• Home
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Submissions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • NewsVoir
  • Newswire
  • Nasheman Urdu ePaper

Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

  • News & Politics
    • India
    • Indian Muslims
    • Muslim World
  • Culture & Society
  • Opinion
  • In Focus
  • Human Rights
  • Photo Essays
  • Multimedia
    • Infographics
    • Podcasts
You are here: Home / Archives for Media

Don't care about the media, people of Delhi are happy with the AAP govt, says Kejriwal

May 11, 2015 by Nasheman

Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Stating that he doesn’t care about media, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that if election is held in the national capital today, Aam Aadmi Party would poll 72 percent votes.

“Whatever comes in the media, but I conduct a survey every 15 days of my party in Delhi. If elections are conducted in the national capital, then we are ought to get 72 percent votes. After the elections, our condition has improved a lot,” Kejriwal said, while interacting with party volunteers through Google Hangout.

He also said that his government is going to complete 100 days. After the Delhi Assembly’s elections, people’s affection has increased towards the AAP.

The Delhi Chief Minister also took a dig at the Narendra Modi-led central government, saying “normally, it is seen that parties win the election, but gradually people get fed up of them. The biggest example of this is the Modi government at the Centre”.

“Their popularity has decreased from the time they came to power. But our popularity has increased and today if elections are conducted in Delhi then we will get 72 percent votes according to our survey.”

In the last Assembly elections, the AAP polled 54.59 percent.

Kejriwal said the AAP government is going to complete 100 days in its office on 24 May while the Modi government will complete its one year on May 26.

“I think there should be comparison of work between Modi’s and our governments. There should be comparison as to what we have done in the last 100 days and what Modi’s government has done in the last one year,” he also said.

Attacking the media, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “Media keeps showing us in negative light but don’t worry about that as people of Delhi is happy with us. Despite media’s attempts, people gave us 67 seats.”

“As far as starting a media house is concerned, we don’t want to do that. There are good people in media too, who are not happy. If some senior people come together and want to start a news channel or news paper, the government will definitely help them. We also want a honest media house which only shows news,” he said.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Aam Aadmi Party, AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi, Media

Kannada newspaper ‘Sanjevani’ founder-editor dies at 78

May 5, 2015 by Nasheman

Sanjevani

Bengaluru: Senior media personality B S Mani (78), who founded and edited ‘Sanjevani’, the first Kannada evening newspaper in the State, died at his residence on Sunday night.

He was ailing for some time. He is survived by his wife, son B.T. Amudan, who now edits Sanjevani, and three daughters.

Mr. Mani hailed from Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. He became a prominent personality in the Kannada media space.

He also started a Tamil daily ‘Dinasudar’ in the city.

His body will be kept at the Sanjevani office on Queen’s Road on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the public to pay their respects.

Filed Under: India Tagged With: B S Mani, Karnataka, Media, Sanjevani

Prannoy Roy on The Tabloidization of Indian News

May 4, 2015 by Nasheman

prannoy-roy

by Prannoy Roy

(These remarks were presented recently by Dr Prannoy Roy at the RedInk Awards in Mumbai where he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mumbai Press Club)

I have accepted this award because of the immense respect I have for the Press Club of Mumbai. This award is essentially not for me – it’s for the person who started NDTV and who is the driving force behind NDTV’s vision, growth, editorial direction and ethics: my partner and my inspiration, Radhika Roy. It is also an award for the entire team at NDTV – simply the finest, most talented and most fun team to work with. And I’m so proud that many present and past members of this greater NDTV team – are being awarded tonight. As far as we are concerned – you never left NDTV, you still have the same DNA and you’re all still part of the NDTV extended family.

I was given my first Lifetime Achievement award about 10 years ago – and I took it as a not-so-subtle message, saying, “Prannoy, it’s time to pack up”. After a couple of more such messages – which pointed to the sunset – I decided to avoid Lifetime Achievement awards. Things reached a climax when – and this is absolutely true – the head of a very prestigious TV award organization – called me up and asked me to accept an “Award for being India’s Most-Trusted Anchor”. A few days later he sent me a formal letter, which confirmed the phone call, except, he left out the “T” in “trusted anchor”!

You may still be wondering why on earth this “rusted anchor” has accepted this award – well, as you know, “we journalists may not be the most important people in the country – we are certainly the most self-important”.

