenge from digital media: N Ram

Media Hive News Network
Patiala, Dec 11, 2011

Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N Ram here on Saturday said the newspaper industry is facing challenge from digital media as well as broadcasting media.

"Worldwide printed newspapers, with a reported circulation of 519 million, reach an estimated 2.3 billon people every day, 20 percent more than the internet. "But the terms of trade are shifting remorselessly in favour of the web, mobile, and newer interactive digital platforms," he said.

The access to internet and broadband is growing rapidly, although unevenly, across the developing world, he added.

With the internet enjoying a mere 8.40 per cent penetration in India as compared to 36.30 per cent in China, the media in the Asian region haS major challenges and opportunities as compared to the developed countries, Ram said, while reading the paper 'The changing role of the News Media in Contemporary India' during the 72nd session of the Indian History Congress here.

Deccan Herald launches Delhi edition

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 11, 2011

Deccan Herald, a premier English newspaper from south India, launched its Delhi edition on Sunday. This is the seventh edition of the paper since it began publishing from Bangalore in June 1948.

Speaking at the launch function here, Tilak Kumar, chairman and joint MD, Deccan Herald, said, “It’s coming of age for the newspaper that was launched in Bangalore 60 years ago, which has grown over the decades. The Deccan Herald always stuck to the basic principles of journalism and prided itself on professional excellence; always believed in objective reporting and resisted temptation for sensationalism”.

Those present at the launch included, Union ministers P Chidambaram, SM Krishna and Prof KV Thomas, cricketer Anil Kumble and veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar.

The Delhi edition comes with Metrolife, a youth-oriented city supplement, four days a week. Living, a Lifestyle supplement, will accompany the paper on Saturdays. The weekend Sunday Herald will focus on trends, culture, art, entertainment, books and travel.

Journalist S Nihal Singh honoured in UK

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 8, 2011

Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh has got the Indian Journalists' Association Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to the field.

He received the award from Rajesh Prasad, India's acting High Commissioner to Britain, in London on December 5.

Singh was the editor of the Statesman, The Indian Express, The Khaleej Times in Dubai and The Indian Post.

"Last year, IJA instituted an IJA Lifetime Achievement Award. This was intended to recognise an exceptional person who has either served as an Indian Journalist in the United Kingdom or as a British Journalist in India," the citation said.

Katju slams media for priority to Dev Anand's death

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Dec 7, 2011

Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Tuesday criticised the media for giving prominence to the coverage of actor Dev Anand's death.

"Putting the news of an actor's death on the front page when farmers were committing suicide and there were more pressing social and economic issues to be addressed only showed a "lack of sense of priority", he said.

"The country is facing several socio economic problems, there is poverty, price rise and incidents like farmers' suicides. Isn't all that more important," Katju asked.

"Katju said that it was high time that the media woke up to its role and corrects itself," he said and added that people had expectations from the media.

Jyotirmoy Dey murder case: The mystery of Jigna Vora

By Sangeeth Sabastian
Mumbai, Dec 5, 2011

Her friends and colleagues describe Jigna Vora, the 11th accused in the murder of Jyotirmoy Dey, who was the Mumbai-based afternoon paper Mid-Day's crime and investigative editor, as an "ambitious upstart" raring to usurp the proximity the senior journalist enjoyed with the underworld don Chhota Rajan.

Ever since she came in touch with the gangster, allegedly through one of his aides Farid Tanasha in 2009, this 37-year-old single parent and gutsy deputy chief reporter of the Asian Age newspaper, touted as a role model for women journalists by the local media for arriving in life despite personal odds, was relentlessly trying to ingratiate herself to the don.

So much so, that she even went to the extent of feeding Rajan with misleading information about Dey, which the Mumbai police say eventually led to his killing, as Rajan feared that Dey had switched loyalties to his rival, Chhota Shakeel. Her colleagues and former editors, though, are surprised at this "professional rivalry", which the Mumbai police are trying to cite the motive for the murder.

"Dey was far too senior and Vora far too junior for them to have any rivalry," says Sachin Kalbag, executive editor, Mid-Day. Even during her brief three-month stint with Mid-Day 2008, Vora never worked with Dey, who was then functioning independently - anyway, he was always a reclusive and secretive person.

According to his former colleagues, Dey was so secretive that he always locked his drawers and even shielded his computer monitor by tilting it to one side to prevent his colleagues from sneaking a peek at the stories he would file. Dey also used store the contact numbers of his sources under various code names on his mobile phone. WWF, for instance, was the code he reportedly assigned a top cop. Borrowed from the acronym for World Wrestling Federation (it's now known as World Wrestling Entertainment), it was a reference to the police officer's physique.

"Knowing Dey's personality, I doubt if he ever even spoke to Jigna while she was in Mid-Day," Kalbag says. "Vora was covering the court beat and was reporting to Prasad Patil, the then Mid-Day chief reporter; Dey reported directly to the editor," he adds.

Vora's ambition to make it big as a journalist is mentioned even by Deepak Lokhande, her former boss in Mid-Day. "She had this feeling that she came into journalism late and wanted to get ahead as soon as possible," says Lokhande, who is now the associate city editor of the Mumbai morninger, DNA.

Vora, say her friends, was working as an apprentice to lawyers for several years before entering journalism as a rookie reporter with the Free Press Journal following her failed marriage.

Her enthusiasm for the job saw Vora rising to become deputy chief reporter in less than a decade. "She always wanted to do something different from other reporters," Lokhande recalls.

"She was talking about story ideas all the time and enjoyed the fame and attention she got because of her bylines," says a friend on the condition of anonymity. "She also loved dropping names of people she claimed she knew."

But how far was Vora's over-riding enthusiasm in hogging the limelight, or getting close to the don, responsible for Dey's murder is anybody's guess.

The Mumbai Police say Vora, who has been booked on charges of murder and conspiracy under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (NCOCA) after her arrest from her parental home in the city's Ghatkopar suburb on November 25, acted as an agent provocateur in the murder.

The police say they have prima facie evidence against Vora for sharing incriminating information about Dey's motorcycle registration number and residential address with the Rajan gang.

Her frantic attempts to delete any traces of her online identity from the social networking site Facebook and other public domains following the murder also had attracted the suspicion of the cops.

They trace back the "professional rivalry" theory to an altercation Vora allegedly had with Dey during the funeral of Chhota Rajan's aide Tanasha, last year, leading her to send a threatening SMS to Dey. It said: "I will see you." Amazingly, Vora turned up for an interview at the Mid-Day office in July this year, nearly a month after the murder, as a possible successor to Dey.

"The interview lasted close to 45 minutes. She was cordial and seemed extremely enthusiastic about the job," recalls Kalbag, who conducted the interview.

"She also seemed to have a lot of contacts within the police force. Her CV showed that she had broken a few stories during her tenure at the Asian Age. But we did not offer her the post because I felt Vora would not have fitted into the profile we were looking for," Kalbag adds.

As Mumbai police await more details from the forensic analysis of Vora's laptop and mobile phones, the arrest has prompted debates over the tenuous line crime reporters are treading while reporting on the underworld. "Getting close to the underworld is a fait accompli for crime reporters in Mumbai," Kalbag says. "You have to know people in the underworld to break stories, and at the same time you have to be careful that you do not cross the line." That's the difficult choice to make. (Courtesy: India Today)

Court rejects plea for narco test on journalist Jigna Vora

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai ,Dec 2, 2011

A special MCOCA court on Thursday rejected a plea by the Mumbai crime branch sleuths for subjecting journalist Jigna Vora to narco analysis test as part of ongoing investigations in the J Dey murder case.

However, the court extended the police custody of the woman journalist till December 5. The Judge rejected the prosecution’s plea for subjecting Jigna to narco analysis test. The Prosecution had rooted for Jigna’s narco analysis test on the ground that she was not co-operating with the investigators during her interrogation.

The Mumbai Police on Friday arrested a woman reporter in connetion with Mid Day journalist J Dey murder case. The woman journalist, Jigna Vora (37), works as deputy bureau chief with The Asian Age.

Centre considering PCI's advice on electronic media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 30, 2011

The Central government is considering Press Council's recommendations to bring electronic media under its jurisdiction and renaming itself as Media Council.

PCI chairman Markandey Katju had written to the government suggesting more powers to the Press Council.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, minister of state for information and broadcasting C M Jatua said, "The Press Council of India has proposed to bring electronic media also under its jurisdiction by amendments in the Press Council Act, 1978.

"The Press Council of India has also proposed to rename itself as Media Council. The amendments to the Act are under consideration of the government and if considered necessary, would be drafted carefully after wide consultation with the stakeholders and evolving consensus on the important issues relating to the media."

WikiLeaks wins Australian journalism award

Media Hive News Network
Nov 28, 2011

WikiLeaks has been recognised in Australia for its outstanding contribution to journalism. The highly coveted accolade, Walkley Awards, is judged by industry peers. The whistleblowing website has been choosen for its courageous reporting of secret US cables.

“WikiLeaks applied new technology to penetrate the inner workings of government to reveal an avalanche of inconvenient truths in a global publishing coup,” the Walkley trustees said in bestowing the award on Sunday evening.

The award was accepted by Assange via a pre-recorded message, as he is still under house arrest in the UK awaiting news of whether he will be extradited to Sweden for trial.

Assange lashed out at “cowardly” Prime Minister Julia Gillard in his acceptance speech. Assange, an Australian citizen who has previously blasted Canberra for not doing enough to protect him in the fallout from the leaks, was scathing of the government in accepting the accolade in a pre-recorded video message, said an agency report.

“The Gillard government has shown its true colours in relation to how it handled US pressure on WikiLeaks,” Assange said.

“Australian journalists are courageous, the Australian population is supportive, but Julia Gillard is a cowardly Australian prime minister."

J Dey murder: Asian Age reporter Jigna Vora held

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Nov 26, 2011

The Mumbai Police on Friday arrested a woman reporter in connetion with Mid Day journalist J Dey murder case. The woman journalist, Jigna Vora (37), works as deputy bureau chief with The Asian Age.

She was arrested for abetting the murder of J Dey — who was gunned down near his residence here around five months back, allegedly by underworld don Chhota Rajan's men. Vora was produced in court and was sent to police custody for seven days. The police, however, had sought 14 days' custody.

According to the police, after analysing Vora's telephone records and interrogating the other accused in the case, it was found that more than a month before the killing, Vora had emailed a few of the anti-Rajan articles written by Dey, details of his motorcycle registration and residence to the gangster.

Mumbai Police crime branch chief Himanshu Roy said, "We have reason to believe that Vora was involved. More arrests are possible. Legal experts say we have more than enough evidence that requires Vora's custodial interrogation."

According to a report quoting a crime branch officer, who did not wish to be named, said, "Rajan forwarded these details to Satish Kalya (the contract killer), which helped him in executing the killing."

According to another newspaer report, Vora was last seen interacting with crime journalists during a police press conference after the July 13, 2011, serial blasts in the city. The deputy bureau chief at The Asian Age thereafter cut down her interaction with others, including journalists, and went into a shell.

The reason? Her name started cropping up in the murder case of investigative journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. Though Vora’s name did not find a mention in any official document connected to the case, the possibility of she being questioned was the talk among journalists.

Meanwhile, Asian Age resident editor in Mumbai Hussain Zaidi, said, "We have full faith in Vora's innocence and integrity. The truth will come out soon."

Katju bats for media on delayed payment for ad bills

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 26, 2011

Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju has said the government must pay 12% interest on the outstanding amount if it fails to clear bills for placing advertisements in newspapers within a month of their publication.

In a letter to the cabinet secretary, I&B secretary and chief secretaries of all states, Justice Katju said government departments and statutory bodies often delay payment for advertisement bills for years. The interest, he said, was not to be considered as a penalty, rather, it was the "normal accretion on capital".

"These newspapers/journals are made to run from pillar-to-post for getting such payments. This often takes several years before the payment is made, if at all," said the letter.

Al Jazeera Network to launch Hindi news channel soon

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 21, 2011

Qatar-based Al Jazeera Network is planning to launch a Hindi news channel in India. The network, which has recently launched Al Jazeera English in the country, has not finalised the launch date of the Hindi news channel.

An Afaqs.com report quoting Al Anstey, managing director, Al Jazeera English, said the network also plans to bring some of its international channels to the country in due course of time.

"India is a very important market for us. We are certainly exploring the opportunities and discussing the launch of a Hindi channel to cater to the needs of Indian audiences," Al Anstey told Afaqs.

Meanwhile, its English news channel,which has a tie-up with direct-to-home service provider Dish TV, is available on cable in select states such as Kerala, West Bengal, Kashmir and a few parts of North India. Al Jazeera English is a free-to-air news channel.

PCI meet: 4 demand Katju apology, stage walkout

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 18, 2011

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has said that four of its publisher members — R Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar), VK Chopra (Filmy Duniya), Sanjay Gupta (Dainik Jagran) and Vijay Kumar Chopra (Punjab Kesari) — strongly protested to the PCI chairman for his remarks on the media and journalists. The four publisher members of the Council walked out of its first meeting under Justice Markandey Katju’s chairmanship on Thursday.

The walkout happened after Justice Katju refused to oblige the four members, representing the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) in PCI, who asked him to apologise for, what they termed as derogatory comments against media persons.

The executive committee of the INS “noted with dismay that the chairman's remarks demonstrated a deep bias against members of the Fourth Estate and that such bias would adversely affect the functioning of the council”.

Meanwhile, Katju is reportedly agreed to withhold the letter he had written to PM Manmohan Singh seeking punitive powers for the Council

“Declaring he is no dictator but a democrat, he agreed to go with
the members when they did not agree to many of his 22 suggestions," a newspaper report said quoting a member on condition of anonymity.

Rs 100 cr fine on Times Now is 'disproportionate': Katju

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 17, 2011

Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju said on Wednesday Rs 100 crore fine on Times Now is 'disproportionate'. He urged the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court to reconsider their orders that the TV channel deposit Rs 100 crore (in cash and bank guarantees) as a pre-condition for its appeal against a Pune court's verdict to be heard.

Justice Katju said that in his opinion, "the appropriate order would have been to give a severe warning to the TV channel to be careful in future. Imposition of a Rs 100-crore fine was, in my respectful opinion, grossly disproportionate to the offence and the principle of proportionality that is now well-settled in our jurisprudence."

"It does not seem that there was any malicious intent and the unintentional mistake was due to a technical mix-up. We are all human beings and we all make mistakes," he added. Justice Katju made this remarks while speaking at a seminar on the occasion of National Press Day.

Hamid Ansari keen on media regulation

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 17, 2011

Speaking on the occasion of National Press Day here on Wednesday, Vice President Hamid Ansari has come out in favour of a media regulation framework, agreeing with Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju that self-regulation has failed.

Ansari also rued the absence of active media watch groups engaged in objective analyses of the media, discerning prejudices and latent biases.

“Collective self-regulation has yet to succeed in substantive measure because it is neither universal nor enforceable. Individual self-regulation has also failed due to personal predilection and the prevailing of personal interest over public interest,” said Ansari.

The National Press Day event was presided over by Justice Katju, who has recently raised the hackles of television news channels by asking the government to include them under the regulatory umbrella of the Press Council.

Justice Markandey Katju clarifies on his remark on media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 16, 2011

Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India, has issued the following clarification on his critical observations of the Indian media.

I have expressed my views relating to the media in several T.V. interviews I gave as well as in my articles in some newspapers.

However, many people, including many media people, wanted clarification and amplification of some of the issues I had raised. Many media people (including several T.V. channels) wanted interviews with me but I told them that I will not give interviews for some time, since it does not create a good impression if one keeps giving interviews frequently. However, since some controversy appears to have been raised about what I said a clarification is in order.

Today India is passing through a transitional period in our history, the transition being from feudal agricultural society to modern industrial society. This is a very painful and agonizing period in history. The old feudal society is being uprooted and torn apart, but the new modern industrial society has not been fully and firmly established. Old values are crumbling, but new modern values have not yet been put in place. Everything is in flux, in turmoil. What was regarded good yesterday, is regarded bad today, and what was regarded bad is regarded good. As Shakespeare said in Macbeth “Fair is foul and foul is fair”.

If one studies the history of Europe from the 16th to the 19th Centuries, when the transition from feudalism to modern society was taking place, one will know that this transitional period was full of turbulence, turmoil, wars, revolutions, chaos, social churning, and intellectual ferment. It was only after going through this fire that modern society emerged in Europe. India is presently going through that fire. We are going through a very painful period in our country’s history, which, I guess, will last another 15 to 20 years. I wish this transition would take place painlessly and immediately but unfortunately that is not how history functions.

In this transition period the role of ideas, and therefore of the media, becomes extremely important. At a particular historical juncture, ideas become a material force. For instance, the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity, and of religious freedom (secularism) became powerful material forces during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and particularly during the American and French Revolutions. In the age of transition in Europe, the media (which was only the print media at that time) played a great, historical role in the transformation of feudal Europe to modern Europe.

Historically, the print medium arose as an organ of the people against feudal oppression. At that time, the established organs of power were all in the hands of the feudal, despotic authorities (kings, aristocrats, etc.). Hence the people had to create new organs which could represent their interests. That is why the print medium became known as the Fourth Estate. In Europe and America it represented the voice of the future, as a contrast to the established feudal organs which wanted to preserve status quo.

Great writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine, ‘Junius’ (whose real name we yet do not know) played an outstanding role in this connection (see Will Durant’s ‘The Age of Voltaire’ and ‘Rousseau and Revolution’). The Encyclopaedists like Voltaire, Diderot, Helvetius, Holbach etc. created the Age of Reason, which paved the way for a modern Europe. Diderot wrote that “Men will be free when the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest”. Voltaire, in his satirical novels ‘Candide’ and ‘Zadig’ lashed out at religious bigotry, superstitions, and irrationalism. Rousseau in his ‘Social Contract’ attacked feudal despotism by propounding the theory of the ‘general will’ (which broadly stands for popular sovereignty). Thomas Paine wrote about the Right of Man, and Junius attacked the corruption of the Ministers of the despotic George III. Dickens criticized the terrible social conditions in 19th Century England. These, and many others, were responsible for creating modern Europe.

In my opinion the Indian media too should play a progressive role similar to the one played by the European media. This it can do by attacking backward and feudal ideas and practices like casteism, communalism, superstitions, oppression of women, etc. and propagating modern rational and scientific ideas, secularism, and tolerance.

At one time a section of our media played a great role in our country. Raja Ram Mohan Roy courageously attacked backward customs like sati, child marriage, purda, etc in his newspapers ‘Miratul Akbhar’ and ‘Sambad Kaumudi’. Nikhil Chakravarty wrote about the horrors of the Bengal Famine of 1943. Munshi Premchand and Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya wrote against feudal practices and oppression of women. Saadat Hasan Manto wrote about the horrors of Partition.

When I criticized the Indian media, and particularly the electronic media for not playing such a progressive and socially responsible role, I was furiously attacked by a section of the media for my views. Some even launched a personal attack on me saying that I was an agent of the government.

I could have retaliated back in the same tone by saying that most media persons are agents of the corporates who have hired them, but I refrained from doing so as I did not want to stoop down to their level. When serious issues are raised about the functioning of the media it was expected that those issues would be addressed seriously instead of launching personal attacks on me, or simply dismissing me as ‘irresponsible’ (as one Exalted Person has done).

By criticizing the media I wanted to persuade the media to change its manner of functioning and not that I wanted to destroy it. The Indian media has a historical role to play in the age of transition, and I wanted to remind the media persons of their historical duty to the nation. Instead of taking my criticism in the correct spirit, a veritable diatribe was launched against me by a section of the media, which painted me as some kind of dictatorial monster.

The great Hindi poet Rahim has written:

“Nindak nearey raakhiye

Aangan kuti Chawaye”

The media should regard me as their well wisher. I criticized them because I wanted media persons to give up many of their defects (some of which I had mentioned in my T.V. interviews and articles) and follow the path of honour which the European media was following, and which will give them the respect of the Indian people.

I mentioned that 80% of our countrymen are living in horrible poverty, there is massive unemployment, skyrocketing prices, lack of medical care, education etc. and barbaric social practices like honour killing, dowry death, caste oppression, religious bigotry, etc. Instead of seriously addressing these issues 90% of the coverage of our media goes to entertainment, e.g., lives of film stars, fashion parades, pop music, disco dancing, cricket etc, or showing superstitions like astrology.

No doubt the media should provide some entertainment also to the people, but if 90% of its coverage is devoted to entertainment, and only 10% to all the socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priorities of the media has gone haywire. The real issues before the people are the socio-economic issues, and the media is seeking to divert their attention to the non issues like film stars, fashion parades, disco, pop, cricket etc. Does a hungry or unemployed man require entertainment, or food and a job? It is because of this lack of a sense of priorities and for showing superstitions, that I criticized the media.

One should not be afraid of criticism, nor should one resent it. People can criticize me as much as they like, I will not resent it, and maybe I will benefit from it. But similarly the media too should not mind if I criticize them. My aim in doing so is to make them better media people.

While criticizing, however, fairness requires that one should report the words of one’s opponent accurately, without twisting or distorting them. That was the method used by our philosophers. They would first state the views of their opponent, in what was called as the ‘purvapaksha’. This was done with such accuracy and intellectual honesty that if the opponent were present he could not have stated his views better. Thereafter it was sought to be refuted. In this connection one may read Madhavacharya’s ‘Sarva Darshan Sangrah’ (Madhavacharya was the founder of the Dvait school of Vedanta). The views of the Charvaks (Materialist thinkers), the Buddhists, Jains, etc are stated in the ‘purvapaksha’ with such accuracy that if they were present they could not have put them better.

Unfortunately, this practice is often not followed by our media, and my words were distorted by many, and then I was furiously attacked. To give only two examples: (1) In my interview to Mr. Karan Thapar, I stated that in my opinion the majority of media people are of a poor intellectual level. This statement of mine was twisted and distorted by several persons on T.V. channels who quoted me as saying that all media persons are ‘uneducated’ and ‘illiterate’. I telephoned the lady journalist who anchored one of such T.V. panel discussions and asked her why she had distorted my words. She had begun the panel discussion by saying “Katju called journalists uneducated”. She said she only interpreted what I said. I told her that first she should have quoted my exact words, and then only should she have interpreted them. I would like to clarify this further.

Firstly, I did not make a statement about all media people but only of the majority. There are many media people for whom I have great respect. I had mentioned the name of Mr. P. Sainath, whose name should be written in letters of gold in the history of India journalism (for highlighting farmer’s suicides and other farmers issues). I can name several others. Mr. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Mr. Shreenivas Reddy did a commendable job in exposing in detail the scandal of paid news. I also have high respect for Mr. Vinod Mehta, Mr. Vinod Sharma, Mr. N. Ram and many others.

I may also mention that before my interview with Mr. Karan Thanpar I sat for about 10 minutes in his office having a cup of coffee with him. At that time I mentioned the name of Emile Zola to him, and he immediately said ‘J’ Accuse’. That one word made him go up high in my esteem. I earlier did not have a very high opinion of him, but that single word completely changed my opinion, and I realized I was in the presence of a highly educated man.

So I wish to clarify have that I did not paint the entire media with the same brush, but my words were totally distorted.

Secondly, I did not say that this majority was uneducated or illiterate. This again was a deliberate distortion of what I said. I never used the word ‘uneducated’. I said that the majority is of a poor intellectual level. A person may have passed B.A. or M.A. but yet may be of a poor intellectual level.

Thirdly, even if one did not agree with my view, he could have coolly and patiently disagreed in a civil tone and expressed his own views instead of shouting and raving on the TV screen and giving an ugly display of temper. And this by a person who belongs to a profession a large section of which is accused of the scandal of paid news, Radia tapes, etc. Really, the Lady doth protest too much! (Shakespeare: Hamlet).

(2) I have again and again said in my articles, speeches and TV interviews that I am not in favour of harsh measures against the media. In a democracy, issues are ordinarily resolved by discussion, persuasion, consultation, and dialogue, and that is the method I prefer, rather than using harsh measures. If a channel/newspaper has done something wrong I would prefer to call the persons responsible ad patiently explain to them that what they have done is not proper. I am sure that in 90% or more cases that would be sufficient. I strongly believe that 90% of people who are doing wrong things can be reformed and made good people.

It is only in extreme cases, which would only be about 5 to 10%, that harsh measures would be required, and that too after repeated use of the democratic method has failed and the person proves incorrigible.

This statement of mine was again distorted and a false impression created that I wanted to impose emergency in the country, cartoons were published in some newspapers showing me as some kind of dictator, etc., etc.

The truth is that I have always been a strong votary for liberty, and the proof of this is my judgments in the Supreme Court and the High Court in which I have consistently held that judges are guardians of the liberties of the citizens, and they will be failing in their duties if they do not uphold these liberties. However, liberty does not mean license to do anything one wishes. All freedoms are subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest, and are coupled with responsibilities.

We may now discuss the question of self regulation.

Self regulation by electronic media

At present, there is no regulatory authority to cover the electronic media. The Press Council of India governs only the print media, and even in cases of violation of journalistic ethics by the latter the only punishment which can be given is admonition or censure.

I have written to the Prime Minister requesting him to initiate legislation to amend the Press Council Act by (1) bringing electronic media also under the ambit of the Press Council, and (2) giving more teeth to the Press Council.

The electronic media has strongly opposed bringing it under the Press Council. Their claim is of self regulation. But even Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts do not have such an absolute right. They can be impeached by Parliament for misconduct. Lawyers are under the Bar Council, who can suspend or cancel their license for professional misconduct. Doctors come under the Medical Council who can suspend/cancel their license. Auditors are in the same position. Why then is the electronic media shy of coming under any regulatory authority? Why these double standards? If they do not wish to come under the Press Council (because the present Chairman is a wicked and/or undesirable person) then the N.B.A., and B.E.A. should indicate under which regulatory authority they wish to come. Are they willing to come under the proposed Lokpal? I have repeatedly raised this question in several newspapers, but my question has always been met either by stony silence on the part of the N.B.A., and B.E.A. or dismissing the very question as ‘irresponsible’.

T.V. news and shows have a large influence on a wide section of our public. Hence in my opinion T.V. channels must also be made accountable to the public.

If the electronic media insists on self regulation, then by the same logic politicians, bureaucrats, etc., must also be granted the right of self regulation, instead of being placed under the Lokpal. Or does the electronic media regard itself so holy, so ‘doodh ka dhula’ that nobody should regulate it except itself. In that case, what is paid news, Radia tapes, etc? Is that the work of saints?

In fact there is no such thing as self regulation, which is an oxymoron. Everybody is accountable to the people in a democracy, and so is the media.

Libel Case: SC asks Times NOW to deposit Rs 100 crore

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 15, 2011

The Supreme Court has refused to grant any relief to Times Global Broadcasting Company Ltd that owns Times Now news channel in a defamation suit filed by former SC judge PB Sawant

The apex court on Monday declined to relax a Bombay high court order asking Times Now to deposit Rs 100 crore - Rs 20 crore in cash and the rest as bank guarantee - before taking up its appeal against a trial court verdict in the defamation case.

Justice Sawant had sued the channel for wrongly using his photograph in a news item on September 10, 2008, relating to the Ghaziabad PF scam allegedly involving some judges.

After a defamation suit was filed by Justice Sawant, a Pune court ordered the company to pay him R100 crore as damages. In September 2011, the HC asked the media group to deposit the amount before its appeal against the trial court order was taken up.

Times NOW, however, maintained that it had already apologised to Justice Sawant in its news scroll for five days in 2008.

Meanwhile, The Editors Guild of India has expressed its concern at the implications of Monday's ruling of the Supreme Court.

"While recognising that the law of defamation is an important qualification of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, the Guild believes that the law of defamation has to be construed in such a manner that it does not constrain the normal functioning of the media," the Editors Guild said in a statement.

It added, "An unintentional error because of a technical mix-up is in a different category from malicious or intentional libel. If inadvertent errors were to be met with punitive fines, it would make it difficult and indeed hazardous for journalists and media organisations to carry out their professional duties."

Earlier in October this year, the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) had expressed concern over the court order against Times Now and had said it would explore legal options as the incident had implications for all TV journalists.

Bhanwari case: Maderna’s men attack media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 13, 2011

Former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna’s supporters on Sunday attacked media persons outside a Hospital in Jodhpur.

The supporters of Maderna, an accused in the kidnapping and suspected murder of nurse Bhanwari Devi, manhandled reporters and camera persons waiting outside the hospital. The supporters also damaged cameras, mikes and even OB vans and the cabs of media persons.

According to reports, some reporters were trying to talk to Maderna's daughter on the Bhanwari Devi issue when they were targeted.

Goa Union of Journalists endorses 'public interest' sting

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 1, 2011

The Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ), which represents over 200 working journalists in Goa, during an extraordinary meeting of its committee on Saturday endorsed the ‘paid news’ sting operation, exposing the unethical and corrupt phenomenon at the ‘Herald’, one of Goa’s leading newspaper.

The GUJ executive met to discuss a complaint forwarded to it for action by journalist and GUJ member Mayabhushan Nagvekar pertaining to a complaint of "paid news" he had lodged with Press Council of India (PCI) against local newspaper Herald last week.

The executive has asked the Ethics Committee headed by Ashley do Rosario to probe such complaints for prima facie case and immediately take them up with the Press Council of India (PCI) and the Election Commission of India if a complaint also pertains to election-related coverage.

The GUJ has also appealed to Goa Editors’ Guild to stand up to any attempts from any management to compromise professional integrity by unethical demands to be part of “paid news” during the forthcoming elections and otherwise also.

Paid political interview in Goa's newspaper for Rs 84,000

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 30, 2011

Buying editorial space in a newspaper is almost as easy as walking up to a store counter and buying an underwear. A Goa-based journalist has blogged about a paid news story, where a marketing manager of Goa's leading English newspaper has been caught on audio selling a political paid news interviewfor Rs 86,400.

The journalist, Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, posed as a politician planning to contest the Goa assembly elections 2012, and called up a marketing executive of Herald, asking for an interview to be published in the newspaper, for a price, as editorial content rather than advertisement.

According to Nagvenkar, he has undertaken this ‘paid news buster’ exercise, solely as a reader of the newspaper, which he subscribes to at home The other reason being that, Herald over the last few weeks has been running dubious interview after interview of ‘potential’ candidates for the forthcoming state assembly elections which are scheduled to happen sometimenext year.

A source in the Herald informed him that money was being exchanged by the newspaper’s employees – both editorial and marketing – for publishing the political interviews.

He called up the Herald boardline on October 20 posing as Bernard Costa, a fictitious person wanting to contest assembly elections from the Velim assembly constituency in south Goa. On the same day, Herald had carried another dubious and suspected paid political interview of Raymond D’Sa, who had claimed that he vying for a Congress ticket for the Cortalim assemblyseat and had wanted to “serve the poor and needy”

When the marketing manager at the Herald was asked about the rates for political paid interviews, he mentioned the Raymond D’sa interview published in the Herald on Oct 20 and the nearabouts price the newspaper got paid for it. The story with audio links can be read at www.paidnewsingoa.blogspot.com

According to Nagvenkar, Raymond’s was not the only published paid political interview in print. There are several other dubious article which have been publised by the Herald earlier, which should be looked into by the Press Council of India and the newspaper’s readers. Interestingly most of these interviews were carried in the same slot, on Page four top deck. There was an interview of Sankalp Amonkar, a potential Congress candidate published on October 3 also carrying the same byline.

 

 

 

 

 

There was Somnath Zuwarkar, another potential Congress candidate’s interview published on September 19. Another political hopeful Sameer Salgaonkar was interviewed on September 12.

Nagvenka has already dispatched a complaint to the Press Council of India, Election Commission of India, Goa Union of Journalists as well as several media blogs, journalists and concerned civil society persons, in order to put the information I had in the public domain and with the relevant authorities.

WikiLeaks founder loses Sweden extradition appeal

Media Hive News Network
Nov 3, 2011

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lost his battle against extradition on Wednesday when UK’s High Court ruled that he should be sent to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual misconduct. Assange, however, vowed to continue to fight the charges.
“I have not been charged with any crime, in any country. Despite this, the European Arrest Warrant is so restrictive that it prevents U.K. courts from considering the facts of a case, as judges have made clear here today,” Assange said. “We will be considering our next steps in the days ahead.”

Broadcast editors too slams Markandey Katju

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 3, 2011

The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) on Thursday criticised Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju for making "irresponsible and negative comments" about the media. Earlier, Editors' Guild of India has also assailed Katju's remark that "media professionals are of low intellectual calibre with poor knowledge of economics, history, politics, literature and philosophy."

BEA said such statements from the PCI chief were "extremely disappointing".

"I have a poor opinion of the media. They should be working for the interest of the people. They are not working for the interest of the people and sometime they are positively working in an anti-people manner. Indian media is very often playing an anti- people role. It often diverts the attention of the people from the real problems which are basically economic. 80 per cent people are living in horrible poverty, unemployment, facing price rise, health care (problems). Media diverts the attention from those problems and instead projects film stars and fashion parades as if they are the problems of the people,"Katju had said.

Editors Guild slams Katju for media remarks

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Nov 2, 2011

The Editors Guild of India has criticised comments made by Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on the media. It said Justice Katju's words had touched a new low in the discourse over the functioning of the media.

The comments made by Justice Katju while speaking on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme drew an intense reaction by the Editors' Guild of India.

"The media is anti-people… it divides the country," Justice Katju had said.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the Guild said Justice Katju had been making sweeping negative statements on the media and trying to invoke fear.

Press Council's chairman hits out hard at Indian media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 31, 2011

The new Chairman of the Press Council of India Markandey Katju hit out hard at Indian media saying that he is very disappointed with the way it works.

Katju told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme that he has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggesting that the electronic media should be brought under its purview and should be given "more teeth".

The council chairman said, "Whenever bomb blasts take place, in Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, within a few hours almost every channel starts showing an e-mail has come or an sms has come that Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility or Jaish-e Mohammed or Harkat-ul-Ansar or some Muslim name."

"You see e-mail or sms...any mischievous person can send but by showing it on TV channels you are in a subtle way conveying the message that all Muslims are terrorists and bomb throwers and you are demonising the Muslims...99 per cent of people of all communities are good people," Katju said.

"I think it is a deliberate action of the media to divide the people on religious lines and that is totally against the national interest," he said.

"I have written to the PM that the electronic media should be brought under Press Council and it should be called Media Council and we should be given more teeth. Those teeth would be used in extreme situations."

Katju said that he thought TV debates are "frivolous", and there is no discipline among panelists. "It is not a shouting contest," he told Thapar.

"I have a poor opinion of the media. They should be working for the interest of the people. They are not working for the interest of the people and sometime they are positively working in an anti-people manner. Indian media is very often playing an anti- people role. It often diverts the attention of the people from the real problems which are basically economic. 80 per cent people are living in horrible poverty, unemployment, facing price rise, health care (problems). Media diverts the attention from those problems and instead projects film stars and fashion parades as if they are the problems of the people," he said.

"Cricket is an opium of the masses. Roman emperors used to say if you cannot give the people bread give them circuses. In India send them to cricket if you cannot give the people bread," Katju told Thapar.

"I want powers to stop government advertisement, I want to suspend license of that media for a certain period if it behaves in a very obnoxious manner, impose fines," Katju said.

WikiLeaks temporarily shuts down operations

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 25, 2011

Whistleblower website WikiLeaks said on Monday it is temporarily stopping publication of exposes to concentrate on economic survival in the face of a blocade by US financial companies.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in London that an arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade since last December has destroyed 95% of its revenue. WikiLeaks will need $3.5 million to continue operating, Assange said.

News channels may boycott F1 race

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 24, 2011

A dispute over F1 race feed may force TV news channels to boycott the inaugural Indian Grand Prix at Greater Noida this weekend.
The dispute between India's television media and the Formula One Management is over F1's restrictive guidelines, which don't allow the race feed to be shared with non-rights holders

Formula One Management doesn't releases the race feed to news channels, a stipulation that has been stated in the guidelines that accompanied the accreditation form.

However, the organisers of the event are confident that television journalists would toe the line.

Govt tightens entry norms for new TV channels

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 10, 2011

To discourage non-serious companies from entering the overcrowded Indian broadcasting sector, the Centre on Friday tightened the eligibility criteria for companies applying for television channel licences in the news and non-news genres.

The eligibility norms have become more stringent for news and current affairs channels. The revised norms have raised the net worth requirement of a company applying for its first news channel licence to Rs20 crore from Rs3 crore. For every additional channel, the company must raise its net worth by an additional Rs5 crore. Net worth is defined as total assets minus all the liabilities and determines the overall financial health of the company.

In its meeting on Friday, the Cabinet approved the proposal of the information and broadcasting ministry to amend the policy guidelines for uplinking and downlinking TV channels. The net worth criteria for uplinking of non-news and current affairs channels and downlinking of foreign channels has been revised from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs5 crore for the first channel. With every additional channel, the net worth of the company has to increase by Rs2.5 crore.

Though the government's concern to prevent non-serious news companies from entering the business is welcomed, but the higher net worth requirement may be a deterrent to existing channels’ expansion plans.

BEA expresses concern over court order against Times Now

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 9, 2011

The the Broadcast Editors' Association has expressed concern over the court order imposing a fine of Rs 100 crore against Times Now in a defamation case.

The BEA, which re-elected an 11-member Executive Committee at the Annual General Meeting held on Friday, will discuss the matter as it thinks that such an order may have a stifling effect on the right to seek and impart information guaranteed under the Freedom of Expression.

Members of the Broadcast Editors' Association are President Shazi Zaman (Star News), General Secretary NK Singh (Sadhna News), Treasurer Sudhir Chaudhary (Live India), two vice-presidents Arnab Goswami and Pankaj Pachaury at the Annual General Meeting held on Friday.

The members of the Executive Committee also include Qamar Vahid Naqvi (Aaj Tak), Ashutosh (IBN-7), Ajit Anjum (News-24), Satish K Singh (Zee News), Vinod Kapri (India TV) and Vinay Tewary (CNN-IBN).

TOI tops English daily readerships in country

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Oct 3, 2011

The Times of India continues to be the only English daily in the top 10 most read newspapers in the country. It topped the list of English language dailies, followed by Hindustan Times, (HT) with Kasturi and Sons Ltd’ Hindu at No. 3.

According to the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS), ToI has added readers nationally—rising from 7.44 million in October-December 2010 to to 7.47 million in January-March this year. Hindustan Times’ national readership has risen from 3.69 million to 3.73 million.

Among business papers, Economic Times continues to be the leader with 785,000 readers, while Mint maintains the second rank, with a total 240,000 readers. ET is the seventh-largest English daily in India. The IRS data captures the average issue readership (AIR) of over 100 publications in India.
Five Hindi-language newspapers dominated the top 10 most read publications list of the quarter

Kapil blasts media for hype over Sachin's 100th ton

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Sept 30, 2011

Former Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev hit out hard at media for giving too much importance to statistics and individual performances without taking into account its impact on the outcome of the match.

According to an agency report, he said, "You are more keen about Sachin's 99 hundreds and not about how we are going to win the next series. "Everyone knows Sachin has 99 centuries. But how many of us know that how many of these matches have ended in victories? Everyone knows Sunil Gavaskar has scored 34 Test centuries? But can anyone tell how many matches he has saved for the team? Out of Sachin's 99 hundreds, 60 have ended in victories. If anyone reports that I'll be happy."

"We have to change our mindset. If we lose the match what's the use of statistics. To hell with that!," Kapi addedl.

Aaj Tak bags best news channel award

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, Sept 27, 2011

TV Today on Sunday bagged top honours at the Indian Television Academy awards ceremony held in Mumbai. TV Today's highly popular Hindi news channel Aaj Tak retained the top spot by winning the best Hindi news channel award. Its English channel Headlines Today won two awards.

Koel Purie Rinchet won the best talk/chat show award for On the Couch with Koel, the most talked about celebrity chat show.

Headlines Today got the top honour for its show 'HT Questions Journo Ethics'. Anchored by Headlines Today executive editor Rahul Kanwal, the show was broadcast in December 2010 when journalism faced one of its biggest crises..

Print media expected to grow at 9-10%: AIFMP

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 26, 2011

As advertising expenditures across media platforms has increased, the print media is expected to grow at 9-10% during 2011-15.

According to All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP), the print classifieds market is worth $300 million and the liberalised foreign investment policy has boosted the industry further.

AIFMP president Manoj B Mehta, who was in Bangalore recently in connection with the sixth National Awards for Execellence in Printing, said the country received nearly 150 million USD in 2009-10. He said the Indian printing sector is growing at 12% per annum and had a market share of about $22 billion while the packaging industry was also growing at 14-15% which is expected to double in the next two years.

Mehta said paper consumption is projected to reach 13.95 million ton by 2015-16 making India world's fastest growing market.

BBC News website wins top award

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 25, 2011

The BBC News website has won an international award for general excellence in online journalism. The Online News Association (ONA) handed out its annual awards in Boston on Saturday.

The site won the Online Journalism Award for a large website beating competition from the New York Times, Washington Post and Al-Jazeera English.

According to agency reports, BBC News took the award for general excellence in online journalism by a large site while The Globe and Mail won the award for a medium site. Al Jazeera was honoured in the breaking news category for its coverage of the popular uprising in Egypt.

The Los Angeles Times won two awards: one for innovative investigative journalism and a second for online video journalism at a large site. The newspaper's investigation of corruption in a small California town also earned a prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year.

Centre can decide on wage proposals for media: SC

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 22, 2011

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the government is free to go ahead and notify the recommendations made by the Majithia wage board for journalists and non-journalists in the print media industry.

The court gave the ruling when the Centre said it was not able to take a decision on the recommendations as the matter was pending before the court.

The court clarified that the Union cabinet can notify the recommendations, but this move would be subject to the outcome of the case filed by publishing companies, currently pending before the court.

Ananda Bazar Patrika, Times of India and several news agencies have moved the Supreme Court challenging the wage board recommendations. The Majithia wage board has recommended a steep hike in the salaries of newspaper employees and journalists. The court will commence hearing on the petitions on October 11.

India’s media is strength of election commission: Quraishi

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 21, 2011

Stressing that media is not only a watchdog for citizens’ welfare, but also plays an important role in educating them, chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said Indian media is the strength of the election commission.

Addressing the 44th Convocation of Indian Institute of Mass Communication here, he said in our country, the three pillars of democracy, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are very strongly complemented by the fourth estate, that is, the media. He said, the Commission and the Media should continue to work together to build a healthy, transparent, honest and sustainable edifice of democracy.

“The media has always played and continues to play a very important role in general elections, whether to both the Houses of Parliament, the state Legislatures and to the offices of the President of India and Vice-President of India, in terms of dissemination of information, analysis of the political agenda of the different political parties and contesting candidates, their profiles and prospects etc," he said.

Speaking on the occasion Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Chairman, IIMC Shri Raghu Menon said that two new regional centres of IIMC at Aizawl in Mizoram and Amravati in Maharashtra have started functioning from this academic year.

A total of 318 Students were Conferred PG Diplomas at the Convocation. 23 students of PG Diploma Courses 2010-11 in Hindi, English, Oriya, Radio & TV Journalism and Advertisement & Public Relations were also given awards on the occasion.

NYT launches country specific site, India Ink

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 14, 2011

Welcome to India Ink, The New York Times’ first-ever country-specific site for news, information, culture and conversation.

With an expanded team in India and a line-up of great contributors, India Ink will provide more in-depth, on-the-ground coverage of the world’s biggest democracy.

An announcement on site reads, "We’ll be reporting from the Ram Lila grounds in Delhi to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, tracking the triumphs and frustrations of daily desi life and the changes sweeping the nation. As we do, we plan to collaborate with readers in new ways, spark new debates and re-think old ones — all while producing more of the high-quality news that The New York Times is known for."

Time, Newsweek covers for 9/11 anniversary issue

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 9, 2011

To commemorate the anniversary of 9/11, Media Hive presents the covers of the two highly acclaimed news magazines - Time and Newsweek. Time's cover shows an image of New York from space, with two beams of light emanating from the place where the Twin Towers once stood. The tagline on the cover reads "Beyond 9/11." Newsweek's cover takes readers right back to 9/11 itself, showing a lone plane against a blindingly bright blue sky. The tagline reads, "Ten Years Of Fear, Grief, Revenge, Resilience.

Mayawati's fear grips UP reporters: WikiLeaks

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 6, 2011

One of the leaked cables sent by the US embassy in New Delhi to senior officials in US delves on Mayawati's relations with the press. It states that the UP chief minister rarely speaks with the media and when she does hold a press conference, questions are not allowed.

According to the cable, leaked by WikiLeaks, Lucknow journalists claimed the Mayawati's government has tapped their phones as well as those of civil servants. Most civil servants now refuse to talk to the press. Reporters fear losing their jobs should they print anything negative about Mayawati. Caving to political pressure, a leading national daily removed its Lucknow correspondent after she published a satirical piece about the chief minister. The newspaper's owners also operate sugar mills and chemical factories in UP.

The leaked cable said one Lucknow journalist related a story in which a state minister was forced to do sit-ups in front of her as penance for not first asking permission to call on UP's governor.

The statement titled "Eccentric Paranoia" in the cable states that Mayawati's full majority victory in May 2007 UP state assembly elections left her beholden to no one and has allowed her to act on her eccentricities, whims and insecurities. When she needed new sandals, her private jet flew empty to Mumbai to retrieve her preferred brand.

Leaked by Wikileaks, the cable sent by the political consul at the US embassy deals with US efforts to evaluate the political atmosphere in UP. The cable reveals that US embassy's political officers toured three cities in UP in October 2008.

TV Today Network CEO, G Krishnan, resigns

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 2, 2011

TV Today Network chief executive officer and executive director G Krishnan has left the organisation.

TV Today Network runs news channels like Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Delhi Aaj Tak and Tej. Krishnan, who has more than 25 years of experience, was instrumental in launching Aaj Tak from a daily TV news bulletin on Doordarshan to a full-fledged Hindi news channel in 2000.

Krishnan joined the group in 1995. Earlier, he worked with Bennett, Coleman & Company, where he was instrumental in launching India’s first private FM channel, Times FM, in 1993.

Govt panel to prevent media from blowing up issues

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Sept 1, 2011

Upset with the way the media, particularly electronic media, covered the anti-corruption agitation of Anna Hazare, the UPA govt has decided to set up a group to deal with issues concerning the accountability and regulation of media.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the setting up of the group at the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Tueday.

There was a constant pressure from some quarters within the government for curbs on media as they felt the "anti-government" slant in the Anna's coverage. They believed that the agitation at the Ramlila grounds was hyped up by the media and the euphoria around the issue was a result of the extensive coverage given to it.

However, the Opposition has opposed to the government's decision, terming the move as suspicious.