So, apart from being self-important, what is the true state of journalism in India? Where are we at? What is to be done?

May I just give you a quick anecdote that shows how far we have come since the first-ever private news was telecast in India – it was a daily half-hour news bulletin produced by NDTV called The News Tonight for Doordarshan in 1995. It was the first night – I was anchoring – (and like all anchors, I decided to show off a little – all anchors basically have “show-off” engraved into their DNA) – and I said as I glanced at my watch, “Good evening, it’s 8 o’clock and this is the News Tonight coming to you live”. LIVE? Someone in the PM’s office heard the word LIVE – and reacted to it like a 4-letter word. He immediately phoned the I&B Ministry and yelled at them to take us off air – or at least stop this private news from being live. Well, nightly news that’s not live might as well be dead news. How did we get around this? We changed the clocks. There was Indian Standard Time and there was NDTV time. Everywhere in the NDTV studios, we had two clocks – one showing NDTV time that was 10 minutes ahead of India Standard Time. We bought a large capacity hard drive, which could store 10 minutes of Video. So we would start our nightly news at 8 o’clock sharp NDTV time – the video would go into the hard drive – and automatically regurgitate itself 10 minutes later – at exactly 8 o’clock Indian Standard Time. So no censorship was possible, no editorial interference by the government – but, technically it wasn’t live. We have come a long way since then, right?

In fact, I would characterize India’s media as the most crucial ingredient of this, our third phase of India’s democracy. Let me explain. In the first phase, we voted like sheep: 80% of governments (state and central) were voted back into power. The second phase – which I call the “angry, volatile” phase – 80% of governments – good or bad – were thrown out of power. Now in Phase 3 – the last 12 years – I call it the “informed’ phase – in which voters have unparalleled access to media – 50% of governments, generally the better ones, are voted back, while 50%, normally those with a poor performance, are voted out. In the first two phases, voters would see their candidate once every 5 years – at campaign time. Now every time politicians leave their homes, there are dozens of mics stuck under their noses. How things have changed – and all of you in the media are a crucial part of this positive change in our democracy.

So it’s wonderful to see how far India’s media has come. But there are some worrying trends that need course correction – now, before it’s too late.

Proud as we are about our news channels in India, may I list 3 or 4 things that need to change:

First – perhaps the biggest danger we face today is the tabloidization of our news. Every advanced country with a developed, mature media has a wide spectrum of news – from credible and serious journalism to the tabloid – in England, from The Times and The Economist to the Sun and the Mirror; in the United States, from The New York Times to the New York Post; and in television news, from BBC and CNN to Fox News.

But in India there is this dangerous slide to one end of the spectrum. Why has every news channel – English, Hindi or Regional – turned tabloid? Why are we trying to emulate Fox News? And why does every news anchor want to be another Bill O’Reilly? We have so many Bill O’Reillys. It would make O’Reilly proud … and some have gone so far, it may even make him a trifle jealous.

Among leading Hindi News channels, almost 25% of the TRPs comes from Astrology “News”, and another 25% from saas-bahu serial news, and some highly graphic crime news. I have heard a woman anchor on one Hindi channel saying, “break ke baad aapko ek Rape dikhayengey” (after the break, we’ll show you a rape”).

Tabloidization is the death of good journalism. But I don’t blame our anchors or journalists for this tsunami of tabloid news. I also strongly disagree with the widely held hypothesis that blames the Indian viewer – Indians love tabloid sensationalism … Indians have base, tabloid tastes. So if our anchors are not to blame, and it’s not about viewer preferences – why is India becoming “no country for honest journalism”?

Many feel that the advertising fraternity must carry part of the blame. The advertising pie is distributed based entirely on numbers – many in the advertising fraternity tell me that our media buyers are essentially eyeball-chasers (the media equivalent of ambulance-chasers).

While our advertisers and media buyers are as skilled as those in the West in their media modeling skills, for some reason they have not created methods that enable them to evaluate news on factors others than just numbers of eyeballs.

This is not the case in developed media markets. The circulation of the London Times is 400,000 – while the Sun has 5 times that at 2 million – and we all know that Fox News has 3 times the viewership of CNN. Yet the advertising rate for The Times is much higher than for the Sun, and the advertising rate for CNN is much higher than for Fox News.