Scribes may need law degree to report on Supreme Court

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Aug 29, 2011

Journalists may soon need law degree to report on Supreme Court. According to a new norm issued by the Suoreme Court on Saturday, permanent and temporary accredited print journalists require a professional law degree and at least seven years of experience. Electronic media reporters need, apart from the law degree, at least three-and-a-half-years of experience. The circular, however, did not set a deadline for the norms to come into force.

The new norms is beleived to be the outcome of instances in which faults were found in coverage. Two of these arose from coverage of the Vodafone tax dispute. Vodafone lawyer Harish Salve complained to the Supreme Court that a Press Trust of India (PTI) report on 10 August had misquoted him.

Interestinglr, the new Supreme Court reporting norms, if enforced, will result in 80% of the journalists who have been covering proceedings being disqualified.

English media lauds Team England, laughs at India

By John Shary
Aug 23, 2011

Following Team England’s emphatic and series whitewash against India, the English media are awash with praise and greetings for their team coupled with mockery and criticism for the tourists. A number of the local dailies have engraved the tremendous triumph of the English on their front pages as flash headlines.

After winning the 4-match npower Test series and elevating to the top spot of International Test rankings, team England managed to clean sweep the series 4-0 yesterday night. They won the 4th and final Test with a margin of an innings and 8 runs.

Having lost the series, the crippled Indians tried their best to avert a whitewash, but in vain, as their batsmen again failed to score confidently. Sachin Tendulkar, India’s God of Cricket, could not complete his long-cherished 100th international ton and fell for 91 runs.

The Times published a headline as, “Tendulkar unable to save India from truth.”

The Independent wrote, “England top of the world - but aiming higher.” It also added, “Given the way England have played over the past 18 months, what could possibly go wrong? However you look at it, England’s cricket team last night could claim the greatest of distinctions. They were indeed the best in the world.”

Adding insult to India’s injury, The Daily Telegraph inscribed, “India simply weren’t up for the fight. England have embarrassed them. There are insufficient superlatives to describe their performance in this series.”

Indeed, it is the most auspicious time in the history of the English cricket and both the public and media are geared up to celebrate it. Moreover, the Poms’ promising success has proved to be an olive branch in the riot-hit atmosphere of London.

However, the press goes beyond moral limits sometimes while commemorating their team’s accomplishments. When the home team won the first three Tests, an online English newspaper compared the visiting team with a dog and published its write-up with the snap of dog.

Analysts censure this biased attitude of the local press and claim that it may have further demoralising effects on the Indian team, which is already on its knees after a nerve-crushing defeat.

Open editor, Manu Joseph, wins PEN literary awards

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Aug 20, 2011

Open magazine editor Manu Joseph and Pulitzer winner Siddhartha Mukherjee are among the winners of the 2011 PEN Awards, the most comprehensive literary awards programme in the US.

The winners and runners-up of the 17 awards, given by the PEN American Center, will be honoured on October 12 in New York City

While Mukherjee won the E O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award for his "The Emperor of All Maladies", Joseph's "Serious Men" was selected for the PEN Open Book Award for an exceptional work of literature by an author of colour published in 2010.

Hindustan Times, Delhi, gets new Dy Executive Editor

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Aug 19, 2011

Hindustan Times, Delhi, has appointed Shishir Gupta as Deputy Executive Editor. Prior to this he was the editor of Express News Service. Earlier also, he had worked with HT between 1996-2011. Shishir Gupta has also written a book Indian Mujahideen.

Police solve ETV Urdu journalist murder case

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Aug 12, 2011

The Delhi Police have solved the mystery behind the murder of ETV journalist Lateef Akram in the city last week.

According to the police, when four criminals from Amroha, who had just been released from Tihar Jail, heard Akram on a private bus discussing lakhs of rupees, they contacted their friends in Delhi and made plans to rob him. When he refused to hand over his bag, they shot him dead. Instead of lakhs, all they found was Rs 600.

Akram, a television producer, was shot dead at Zafrabad in northeast Delhi after the private bus he was travelling in dropped him in the Welcome area.

Four detained in ETV Urdu journalist’s murder case

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, Aug 10, 2011

Four days after a 32-year-old journalist working with a regional channel was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in the Zafrabad area of northeast Delhi, the distric police has referred the case to the Special Cell, said a TOI report on Wednesday.

Quoting sources, the news report said the specialised agency will assist the police by extending all technical help.

However, the police has detained four men allegedly involved in the murder. The robbery seems to have been the prime motive for killing Akram Lateef, the programming head of ETV Urdu television channel. Lateef, who lived in Amroha, UP, was shot at by unidentified men at around 11am at Zafrabad on August 5. He died later that evening in a city hospital.

The ETV-Urdu staffer had come to Delhi from Moradabad to cover an Iftaar programme.

Meet Vinod Rai, the new darling of Indian media

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, Aug 6, 2011

He has stirred a hornets’ nest by pointing out irregularities in various sectors. Ministers, bureaucrats corporate honchos have been put behind bars because of his reports. Even Prime Minister's criticism of 'him' over stepping the mandate has failed to stop him. Meet Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai, the new darling of India media.

Rai, a 1972 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, has consistently hit the headlines for his unforgiving audits, ranging from the 2010 Commonwealth Games to the 2G spectrum allocations. But on Friday (Aug 5), Rai brought out the new-found assertiveness of the constitutional body.

Though Rai did not face the media on Friday, the top brass of CAG addressed the media conference and pulled up various departments including the Prime Minister's Office over the way they organised the Commonwealth Games last year.

Leading national daily Times of India on Friday wrote: "While it has been the practice in recent years to hold press conferences after their reports are tabled in Parliament, the CAG is finding itself bathed in a new-found status, as the media darling with multiple news channels telecasting the media conference live."

The political and media circles are now comparing the Rai's posturing to former CEC T N Seshan, who courted the media in his bid to clean up the electoral process.

According to them, the last time the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office was in the news was in late 1980s when T N Chaturvedi exposed the Bofors scandal.

According to bureaucratic sources there was quite a bit of pressure on Rai to dilute the 2G report but he didn't budge. The report even pointed out a finger at the PMO for arbitrarily giving away spectrum.

Rai, the former MD of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation from 1977 to 1980, has also been the Principal Secretary (Finance) in Kerala, apart from holding senior positions in the Union ministries of Commerce and Defence.

India to help Afghanistan expand media network

Media Hive News Network
Aug 5, 2011

India will help Afghanistan to expand the mass media network and build communication infrastructure in the conflict-hit country.

It has been recently decided at a meeting between a visiting Afghan delegation led by Deputy Information Minister Mobarez Rasheidi and Indian Information Secretary Rahgu Menon.

India, which has already helped Afghanistan to set up modern radio and broadcast facilities at Jalalabad, will provide provide experts to formulate mass communication policies. The Afghan team also held discussions with Neelam Kapur, principal director general, media and communication in the information ministry, regarding the training of Afghan information officials.

India will help in the development of free Press in Afghanistan, assistance in the production of documentaries, films, development of radio and television content and its marketing.

Vikram Chandra Appointed CEO, NDTV Group

Media Hive News Network
Aug 2, 2011

NDTV announced on Monday that Vikram Chandra has been appointed CEO of the NDTV Group. Vikram has been with NDTV for 17 years. A leading anchor of the channel, Chandra headed NDTV Profit from its creation and led it to become India's leading business channel. He then became CEO of NDTV Networks.

As CEO of NDTV Group, Vikram will have overall authority and responsibility for all aspects of the company: corporate, operational and channel performance. He will become a member of the NDTV Board.

Curbs on Chinese media over train crash coverage

Media Hive News Network
Aug 1, 2011

After days of growing public outcry over last month’s high-speed train crash near Wenzhou in which 40 people were killed, Chinese authorities have enacted a virtual news blackout on the disaster except for positive stories or information officially released by the government.

The sudden order from the Communist Party’s publicity department, handed down late on Friday, forced newspaper editors to frantically tear up pages of their Saturday editions, replacing investigative articles and commentaries about the accident that killed 40 people in eastern China with cartoons or unrelated features, said agencies reports.

Major Internet also portals removed links to news reports or videos related to the crash near Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, in which 192 people were also hurt.

The government’s decision to muzzle the media followed a remarkable outpouring of online criticism of the government over the July 23 accident.

For many in China, the train wreck has crystallized concerns about whether the government is sacrificing people’s lives and safety in pursuit of breakneck development and is cloaking its failures in secrecy or propaganda, said an NYT report.

Veteran journalist Inder Jit passes away

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, July 31, 2011

Veteran journalist Inder Jit, who played a key role in negotiating the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Agreement in 1980s, died in New Delhi on Sunday. Inder Jit, 84,was not well for a long time and was admitted to the AIIMS a week ago.

He worked with Hindustan Times and Times of India in late 40s and early 50s. He was also associated with many foreign newspapers like Daily Telegraph and The Times.

Inder Jit was the key person in negotiating the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council accord between GNLF's Subhash Ghisingh and the Centre in 1988. He was also elected to Lok Sabha from Darjeeling in 1989 and 1991 on Congress ticket.

Hina irks over media terming her 'fashion icon'

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, July 30, 2011

She came, she got full media coverage, but she didn't like it. This is Hina Rabbani Khar, the Pakistan's new female foreign minister, who returned to Lahore on Thursday evening after talks with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna. Excessive scrutiny in Indian media about her fashion statement irked her. And after her arrival in Lahore when a reporter asked a question regarding the coverage of her fashion in Indian newspapers and TV channels, the 34-year-old Khar blasted, "You see, paparazzi are everywhere. Besides, you (media) should not do such acts." She refused to answer any more.

As soon as she landed in Delhi on Tuesday evening, her style statement became the talk of the town. Her dressing sense, glamour quotient, pearl jewellery, sunglass and Birkin bag got the media spotlight. Next morning almost every national dailies splashed her photos on their front pages with flattering headlines. Even one newspaper's headline jokingly said ..."Pak bomb lands in India."

Judging the media's attention on her arrival, a senior Delhi-based journalist in his blog predicted: "As her talks with SM Krishna may not give our mediapersons to write much on diplomacy front, they certainly will continue to write more on Hina's style statement."

Truely, her fashion statement overshadowed the India-Pakistan dialogue on Wednesday evening. A leading national daily on Thursday carried a front page info chart about her watches, shoes, bag and dress.

A media analyst told Media Hive that Khar should not take her media coverage otherwise. She got the same media attention as other visiting women 'style icon' like Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni and Sarah Palin got when they visited India.

MP govt provides accident insurance cover to journalists

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, July 30, 2011

The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday announced a scheme providing accident insurance cover of Rs one lakh to the journalists, including photographers and videographers.

The state government's public relations department will pay 75% of the premium amount, while the journalist will have to pay the balance, said a news agency report.

The journalist should be within the ages 21-70 and domiciled as well as working in Madhya Pradesh.

Pakistani media praises Krishna-Khar talks

Media Hive News Network
July 29, 2011

Pakistani media on Thursday praised the India-Pakistan foreign ministers' talks. They noted that the talks between S M Krishan and Hina Rabbani Khar could advance the dialogue process after a three-year deadlock over the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Krishna and Khar have agreed on several Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) to promote trade and facilitate the movement of Kashmiris.

The Dawn in its lead story on Thursday said, "The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan revived the pursuit of an 'uninterruptible' dialogue process on Wednesday though both sides were aware of a nagging hurdle -- their wavering trust."

"Pakistan-India relationship: New era dawns in ties," said the headline in the Express Tribune daily.

"India and Pakistan's foreign ministers insisted relations were back on track on Wednesday after peace talks that highlighted a 'new era' of cooperation over the ruptures of the past," the Daily Times reported.

The Pakistan Observer said, "Pakistan and India have agreed to carry forward the dialogue process with a view to resolving peacefully all outstanding issues through constructive and result- oriented engagement, and to establish friendly, cooperative and good neighborly relations."

The Dawn story gave the headline: "Pakistan, India revive search for enduring dialogue process".

BBC journalist killed in Afghanistan

Media Hive News Network
July 29, 2011

Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, 25, who worked as BBC stringer in Uruzgan province in south of Afghanistan, killed in insurgent attack on Thursday.

According to Guardian, thr journalist was killed when the local radio and television offices were attacked. Afghan security officials confirmed up to six suicide bombers stormed the provincial governor's compound and other government offices in the provincial capital.

"Death of Omed Khpalwak unspeakable tragedy shared by whole BBC family," tweeted BBC's foreign editor, Jon Williams.

Rs 10 crore for DD News content revamp

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, July 27, 2011

To revitaliSe Doordarshan channels, the I&B ministry has approved Prasar Bharati's proposal to commission and produce new content for introducing new programming for DD channels, including DD News. It is learnt that the government has allocated Rs 10 crore for DD News. A total of Rs 142 crore will be pumped in to revamp the content for six Doordarshan channels, which include DD Urdu.

In another development, the ministry has dedcided to increase the annual fees and a performance guarantee that can be forfeited if the channel or teleport does not begin operations within a year of receiving permission.

The ministry has already given permission to 668 channels including 336 news and 332 non-news channels. There are more than 410 applications pending with the ministry.

Journalist in UK hacking scandal signs book deal

Media Hive News Network
July 26, 2011

Although the final chapter about the fate of Rupert Murdoch has yet to be written, UK journalist Nick Davies has already signed a book deal. Davies' HackAttack: How the Truth Caught up with the World's Most Powerful Man will hit US stores next year.

Nick Davies, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper of London, broke the story in 2009 that News International, the UK division of News Corp, had paid 1 million pounds to settle legal cases dealing with hacking by staff members at the company's now defunct News of the World tabloid.

He then followed the case and tracked down sources who could verify that reporters had illegally tapped into cell phones of celebrities, politicians and even a young murder victim to get private information the News of the World could publish

The book will be published by Faber and Faber, a subsidiary of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Davies, who is also author of the bestseller 'Flat Earth News', intends to provide an authoritative account and commentary on the News International scandal, including new revelations

NYT to launch Indian-specific news website

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, July 23, 2011

Following the entry of The Wall Street Journal's digital edition into India in 2009, more international media firms are gearing up for the launch of India-specific news websites.

The New York Times is all set to unveil an India-specific online edition featuring a mix of international and local news within a fortnight. According to industry sources, Huffingtonpost.com, owned by AOL Inc., will also launch an India-specific online edition in the next few months.

The website, India.wsj.com, features content coverage specific to India and features blogs, videos, photo sections and editorials besides local news.

The Financial Times has also an India home page on the FT.com website in March, showcasing international news and analysis catering to audiences in the countr

According to the ComScore Media Metrix, a global audience measurement company tracking digital and online trends, Yahoo! News, New York Times Digital, BBC, CNN Network and the Huffington Post feature among the top 15 news and information websites that Indians regularly visited.

The New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal are among the top global newspaper sites that Indians visit.

According to market observers,news is the fastest growing category in the overall online landscape in India and the total digital advertising market is around Rs.1,300 crore.

Though Foreign direct investment (FDI) is currently limited to 26% in news and current affairs in print, the online sector isn’t so strictly regulated, and brands can enter on their own in India.

Varadarajan appointed editor of The Hindu

Media Hive News Network
Chennai, July 21, 2011

The family feud of The Hindu newspaper deepened on Wednesday with its joint managing director N Murali, editor of the newspaper N Ravi, executive editor Malini Parthasarathy, and two others resigning in protest over the appointment of Siddharth Varadarajan as editor of the newspaper.
The Chennai-based daily, which is published by Kasturi and Sons Ltd, has got the first editor of the paper in nearly five decades who doesn’t belong to the family that runs it.
After about three months of litigation, the Hindu’s national bureau chief Siddharth Varadarajan was finally appointed editor of the 132-year-old daily, following a resolution supported by a majority of directors on Wednesday.
Varadarajan’s appointment will be with effect from July 30 and he will report to editor-in-chief N. Ram.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the family feud and asked the Company Law Board to conduct a day-to-day hearing of Ravi's petition against the decision to oust him and appoint Varadarajan as editor.

The court ordered the CLB to conduct hearings from August 8. Ravi had complained that a faction of the owner-family, to which he belonged, was being sidelined by Ram and he had drafted a non-family member as editor of the newspaper against much qualified family members.

At a board meeting in April, seven of the 12 members led by N. Ram called for a non-family member to become editor. The majority also supported the removal of Ravi and Parthasarathy from their posts.

The minority group on the board consists of Ravi, Parthasarathy, Lakshman, Murali and director Nalini Krishnan.

In May, Ravi, Murali and Parthasarathy had approached the CLB. The CLB ruled against a change in the editorial team.

Ram then appealed to the Madras high court to overturn the CLB order.

Ravi and fellow board members approached the Supreme Court, which on 18 July instructed the CLB to speed up the process and hear the case on a day-to-day basis.

Cameron widens inquiry on media regulation to include BBC

Media Hive News Network
July 21, 2011

British Prime Minister David Cameron has broadened the terms of the inquiry into the conduct of the media to include the BBC and social media.

According to Guardian, The prime minister is setting out the formal terms of reference of the inquiry to be led by Lord Justice Leveson, an appeal court judge. The inquiry has become something of a behemoth, leading Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat media spokesman, to assert he could not see how it could be completed within its timetable of a year.

The daily says Cameron also announced in the Commons that he would like to see politicians taken out of all future decisions on media takeovers, and the media regulator, currently Ofcom, given powers to intervene not just at the point of a takeover but also when a paper or media group developed a more dominant position.

Murdoch denies prior knowledge of hacking

Media Hive News Network
July 20, 2011

Media baron Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday told the House of Commons that he was unaware of the hacking and that he was misled. Murdoch and his team at the hearing of the hacking scandal surrounding his media empire explained the entire hacking scandal was the most humble day of his life.

When asked if he were aware that in 2003 Rebekah Brooks gave evidence to the parliamentary committee and admitted to paying the police, he said he was not aware at the time.

"I am now aware of that, I was not aware at the time, I am also aware that she amended that fairly quickly after that," Murdoch said.

Murdoch also said, "It was not our job to get in the course of justice it was up to the police to bring those charges and to carry out their investigation which we were 100 per cent cooperative with."

On being asked for the reason of his calling it the end for the the 168-year-old British tabloid News of the World, Murdoch said he closed down the newspaper because he felt ashamed of how it functioned.

"Yes we felt ashamed of what had happened, we though we would bring it to a close," said Murdoch.

"I am not responsible for the whole fiasco. The police should hold those people whom I trusted and in turn they trusted others who may be responsible for the fiasco," he added.

Apart from Murdoch, his son James Murdoch and former Chief Executive of News International Rebekah Brooks were also present at the hearing.

Meanwhile a NYT report says that the scandal has stired US debate on Big Media.

"Progressive activists and public interest groups that have long blasted Rupert Murdoch and his News Corporation for political biases now have a new and much more tangible reason to call for the revocation of his TV licenses and the breakup of his company," says the report

According to the news report, they say the British hacking scandal that has stained Mr. Murdoch’s reputation is an opportunity to raise awareness of — and, they hope, objection to — media consolidation at a time when the American government is reviewing the rules that govern how much companies like News Corporation, Comcast and the Walt Disney Company can own.

The scandal is also giving Democratic lawmakers an opportunity to call for more attention to the practices of such companies, says the NYT report.

Mumbai's court restrains media on CCTV coverage

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, July 20, 2011

Mumbai's metropolitan magistrate's court on Tuesday restrained media from either publishing or telecasting images related to the CCTV footage of the July 13 bomb blasts in the city.

Magistrate N J Shende in his order said, "If identity of the witnesses is disclosed to the public at large, it may hamper the smooth investigation of the case and may cause threat to such persons."

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad had moved the court saying the media was telecasting and publishing images from the CCTV footage, including suspects. The ATS pleaded that such coverage might hamper the investigations and disclose the identity of important witnesses.

Murdoch's Indian biz does well despite UK hacking row

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, July 19, 2011

Rupert Murdoch's Indian empire, which spans from TV news, TV production and broadcasting, films, cable distribution, DTH services, wireless and digital services, is doing its business as usual and it seems unaffected from the ongoing UK hacking row.

He has been doing business in India for 20 years and his Indian ventures are controlled by Star India Private Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of News Corporation.

One of India's biggest broadcasting groups, Star India's network includes 32 channels in eight languages catering to more than 400 million people every week.

Their portfolio includes Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold, Channel [V], Star Jalsha, Star Pravah, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav and joint venture channels Asianet, Asianet Plus, Star Vijay, Suvarna, Star News, ESPN and Star Sports.

Star India holds 26% equity in Hindi news channel Star News, in line with Indian government foreign direct investment guidelines.The remaining 74% stake is held by ABP TV, a 100% subsidiary of media conglomerate ABP Ltd. Media Content & Communications Services Ltd (MCCS) runs the channel.

MCCS has two more regional language news channels - Star Ananda in Bengali and Star Majha in Marathi.

Star India also manages a portfolio of business ventures including DTH operator Tata Sky, in which it has 20% stake. The balance 80% is held by the Tata group. Cable TV supplier Hathway is Star India's multisystem operator (MSO) arm.

Star India's channel distribution units is called Star Den that recently entered into a joint distribution alliance with the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd Group.

Star India's south Indian broadcast business includes Asianet channels and STAR Vijay. Its Fox Star Studios India is into the film production and distribution business while its teleshopping channel is called STAR CJ Home Shopping.

News Corporation holds 50% stake in ESPN Star Sports. It has a 40% stake in Harper-Collins India, which is a part of the India Today Group.

The Star group entered India in 1990 through an alliance with Subhash Chandra's Zee TV which was discontinued later. Meanwhile, Star TV was launched as an independent venture of Murdoch spearheading his growth in India.

Star India recently entered into an advertising sales tie up with NDTV.

News of the World journalist found dead

Media Hive News Network
July 19, 2011

News of the World's former journalist Sean Hoare, who was the first journalist to publicly allege that former editor at the paper Andy Coulson encouraged his staff to hack voicemails, was found dead at his home on Monday.

According to media reports, the discovery of Hoare’s body was made by police at his Watford home after concerns were raised about his whereabouts. His death is described as “unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious”.

The issue continued to rock the corridors of power as two top police officers of the Scotland Yard - Sir Paul Stevenson and John Yats - resigned, even as anticipation built up about tomorrow hearing before MPs of Rupert and James Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons is scheduled to examine the three leading lights of the controversy while Sir Paul Stevenson, former police commissioner, will appear before the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The hearings will be telecast live, and are expected to register a wide audience due to the phone-hacking controversy that has hit Murdoch's media empire in the UK hard.

Last year, Hoare told The New York Times that Mr Coulson was completely aware phone-hacking was routinely used in the News of the World, insisting he urged reporters to use it to win exclusives.

Hoare explained his decision to speak out against the tabloid, saying reporters working for the newspaper were often as much victims as the people they hacked.

“I want to right a wrong, lift the lid on it, the whole culture. I know, we all know, that the hacking and other stuff is endemic. Because there is so much intimidation. In the newsroom, you have people being fired, breaking down in tears, hitting the bottle,” he said.

“I was paid to go out and take drugs with rock stars – get drunk with them, take pills with them, take cocaine with them. It was so competitive. You are going to go beyond the call of duty. You are going to do things that no sane man would do. You’re in a machine,” Hoare had told Guardian’ s Nick Davies.

Is the Los Angeles Times for Sale?

Shira Ovide
July 19, 2011

Media company Tribune has been mired in a seemingly endless bankruptcy for nearly three years. But that doesn’t mean Tribune can’t make shock waves with major moves, like a restructuring announced today that could position one of its trophy assets for a sale.

Tribune today announced a restructuring of its publishing division, which includes the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and other daily papers. Tribune put most of its major dailies under one umbrella, and conspicuously left the Los Angeles Times as its own entity with a separate executive overseer.

If Tribune wanted to sell the Los Angeles Times — and suitors have circled the newspaper in the past — the company may have created a perfect structure in which to do so.

One big caveat: The LA Times because of reasons of history and business decisions, recently has operated separate and distinct from the rest of its corporate brethren. The rest of the Tribune papers were pushed to share more content and editorial resources; Los Angeles was more or less spared from those orders from Chicago HQ.

And a little history here: Chicago and Los Angeles are the focal points of Tribune’s media empire, but the two coasts of the company have never gotten along.

Tribune was cobbled together in a merger of the Southern California-based Times Mirror media company and the longtime Chicago Tribune media enterprise. Ever since that 2000 deal, Chicago and Los Angeles have fought like cats and dogs. The Tribune infighting continued even after Chicago real estate maven Sam Zell led a deal to take all of Tribune private, and after the company tumbled into bankruptcy protection in 2007 as a result of debt taken on in the deal. (Courtesy: WSJ Blogs)

Why Subodh Kant Sahai disappointed at media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, July 16, 2011

Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahai on Friday expressed disappointment on a section of media for playing up his presence at a fashion show when Mumbai reeled under another terror attacks on the evening of July 13.

"Bharatiya Janata Party's national general secretary and former union minister Ashok Pradhan is a good friend of mine. I went there on his request that his daughter is making her debut in that show. But as soon as I got news of the Mumbai blast, I immediately came out. Unfortunately, a section of the media presented it in a wrong way as if he were insensitive to the blasts," Sahai clarified in a press release.

Though Sahay tried to wriggle out by saying that he left the show when he learnt about the terror attacks but the fact about the timing of the fashion show, late night in a New Delhi five-star hotel, did not bail him out, says a newspaper report.

The minister's attendance at the fashion show in the wake of a national tragedy and his reply, -- "Even after incidents like these, life doesn't come to a standstill. We should continue doing whatever we are doing." -- has triggered comments in both the mainstream and social media.

The gathering at the fashion show included Delhi mayor Aarti Mehra, BJP leader Vani Tripathi and wife of Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Hamid Ansari reminds media of paid news issue

Media Hive News Network
Indore, July 15, 2011

Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Friday said any discussion on the issue of regulation of media should not avoid 'paid news' menace.

"It is the duty of the media to take an initiative to ward off different concerns associated with the profession," Ansari said, after inaugurating the `Language Journalism Festival - Prabhash Prasang', organiSed here in memory of noted Hindi journalist, Prabhash Joshi.

"The failure of media industry and the Press Council of India in bringing out report on the issue of paid news indicated that when it came to self-criticism, the entire industry becomes silent," he said.

Journalists attacked over expose of capitation fee

Media Hive News Network
Thiruvananthapuram, July15, 2011

Angry over a TV channel expose of huge capitation fee allegedly demanded for admissions by CSI Medical College at Karakonam, a group of people, including some policemen, on Thursday attacked journalists at the diocesan headquarters of Church of South India here

According to reporters, Sarath Krishnan and Ayyappan of Asianet and Marshal Sebastian of India Vision were beaten up and cameras with footage of the incident were forcibly taken away. They were injured in the attack by the group who came out from the LMS compound, where the diocesan office is located.

Two days back Asianet had aired a sting operation which alleged that church officials had demanded a hefty amount as capital fee for admission in the management quota in the college.

Later, journalists here took to the streets to protest assaults on three of their colleagues and staged a sit-in outside the state assembly.

No sign of a news crisis in India: The Economist

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, July 12, 2011

The latest issue of the renowned magazine The Economist has carried a story on newspaper industry across the world. It says American newspapers are in trouble, but in emerging markets the news industry is roaring ahead. The Economist says, "There is certainly no sign of a news crisis in India, now the world’s fastest-growing newspaper market."

The story says that according to the WAN, between 2005 and 2009 the number of paid-for daily newspapers in the country increased by 44% to 2,700 and the total number of newspapers rose by 23% to more than 74,000.

In 2008 India overtook China to become the leader in paid-for daily circulation, with 110m copies sold each day.Newspaper and magazine advertising expenditure increased by 32% in the year to June 2010, according to Nielsen India, a market-research firm.

The Economist furter says, "Television news is also booming: of more than 500 satellite channels that have been launched in India in the past 20 years, 81 are news channels. Thanks to India’s vast population, there is scope for growth in print media for years to come."

China is another market where news media are growing rapidly, but the strict controls on them have intensified in recent months. A private media industry was allowed to develop only in the 1990s.

Regarding America, the story says the internet-driven fall in classified-ad revenue is only one of the reasons for the decline of newspapers in the country, which started decades ago. The advent of television news, and then cable television, lured readers and advertisers away. Then the internet appeared in the 1990s. A new generation of readers grew up getting their news from television and the web, now the two leading news sources in America (the web overtook newspapers in 2010 and is already the most popular source among the under-30s).

"These technological shifts hit American newspapers particularly hard because of their heavy reliance on advertising. According to the OECD, a club of developed countries, in 2008 America’s newspapers collectively relied on advertising for 87% of their total revenue, more than any other country surveyed. The 2008-09 recession made things worse. Between 2007 and 2009 newspaper revenues in France fell by 4%, in Germany by 10% and in Britain by 21%. In America they plummeted by 30%. On top of that, a series of mergers and acquisitions in the American newspaper business left many companies saddled with huge debts and pushed several into bankruptcy, " the story analyses.

Newspapers in western Europe are having to manage long-term decline rather than short-term pain. In Germany, the biggest market, a 10% drop in revenue amid the worst recession in a generation “is not a terrible result."

In Japan, home to the world’s three biggest-selling daily newspapers (the Yomiuri Shimbun alone has a circulation of more than 10m), circulation has held up well, in part because over 94% of newspapers are sold by subscription. "But there is trouble on the horizon. Young Japanese do not share their elders’ enthusiasm for newsprint, and advertising revenues are dropping as the population ages," says the The Economist.

According to The Economist, the number of newspaper titles in Russia increased by 9% in 2009. But it might be no bad thing if a few newspapers died, particularly those “useless” titles that are merely mouthpieces for the local authorities that fund them, the story says, quoting Elena Vartanova, dean of the journalism school at Moscow State University.

New Press Club in Udupi

Media Hive News Network
July11, 2011

Karnataka's Higher Education Minister V S Acharya has inaugurated a new Press Club in Udupi.

Those present on this occasions include MP D V Sadanada Gowda, MLA Lalaji Mendon, Kota Shrinivasa Poojary, 3rd Finance Committee President A G Kodgi, Jilla Panchayath President Katapadi Shankara Poojary, Taluk Panchayath President Devdas Hebbar.
See Also: A complete list of Press Clubs in India and abroad

Social media helped fell News of the World

By Erik Sass
July 8, 2011

Thursday brought the news that News Corp. will close the 168-year-old News of the World, a British weekend tabloid with total average circulation of 3.7 million, following a final edition to be published this Sunday. The decision followed an outpouring of public anger in the U.K. over unethical and illegal reporting tactics employed by some of the newspaper's reporters, including hacking into the phones of teenage murder victims, the victims of a terrorist attack in London in July 2005, and British troops killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The reasons for the public outcry are plain enough: as a journalist myself, I personally find the phone hacking tactics employed by NOTW reporters utterly repellant. It is disgraceful and it has no place in journalism -- and that was still true, by the way, back when the scandal was confined to supposedly "fair game" like celebrities and members of the royal family (despite the forgiving attitude of the public, which apparently doesn't view those previous victims as human beings because they are famous).

As the scandal erupted, NOTW and its parent company News Corp. took fire from all directions, including all three dominant political parties in Parliament, public prosecutors, other news orgs, and the list goes on. But public opinion was the engine driving all this condemnation, and unsurprisingly, social media played a central role in voicing the grievances of regular Britons.

Pressure was exerted on prominent advertisers to withdraw their advertising from News of the World via campaigns organized on Twitter and Facebook; according to the U.K. and U.S. editions of Wired magazine, Twitter users disseminated pre-formatted tweets, under the hashtag #notw, for other Twitter users to send to big brands demanding they sever relations with the embattled tabloid, made even easier with "easy-tweet buttons." By the evening of July 4, Wired noted that "four out of 10 of the top UK trends on Twitter were News Of The World-related." Similar, pre-formatted protest emails with suggested wordings also circulated online. Meanwhile a watchdog group, Media Standards Trust, set up a Web site at hackinginquiry.org as a hub for activism about the issue on June 15.

The progress of the anti-NOTW campaign was tracked via a number of blogs -- some already existing, some established specifically for the purpose -- which posted updates detailing which advertisers had severed their relationships with NOTW, and which were still undecided... along with information telling visitors how to use online channels to add their voices to the swelling chorus of dissent. (Courtesy: Mediapost)

Stop leaks to media: Bombay High Court to police

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, July 7, 2011

The Bombay High Court said on Wednesday that it did not mind a joint probe by the Mumbai police and the CBI into the murder of Mid-Day's senior journalist J Dey. The HC, however, expressed displeasure over the police divulging details of investigations to the media before their conclusion. It asked the Maharashtra government to file a reply on police officers talking to the media about the J. Dey murder case, while it is under investigation.

A division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and RV More said: “This is not restricted to this case. Why should police officers talk to the media about cases which are under investigation?”

“Which police officers are the media approaching? Or are some police officers approaching the media? Is this a publicity stunt?” the bench asked Advocate-General Ravi Kadam after the lawyer for the intervention petitioner, ‘Press Club' Mumbai, submitted a compilation of newspaper articles about the investigation in the case.

Arguing on behalf of the Mumbai Press Club, counsel Navroz Seervai said the police had put Dey’s family in an embarrassing position by “planting” stories about him in the press.

 

 

Govt allows AIR news to be aired in FM channels

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, July 7, 2011

The Union Cabinet has approved Phase 3 of FM expansion in the country, which will enable the addition of 839 new radio channels. The government on Thursday also allowed private radio channels to broadcast news of All India Radio and enable revenue generation of Rs 1,733 crore from the auction of license for services in 227 cities.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here that the private FM channels will now be allowed to carry news items from AIR. Earlier they had not been allowed.

When asked why the private broadcasters have not been not allowed to air their own news, the minister said: “Gradually we are allowing news in the private radio stations and let's see how it goes forward“.

The Cabinet at its meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also approved hiking of foreign investment limit on private FM radio broadcasting company to 26% from the current 20%.

French journalist to file sexual assault case against Kahn

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, July 5, 2011

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is facing a new sexual assault investigation, after a French journalist, Tristane Banon, said she would formally accuse him of attempting to rape her.

Banon's claims that Kahn tried to rape her during a 2002 book interview came as the accusations he sexually assaulted a New York hotel maid appeared to be crumbling.

According to a agency report, the 62-year-old has responded by saying that he will sue Miss Banon for slander.

Miss Banon, 31, said on a 2007 television show that she had been attacked five years earlier by a politician she had interviewed for a book in his apartment. She later identified the man as Strauss-Kahn.

"It finished very violently," she said on the television show. "I kicked him. He opened my bra. He tried to undo my jeans. It finished very badly."

"Tristane Banon will file a complaint on Tuesday for attempted rape in Paris," David Koubbi, Banon's attorney, said on Monday.

Bookie arrested in journalist J Dey's murder case

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, July 4, 2011

Mumbai police on Sunday arrested a bookie, who is believed to have financed the operation to kill Mid Day journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. He is the eighth person to be held in the murder case.Vinod Asrani, from Chembur in northeast Mumbai, also identified Dey for the killers who shot dead the crime reporter at Powai on June 11.

Asrani, who is believed to be actively working for underworld don Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan, has been running an illegal betting racket, besides his real estate business.

Asrani was brought before before a magistrate and remanded to police custody till July 7. On June 26, Mumbai police solved the Dey murder case by arresting seven people.

Dey was editor (special investigations) of Mumbai tabloid Mid Day and specialized in reporting on the underworld.

Mamata Banerjee restores new media centre

Media Hive News Network
Kolkata, July 2, 2011

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday restored new media centre for reporters. But the new media centre, which is created in Delhi’s Press Information Bureau’s style, is not given any internet connectivity for journalists.

For the uninitiated, the old media centre, which was just opposite Chief Minister’s Office, was shut down by Jyoti Basu government when Mamata Banerjee sought an audience with Basu to get a deaf and dum girl justice in 1992. Mamata was then a young State Congress leader. The police deployed at Writers’ Building took Banerjee to Lal Bazar Police custody.

The incident set off both media protests and anti-government excitement among reporters. But the old Press Corner became the victim. The spacious room was replaced by another small room which reporters could use as their centre.

See Also: A complete list of Press Clubs in India and abroad

AIADMK fields journalist as RS by-poll candidate

Media Hive News Network
Chennai, July 1, 2011

AIADMK has fielded journalist and television anchor A William Rabi Bernard as its candidate for the July 22 by-elections to fill up the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu. A well-known journalist and AIADMK loyalist, Bernard had worked with various TV channels before he joined Jaya TV for which he has anchored several programmes.

Bernard worked with a newspaper before turning a lecturer in a city college and later moved to the visual media. He earlier worked as an anchor for Sun TV and his program 'Nerukku Ner' gained him popularity. After resigning from Sun TV, Bernard went on to launch Nila TV, a Tamil channel. He later joined Jaya TV and also switched political loyalties.

Bernard was the first to interview Jayalalithaa for Jaya TV soon after her party won the recent assembly elections.

Uttar Pradesh government gagging media: CNN-IBN

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 29, 2011

After its senior journalist was roughed up by police in Lucknow last Sunday, CNN-IBN on Monday said that the Uttar Pradesh government is attempting to gag the media from covering the rising crime incidents in the state.

A press release issued by the channel said, "The Uttar Pradesh administration, in an alleged attempt to gag the media for the recent coverage of rising crime graph in the state, rounded up Shalabh Mani Tripathi, the Lucknow bureau chief of IBN7 news channel," said.

The news channel has also claimed that its signal had been blacked out "in entire UP on several occasions during last few weeks when the channel refused to compromise and succumb to the state administration's pressures."

"IBN7 is committed to uncover the truth and we will continue to highlight the facts despite these pressure tactics. We will not get fazed by these attempts to curb the freedom of press, infact this makes our resolve stronger to stand for the truth," Editor-in-Chief, IBN Network, Rajdeep Sardesai said in a statement.

Mumbai Police Crack J Dey Murder Case

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 27, 2011

The Mumbai Police claim to have cracked the murder case of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, with the arrest of seven people.

Seven suspects have been arrested from Karnataka and Maharashtra. But police officials refused to divulge details of the arrested, saying they will be submitted in the court.

The senior Mid-Day journalist was a popular crime reporter, who extensively covered the underworld. It is said that he had many informers among the police as well as the underworld. The postmortem report had revealed that he was shot at a close range.

The police looked at both personal and professional enmity as the motive behind the murder. They investigated several angles including the involvement of the oil mafia and even cops that J Dey had written about. An Assistant Commissioner of Police was also questioned in the case.

J Dey murder: Top editors meet Prithviraj Chavan

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 22, 2011

A delegation of senior editors on Tuesday met Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in light of the brutal murder of senior journalist J Dey (in the pix). They conveyed that any attempt by the state to bring in a state press council or a grievance mechanism to check on the media will be strongly opposed.

The delegation, comprising representatives from both the print and electronic media, included included Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express), N Ram (The Hindu), Meenal Baghel ( Mumbai Mirror), Rahul Joshi ( Economic Times), Aditya Sinha (DNA), Sachin Kalbaug (Mid-day),Arnab Goswami (Times Now), Girish Kuber (Loksatta), Nikhil Wagle (IBN-Lokmat ), among others.

At a press conference, Wagle estimated that there had been over 879 attacks against journalists across Maharashtra. "There are ideological or political attacks and targeted attacks like J Dey in the state. No one has ever been convicted highlighting the lack of will and possible complacency at the lower level of the police."

The editors asked for a fast-track process for probing such attacks and fast track courts. A demand was made to enact the legislation being worked upon to protect journalists. Chavan said there were plans to provide to provide more powers to a vigilance committee for attacks against journalists.

J Dey murder: Top editors to meet Prithviraj Chavan today

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 21, 2011

A delegation of senior editors will meet Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday to demand that the probe into senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey’s killing be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The editors who are likely to attend the meeting with the CM include, Shekhar Gupta (editor-in-chief of the Express Group), N Ram (editor of The Hindu), Arnab Goswami (editor,Times Now), Rahul Joshi (executive editor, The Economic Times),Sachin Kalbag (editor of Mid-Day), Girish Kuber (editor of Loksatta) and Aditya Sinha (editor of DNA).

According to a statement by Mumbai Press Club, the meeting with the chief minister would be followed by a public meeting at the Club premises, it said. Mid Day journalist J. Dey was muerdered in Mumbai on June 11.

“Doubts have been raised about the possible links between certain officers of the Mumbai police and the underworld, and it is doubtful that the local police can do a neutral and efficient investigation that will unearth the plot to kill the senior journalist. Incidentally, the intervention petition filed by the Press Club and others will be heard by the Bombay high court on Tuesday when these issues will be highlighted,” the statement added.

Earlier, the Editors Guild of India have also demanded the Maharashtra government to take immediate steps to ensure that the killers are brought to justice.

“The Editors Guild deplores the law enforcement agencies’ inability to protect the life of a journalist engaged in carrying out his professional duties at great risk to himself,” Guild president T.N. Ninan and Secretary Coomi Kapoor had said in a statement. 

PMO to take steps on wage board recommendations

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 10, 2011

The Prime Minister’s Office will take steps to bring recommendations of the wage board for journalists and non-journalists for approval before the Union Cabinet.

Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday, “I have got comments from all the ministries and I have submitted them to the PMO. The PMO will definitely take action and bring it before the Cabinet.” The recommendations of Justice G R Majithia wage board for newspaper industry employees were were submitted to the government on December 31 last year.

While the employees have been protesting the delay in implementing the proposals, newspaper industry is against implemeting such recommendations.

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS), Press Trust of India (PTI) and other newspaper industry's barons have warned that many newspapers will have to shut down if the recommendations of the Justice Majithia wage board report are accepted.

According to INS, the report is flawed and one-sided, and if accepted by the government, would drive several newspaper establishments out of business.

A leading newspaper group, ABP Pvt Ltd, has already gone to the Supreme Court. PTI fears that if the recommendations are implemented, it would affect its modest profit.

Shortage of in-depth journalism in US: FCC Report

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 10, 2011

The US Federal Communications Commission has said that there is a shortage of in-depth journalism needed to hold government agencies, schools and businesses accountable.

The dearth of reporting comes despite an abundance of news outlets in today's multimedia landscape, says the federal agency that regulates television broadcasters in a report. According to a Huffington Post article, the report is the product of an 18-month effort to explore the turmoil sweeping the traditional media business in the US – particularly daily newspapers.

Newspapers have seen a sharp drop in revenue because of the weakening economy and a shift by advertisers to free or cheaper alternatives on the Internet. That has forced newspapers to cut staff and shrink their publications. The report says staffing levels at daily newspapers have fallen by more than 25 percent since 2001.

"A shortage of reporting manifests itself in invisible ways: stories not written, scandals not exposed, government waste not discovered, health dangers not identified in time, local elections involving candidates about whom we know little," the article says, quoting the FCC report.

Twitter introduces link-shortening feature

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 09, 2011

Here is some good news for Twitterati. Now, they don't have to worry about fitting a long link into the 140 character limit. Microblogging site Twitter has rolled out an automatic link shortner. The link shortening feature enables users to paste long URLs directly into messages sent through its microblogging website, without worrying that the message will exceed the service's 140-character limit.

Announcing the new feature on its blog the company said, "Just paste a link of any length into the Tweet box on Twitter.com. After you've composed your Tweet and you hit the "Tweet" button, we'll shorten the link so that it only takes up 19 characters."

India TV to launch premium English news channel

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 05, 2011

Independent News Service (INS) will launch its second 24-hour premium English news channel by October. According to Rajat Sharma, chairperson, Independent News Service (INS) and editor-in-chief, India TV, senior management has been finalised for the operation of the channel.

INS had got the permission from the I&B ministry to launch its second channel in 2009. But due to the slowdown, which affected the media industry, plans to launch the channel were stalled.

New York Times gets its first woman editor

New Delhi, June 05, 2011

Former investigative reporter Jill Abramson will become the first female executive editor in the nearly 160-year history of The New York Times in September, the newspaper announced on Thursday.

She joined The Times in 1997 after working at The Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter and deputy bureau chief. Abramson, 57, will succeed Bill Keller, who will continue to write for the daily.

Television journalist ‘forcibly’ picked by UP police

Media Hive News Network
Lucknow, June 27, 2011

A scribe of a news channel was allegedly picked up “forcibly” by police here in Hazratganj area here after which journalists staged a demonstration near Chief Minister’s residence.

Shalabh Mani Tripathi, state bureau chief of IBN7, was picked up by SP (City) BP Ashok and Circle Officer Anup Kumar while he was coming out of his office on Sunday evening, Tripathi’s colleagues alleged.

They alleged that the police not only manhandled Tripathi, but also thrashed his assistant and took them to the police station forcibly.

Police have threatened to implicate Tripathi in false case, they alleged.

Television channels run up Rs. 3 crore bill at Lok Sabha

Priscilla Jebaraj
New Delhi, June 25, 2011

With bills worth over Rs. 3 crore pending, private news channels are locked in an argument with Sansad Bhavan over whether they should have to pay for the use of Lok Sabha TV's Parliament feed.

The public broadcaster — funded from the Lok Sabha budget — is the only TV channel permitted to set up cameras in the House. When Parliament is in session, its proceedings are broadcast live on the channel.

On an average day, private news channels are only interested in using a short clip or two from Parliament in their bulletins, and this is available free of charge.

However, on certain occasions — budget and rail budget speeches, Presidential addresses, no-confidence motions, and special debates — news channels carry long stretches of uninterrupted feed from LSTV. Since 2008, the public broadcaster has been charging private channels Rs. 1 lakh for each of these. For a Rs. 3 lakh package, channels are free to use any event feed for one year.

But the channels are refusing to pay, saying the feed should be provided free “in national interest.” Between 2008 and 2011, the unpaid bills have piled up and now amount to Rs. 3.2 crore and counting, according to sources at LSTV. In contrast, bills worth a measly Rs. 35 lakh have been paid so far.

“Private news channels mint money during the budget, but they are not willing to pay us such a nominal charge,” complained a senior official. “We charge them just Rs. 1 lakh. What is that in comparison with how much they charge for advertising?”

Of the 55 channels — including a few news websites — which covered the 2009-10 budget speech using Lok Sabha TV feed, only six have cleared their bills. Most of those are websites, including rediff.com, E18.com and Virtual Studio. Business channel CNBC and Zee also paid for the Hindi feed. All the major players have banded together and refused to pay up.

The spat is now being considered by Speaker Meira Kumar and the 15 MPs who constitute LSTV's Advisory Council. The private channels have expressed confidence that the Speaker can be convinced to waive the pending bills.

In a letter on the issue, News Broadcasters Association secretary-general Annie Joseph made the case that LSTV is a public broadcaster and has the responsibility to provide the feed as a matter of public interest. Her letter also hinted at discrimination against the electronic media vis-à-vis print, pointing out that newspaper journalists have access to the Lok Sabha and government-issued press releases in order to do their job, while TV journalists are not allowed to set up their cameras in the House.