Do the eyeballs justify that? Of course not. But the advertisers and the media buyers place a premium on the ‘quality’ of The Times journalism and its credibility.

The higher ad rate for credible journalism, and lower rates for tabloid news, has meant that both ends of the news media spectrum have survived and prospered.

Unless we model quality and credibility into our advertising rates, and not go just by the eyeball count, we shall go headlong into tabloidization – with no place for news that is at the serious end of the spectrum.

Think about it – do advertisers in India really want their product to come immediately after “break ke baad aapko ek rape dikhayenge”?

The day advertisers in India distinguish between tabloid news and serious news like it’s done all over the world, India will see the growth of better quality media and an end to the mushrooming of eyeball-chasing tabloid TV. Don’t blame the viewer, let’s look inwards and do our research.

As you probably know, NDTV has recently been awarded “India’s most Trusted Brand” across all media – print and TV – for the second year running. This is how VIEWERS assess us and value us.

Perhaps it is because of our determination to be India’s only non-tabloid television network.

For the second point, I like to use a phrase we coined at NDTV: it’s called the “Heisenberg principle of journalism”. The original Heisenberg principle, crudely interpreted, suggests that as you get closer to a target or object, you yourself change. The ‘Heisenberg principle of journalism’ states that if you head towards the sole objective of eyeballs or sensationalism, the very nature of your own journalists and journalism tends to change. Also it is well known that if a journalist gets too close to her or his sources, the nature of the news changes – some call it quid-pro-quo journalism.

As journalists we are not “insiders” – we are not to be on first name terms with politicians – we don’t go to the same parties.

The third factor that needs change – and it’s one that most of my fellow editors don’t want me to speak about, because it hurts us – Indian media today lives and thrives in what I call a “punishment-free” environment. We can say what we like, defame whoever we like, make false accusations against whoever we like – and nothing happens to us. Our defamation cases take 20 years to settle – and even then, the verdict has rarely punished any media house.

The result is we are getting slack – forget research, we don’t even need to check our facts, we don’t care if we wrongly defame anyone – the bottom line is we are dropping our standards. If this decline in quality continues, three years from now, Indian media will have no credibility left.

We need tough defamation laws, and we need verdicts to be decided quickly (not 20 years). With possible punishment hanging over our heads, we will be more careful with our facts, be more thorough in our research, and only then will we retain credibility and the trust of our viewers and readers.

This punishment-free-zone we live in today is lovely for us in the media today – but very damaging three years from now. Let’s push for a change voluntarily – take the lead and set an example.

I want to make one thing clear however, tougher defamation must come from our courts and our legal system – not the government. There is absolutely no role for the government in the media – no role at all.

The fourth change refers to the Internet in India – and I am not referring to net-neutrality, which we must fight for and preserve at all costs. Net neutrality is crucial for our new democracy – it’s now almost as important as the right to vote. Lose it – or even allow big operators to nibble away at the fundamentals, and it will be as damaging to our democracy as losing the right to one-man-one vote. But that’s a topic for another session another day.

The issue I wish to raise here is the Danger of Anonymity and an unrestrained Internet.

It’s clear for example that, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others are aware of the dangers of anonymity in certain areas that might cause a threat to their own society – like pedophilia, cyber bullying, and terror threats – and have rightly put in safeguards to screen their content for these dangers.

But are these same sites as aware of the dangerous consequence that a different kind of image or message has in developing societies like India?

In volatile countries like India, where social tensions simmer beneath the surface, the violent consequences of anonymity can be as damaging as sex crimes and cyber-bullying in western societies. For example, an organized surge of anonymous messages against a particular religious community or caste can lead to – and has led to – violence, panic and death.

Those who send these messages are never caught because they hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. A provocative message on Twitter in a sectarian confrontation can erupt into riots.

While there are many advantages of anonymity – in many ways it IS the essence of freedom on the net – it is important to recognize that the inherent dangers (terrorists constantly use the anonymity of the web) might, in certain circumstances, outweigh those very benefits. Maybe it is time to bring the Internet a little closer to the responsibilities that all other forms of media face. Surely, one should take responsibility for what one writes. How many lives have to be lost in the name of anonymity?

Perhaps it is time for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to become sensitive to messages that are dangerous or, by taking advantage of democratic freedoms, are actually harmful to democratic societies like India. We have different situations and different flash-points to those in America or other countries of the West, and we have a responsibility to address them before they incite sectarian or communal violence.