Ms. Joseph also invoked the provisions of the Copyright Act, which allows “the use, consistent with fair dealing, of excerpts of… a broadcast in the reporting of current events.”

LSTV officials are not convinced. “We have no problem with them using ‘excerpts,' but they want to carry the whole speech. How is that fair dealing?” said a senior official.

He pooh-poohed the notion that LSTV must share its feed in public interest. “The public has access to Parliamentary coverage on our channel, which is carried by every cable operator,” he said. In fact, LSTV is watched by as many people as its private competitors, with a reach that even overtakes major English news channels in several markets when Parliament is in session.

Asked for his views, the managing editor of a leading English news channel took the offensive. “[LSTV] have got to decide: are they a public service or a commercial service? If you're a public service broadcaster, then you must share your feed in public interest. But if you want us to pay for it, then you are a commercial service, and you must pay carriage fees like everyone else,” he said, complaining that cable operators are mandated to carry LSTV without any fee. “It cuts both ways.”

A senior channel head denied that private channels, which want free feed, are then making money off it by selling advertising slots. “We are not selling advertisements just for the budget. That is just one story in a whole day,” he said.

LSTV's charges are a form of “double taxation,” argued the editor-in-chief of another major channel. “I'm sure LSTV is also subsidised by the government to cover Parliament. That is money coming from the taxpayer, so why should they be paid again for that feed?” he asked, adding that government broadcaster Doordarshan, which used to cover and share the Parliament feed before LSTV came into existence in 2006, never charged private channels.

In fact, LSTV is funded from Parliament's budget, rather than through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as DD was, but the money does come from the government exchequer at the end of the day. The channel's operating expenditure amounts to Rs. 8.5 crore per annum, and it makes about Rs. 5 crore from advertisements or “awareness campaigns” run by government departments and PSUs. Since it does not accept private advertisers, its only hope for additional revenue rests on the fee it charges from channels carrying its feed. (Courtesy: The Hindu)

BBC Hindi Service not to go off air

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 23, 2011

British foreign secretary William Hague has announced an additional 2.2 million pounds for the BBC World Service over the next three years, which will enable continuation of the Hindi and Arabic services.

In January this year, BBC had announced the closure of the Hindi service by April 1. The decision was announced in a bid to cut costs.

BBC Hindi shortwave radio service has been in existence even before India had got its Independence. Some of the biggest news from the country were relayed to the world first by BBC, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the All India Radio and Doordarshan held back the information for several hours.

Hague’s statement confirms chairman of BBC Trust Lord Chris Patten‘s efforts to ensure the continuation of the Hindi Service.

In February this year, 18 leading intellectuals, including the BBC’s iconic voice from India, Mark Tully, had written a letter to the editor of The Guardian, pleading for the continuation of broadcast of the BBC’s Hindi service.

The other signatories were Gillian Wright, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, William Dalrymple, Ram Guha, Kuldip Nayar, Amjad Ali Khan, Inder Malhotra, M J Akbar, Sam Miller, Sunita Naraian, Kiran Bedi, Tessa Hamblin, Swami Agnivesh, Prashant Bhushan, Dilawar K. Singh and Neelima Mathur.

J Dey murder: Top editors meet Prithviraj Chavan

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 22, 2011

A delegation of senior editors on Tuesday met Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in light of the brutal murder of senior journalist J Dey (in the pix). They conveyed that any attempt by the state to bring in a state press council or a grievance mechanism to check on the media will be strongly opposed.

The delegation, comprising representatives from both the print and electronic media, included included Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express), N Ram (The Hindu), Meenal Baghel ( Mumbai Mirror), Rahul Joshi ( Economic Times), Aditya Sinha (DNA), Sachin Kalbaug (Mid-day),Arnab Goswami (Times Now), Girish Kuber (Loksatta), Nikhil Wagle (IBN-Lokmat ), among others.

At a press conference, Wagle estimated that there had been over 879 attacks against journalists across Maharashtra. "There are ideological or political attacks and targeted attacks like J Dey in the state. No one has ever been convicted highlighting the lack of will and possible complacency at the lower level of the police."

The editors asked for a fast-track process for probing such attacks and fast track courts. A demand was made to enact the legislation being worked upon to protect journalists. Chavan said there were plans to provide to provide more powers to a vigilance committee for attacks against journalists.

 

 

J Dey murder: Top editors to meet Prithviraj Chavan today

Media Hive News Network
Mumbai, June 21, 2011

A delegation of senior editors will meet Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday to demand that the probe into senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey’s killing be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The editors who are likely to attend the meeting with the CM include, Shekhar Gupta (editor-in-chief of the Express Group), N Ram (editor of The Hindu), Arnab Goswami (editor,Times Now), Rahul Joshi (executive editor, The Economic Times),Sachin Kalbag (editor of Mid-Day), Girish Kuber (editor of Loksatta) and Aditya Sinha (editor of DNA).

According to a statement by Mumbai Press Club, the meeting with the chief minister would be followed by a public meeting at the Club premises, it said. Mid Day journalist J. Dey was muerdered in Mumbai on June 11.

“Doubts have been raised about the possible links between certain officers of the Mumbai police and the underworld, and it is doubtful that the local police can do a neutral and efficient investigation that will unearth the plot to kill the senior journalist. Incidentally, the intervention petition filed by the Press Club and others will be heard by the Bombay high court on Tuesday when these issues will be highlighted,” the statement added.

Earlier, the Editors Guild of India have also demanded the Maharashtra government to take immediate steps to ensure that the killers are brought to justice.

“The Editors Guild deplores the law enforcement agencies’ inability to protect the life of a journalist engaged in carrying out his professional duties at great risk to himself,” Guild president T.N. Ninan and Secretary Coomi Kapoor had said in a statement.

PMO to take steps on wage board recommendations

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 10, 2011

The Prime Minister’s Office will take steps to bring recommendations of the wage board for journalists and non-journalists for approval before the Union Cabinet.

Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday, “I have got comments from all the ministries and I have submitted them to the PMO. The PMO will definitely take action and bring it before the Cabinet.” The recommendations of Justice G R Majithia wage board for newspaper industry employees were were submitted to the government on December 31 last year.

While the employees have been protesting the delay in implementing the proposals, newspaper industry is against implemeting such recommendations.

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS), Press Trust of India (PTI) and other newspaper industry's barons have warned that many newspapers will have to shut down if the recommendations of the Justice Majithia wage board report are accepted.

According to INS, the report is flawed and one-sided, and if accepted by the government, would drive several newspaper establishments out of business.

A leading newspaper group, ABP Pvt Ltd, has already gone to the Supreme Court. PTI fears that if the recommendations are implemented, it would affect its modest profit.

Shortage of in-depth journalism in US: FCC Report

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 10, 2011

The US Federal Communications Commission has said that there is a shortage of in-depth journalism needed to hold government agencies, schools and businesses accountable.

The dearth of reporting comes despite an abundance of news outlets in today's multimedia landscape, says the federal agency that regulates television broadcasters in a report. According to a Huffington Post article, the report is the product of an 18-month effort to explore the turmoil sweeping the traditional media business in the US – particularly daily newspapers.

Newspapers have seen a sharp drop in revenue because of the weakening economy and a shift by advertisers to free or cheaper alternatives on the Internet. That has forced newspapers to cut staff and shrink their publications. The report says staffing levels at daily newspapers have fallen by more than 25 percent since 2001.

"A shortage of reporting manifests itself in invisible ways: stories not written, scandals not exposed, government waste not discovered, health dangers not identified in time, local elections involving candidates about whom we know little," the article says, quoting the FCC report.

Twitter introduces link-shortening feature

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 09, 2011

Here is some good news for Twitterati. Now, they don't have to worry about fitting a long link into the 140 character limit. Microblogging site Twitter has rolled out an automatic link shortner. The link shortening feature enables users to paste long URLs directly into messages sent through its microblogging website, without worrying that the message will exceed the service's 140-character limit.

Announcing the new feature on its blog the company said, "Just paste a link of any length into the Tweet box on Twitter.com. After you've composed your Tweet and you hit the "Tweet" button, we'll shorten the link so that it only takes up 19 characters."

India TV to launch premium English news channel

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 05, 2011

Independent News Service (INS) will launch its second 24-hour premium English news channel by October. According to Rajat Sharma, chairperson, Independent News Service (INS) and editor-in-chief, India TV, senior management has been finalised for the operation of the channel.

INS had got the permission from the I&B ministry to launch its second channel in 2009. But due to the slowdown, which affected the media industry, plans to launch the channel were stalled.

New York Times gets its first woman editor

New Delhi, June 05, 2011

Former investigative reporter Jill Abramson will become the first female executive editor in the nearly 160-year history of The New York Times in September, the newspaper announced on Thursday.

She joined The Times in 1997 after working at The Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter and deputy bureau chief. Abramson, 57, will succeed Bill Keller, who will continue to write for the daily. 

 

Newspaper industry doesn't want wage Board

Manish Kumar
New Delhi, June 04, 2011

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS), Press Trust of India (PTI) and other newspaper industry's barons have warned that many newspapers will have to shut down if the recommendations of the Justice Majithia wage board report are accepted.

The latest Justice Majithia wage board's recommendation of a huge 80-100% wage hike - coming on top of an unprecedented 30% interim relief with effect from January 2008 - has led to an outcry in the newspaper industry.

The Justice Majithia wage board recommendations were submitted to Union labour ministry on December 31, last year and the Centre is yet to take a view on the recommendations.

In a recent representation, INS has said: "If the recommendations in the report are implemented, what to say of small and medium newspaper establishments who have no capacity to pay, some of leading newspaper groups too would find it difficult to implement and would suffer heavy losses. It would not only result in their inability to pay but also result in suspension of activities."

According to INS, the report is flawed and one-sided, and if accepted by the government, would drive several newspaper establishments out of business.

In a recent edit page article Ravindra Dhariwal, CEO, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd,has called for the abolition of the wage boards altogether on constitutional grounds, since there is no wage board (statutory/nonstatutory) for any other industry or any other media — TV, Radio, Internet, etc— and only the print industry has been singled out. "Singling out the newspaper industry like this is plainly discriminatory. It is aimed at fettering the freedoms granted to the media by the Constitution," he writes.

A leading newspaper group, ABP Pvt Ltd, has already gone to the Supreme Court.

PTI fears that if the recommendations are implemented, it would affect its modest profit.
The staff costs make up 60% of the news agency's expenses and only around 5% of the country's 7,000 dailies subscribe to it and any further hike may mean more subscribers giving up the service, apprehends the country's leading news agency.

Meanwhile, Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees’ Organisations (CNNAEO) on Friday decried attempts to “sabotage” the wage revision in the print media.
It warned of an industrial action if such attempts continue.The wage boards for the newspaper and news agencies’ employees comprise equal number of representatives of employers and employees, besides some independent members, it said.

Press Club of India mourns death of Pak journalist

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, June 04, 2011

The Press Club of India (PCI) has mourned the death of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad.

Shahzad went missing two days after he wrote a report in which he alleged that al-Qaeda had infiltrated the Pakistan navy. His body was found from a canal in Mandi Bahauddin on May 31, bearing signs of torture.

PCI's press release said, “Journalism transcends borders. We believe in freedom of information and expression is a universal fundamental right. We whole-heartedly praise our brave colleagues in Pakistan who are working under the most challenging circumstances. The current situation in Pakistan has left not only its citizens, but all of us dazed.”

US newspapers also regretted the abduction and killing of Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad while underscoring the need for investigation in an effort to bring the culprits to justice.

In an editorial, The New York Times said Shahzad knew he was a marked man, and paid tributes to Shahzad’s courage in covering issues relating to national security and terrorism.

“Suspicion inevitably falls on Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s chief intelligence agency,” the Times said, while noting that ISI had issued a denial of allegations about its involvement in the murder.

The Wall Street Journal said while his murder merits investigation, “it’s important to note that even more workaday journalism can be dangerous in Pakistan.”

Meanwhile, a leading Pakistani newspaper publisher has claimed the reporter had received death threats from the ISI on at least three occasions. Hameed Haroon, President of the All Pakistan Newspapers Socie ty, said in a statement that Shahzad had confided to him and several others that "he had received death threats from various officers of the ISI on at least three occasions in the past five years".

Shahzad's book, “Inside al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond bin Laden and 9/11,” was published shortly before his death.

If Kalaignar TV goes off, Murasu will come

Abhishek Kumar
New Delhi, May 30, 2011

The Karunanidhi family and DMK, who were nervous of not having their-controlled news channel in case of a ban on Kalaignar TV and the Sun Network's cozying up to chief minister Jayalalithaa, are sure of having a new news channel.

In a fire-fighting exercise, the Kalaignar TV management has obtained licence to launch new TV channels under the name Murasu. One will be an exclusive news channel and the other a general entertainment channel.

The Kalaignar TV management fears that Enforcement Directorate probing the 2G scam may ask the I&B ministry to cancel the licences of Kalaignar TV. Both its promoter Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief Karunanidhi, and managing director Sharat Babu are in Tihar Jail.

It may be noted that last month, when all the TV news channels were abuzz about CBI naming Kanimozhi and the Kalaignar TV's managing director Sharad Kumar in the 2G scam, the DMK-controlled Kalaignar TV highlighted the met department prediction that rains would continue in Tamil Nadu for the next few days.

Kalaignar TV, which was started by chief minister M Karunanidhi's family in 2007 to counter the growing clout of Maran brothers— Kalanithi and Dayanidhi—and their business empire centred around Sun Network, deliberately played down the 2G scam news.

In Tamil Nadu, all the major political parties own TV channels for their own publicity/interest. While DMK owns Kalaignar TV, AIADMK owns Jaya TV. Maran brothers' control Sun TV, film star Vijaykanth has Captain TV, Congress leader Thangkbalu has Mega TV and PMK has Makkal TV.

the state currently has around 16.5 million households having cable and satellite connections, of which 4 million have DTH leaving 12.5 million for cable connections, of which another less 10 per cent don’t have either power connection or TVs or still have stick to Doordarshan DTH.

Kashmir publishes 198 newspapers but has no Press Club

Umer Maqbool
Srinagar, May 30, 2011

Despite impressive presence of journalists in Kashmir, the successive regimes in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to set-up a Press Club in the Valley.In absence of the facility, journalists face immense inconvenience to undertake and cover activities of their professional interest including meetings, press conferences and symposiums.
Media witnessed a boom in Kashmir since ‘90’s with major international and New Delhi based print and electronic media organizations opening outlets in the Valley. Incidentally, 198 newspapers in different formats are understood to be published from the Valley alone.

“It is ironical that despite less media presence in Jammu, Press Club was established there 16 years ago. The Jammu Development Authority’s building of erstwhile India Coffee House was also handed over for the Club. Though successive regimes made promises to establish Press Club in Kashmir, the plan is yet to see the light of the day,” said a senior journalist.

The Director Information, Khwaja Farooq Ahmed Renzushah said the erstwhile Srinagar Club building near Zero bridge has been identified for the Press Club.
“But it is under the possession of paramilitary CRPF. The Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar has already been approached for handing over the building to the Information Department for the purpose. Once the process is completed, the forces stationed there would be accommodated at a suitable place,” Renzu said adding that the building would be exclusively used as Press Club.

Kashmir Bureau Chief of the Times of India, Saleem Pandit, asserts that the Valley is in dire need of the Press Club. “There is no place for the journalists to sit, discuss their problems and find ways for the fraternity’s betterment. The journalists should initiate the process of setting up the Press Club. Assistance from the Government for its development could be sought later,” Pandit said.
“Most of the visiting foreign journalists are surprised to know that there is no Press Club in Kashmir. If provided, this facility would be a central meeting point for the local journalists,” said the president Kashmir Press Photographers Association, Farooq Javed Khan.

Most of the journalists maintain that in absence of Press Club, the foreign dignitaries, envoys and delegations, have to move from one media office to another to interact with the journalists. “Had there been a Press Club, they could easily meet with the journalists, like in other parts of the world,” they said.

“The proposal of setting up Press Club in the Valley is under consideration of the Government,” said Zaffar Ahmed Bhat, Special Secretary to Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah. (Courtesy: greaterkashmir.com)

Manipur govt imposes restrictions on media

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 30, 2011

Manipur government has imposed restrictions on media in the state from publishing news items, reports or statements which directly or indirectly supported unlawful activities, a news agency, quoting official sources, said on Sunday.

A government order in this connection was issued on Saturday by the state special secretary (Home) A K Sinha.

Newspapers and state-based electronic media have been freely publishing news items or statements which directly or indirectly supported unlawful or illegal activities of various militant outfits in the past some months, the officials told the new agency.

ET NOW continues to dominate Metro markets

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 27, 2011

ET NOW, the 24x7 English business news channel, is the most preferred business channel in the six Metros. According to the latest Television Audience Measurement data, ET NOW is the leading English business news channel with 47% market share in 6 Metro market among the core audience from CS AB Males 25+ Yrs in week 21 (May 15, 2011 to May 21, 2011).

ET NOW provides the most effective market trading strategies, sector specific trading calls & stock tips and also continuously attempts to foster the viewer’s knowledge on trade analysis, market related anecdotes and effects of macro-economic policies.

UK university to honour N Ram

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 26, 2011

The University of Wolverhampton, one of the UK’s leading universities with strong links to India, has decided to honour N Ram, editor-in-chief of The Hindu, alongwith Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley for their contribution to public life.

N Ram, who has served the Indian media industry since 1966, has been homoured in recognition of his prolific and distinguished journalistic career. He'll get an honorary degree of Doctor of Social Sciences at a ceremony in Chennai on May 30.

Meanwhile in another development related to The Hindu row, N Ram has moved to the Madras High Court against Company Law Board’s stay order. CLB’s Chennai bench had stayed the move to divest family members of Kasturi and Sons Ltd (KSL) from senior editorial management positions in The Hindu. Challenging the order in the high court, N Ram alleged that the quasi-judicial body had made a series of errors in staying the April 18 board resolutions of KSL, promoters of the third largest English daily in the country.

This was opposed by advocates of N Ravi, editor of The Hindu and Ram's younger brother, who had filed a petition with the CLB on May 10, challenging the board decision.

The family feud among members of Kasturi & Sons intensified in April, with N Ram, teaming up with some directors, kept his cousin N Ravi away from the post of the next editor-in-chief. Ram had appointed Siddharth Varadarajan in Ravi’s place, who was the strategic affairs editor of the newspaper.

Mass Comm student's project film gets national award

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 23, 2011

Nagraj Manjule, the Pune-based mass communication student who bagged the National award for the best debut non-feature film - "Pistulya", has said that he had actually produced the movie as a part of his mass communication course project conducted by Pune university. The 15 minutes and 11 seconds long film, produced, directed and shot by Nagraj, with a cast drawn mostly from his friends, is about a underprivileged boy's quest for learning.

'Pistulya' has been praised for its brevity and sequences portraying a stark reality of an underprivileged life, presented with subtleties of rural India.

The national film award citation for "Pistulya" states, "It is a delightful exposition of the poignant life of a poverty stricken child who nurtures a dream of embracing the source of learning thorugh education. With simplicity and fluency, the director (Nagraj) portrays the spirit of the child thorugh fine performances."

Nagraj now has plans to convert this 15-minute work into a full fledged feature film to send across a powerful social message.

CNN-IBN Emerged No.1 During Assembly Poll Results

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 20, 2011

CNN-IBN has emerged as the No.1 English News Channel across India and across audience groups both during the recent Assembly poll results.

According to TAM, it had the most number of viewership both on the counting day and the elections verdict week.

In the All India market, CNN-IBN leads with a Market Share of 41 per cent, followed by NDTV 24x7 & Times Now with 25 per cent each followed by Headlines Today with 4 per cent and News X with a Market Share of 2 per cent. (Source: TAM, CS 15+, All India, 13th May, 0600-2400 hrs).

According to Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat, "CNN-IBN's clean sweep of the 5-state elections only goes to show that we are the nation's preferred choice during elections. CNN-IBN has been a leader in setting standards in credible journalism and comprehensive coverage on the issues that matter to the nation."

Philip Roth wins Man Booker International Prize

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 19, 2011

The most decorated living American novelist, Philip Roth, known for books like 'Goodbye, Columbus' and 'Portnoy's Complaint' was honoured with the biennial Man Booker International Prize at the Syndey Writers' Festival on Wednesday.

He had received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel 'American Pastoral'.

The Man Booker International Prize, which honors a writer's body of work, is distinct from the annual Man Booker Prize for fiction, which is awarded for a single book. The winner of this awrd receives £60,000, or about $97,000.

“He’s a novelist through and through. The range and depth of his work strikes me as utterly remarkable,” Rick Gekoski, chairman of the judging panel, said in an interview with New York Times.

However, according to the newspapers, not all of the judges agreed. One, Carmen Callil, the founder of the feminist publishing house Virago, stormily withdrew from the panel over the decision to honor Mr. Roth, telling The Guardian newspaper that he “goes on and on and on about the same subject in almost every book,” adding, “It’s as though he’s sitting on your face and you can’t breathe.” “I don’t rate him as a writer at all,” she said. Roth will be formally awarded the prize at a dinner in London on June 28.

ET NOW becomes India's No 1 business channel

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 19, 2011

In less than two years since its launch, ET NOW has achieved the No. 1 position in the business news segment with a 42% market share against arch rival CNBC TV-18's 39%.

According to an Economic Times report, this lead over its nearest rival is in the key target audience for business news-TAM all-India, 1 million+ cable & satellite homes, male 25+ in SEC AB, a popular benchmark for media agencies and advertisers.

The other two business channels-NDTV Profit and Bloomberg UTV-share between them the remaining 19%.

India's financial nerve centre, Mumbai , has also switched en masse to ET NOW: it has a 54% market share on a four-week average, compared with 26% for a distant No 2 CNBC, says the report.

NDTV's resident Editor, South, T S Sudhir quits

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 18, 2011

NDTV's resident Editor, South, T S Sudhir has resigned. However, it is not clear about his new assignment. He was associated with the NDTV for the last 16 years.

O Bandhu! Railways on-board magazine chugs in

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 18, 2011

The first on-board magazine of the Indian Railways, Rail Bandhu, was launched in New Delhi on Monday. The magazine, to be distributed free in the Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and AC coaches of the Durantos will be edited by an editorial board that comprises chairman of the Passenger Amenities committee Shivaprasana and chairman of the Passenger Services Committee Derek O'Brien.

it was Banerjee’s inspiration and efforts to bond with passengers more intimately that made Rail Bandhu a reality. She summed it up in her message for the inaugural issue: “India’s heart would have stopped beating if Indian Railways wasn’t there. Rail Bandhu is another attempt to show we care as much about your well-being and comfort as we do about empowering your thoughts.”

Will Jaya's rise mean Sun TV's decline?

T E Narasimhan
Chennai, May 16, 2011

The stock price of Kalanithi Maran-owned Sun Television Network (Sun TV) was down 4.88 per cent to Rs 376.10 in the morning hours of Friday, as the election results in Tamil Nadu started coming in. On the other hand, share price of one of Sun TV's main rival, Raj TV, went up 19.92 per cent. Industry observers said this initial reaction of the markets reflected the fears that the business of Sun TV might be impacted, especially cable TV distribution, which alone is estimated to be around Rs 1,000 crore. J Jayalalitha- led AIADMK had promised in its 2011 election manifesto that it would abolish the monopoly of cable television in the state

Maran-owned Sun TV operates Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV). The group's interest include media (television, newspaper, and FM), movie production and the recently entered aviation business with the acquisition of a majority stake in SpiceJet.