And just as they pre-screen their sites for themselves, are they ready to invest in similar systems for other kinds of dangers in different societies to their own?

Let me be clear: we are not arguing for a complete ban on anonymity on the Internet. In everyday use, for comments, criticisms and opinions, anonymity must be allowed to continue. What we need, perhaps, is a law that permits the piercing of the veil of anonymity only when a serious crime is committed — the very last resort. And, once again, it must be the judiciary, not the government, that should decide when this can be done – and ensure it is done only in the rarest of rare cases.

So we, the media in India have so much going for us – we have democracy in our DNA, we can, and do, question everything, we are at the cutting edge of new technology that bypasses government controls and frees our wings, our media is more vibrant than anywhere in the world – let’s not throw it all away and commit hara-kiri as we are pretty good at doing. As journalists, let’s not chase profits without purpose, let’s not forget the Heisenberg principle and turn into insiders, let’s voluntarily accept legal discipline when we defame and fail to do our research – and let’s embrace the new world of the internet with imagination, and leverage that democracy in our DNA.

NDTV for one is now focusing on becoming a digital company – more than a television company. We learnt a lesson during the last elections – our website ndtv.com – with what was widely considered to be non-tabloid election coverage – had 13.5 billion hits in 24 hours. The internet is the future for all of us. It’s a new sunrise for journalism.

So do watch this space. I’d like to end tonight with the same five words I used 10 years ago when I was awarded a lifetime achievement – “You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: Media, NDTV, Prannoy Roy

Sniffing plot to finish AAP, Kejriwal bats for public trial of media

May 4, 2015 by Nasheman

Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday charged there was a “conspiracy to finish off Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)” among a “very large” section of the media even as he supported “public trial” of the media.

Coming out with a strong response to the controversies in which the party finds itself involved, he said “a very big conspiracy” was going on. “A very large section of the media has accepted ‘supari’ for finishing off AAP,” he said.

The ruling AAP has come under fire from Opposition parties over the row in connection with Delhi Law Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar’s degree and in the matter of the alleged suicide by a farmer at a rally led by the party at Jantar Mantar here.

Stating that the matter needed to be taken up if any channel was found airing erroneous content, he declared, “If you see that a particular channel is showing something factually incorrect, then you should raise the issue.

“There can be a public trial. There can be 8-10 spots in Delhi where we can collect a group of people and show the erroneous clip. That way we can start a ‘janta ka trial’.” Speaking at the launch of a news website jantakareporter.com, Kejriwal defended Tomar, who is facing allegations of possessing a fake bachelor of law (LLB) degree, saying, “I have no relation with Tomar nor is he my friend. Why will I save him? As soon as allegations were were raised, I wrote to him seeking an explanation.”

The chief minister added, “if you see his reply, even you will say he is innocent”. “He (Tomar) is innocent and a conspiracy is being run against him,” Kejriwal maintained.

“He (Tomar) has sent his brother to collect his degrees… The court has not said anything but the media is saying everything. They want him sacked,” he added.

On the issue of the alleged suicide by Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh at an AAP rally, Kejriwal said, “Nobody had even thought that such a tragedy will occur at Jantar Mantar.

“We were sitting on the stage and where Gajendra was sitting on the tree was not visible,” he said.

“Had we announced anything, a stampede could have occurred because of the large crowd,” the chief minister said, adding “the police would have saved him if they knew it. When his body was brought down, he was living. We should have stopped the programme then.”

Expressing regret over the incident, Kejriwal said that neither he nor the other AAP leaders could get sleep in the night after the tragedy at Jantar Mantar.

Kejriwal also touched upon topics such as the performance of the Narendra Modi government and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s engagement with farmers’ issues and the recent row involving his government and Delhi Police.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Aam Aadmi Party, AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, Media

Nepalese slam Indian media, #GoHomeIndianMedia trends

May 4, 2015 by Nasheman

GoHomeIndianMedia

Kathmandu: The Indian media is facing flak for its coverage of the earthquake disaster in Nepal with complaints in the social media that it was treating the tragedy as a “public relations exercise” on behalf of the Indian government.