As on March 2006, the networth of Sun TV Network was Rs 309.90 crore, which rose to Rs 1,218.95 crore in 2007, Rs 1,470.67 crore in 2008, Rs 1,792.51 crore in 2009 and Rs 2,015.01 crore in 2010. Total income increased 31 per cent to Rs 1,437.5 crore as on March 31, 2010, from Rs 1,091.5 crore. Profit after tax was at Rs 567.3 crore (Rs 437.1 crore).

How SCV helps the group
SCV, an MSO (multiple system operator) offering services on the conditional access system (CAS), has partnered with almost all the leading national and international channels. It has a 65 per cent market share. Its recent agreement was with Network18 Group to broadcast the group's 33 channel.

A major source of income for Sun TV is through advertisements, which come from the company-owned 20 satellite television channels across four languages -- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

Sun TV-owned channel rates are almost eight times higher than its immediate competitor as the channel claims to have more viewership. Other channels include Jayalalitha-run Jaya TV and Raj TV. While Sun TV's advertisement rates for 10 seconds during prime time is around Rs 42,500, for others it ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000.

According to industry sources, the state currently has around 16.5 million households having cable and satellite connections, of which 4 million have DTH leaving 12.5 million for cable connections, of which another less 10 per cent don’t have either power connection or TVs or still have stick to Doordarshan DTH.

It is estimated that a household pays Rs 100 a month towards subscription charges. This shows the industry is estimated is to be around Rs 1,400-1500 crore, of which 65 per cent of SCV's revenue estimated to be around Rs 950-1,000 crore.

The group had only one rival – Rajan Raheja-owned multi-service cable operator Hathway Services, -- which stopped its service in 2009 stating SCV had virtually entered all Hathway markets leaving the MSO operator with no choice but to close operations.

The DMK started Arasu Cable, (meaning government) as a result of the fallout between the Maran brothers and his uncle chief minister Karunanidhi's family. However, with the Maran brothers patching up with the first family, the network did not kick off.
(Courtesy: Business Standard)

 

 

Foreign media covers Mamata phenomenon

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, May 14, 2011

With Mamata Banerjee has achieved what many considered impossible even a few years back. She has dethroned the 34-year regime of the Left. Besides her supporters, party workers and local journalists, the foreign media, too, was present in full strength outside the narrow by-lanes of 30B Harish Chatterjee Street in Kolkata on Friday to understand the Mamata phenomenon.

Most of the foreign media queries are revolving around what is so special about this woman, who wears rubber slippers and lives in a nondescript 6X6 dwelling. How has she managed to throw out the Communist? How does she move millions from grassroots to board rooms? How does Mamata manage to inspire people in almost all walks of life, despite being a woman?

Her single-handed effort to oust the world's oldest elected Communist government is being covered by The New York Times, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera and other foreign newspapers and channels.

In fact, the requests for interviews had been pouring into the Trinamool Congress office through email, phone calls and local contacts since early this year when she was busy preparing the railway budget in New Delhi and finalising her battle plans for the assembly polls.

The New York Times did in an interview-based article in January this year. It depicted how the firebrand leaderis on the verge of creating history.

While describing the election results, Dubai-based Khaleej Times on Friday wrote: "While Mamata’s victory brought an end to an era in West Bengal, it would also make the mercurial ‘didi’ (elder sister) one of the most powerful allies within the United Progressive Alliance government in Delhi, enabling her to dictate terms to the Congress and derailing whatever feeble attempts the Manmohan Singh government makes to pursue economic reforms."

 

GoM starts media management

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 13, 2011

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on Thursday made its effort to combat negative publicity in the public domain when the newly-constituted group of ministers (GoM) on media addressed its first press conference at Shastri Bhavan in the Capital. Home Minister P Chidambaram, along with two ministers Salman Khurshid and Ambika Soni, appeared in front of the media to answer queries on various issues.

The first question Chidambaram — head of the committee — faced was why the home minister of the country had to do the job of media management? Chidambaram skirted the issue asking the media to focus on more substantive issue.

The GoM is expected to brief the media on a daily basis.The initiative -- a first for UPA 2 -- is significant as the government is looking to counter Opposition's charges over a series of scams beginning with Commonwealth Games last July.

There is a feeling within the government that it has unnecessarily been on the defensive over corruption, when the investigations into scams have resulted in action against Union ministers and influential members of Congress and coalition partners. Frustration was growing within government and in Congress over the ruling coalition taking punches but not being able to put its point of view across. The GoM will help address this need.

TV channels owned by political parties on EC radar

Media Hive News Network
May 12, 2011

As many political parties launching their own TV channels for publicity during elections, the Election Commission is working on guidelines for the electronic media to ensure a level playing field.

“We are examining whether using your own channel for unlimited publicity, how to account for (expenses). Before the next elections, we will have some policy in place,” Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi told reporters on Wednesday

In some of the states which went to polls, most of the channels are owned by political parties. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK owns Kalaignar TV and is being supported by Sun TV. AIADMK party owns Jaya TV, film star Vijaykanth has Captain TV, Congress leader Thangkbalu’s Mega TV and PMK has Makkal TV.

On the issue of paid, he said it is a challenge before the commission. There should be a “self-regulation” by the media and political parties and candidates.

Centre sets up a GoM to brief media

Media Hive News Network
May 11, 2011

The UPA government has set up a group of ministers (GoM) which is expected to brief the media on a daily basis. The group, headed by home minister P Chidambaram, is likely to include HRD minister Kapil Sibal, water resources minister Salman Khursheed and I&B minister Ambika Soni.

According to a TOI report, the initiative -- a first for UPA 2 -- is significant as the government is looking to counter Opposition's charges over a series of scams beginning with Commonwealth Games last July.

There is a feeling within the government that it has unnecessarily been on the defensive over corruption, when the investigations into scams have resulted in action against Union ministers and influential members of Congress and coalition partners. Frustration was growing within government and in Congress over the ruling coalition taking punches but not being able to put its point of view across. The GoM will help address this need.

The report says the information deficit was apparent during Anna Hazare's fast over the Lokpal Bill that left the government on the backfoot despite the keenness of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leadership to tackle corruption in a visible manner.

The move also underlines the increasing recognition that media management is essential for the government. In the scams on 2G spectrum, Adarsh housing society and CWG, media reports had brought to light largescale irregularities and led to judicial intervention as well, the report says.

Twitter fails at spreading hard news

May 11, 2011

While Twitter prides itself in connecting the world and sharing our every thought, the microblogging site does little in spreading legitimate news. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, Twitter accounts for less than one percent of traffic at most major news sites. Of the 21 participating websites, the Los Angeles Times is the largest beneficiary with 3.53 percent of its referrals coming from Twitter. Following is the New York Times with 1.21 percent, the New York Post (1.2), and the Huffington Post (1.16).

So, Twitter's role in the world of news may be a little overblown. (See: Breaking Bin Laden's death and sparking revolution) To be fair, the site undoubtedly breaks and spreads news, sparking conversation and urging many to research topics. But, until users clicking on links from news sites, Twitter will remain what it has always been: a rumor mill and a celebrity soapbox.

Facebook, on the other hand, is becoming "a critical player in news," driving up to seven and eight percent of traffic to CNN, ABC News and the Huffington Post. That's more than double the traffic from Twitter, which shouldn't surprise you considering Facebook's 600 million users dwarf Twitter's 175 million.

For a pure news search, top honors go to -- who else? -- Google. Google Search and Google News remain the biggest drivers of users to online news publications. "On average the search engine was responsible for 30 percent of traffic," the study says. "It was the lead referring site for 17 of these major news sites and the second-ranked referring site for the other four."

The lesson of all this: If you're looking for news, go to Google. If you want to share news, go to Facebook. If you want to read Charlie Sheen opine about the virtues of cocaine, go to Twitter. (Courtesy: CBS News)

Pakistan bans live broadcast by foreign channels

Media Hive News Network
May 9, 2011

The Pakistani government has introduced curbs on foreign media in Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed, ordering television channels to stop broadcasting and some reporters to leave the town.

The country's media regulatory watchdog, Pemra, has ordered nine international channels, including the BBC, CNN and Fox, to stop "illegal" broadcasts from Abbottabad, where Bin Laden's house has been the subject of intense media coverage

It suggested the channels could not broadcast from Abbottabad or anywhere in Pakistan without obtaining a licence, a previously unknown requirement.

According to agencies reports, a large number of foreign journalists, TV camerapersons and photographers, who had been staying in hotels and guesthouses to report from Abbotabad over the past week, were told on Saturday to leave by Sunday noon if they did not have special permission to be in the city, foreign journalists said.

The decision to clamp down on broadcasts by foreign channels is being linked by observers to the Pakistani government and military's unease over coverage of perceived failures of security agencies in detecting bin Laden's presence in a city located 120 km from Islamabad.

Jamia Mass Communication students allege manhandling

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 9, 2011

Students of mass communication in Jamia Millia Islamia alleged manhandling by Delhi Police during their ongoing hunger strike in protest against the university administration for debarring them from the annual exams on Sunday.

More than a dozen students from the Mass Communication department are on indefinite hunger strike as they alleged that they were 'illegally' debarred from taking their exams because of shortage of attendance as their medical certificates were rejected by the university.

They had filed petitions in the Delhi High Court for not being allowed to sit in their final examination on grounds of short attendance by the varsity administration, but the court rejected their plea.

The students, which also include a few pursuing their diploma in photography, argue that they are denied the 15 percent attendance relaxation on medical grounds as per the University rules, despite submitting medical certificates to the university.

These students had earlier met the university vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung. But the V-C had told them that if they were sick or poor, they shouldn't have sought admission in the university

Sports Illustrated Reveals 'Dirt in Cricket'

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 7, 2011

The story on match-fixing – Dirt in Cricket-- on the latest issue of Sports Illustrated India – is quite shocking. The latest issue of the magazine, which is on stands countrywide from May 7, is important for what it contains. The Sports Illustrated recorded a conversation on March 31, a day after the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final at Mohali. The unnamed ‘Voice’ belongs to a politician from a national party who has a residence in Delhi and a scrapyard business in Bombay. It was a casual meeting of politician-punters who had made a few lakh apiece betting on the game – spare change in comparison with the vast sums that routinely change hands during cricket matches, but at another level an indication of just how pervasive betting – a supposedly illegal activity in this country – has become. Here are a few conversation appeared in the magazine:

Voice: Arre, us match ka patha chala aapko?

Sports Illustrated India: Kis match ka?

Voice: India-Pakistan ka. Humein ek message aaya tha, Bihar ke ek politician ka. Kaha, ‘Sir, yehi sahi time hai paisa lagane ka. Ab nahin lagayenge to kab lagayenge? Rs 200 crore pahuncha diya hai.’

SI India: Achcha, kaun sa politician tha?

Voice: Ek hai, Bihar mein.
-----------------------------------
SI India: OK. And you are sure about these two, **** and ****? [Two players whose names have been removed.]

Bookie: Haan. Inse meri khud baat hui hai. (Yes, I spoke with these two myself)

SI India: Okay. Kya baat hui thi? Ek baar bataaiye. (Okay. What was the conversation about? Tell us please)

Bookie: Jo tape mere paas thi, usme toh ek argument tha. (On the tape I had, there was an argument)

SI India: Jab woh shuru hota hai tape, toh usme first voice kiski hai? (When the tape began, who's was the first voice on it?)

Bookie: First voice humaari hai. Jab tak hum kuch bolte nahin, woh saamne se kuch nahin bolta. (We spoke first. As long as I didn't speak, no one spoke from their end either)

SI India: Aap mein se kiski hai? Sunilji ki? (And who from your end? Sunil?)

Bookie: Nahin, Tinku ki. Do tapes hain. Tinku ne kaha ki... [pauses] (No, Tinku. There were two tapes. Tinku said...)

SI-India: 1st tape mein Tinku ne kaha ki... (What did Tinku say on the first tape?)

Bookie: Theek hai sab kuch. Hum paise bhijwa dete hain. Baaki saari baat pehle decide ho chuki thi, phir jab usne commitment poora nahin kiya, toh doosri baar unhone mujhe kaha ki phone laga aur pooch.

Maine kaha, “Sir kya hua? Ye gadbad kaise ho gayi? Hum toh mar gaye!’ (Everything is fine. We'll send the money. Everything else had been decided in advance, but when he didn't fulfill the commitment, then he (Tinku) told me the second time, you call and ask what happened. I said, "Sir, what happened? How did this get messed up? You've ruined us".

SI India: Direct **** [Player’s name] ko phone kiya? (You called **** [Player's name removed] directly?

Bookie: Haan. Toh woh bola, ‘Behen ke... phone rakh.’ (Yes. And he said, "Sister@3@#@#, hang up..."

SI India: Phir? (And then?)

Bookie: Phir agle din uske kisi acquaintance ka phone aaya ki aise-aise ho gaya tha. ‘***’ [Reference to a BCCI official removed] gadbad kar diya. Usse pata chal gaya tha toh usne dressing room mein kaha ki aisa kuch karne ki koshish nahin karein or isiliye hum paise wapas kar rahe hain’. (Then the next day, an acquaintance of his called. He said, **** [reference to a BCCI official removed] messed it up. He found out that something was on, so he came to the dressing room and said, don't try anything, which is why we are returning the money'.)

For detail story click here

Jamia Mass Communication students move High Court

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 5, 2011

More than a dozen students from Mass Communication department of Jamia Millia Islamia have filed petitions in the Delhi High Court for not being allowed to sit in their final examination on grounds of short attendance by the varsity administration.

The students, which also include a few pursuing their diploma in photography, argue that they are denied the 15 percent attendance relaxation on medical grounds as per the University rules, despite submitting medical certificates to the university.

These students had earlier met the university vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung. But the V-C had told them that if they were sick or poor, they shouldn't have sought admission in the university.

Indian media shifting to celebrity, lifestyle coverage: report

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 4, 2011

The media industry in India is facing serious dilemma in seeking to reconcile its revenue model — which is highly dependent on advertising — with the compulsions of quality news gathering. The increasing pressure by advertising department has led to devaluation of information and a shift in news content to celebrity and lifestyle coverage in Indian media. These observations are a part of the Press Freedom Report for South Asia 2010-11, prepared by the International Federation of Journalists.

Bhanu Neupane, regional programme specialist science, UNESCO, Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman,director, UNIC, and Sukumar Muralidharan, IFJ South Asia Co-ordinator, were present during the release of the report in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Transparency was in many ways a primary question that the media industry faced through the year, the report observed. It also made a mention about the Radia tapes, which involved many senior journalists.

Meanwhile, addressing the annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media in Bangalore on Monday, Prabhu Chawla, editorial director of The New Indian Express, said lack of accountability, private treaties, paid news, shoddy training and poor mentoring to journalists are plaguing the fourth estate.

The senior journalist said: "Everybody is thinking that the Indian media is not what it used to be. We question politicians and bureaucracy, but the system hits us back. The so-called sick media is also attacking big corporate houses. While the bottomline is looking better, bylines are losing credibility. These days, no editor is asking for good stories. So, accountability is missing."

On the recent trend of private treaties and paid news, he said he didn't accept paid news, though he was party to innovation. "Advertisers have to contribute to the news, but they are not acting as a tonic to the media now. We are chasing numbers and they are killing journalism," he said.

Publishers hurrying out books on Osama, Navy SEAL

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 5, 2011

New books on Osama bin Laden and the Navy SEAL unit that killed him are coming soon. According to agency reports, Random House says it hopes to have a collection of essays out quickly on the al-Qaida terrorist leader, who was killed in a helicopter raid and gunfight on Monday in Pakistan. The Free Press says it's planning an e-book "as fast as possible" based on material from Peter Bergen's "The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda."

St. Martin's Press is also moving up publication of "SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper," by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin. The book was scheduled to come out May 24 but likely will be released within a week.

Osama bin Laden's death lights up social media

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, May 3, 2011

The social media on Monday has once again made its presence felt with its growing role as disseminators of breaking news. Many people across the world knew the news of Osama bin Laden's death through the postings on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. The buzz about Laden's death initially took off some 45 minutes before President Barack Obama made his speech announcing US special forces killed bin Laden in a raid on a walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

According to NetBase Solutions Inc., a social-media analytics company, across the English-speaking Internet, people posted some 1.2 million conversations on all social-media sites about bin Laden on Sunday and the first half of Monday.

The number of postings about bin Laden on social-media sites have eclipsed those on the Japan earthquake and the royal wedding of Price William in the UK.

On Monday evening, a Twitter user named BlueseBlonde tweeted, "Kate and William became old news fast."

According to media reports, many people online noted that they learned of bin Laden's death via Twitter and Facebook. Facebook asked journalists where they first heard bin Laden had been killed. Hundreds replied—most saying they heard from Twitter, Facebook or email alerts.

 

FE journalist, others get HP govt journalism awards

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, May 1, 2011

The Himachal Pradesh government has announced the winners of Developmental Journalism Award for the year 2009.

The winners in different categories include, Charanjit Ahuja of Financial Express (Chandigarh), Manish Sharma of Pehali Khabar (Shimla), Ashwani Sharma of Indian Express, Rachana Gupta of Dainik Jagran and Archana Phull.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will give away these Awards on May 4, 2011 in Shimla.
The state government gives Awards for Developmental Journalism every year.

 

India has world's freest media: Soni

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 29, 2011

Union information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has praised the country's media as the 'freest' in the world. Speaking at at the 'International Colloquium on Freedom of Expression & Human Rights' organised by the Press Council of India here on Thursday, she said, "Our media is probably the freest in the world."

"Media should act as the enabler which gives voice to the voiceless, it should ensure that every marginal group is heard, is seen, is involved in the mainstream by highlighting issues that protect and enhance the dignity and self-esteem of such groups, thereby empowering them."

She said during the period of global recession, the print industry in India grew at a rate of 6.2 per cent despite the downward growth conditions world wide in the media industry.

She also said that over 800 more FM radio stations would be made available as FM phase-III to be rolled out shortly. 31 new satellite TV channels are also awaiting the government's approval. "In the broadcast sector, 653 satellite channels had been granted permission till date and 31 are awaiting permission, while the FM Phase-III to be rolled out shortly will ensure availability of 806 radio stations across 283 cities," she said.

Scribe admits ‘unprofessional' work: PAC

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 28, 2011

The Murli Manohar Joshi-led Public Accounts Committee (PAC)'s draft report, which went into the 2G spectrum allocation scam, has revealed that a senior journalist, who was recently caught in the Radia tapes lobbying along with some other journalists for some important persons, had admitted what they did was unprofessional.

“When the committee sought the response of a senior journalist about these taped conversations, he candidly deposed that what they (journalists) did was utterly unprofessional. He conceded that journalists do speak to various sources as it is their job to fathom out and reveal the truth, but they ought not to get involved in lobbying for anyone, and certainly the taped conversations show that they transgressed the line of propriety – the ‘Lakshman Rekha', the report said.

The report has, however, appreciated the role of media and whistle-blowers, which unearthed irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation. It congratulated them for their role in exposing the scam. The report also said that it values the freedom of press and doesn't want to suggest any model code of conduct for the media.

Maxposure Media to publish Air India's in-flight magazine

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 28, 2011

Maxposure Media has got the rights to publish the in-flight magazine for Air India. The other contenders for the open tender bid were APCA, CMYK, Media Transasia and HT Burda.

Swagat, the in-flight magazine for the domestic fleet of Air India, was published by Media Transasia since the last 30 years, whereas, Namaskaar was alloted to CMYK publishers three years back. Air India will now discontinue Swagat from the next month, but will retain Namaskaar with a different name.

Exec Traveller, TelecomLead.com for exeutives launched

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 27, 2011

Two magazines -- one E-mag catering emerging telecom markets and the other a monthly publication for business travellers -- have been recently launched in India. AB Media Venture's TelecomLead.com is the first Indian online business-to-business telecoms publication which covers emerging telecoms markets such as Africa, Brazil, China, India and the Middle East. The website offers news, analysis, features, white papers, articles, statistics, and blogs by industry insiders.

TelecomLead.com targets middle and senior level telecom professionals who can utilise country specific information for taking business decisions.

Explocity, the Bengaluru-based media and publishing company, has launched the travel magazine Exec Traveller, especially for travelling executives.

Exec Traveller targets business executives whose jobs require them to travel frequently. The monthly offering has a cover price of Rs 100. The content of the magazine includes information related to commuting, airports, airplanes, hotels and other things that might be of use to the business traveller while on a tour. It will also have information on hotels, airlines and airports etc

On Kalaignar TV, rain is more important than 2G news

Manish Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 26, 2011

When the Indian TV news channels were abuzz about CBI naming Kanimozhi and the Kalaignar TV's managing director Sharad Kumar in the 2G scam on Monday, and some of the channels even claiming credit of breaking the story and their stories' "impact", the DMK-controlled Kalaignar TV highlighted the met department prediction that rains would continue in Tamil Nadu for the next few days.

Kalaignar TV, which was started by chief minister M Karunanidhi's family in 2007 to counter the growing clout of Maran brothers— Kalanithi and Dayanidhi—and their business empire centred around Sun Network, deliberately played down the 2G scam news on Monday.

Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was the 'active brain' behind the operations of Kalaignar TV and was in regular touch with former telecom minister A Raja regarding the launch of the channel, claims the second chargesheet on the 2G scam filed by the CBI on Monday.

It was Karunanidhi himself who took the decision to set up a TV channel in his own name. He hired a technical expert, Sharad Kumar, an erstwhile vice-president of Sun Network.The channel gave a jolt to the Sun Network by offering higher salaries to its employees.

Many leading producers, who were doing programmes for Sun TV, were roped in by the Kalaignar management to increase its viewership. It was, perhaps, around this time that more than Rs 200 crore from Balwa's firms was allegedly routed into Kalaignar TV.

Social media, too, gears up for royal wedding

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 25, 2011

The royal wedding of Britain's Prince William and his fianceé Kate Middleton is going to be a serious social media event. The entire wedding ceremony will be broadcast on Friday on a YouTube channel -- The Royal Channel (youtube.com/theroyalchannel).

According to the official website for the wedding, the video feed will come from the BBC but will air on YouTube sans commentary.

Besides YouTube, the wedding updates will be tweeted from the @ClarenceHouse Twitter account, and congratulatory tweets can be sent to the couple using the #rw2011 hashtag.

Furthermore, the British Monarchy Facebook page is already designed with the upcoming wedding information.

Apart from social media, all TV news channels gave positioned there top talents to cover the wedding, which is likely to be the largest viewership programme in history.

British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has put the potential worldwide audience for the wedding at upward of 2 billion people.

Indian journalists visit Pakistan's university

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 25, 2011

A team of nine Indian journalists recently visited Pakistan's Punjab University and its journalism and other facilities. The delegation, led by Raj Changapa, included Suhasini Haidar, Rohit Gandhi, Prasannan Radhakrishnan, Ajit Sahi, Shastri Ramachandaran, Seema Guha, Roy Agni and Geeta Mohan.

According to Changapa media could play an important role in improving ties between India and Pakistan. They met Vice Chancellor of the university Prof Mujahid Kamran and visited Centre for South Asian Studies and the PU Library.

The delegation also visited the Institute of Communication Studies and saw the television, radio and multimedia labs. They also interacted with students and saw some of their work.

The Hindu family feud gets ugly, editor N Ravi thrown out

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 22, 2011

The family feud among members of Kasturi & Sons, which owns and operates The Hindu group of publications has intensified further, with N Ram, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, teaming up with some directors to keep his cousin N Ravi away from the post of the next editor-in-chief. Ram has appointed Siddharth Varadarajan in Ravi’s place, who till now was the strategic affairs editor of the newspaper. Varadarajan also headed the national bureau of the newspaper in Delhi.

In the Monday board meeting, N Ram with six other directors in the 12-member board, voted to appoint Varadarajan in place of N Ravi.

Ram was supposed to have retired last May when he turned 65, and Ravi was to take over from him as the new editor-in-chief. But, now Ravi finds himself in the wilderness. He points out how Ram had earlier tried to remove another family member as the managing director of the company. Ravi also points out the Ram had thrown out another family member Malini Parthasarathy, who held the post of the executive editor, from the newspaper.

Ravi has shot out a letter to all employees of the newspaper, protesting against his removal by the board of directors in a “supposed” meeting held on Monday. Ravi’s letter titled “The recent happenings in The Hindu” written on April 20 says, "Ram seems bent on taking all the editorial directors — most are in their 50s — into retirement with him, with a scorched earth policy to ensure that no one in the family succeeds him…In a sudden change of rules and under the specious plea of separating ownership from management, along with my removal as editor, Nirmala Lakshman is to be forced to “step down” as joint editor and Malini Parthasarathy as executive editor.”

Ravi’s letter also alleged there have been distortions creeping into the “editorial framework” of the paper. “Among the issues that I have raised with the other directors during the discussions in the Board and outside are: the unmerited coverage of certain political favourites on specific directions; excessive coverage of the activities of the Left and some of its leaders; for reasons that are bound to emerge sooner rather than later, turning the newspaper into an apologist for A Raja (former Union telecom minister, now in jail) through the 2G scam coverage, remaining deafeningly silent on his resignation in the face of mounting evidence even when demanding the resignation of Suresh Kalmadi, Ashok Chavan and Yeddyurappa in similar circumstances; pronounced pro-China tilt, blacking out or downplaying any news that is less than complimentary to the Chinese Communist regime,” says Ravi.

ET NOW becomes No. 1 in English business news genre

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 21, 2011

ET Now, the English business news channel from Times Television Network, has achieved market leadership among the English business news genre in less than 2 years of inception. According to the Television Audience Measurement data of current week, ET NOW is the joint number one English business news channel with 36% market share in all India 1Mn+ market amongst the core audience from CS AB Males 25+ Yrs.

The channel has increased its market share from 3% during the launch week (June 21, 2009 to June 27, 2009) to 36% in current week (April 10, 2011 to April 16, 2011).

ET NOW has also emerged as a market leader of the English business news genre in 6 Metros with 39% market share among the core audience from CS AB Males 25+ Yrs.

The channels has also recently launched a new morning show, Morning Mantra at 7 am.The channel claims that the 1-hour news bulletin will set the investing agenda for the day.

All this has helped ET NOW consistently increase its viewership over the past few weeks and amplify its market share amongst the English Business News Channel Genre.

Pulitzer for US-Indian Siddhartha Mukherjee's book

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 20, 2011

India-born US doctor Siddhartha Mukherjee's book on cancer has been awarded the Pulitzer prize in the general non-fiction category. His book, The Emperor of All Maladies, recounts the history of the disease and how the war against it is being fought by doctors. (To buy this book, click on the book ad left hand side up on this page). Mukherjee teaches medicine and is a cancer physician at Columbia University Medical Centre. A Rhodes scholar, Mukherjee is also an award-winning science writer.

The Pulitzer award citation described The Emperor of All Maladies as "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science".

The Pulitzer in the general non-fiction category carries an award of $10,000 (£6,152).
The critically-acclaimed book has been described as a "literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist".
Detailing the long history of the disease and the battles being fought to conquer it through case studies, the book also provides a glimpse into the future of cancer treatments.

"From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the 19th-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee's own leukaemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease," according to information about the book on the Pulitzer website.

Mukherjee is the fourth person of Indian origin who have received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. The other three are Gobind Behari Lal, Jhumpa Lahiri and Geeta Anand.

Gobind Behari Lal had won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1937, while Jhumpa Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her book "Interpreters of Maladies" in 2000. Geeta Anand, a journalist, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for her work on Pompe Disease, a muscular condition, which was made into a movie, "Extraordinary Measures", and later a book, "The Cure".

HT Media launches Mint from Hyderabad

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 20, 2011

HT Media has launched its English business daily "Mint" in Hyderabad. With this launch, Mint is now printing from seven locations -- Delhi, Mumbai,Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. It is also available in Chandigarh and Pune. With this launch, Mint has further strengthened its position as the No. 2 business daily in the country.

Sharada Prasad gave me tips on media advisor's job: Baru

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 19, 2011

Recalling his first meeting with late H Y Sharada Prasad, who had served as media advisor to former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi, Sanjaya Baru, editor of Business Standard, said Prasad gave him valuable advice on managing the job as Manmohan Singh’s media advisor and speech writer in 2004.

“He regaled me with stories about the various occupants of the PMO during his decade and a half there, about their egos and their foibles, Baru said while addressing the Second H Y Sharada Prasad Memorial Lecture on “media, business and government” in New Delhi on Sunday.

He said despite boom in broadband and mobile phones segments, print newspapers too are growing along with them.

India has more daily newspapers than any other country and and it leads in paid-for daily circulation, surpassing China for the first time in 2008. Twenty of the world’s 100 largest newspapers are Indian and newspaper circulation rose a further eight per cent last year, said Baru.

 

Pulitzers 2011: L A Times gets top journalism prize

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 19, 2011

The Los Angeles Times took the coveted Public Service Pulitzer on Monday. The paper won the prize for its stories about the city of Bell, California and the exorbitant salaries of its elected officials.

In the Fiction category, Jennifer Egan's A Visit From the Goon Squad took the prize.
The Pulitzer Prize board announced the winners at Columbia University.

The Washington Post did take home a Breaking News Photography Pulitzer for the images taken in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Some of the other winners are:

Investigative Reporting: Awarded to Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for her examination of weaknesses in the murky property-insurance system vital to Florida homeowners, providing handy data to assess insurer reliability and stirring regulatory action."

International reporting: Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times for dogged reporting that put a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia, remarkably influencing the discussion inside the country. Finalists: Deborah Sontag of The New York Times for her coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, steadfastly telling poignant, wide-ranging stories with a lyrical touch and an impressive eye for detail; and The Wall Street Journal staff for its examination of the causes of Europe's debt crisis, taking readers behind closed doors to meet pivotal characters while illuminating the wider economic, political and social reverberations.

 

TV networks go all out to cover royal wedding

All major US news organizations will be at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, not to mention every cable channel from TLC and Bravo to the Weather Channel and Game Show Network

By T L Stanley
April 18, 2011

Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton could never have had an intimate wedding. They've invited 1,900 guests, after all. But the British couple's big day has set off a massive media frenzy rivaling the recent coverage of natural disasters, wars and government breakdowns combined.

There have been hundreds of hours of royal-themed TV programming already, with plenty more coming, including wall-to-wall coverage of the ceremony at historic Westminster Abbey.

Every major US news organization plans to be there with its top talent April 29, from CBS' Katie Couric, NBC News' Brian Williams, ABC's Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer to Fox News' Shepard Smith and CNN's Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan. CNN alone will have at least 125 reporters on the ground in London to cover the story, and BBC America, having kicked off its 184 hours of royal reportage in December, will air a 51/2 -hour live, commercial-free broadcast on wedding day. (Much of the live wedding day coverage starts between midnight and 2 a.m. West Coast time, though the network news shows and many cable channels will re-air footage throughout the morning and the day.)

Frothier coverage is coming from likely suspects around the dial, such as nuptials-obsessed cable channels TLC, which has 89 hours of wedding-related shows, and Wedding Central. It's also on tap from unexpected sources such as the Weather Channel (Al Roker will host "Wake Up With Al" all week from London starting April 25) and Game Show Network. Everyone from Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who failed miserably in royal etiquette lessons on segments dubbed "My Fair Colbert," to Kathy Griffin, Tori Spelling and Perez Hilton have staked out a piece of the Wedding of the Century.

It's so relentless, it raises the question: Does anybody really need this much royal wedding coverage? And by the way, aren't there radiation leaks, violent insurgencies and economic issues in dire need of media attention?

TV executives are quick to defend the massive manpower and airtime devoted to the prince and his future princess, since an early estimate by British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt put the potential worldwide audience for the wedding at upward of 2 billion people, perhaps the largest viewership of any program in history.

"The world is looking for unifying events, happy occasions where we can celebrate together," said Perry Simon, general manager of BBC Worldwide America. "These opportunities don't come along very often."

Trend watcher Jamie Gutfreund of Intelligence Group said the event will bring out the Anglophiles and the romantics. "Since we don't have our own royalty, we're still fascinated by the British royal family and we're familiar with the players," she said. "And there's no downside to this story — it's about people coming together in love to renew and rebuild a family."

CNN's Morgan, a self-proclaimed monarchist who's known the royal family for two decades and will broadcast his talk show, "Piers Morgan Tonight," from London the week before the wedding, said the royal event is "ratings and circulation gold." "It's two Super Bowls and an 'American Idol' finale," he said. "For a few hours, people might not be thinking about all the terrible things going on in the world or in their lives. They'll be cheering on this couple. I think we need stuff like that."

Morgan said media honchos would be remiss if they didn't respond to a wedding of this magnitude. "If 2 billion people watch, then the media coverage is in proper perspective," Morgan said. "If only a half-billion watch, we've overdone it. But I think it's going to be absolutely huge."

There are always choices to be made, said Mark Lukasiewicz, vice president of NBC news specials and digital media, but the media conglomerate won't scrimp on breaking news even as it focuses heavily on London with more than a dozen anchors and correspondents based there in the week leading to the wedding.

"You use your gut and your editorial judgment, and you try to bring the audience what it wants," Lukasiewicz said. "We're very flexible, and we hope very smart about allocating our resources. We don't have to sacrifice one story to cover another."

One of the few U.S. polls on the issue, a Vanity Fair/"60 Minutes" survey taken early this year, found that 65% of Americans said they didn't care about the royal wedding. TV executives were quick to dismiss it, saying it doesn't reflect their own internal fact-finding or consider the 750 million people who watched Charles and Diana's wedding on many fewer media outlets that existed at the time.

"If 35% of Americans tune in, that's still a pretty darn substantial event," said Lukasiewicz, who put the NBCUniversal coverage on par with the largest-scale news and sports events of recent years. There will be more than a week's worth of "Today" reports from London, "NBC Nightly News" based there starting April 27; MSNBC, Telemundo and "Morning Joe" London coverage every day of the wedding week; the Bravo special "Watch What Happens Live: Royal Wedding Spectacular" airing April 28 and featuring several "Real Housewives" stars — plus, of course, the live wedding broadcast.

There are few networks that aren't carving off a piece of this event and trying to make it their own. Comedian Kathy Griffin decided to host a special for TV Guide Network because execs there wanted a saucy take on the wedding. "It seems like a lot of journalists are treating this like a State of the Union address," Griffin said. "I'll be looking for that person in the wedding party who gets drunk and falls out of an old-fashioned taxi cab. There's got to be that errant cousin or aunt who goes too far."

Griffin said she and her guests, including Jackie Collins and comedians the Sklar brothers, will watch the wedding live at her house, outfitted with multiple screens "like Wolf Blitzer's 'Situation Room,'" before taping the special. "We're just going to make fun of the whole thing," she said. "I'm excited about this wedding — I'd be more excited if William were marrying Lindsay Lohan or Christina Aguilera, but Kate is the woman who knocked Kim Kardashian off of magazine covers. This is big!"

TLC, home to a number of successful wedding-related franchises like "Say Yes to the Dress," has taken an "all hands on deck" approach. Brent Zacky, the channel's vice president of development, said his audience's general wedding mania and his own three princess-crazy young daughters persuaded him to go full bore around Will and Kate's big day.

"We've all grown up with fairy tales, and here we have Kate, who's a commoner, and William, who's the son of a beloved princess," Zacky said. "A lot of Americans feel a connection to William, like we did to JFK Jr."

William, the elder son of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles, was just 15 when his mother died in a car crash. At the tony St. Andrews University in Scotland, he began an on-again off-again relationship with Middleton, the daughter of working parents from a small village called Bucklebury.

There will be few royal-wedding-free zones on TV, except, of course, the heavily male-skewing networks. (ESPN won't preempt the NFL draft, in other words.) Disney Channel will air a princess movie marathon, Game Show Network will build a week's worth of "Newlywed Game" around royal themes, and the Food Network will put royal icing on its cake-centric competition shows. Wedding Central and its parent, WE TV, are planning a "royal extravaganza," while Lifetime and Hallmark Channel both went the made-for-TV movie route. Oprah Winfrey's OWN is taking a break from its regular programming to launch two 90-minute royal wedding specials.

And if you happen to be away from the telly, networks and cable stations have launched innumerable Facebook pages, microsites, Twitter feeds, social media check-ins with services like GetGlue and live streams so you won't miss a moment of royal hubbub.

Rich Lorich and Holly Passalaqua, two Los Angeles residents who were contestants on a BBC America show called "Royally Mad" that took a handful of monarchy-worshipping Americans to walk in the royals' footsteps in London, said they're not surprised at the glut of programming.

"It's great escapism," said Lorich, a flight attendant. "It's fun, it's glamorous, it's a step back in time when things were much more dignified and formal. People who don't care about this wedding are just bitter and hateful and jaded."

Passalaqua, a blogger who wears a replica of Middleton's engagement ring and named her rescued cats Prince William and Prince Harry, plans wall-to-wall wedding viewing, declaring April 29 her own personal holiday. "This is not just another wedding," she said. "After everything that's happened in William's life, this is his chance at a fairy tale ending."

Morgan suggested that a romantic spectacle like William and Kate's wedding will be able melt even the iciest heart. "Everyone's waiting for the kiss on the balcony," he said, "and the whole world will go, 'Ahhhhhhh.'"
(calendar@latimes.com; Courtesy: Los Angeles Times)

 

Cable TV digitalisation by December 2014: I&B

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 17, 2011

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided that digitisation of addressable cable systems will be completed in the country by December 2014.

The ministry of has come out with a revised time schedule for a four-phase digitalisation process of cable TV after Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai’s) rejigged recommendation in February this year for a December 2013 deadline to implement digitalisation.

The revised schedule from the ministry has chosen December 2014 as the final sunset date for analog cable systems across the country.

UK journalists' body writes to Sahara Group over PR coup

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 12, 2011

The UK-based Indian Journalist’s Association (IJA) has asked Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy to take action against one of his employees who tried to pressurise a journalist in London while seeking clarifications on the Royal Mail stamps on Sahara.

IJA has sent a notice to Roy asking his group not to prevent journalists from discharging their duties. In the letter addressed to Roy, IJA President Ashis Roy said, "Sahara tried to mislead representatives of India media, who are our members, and expected them to keep quiet about this. IJA cannot permit such a culture to prevail within its jurisdiction.

"I hope you will kindly take appropriate steps to not only censure the employee concerned, but ensure that the incidents cited above do not occur again. It would also be befitting if you addressed the grievances of the respective members who feel injury was caused to them."

According to a news agency report, the copies of the letter were also sent to the Editor's Guild and the Indian High Commission.

On April 5, Roy and his colleagues had invited London-based Indian journalists and a few local celebrities to unveil stamps issued by the Royal Mail in honour of Roy. As it turned out, the stamps where a product of a commercial deal that Sahara Group had initiated. The facility is available to any person willing to pay the stipulated, but nominal sum of £15 for a sheet of 20 stamps.

While describing the PR coup, UK's Guardian gave the headline, "How to get your own special Royal Mail stamp" and reported, "For all the wrong reasons, it was a party to remember. The venue was London's Grosvenor House hotel, the host billionaire industrialist Subrata Roy and the guestlist a who's who of people who are Cherie Blair, Lord Paul and John Bercow. They were there because Royal Mail had issued a special set of stamps in recognition of Roy's work.

What the invitation didn't say – and what the host and guests apparently didn't know – is that these were privately commissioned "vanity stamps", which Royal Mail will print for anyone at a cost of £15."

The final member of the 'Newsweek 6' quits

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 12, 2011

Jonathan Alter, the only remaining member of the gang of television-loving newsweekly scribes so dubbed by Slate’s Jack Shafer, is no longer with the publication.

He sent a note to his contacts over the weekend saying, “With changes afoot, my old Newsweek email addresses are now defunct,” reported Huffington Post.

His exit was preceded by fellow “Six” members Howard Fineman (Huffington Post), Michael Isikoff (NBC News), Fareed Zakaria (Time), Jon Meacham (Random House) and Evan Thomas (Princeton).

Alter has been at Newsweek since 1983, most recently as a national correspondent. He also writes columns for Bloomberg News, blogs at The Huffington Post and contributes to NBC News. His last book was “The Promise.” His last piece for Newsweek appeared on April 3.

Jacob Mathew, first Indian to be elected WAN-IFRA president

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 10, 2011

Jacob Mathew, executive editor of the Malayala Manorama Group of Publications, has been elected president of WAN-IFRA at its annual general meeting held in Dublin. Paris and Darmstadt-based WAN-IFRA is a global organisation of newspaper editors and publishers, representing more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its mission is to defend and promote quality journalism, editorial integrity, press freedom and development of new media business.

Mathew is the first Indian and second Asian, after Seok Hyun Hong of Korea, to be elected to this office. He will take over from Gavin K O'Reilly, Group Chief Executive Officer of The Independent News and Media Group, Ireland, on July 1, 2011.

The World Association of Newspapers, founded in 1948, and IFRA, the research and service organisation of the news publishing industry, founded in 1962, merged in 2009 to form WAN-IFRA.

Mathew is a trustee of the Press Institute of India/Research Institute for Newspaper Development and is also on the Asia Board of the International Newspaper Marketing Association.

The Malayala Manorama group publishes 50 publications, including Malayala Manorama daily, The Week and Vanitha etc.The group also runs Manorama News, a 24 hour news channel, and FM station -- Radio Mango. 

MCCS launches news website Starnews.in

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 9, 2011

Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS), which ha a bouquet of news news channels in different laguages including STAR News in Hindi, has unveiled a news website for STAR News.

The site is available in English and Hindi and will showcase videos sourced from the channel. It can be accessed at Starnews.in and Hindi.Starnews.in, for English and Hindi respectively.

(To get a complete listing of Indian and International News Websites, click here)

I&B ministry plans fund to encourage community radio

Media Hive News Network
New Delhi, April 8, 2011

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Thursday said the low government advertisement rates for community radio stations are shameful and her ministry was considering setting up a fund to encourage such radio stations.

Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity had fixed a rate of just Re 1 per minute for advertisements on community radio stations.

Inaugurating the first national community Radio conference here, Soni said a committee has been set up under the economic advisor to the ministry to work out revised DAVP rates. Community radio stations that generate their funds through people’s participation would be encouraged, she added.

A poster exhibition inaugurated by Soni on the occasion profiles the operational proficiency of the functional community radio stations in the country.

Four journalists captured in Libya

Media Hive News Network
April 8, 2011

Forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi have captured four journalists, two of whom are US citizens, according to a USA Today report . One of the reporters, Clare Morgana Gillis, has reported for USA Today, TheAtlantic.com and The Christian Science Monitor. The other US citizen arrested is James Foley, a journalist for GlobalPost.

Human Rights Watch stated on Thursday that witnesses said that the four reporters were in a car Tuesday a few miles outside of Brega, the scene of intense fighting recently, when they were stopped by pro-government forces and taken away. The driver was released, and the car destroyed.

Rebels who witnessed the arrest reported what they saw to The New York Times, which alerted Human Rights Watch. The other two journalists taken are Manu Brabo, a Spanish photographer, and Anton Hammerl, a South African photographer. The location of the journalists is not known, said the news report.

Last month, four journalists for the Times were captured and released after six days.

Press Awards 2011: Guardian named newspaper of the year

Media Hive News Network
April 6, 2011

The Guardian was named Newspaper of the Year at this year's Press Awards, with specific recognition given to its coverage of the "huge" WikiLeaks story.

The Guardian's groundbreaking journalism and innovation were recognised at the Press Awards where it was named Newspaper of the Year, said the newspaper. (Guardian front page 29 November 2010). Accepting the award on behalf of the Guardian, editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger praised his colleagues as "a fabulous team to work with".

According to the newspaper report, Rusbridger also singled out coverage of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks for special mention. "It's far too early to say what effect the story had on events in the Middle East and north Africa but I would guess it would have had some effect," he said from the stage at London's Savoy hotel, where the ceremony was held.

Recalling the Guardian's collaboration with a range of partners on the WikiLeaks story – described by judges as "an enormous story with reverberations around the world" – Rusbridger said the reason why the files had been shared with the New York Times was because the US constitution's first amendment was the "gold standard for free speech worldwide".

The Guardian took away four awards on the night, with reporter Andrew Sparrow named Political Journalist of the Year, Amelia Gentleman winning Feature Writer of the Year and its World Cup 2010 guide named Special Supplement of the Year.

The News of the World also won four awards, with Stephen Moyes named Showbiz Reporter of the Year, Mazher Mahmood named News Reporter of the Year, its Fabulous magazine named Supplement of the Year and its cricket corruption story named Scoop of the Year.

Times columnist Caitlin Moran took away two awards for Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year, two out of five a total of five awards for the Times.

The London Evening Standard won two awards for its Dispossessed Campaign, both the Campaign of the Year Award and the Cudlipp Award, which recognises excellence in popular journalism.

Ambika Soni, Editors Guild condole Bhattacharjea's death

Media Hive News Network
April 6, 2011

The Union minister of information & broadcasting Ambika Soni has condoled the death of Ajit Bhattarcharjea, a veteran journalist and renowned editor who passed away on Monday. The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday also condoled the death of Bhattacharjea, describing him as an ardent champion of the freedom of the press.

The last rites of Bhattacharjea was performed in New Delhi on Tuesday. BJP leader L K Advani, senior journalists Inder Malhotra, B G Verghese, Sanjaya Baru also attended the funeral.

"Among the many issues he took up was the campaign against the proposed Defamation Bill which the Rajiv Gandhi government was keen to enact in the early 1980s. The Bill was subsequently withdrawn," T N Ninan and Coomi Kapoor of the Editors Guild said in the statement.

"In his illustrious career, Bhattacharjea set new standards with every assignment that he handled. He had the vision to understand the needs of print media with the passage of time. In his profile of active journalism which covered nearly six decades, he understood the relevance of news in the context of the common man. He always believed in maintaining a balance between content presentation and the needs of the reader," Soni said in her statement.

Veteran journalist and editor Ajit Bhattacharjea passes away

Media Hive News Network
April 5, 2011

Veteran journalist and editor, Ajit Bhattacharjea, died on Monday. He was 87. Bhattacharjea was a former editor of the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express, author of a political biography of Jaya Prakash Narayan and books on Sheikh Abdullah and Kashmir.

In nearly 60 years of journalism, Bhattacharjea worked for several newspapers and was assosiated with the Right to Information movement.

Australian, British newspapers say DHONIT

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 4, 2011

It's not only the Indian press, but the newspapers across the world have showered praise for Dhoni and his men for their fantastic win in the World Cup final.

The Australian media hailed India the worthy world champions and praised captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for leading from the front in the final match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

With headline 'India defies history to win its first World Cup in 28 years', The Australian said though it was not a fairytale finish but nonetheless India were the deserved world champions.

The paper also said the current Indian team showed that it is no longer solely dependent on Tendulkar to win matches.

"Tendulkar might have been the name on everyone's lips but if ever there was a sign that the Indian team has moved beyond its one-man juggernaut, Saturday night's gritty victory was it. The team showed determination and discipline that surprised even the most nationalist fans to snatch a victory every man in the team then dedicated to their diminutive teammate playing in his sixth and final World Cup," it said.

The newspaper described Dhoni as an "all-conquering captain" who has now rivalled Tendulkar in popularity.

Writing for Sydney Morning Herald, veteran cricket writer Peter Roebuck praised Dhoni for his bold leadership. "The day belonged to Dhoni. Like Jayawardene, his form had been scratchy but he was able to put that behind him. Indeed he dared to push himself up the order," Roebuck wrote under headline 'Bold captain Dhoni India's hero of the day'

The British media too have praised the Indian team for ending its 28-year-old wait to lift a second World Cup title. "Masterly Dhoni brings joy to the whole of India" -- said The Guardian.

The News of the World, headlined its story "Justice Dhon, India's joy after toss row."

It said, "Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara was at the center of a cheat row before India stormed to a thrilling six-wicket World Cup win.

"Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ultimately smashed a huge six with 10 balls to spare to start the mother of all parties in the host country," it said.

However, Sri Lankan press reaction struck a different chord. The Lankan papers praised in Team India, but also questioned the Sri Lankan team management's wisdom of making four changes for the final.

"Who picked the final XI of the Sri Lanka team for the World Cup final against India?" the Sunday Observer asked.

New York Times, Dawn shower praise on Team India

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 4, 2011

The two prominent newspapers of the US and Pakistan, The New York Times and The Dawn, repectively have showered praise on Indian cricket team for their excellent alround performance in the World Cup.

The New York Times has written: "The six-wicket victory on Saturday in the World Cup final confirmed that India, incontestably, has become cricket's dominant nation, on and off the field".

The Dawn has said, "India's batting superiority in home conditions proved decisive. But more impressive was their ability to win the battle of nerves in Mohali and Mumbai. And it was their captain M.S. Dhoni, who epitomised that composure under duress. The World Cup belongs to India but the victory belongs to Mr Dhoni."

Newspapers go ga-ga over India's win

Abhishek Kumar
Media Hive News Network, April 3, 2011

The Sunday edition of all the newspapers are full of praise for Team India, which won World Cup Cricket in Mumbai on Saturday night. Almost all the dailies have carried half the front page photo of the Dhoni and his teammates lifting the cup. SARE JAHAN SE ACHCHA, says Asian Age in its banner headline.

The Sunday Express (Indian Express Sunday edition) has taken a full front page photo with the headline WINDIA. On the next page, the paper gives a banner THE WORLD IN A CUP with a strap line "On a magical Mumbai night, Dhoni boys trounce Lanka to relive 1983."

The Hindu has given the headline INDIA TAKES THE WORLD CUP IN GRAND STYLE. The paper says,"Twenty-eight years after Indian cricket changed forever on an English summer's day, the country's dream of enhancing its reputation as a major force in the world game found glorious realisation at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday."

The Times of India says "The World at their Feet." The Times of India online has given headline "Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Devils are World Champions". It has written, "The wait has ended, and a new legend has been born. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his intrepid warriors now stand atop a pedestal hitherto occupied only by Kapil's Devils, and India has become only the third country after Australia and the West Indies to win the World Cup more than once."

The Hindustan TImes has given the heading "Dhoni's boys give Lanka the blues, end India's 28-year wait". The paper says, "Men who make history defy all odds. For India, it was a question of doing two things which had never happened before. No team had won the World Cup on home soil and no team had won a World Cup final chasing such a big target. Both achievements were consigned to history with Saturday's six-wicket win as 274 was surpassed with lots to spare." 

Dilnaz Boga gets AFP prize for Kashmir work

Media Hive News Network
March 31, 2011

Dilnaz Boga, an Indian reporter and photographer, received the Kate Webb Prize from Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Hong Kong on Wednesday for her fearless investigative work in Kashmir.

Boga, who got a certificate and $4,200, said the prize money would help support her future coverage of Kashmir as an independent journalist.

According to Boga, monitoring the extent of the violence in all its forms is often difficult, especially when international human rights groups are barred from operating. Boga, 33, has endured difficult, male-dominated conditions in an extremely hostile environment to report on the human side of the Kashmir situation, particularly the impact on the youth. She spent a year in Srinagar working for the news portal 'Kashmir Dispatch' as well as a number of international publications and websites, the culmination of a decade covering the troubled region.

Before working in Srinagar, Mumbai-based Boga earned a master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney with a dissertation on the psychological impact of human rights violations on children in Kashmir.

"People need to know what's really happening in Kashmir behind the propagandist coverage in the mainstream media. This can happen only if serious journalists visit and cover the state without prejudice," Boga had said during her photo exhibiton Kashmir Klicks held earlier this month in Mumbai.

The prestigious Kate Webb Prize was launched in 2008 in honour of the legendary AFP correspondent in Asia who blazed a trail for women in international journalism. The prize recognises exceptional work produced by locally engaged Asian journalists operating in dangerous or difficult circumstances in the region.

While Pakistan's journalist Mushtaq Yusufzai got the inaugural Kate Webb Prize for his reports from the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the 2009 prize was awarded to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

Kerala TV journalist attacked during discussion programme

Media Hive News Network
March 31, 2011

A television journalist was manhandled in full public glare by Left activists, shortly after a discussion programme in Kannur on Monday.

Police have registered a case against CPM state committee member and Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan for manhandling K Shajahan,bureau chief of a Malayalam television channel. Jayarajan was one of the participants in the show held by Malayalam satellite TV Asianet.

The attack apparently was provoked by the mention of sexual allegations against CPM leader P Sasi, who was recently removed as CPM's district secretary.

The attackers alleged that the journalist was raising the Sasi issue at the behest of the Congress.

TV channels given access to Mohali match

Media Hive News Network
March 30, 2011

The ICC has lifted the ban on electronic media coverage of the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final in Mohali after I&B minister Ambika Soni on Tuesday stepped in to resolve the ongoing tussle.

The minister had written a letter to ICC requesting to allow the electronic media to cover the event as was the case earlier. A further meeting is likely on MaRch 31 between the ICC and the media to sort out contentious issues before the World Cup final.

ICC cancels accreditation of electronic media for Mohali match

Media Hive News Network
March 29, 2011

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday cancelled the accreditation of entire electronic media for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan in Mohali.

"Please be advised that your accreditation has been cancelled for Wednesday's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match between India and Pakistan in Mohali. You will therefore not be granted a media match-day ticket and will not be allowed to enter the ground. In addition, you will not have access to any event-related activities such as pre and post-match media conferences and team training sessions," said the ICC commnique to TV channels

ICC has alleged that TV channels are using more TV footage than was agreed upon. There have been violations of media terms and conditions, which the non-rights holders had signed on and agreed to abide by while applying for media accreditation for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

However, TV channels have strongly criticised the ICC decision as infringement of media rights.

PCI guidelines for media for Assembly polls

Media Hive News Network
March 29, 2011

The Press Council of India has come out with guidelines for the media like not partaking any hospitality or inducements from political parties and candidates while covering the Assembly polls in four states.

The council said that in the event of staggered polls, no newspaper shall publish exit-poll surveys till the last date of the polls is over.

For the complete guideline click here

'Reporters are now editors without much field experience'

Media Hive News Network
March 28, 2011

Reporters are made editors when they should have done reporting for 10 more years. They don’t have confidence in their own content. They think more of what the other news channels have done. This was the observation of CNBC Awaaz editor Sanjay Pugalia at a panel discussion, “The Future of Electronic News”, held during the recently-concluded FICCI Frames in Mumbai.

“They (editors) don’t have an idea of what can work and lose confidence in their own content. Every morning, instead of thinking what we are doing today, we think of what the other channels have done,” Pugalia said when another panelist, MCCS CEO Ashok Venkataramani, pointed out that despite news channels having national network and bureaus, 40-45 per cent of the stories come from the stringers.

"We need to break ourselves out of the rat race and kick out the intruders and non-serious players. It is wrong to give frivolous content in the name of competition,” Pugalia remarked.

Besides, Pugalia and Venkataramani, the other panelists were TV Today Network executive director & CEO G Krishnan and UTV Global Broadcasting CEO M K Anand.

At another summit held in New Delhi on March 17, some senior journalists had laid emphasis on self-regulation. They felt that the sudden rise in news channels have also brought down the quality of news. CNN IBN, managing editor, Vinay Tewari suggested that new reporters and journalists needed to be well trained for better quality work.

Besides Tewari, MCCS, editor, Shazi Zaman; QW Naqvi ( news director, TV Today Network); Anurradha Prasad (CMD, BAG Films) and G Krishnan (CEO and executive director, Media and TV Today Network) also attended the meet and discussed the content of news channels and other issues related to TV channels.

Journalists attacked in Dantewada

Media Hive News Network
March 27, 2011

Social activist Swami Agnivesh, who was supposed to deliver clothes, blankets and other relief materials to the affected villagers of Tarmetla, Timapuram and Morpalli -- allegedly burnt by the police -- in Dantewada, was attacked twice in six hours by a mob at the Salwa Judum camp at Dornapal on Saturday. Reporters, who went there to cover the event, were also attacked.

According to reports, a correspondent of The Indian Express, Joseph John, brought out his camera to take pictures. His camera was snatched. His mobile and laptop were also taken away (the belongings were returned later).

In the evening, Agnivesh made another bid to reach the villages, along with several TV crews and journalists. Once again, the group came to attack. Journalists were physically assaulted and their cameras were also broken.

On March 23, The Hindu published reports and photographs alleging that Special Police Officers had torched about 300 homes, granaries and wood-sheds, killed three men and sexually assaulted three women during a five-day anti-Maoist operation in the villages of Tarmetla, Timapuram and Morpalli.

Since then, the district police had sealed off the three villages and intimidated journalists who tried to visit them.

No pressure on me not to summon media celebrities: Joshi

Media Hive News Network
March 25, 2011

Interacting with journalists on Thursday, Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi denied that there is any pressure on him on not to summon media celebrities. Some media celebrities were key players in the Niira Radia tapes related to the 2G spectrum allocation and specifically connected to allocation of the Communications Cabinet portfolio in 2009.

Joshi said all members of the PAC were happy with its interaction with editors Vinod Mehta of Outlook and Manu Joseph of Open magazine and correspondent J. Gopikrishna of The Pioneer in connection with the subject.

Scribes stage march for wage board notification

Media Hive News Network
March 25, 2011

Newspapers and news agencies' journalists from across the country on Thursday staged a march in New Delhi to protest the delay in notification of recommendations of the Wage Boards for journalists and non-journalists. The march started from the UNI office and ended at the Labour ministry buildings, where leaders of the Confederation of Newspapers and News Agencies Employees Organisations addressed the gathering.

Parliamentarians from different parties also joined the agitating employees. In Mumbai, members of the Press Trust of India Workers' Union (Western Region) also staged a demonstration demanding immediate implementation of the recommendations.

James Murdoch for lesser govt control over media

Media Hive News Network
March 24, 2011

In his address at FICCI Frames 2011 in Mumbai on Wednesday, News Corp top executive James Murdoch strongly pitched for a lesser government control over media and greater digitisation.

"India's creative force is still a sleeping tiger waiting to be awakened," said Murdoch, News Corp's European and Asian operations chief, while describing global media firms as "grey and tired".

If the Indian creative sector were on the same scale in relation to GDP as that of Britain, it would be a $120-billion industry instead of a $15-billion industry. He said, "Ask yourself how many millions of jobs a creative sector of that size would produce each year? How wide a reach would such an industry have? It might help revolutionise education and healthcare at home, while ensuring India has a voice commensurate with her importance in global affairs."

He pointed out that of the 250 million Indian homes, only 120 million had multichannel television and a mere 30 million of these are a part of a digital network.

India's media industry has bounced back from the global financial downturn but experts say foreign investment in radio, direct-to-home (DTH) and print media companies is relatively low, compared to developed countries.

The print media sector has defied a global downward trend to grow by 10 percent in 2010 and is likely to continue to expand at a similar pace over the next five years, according to a recebt KPMG-FICCI report.

The other key speakers at FICCI FRAMES include Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India; Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, and
Raghav Bahl, MD, Network 18.

Uday Shankar said that while DTH companies have to shell out a sizeable licence fee, analogue cable operators did not have to.

Aroon Purie said that of the Rs 20,000 crore paid by consumers to cable operators, the broadcasters got only 20 per cent, or Rs 4,000 crore. After paying carriage fees, broadcasters were left with Rs 2,200 crore.

“This leads to heavy reliance on advertising. A 50-50 advertising-subscription revenue ratio is healthy, but we are far from it,”said Mr Purie.

Raghav Bahl said that the future lay in digitisation and that India is experiencing digitisation the fastest.

For thhe uninitiated, Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp's local media firm, Star India, beams programmes through 32 channels to over 168 million people each week across India and over 65 countries worldwide.

Libya frees AFP, Getty journalists

Media Hive News Network
March 24, 2011

Three journalists including two AFP staff held by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces were released on Wednesday, but four journalists with Al-Jazeera remain in detention.

The four NYTimes journalists were freed on Monday, six days after they were captured. At least two journalists have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Libya

Demand in LS for implementation of journalists wage board

Media Hive News Network
March 23, 2011

Angry over the delay in notification of Justice Majithia Wage Board’s recommendations, mediapersons from across the country will organise a protest in front of the Labour ministry in New Delhi on March 24.

A demand was also made in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for implementation of the Wage Board. RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh questioned the delay in implementation of the recommendations submitted to the government on December 31.

"Why no action has been taken so far? Why has the decision being put on the backburner," he asked. Singh stressed on immediate implementation of the Wage Board recommendations as a measure for further strengthening the democratic process in the country.

Cut in military budget in favour of India, Pakistan: Kuldip

Media Hive News Network
March 23, 2011

Eminent Indian journalist India Kuldip Nayar, who is leading a peace delegation to Pakistan, said on Tuesday that bringing cut in military budget is in the favour of both India and Pakistan as both countries have bigger challenges to tackle such as poverty and hunger rather than indulging in arms race.

According to a Pakistan's daily, Nayar said, “I think that India should take the lead in bringing cut to its military budget.”

The 10-member Indian delegation was exchanging views with their Pakistan counterparts at a peace dialogue organised by Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA). The delegation includes media persons, politicians, writers and civil society representatives.

Nayar said that since past 18 years, he lights candles at Wagah border to express the desire for peace. “Last year, 200,000 people from different parts of India joined me but we still wait Pakistani civil society to reciprocate,” he said.

Freed NYT journalists give harrowing details of captivity

Media Hive News Network
March 22, 2011

The Libyan government freed four New York Times journalists on Monday, six days after they were captured while covering the conflict between government and rebel forces in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. According to New York Times, they were released into the custody of Turkish diplomats and crossed safely into Tunisia in the late afternoon, from where they provided a harrowing account of their captivity.

Like many other Western journalists, the four had entered the rebel-controlled eastern region of Libya over the Egyptian border without visas to cover the insurrection against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. They were detained in Ajdabiya by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi.

A clearer account of the four journalists’ capture and detention has come to light now that they have been released, reported the daily.

The four had been covering fighting near Ajdabiya last Tuesday when they decided that the battle had grown too dangerous for them to continue safely. Their driver, however, inadvertently drove into a checkpoint manned by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. By the time they knew they were in trouble, it was too late.

“I was yelling to the driver, ‘Keep driving! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!’ ” Mr. Hicks recalled in a telephone interview from the hotel where he and the three others were recuperating. “I knew that the consequences of being stopped would be very bad.”

The driver, Mohamed Shaglouf, is still missing. If he had tried to drive straight through, Mr. Hicks said, the vehicle certainly would have been fired on. In any event, the soldiers flung the doors to their gold four-door sedan wide open so quickly that they had little chance to get away.

As they were being pulled from the car, rebels fired on the checkpoint, sending the four running for their lives. “You could see the bullets hitting the dirt,” Mr. Shadid said.

All four made it safely behind a small, one-room building, where they tried to take cover. But the soldiers had other plans. They told all four to empty their pockets and ordered them on the ground. And that is when they thought they were seconds from death.

“I heard in Arabic, ‘Shoot them,’ ” Mr. Shadid said. “And we all thought it was over.”

Then another soldier spoke up. “One of the others said: ‘No, they’re American. We can’t shoot them,’ ” Mr. Hicks said.

The soldiers grabbed whatever they could get their hands on to tie up their prisoners: wire, an electrical cord from a home appliance, a scarf. One removed Ms. Addario’s shoes, pulled out the laces and used them to bind her ankles. Then one punched her in the face and laughed.

“Then I started crying,” she recalled. “And he was laughing more.” One man grabbed her breasts, the beginning of a pattern of disturbing behavior she would experience from her captors over the next 48 hours.

“There was a lot of groping,” she said. “Every man who came in contact with us basically felt every inch of my body short of what was under my clothes.”

Indian media industry jumps 11%: KPMG

Media Hive News Network
March 21, 2011

The Indian media and entertainment industry grew 11 percent in 2010, driven largely because of a jump in advertising revenue, an FICCI-KPMG report said. It has also forecast that the industry will grow 13%in 2011.

The report, which will be formally released at the inaugural session of FICCI Frames 2011 on March 23, said the industry, currently pegged at Rs 652 billion, posted a 11% growth in 2010 over the year-ago period.

The advertising spend in 2010 rose by 17% to Rs 266 billion, the report said.
The resurgence in advertising, growth in subscription revenues, thrust on digitization, and emerging avenues for content monetization were the key growth drivers for the Indian media and entertainment industry in 2010.

AFP journalists missing in Libya

Media Hive News Network
March 21, 2011

Three more journalists, including two from AFP, have gone missing in Libya. According to agency reports,AFP journalists had informed the news agency on Friday night that they planned to meet opponents of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and speak with refugees fleeing the fighting between rebels and loyalists. They were accompanied by Joe Raedle of Getty Images.

The journalists have not been heard from since they sent the e-mail, AFP said.

On Tuesday, Libyan authorities detained four New York Times journalists. Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, son of leader Muammar Qaddafi, told in an interview last week that the four Times journalists would be released shortly. No further developments have been reported so far.

US advises against sending journalists to Libya

Media Hive News Network
March 20, 2011

The US State Department has released an advisory recommending against media organisations sending journalists into Libya, according to the The Australian. Acting deputy spokesman Mark Toner said no US officials remained in the country and US citizens in Libya should get out immediately, reported the newspaper.

Meanwhile, a Libyan journalist who ran a webcast programme showing the aftermath of government attacks and commentary on the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi was killed in Saturday's government assault in Benghazi, the rebel capital in the country's east.
Mohammed al-Nabbous, who founded a livestream channel called Libya Al-Hurra, or Free Libya, was hit by sniper fire into Benghazi, the first city to fall to the rebellion that began Feb. 15.

The Al-Jazeera television network has also reported that Libyan authorities had detained a team of its journalists in the western part of the country. The four correspondents are Tunisian, Mauritanian, Norwegian and British. They were reporting from Libya for several days, the network said.

New York Times journalists will be released: Gaddafi's son

Media Hive News Network
March 19, 2011

Four New York Times journalists missing in Libya have been captured by pro-government forces but will be released, the newspaper reported on Friday. The Times cited an interview given by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, to ABC's Christiane Amanpour late on Thursday.The journalists, who were reported missing in Libya, were captured by loyalists of Col Muammar Gaddafi and will be freed, Col Gaddafi's son told US media.The group includes Beirut bureau chief Anthony Shadid, reporter Stephen Farrell and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario.

They were covering the Libyan conflict and were last heard from on Tuesday.

The group includes Beirut bureau chief Anthony Shadid, reporter Stephen Farrell and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario. According to agencies report, the four had reportedly entered Libya without visas over the Egyptian border.

Meanwhile accoding to a Reuters report, one journalist was killed at a demonstration in Saana (Yemen) on Friday. He became the first confirmed journalist to die in action in Yemen since unrest began there in January, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Jamal Al-Sharaabi, a photojournalist for the independent weekly Al-Masdar, died when gunmen fired on demonstrators opposing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, CPJ said. Saleh declared a state of emergency after the demonstration during which the gunmen including snipers killed at least 25 protesters.

Pecking order remains unchanged for the English dailies

Media Hive News Network
March 19, 2011

The Average Issue Readership (AIR) of the top-10 English dailies of India has posted a growth of 1.5% readership over readership (ror) over Q3 survey to 18.9mn, without any change in the top order. The top-10 dailies are (rank-wise) TOI, HT, The Hindu, The Telegraph, Deccan Chronicle, ET, DNA, Mumbai Mirror,The Tribune and The New Indian Express.

According to Angel Broking, which has come out with a report on print media post-Indian Readership Suevey (IRS) Q4 2010, Deccan Chronicle and The Economic Times (The ET) recorded flattish declines in their readership. Times of India (ToI) retained its leadership with an AIR of 7.4mn, adding 170,000 readers since the IRS Q3 survey. Hindustan Times (HT) registered an AIR of 3.6mn, an increase of 2% readership over readership compared with the Q3 survey and retaining its second position followed by The Hindu with an AIR of 2.1mn (up 0.5% ror over the Q3 survey).

HT Media put up a good show across its publications, with Hindustan, HT and Mint recording ror rise in readership of 5.7%, 2.1% and 11.2%, respectively. Mint reported flat readership on absolute basis.

Four out of the top-10 English dailies have registered a decline in their Average Issue Readership (AIR) figures, with DNA and Mumbai Mirror exhibiting sequential slides in their readership. For detail analysis by Angel Broking, click here

Self-regulation should be practiced: TV journalists

Media Hive News Network
March 19, 2011

While attending the fourth Indian News Television (NT) Summit held in New Delhi on Thursday, senior journalists laid emphasis on self-regulation. MCCS, Editor, Shazi Zaman said self-regulation should be practiced by everyone in the industry.It is the only way the freedom of the media could be protected.

They felt that the sudden rise in news channels have also brought down the quality of news. CNN IBN, Managing Editor, Vinay Tewari suggested that new reporters and journalists needed to be well trained for better quality work.

Besides others, QW Naqvi, News Director,TV Today Network; Anurradha Prasad,CMD, BAG Films & G Krishnan, CEO and Executive Director, Media and TV Today Network, also attended the meet and discussed various issues, including the content of news channels, high carriage costs and decrease in advertising.

New York Times to charge for its website access

Media Hive News Network
March 18, 2011

The New York Times announced plans on Thursday to charge the most frequent users of its website for access. NYT, the third biggest newspaper in the US behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, unveiled its adding digital subscriptions plan in an announcement to its readers. The newspaper will make 20 stories available for free on its website including slideshows, videos and other forms of content. Beyond that, readers will have to pay. At the price of $15 every four weeks, users will get unlimited access to NYTimes.com plus the smartphone app.

The Times, which has a Sunday circulation of more than 1.3 million and has more than 30 million monthly visitors to its website, becomes the biggest non-business newspaper to attempt charging for access. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have long required digital readers to pay.

The new digital subscriptions will kick in on March 28. If users want to go further than the $15 plan, for $20 every four weeks, they can get full website access and the iPad app. For $35 every four weeks, they get full website access plus the phone and iPad apps.

"Today marks a significant transition for The Times, an important day in our 159-year history of evolution and reinvention. Our decision to begin charging for digital access will result in another source of revenue, strengthening our ability to continue to invest in the journalism and digital innovation on which our readers have come to depend. This move will enhance The Times' position as a source of trustworthy news, information and high-quality opinion for many years to come," said the NYT statement.