As Nepal picks up pieces in the aftermath of last month’s devastating earthquake that killed over 7,000 people and injured more than 14,000, some have picked holes in the “relentless and aggressive” coverage by the Indian media.

By Sunday evening #GoHomeIndianMedia, which was created on Twitter for slamming the Indian media, was the top trending hashtag in Nepal with more than 60,000 tweets on the topic.

As grief-stricken people in Nepal took to social media in droves to complain what they called as Indian media’s “insensitive” reportage of the worst earthquake to hit the Himalayan nation in 80 years, the criticism ironically came on the occasion of the World Press Freedom day today.

At the same time, there have been critical responses to the negative reactions in the social media with comments like the Indian media coverage being “largely responsible” for how the rest of the world saw the Nepal tragedy and even driving global response.

While grateful for the aid and help in rescue efforts, some sections of the media were panned on the social media for pitching the tragedy as a “Public Relations exercise” for the Indian government.

“…Media humiliated poor Nepal in order to take credit & cheap publicity in the hour of crisis. Sad,” said one tweet.

In a blog published on CNN, Sunita Shakya of Nepali origin writes, “Your media and media personnel are acting like they are shooting some kind of family serials.”

She also goes on to describe a couple of instances where she says the reporter did not do enough to help the injured person in need.

“Thanks to tons of reporters who came to Nepal from those rescue planes of India, you took a seat where a victim could be transported to hospitals/ health camps. Thanks to you all reporters, you took a seat where a bag of food and supplies could be placed to send to those hardly hit places,” she added.

Kunda Dixit, a veteran journalist, was quoted has having said that some Nepalis, not all, feel India media is a bit patronising in their attitude and that is perhaps why such sentiments are being expressed. That is how a section of the Nepali media also feels, according to Dixit.

The Indian media was accused by the Twitterati of being insensitive to survivors, asking them irrelevant questions such as “How are you feeling?” and not rendering help to those needing immediate medical aid.

“If your media person can reach to the places where the relief supplies have not reached, at this time of crisis can’t they take a first-aid kit or some food supplies with them as well,?,” asked Shakya.

Some tweets said that Nepal is a sovereign country and not a “satellite state”.

Dear@narendramodi our Dharahara may have fallen not our sovereignty! Sinerely Nepalese #GoHomeIndianMedia, said one tweet while another sarcastically said, “Mr. @narendramodi please call your media back. They r just hurting us more.”

“The height of event management!!! Shame on media’s sycophancy,” read another tweet.

“#GoHomeIndianMedia is about Indian Media. It has nothing to do with Indian Government. Indian Government was the first to reach Nepal,” was another tweet.

Ajay Bhadra Khanal, a veteran journalist, was quoted as having said that the Indian media’s “aggressive presence” and the way they are highlighting only their government’s role in resuce and relief efforts has affected the perception among Nepalis of the Indian government.

Here are some of the tweets:

A tweet from a person followed by Indian Embassy Kathmandu shows how serious the matter is #GoHomeIndianMedia pic.twitter.com/2i5s2Zd2KF

— I Blocked Aajtak (@umeshd516) May 3, 2015

Stop your Media-quake!! We are already in pang by devastating Earthquake and your news are not helping the victims!! #GoHomeIndianMedia

— सूचना घिमिरे ツ (@artless77) May 3, 2015

Dear Indian media, we shall welcome you back once you learn the basics and ABCs of journalism. For now leave. #GoHomeIndianMedia

— prakriti khadka (@khadka_prakriti) May 3, 2015

#GoHomeIndianMedia @aajtak @abpnewstv @IndiaToday Mr. @narendramodi please call your media back. They r just hurting us more

— लुरे (Nishan Aryal) (@fantastic_fan) May 3, 2015

According to the Nepalese police, the death toll recorded in Nepal till date is 7,040 and nearly 14,123 people have been left injured.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Earthquake, Everest, GoHomeIndianMedia, Kathmandu, Media, Nepal, Nepal Earthquake 2015

CM slams TV channels for promoting superstitions and blind beliefs

April 27, 2015 by Nasheman

Photo: The New Indian Express

Photo: The New Indian Express

Hassan: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has expressed concern over the telecast of programmes in many TV channels that promote superstitions and blind beliefs in people.

Speaking at the 32nd State conference of the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) here, he suggested presspersons to spread awareness about scientific reasoning among the public.

“Do you believe in the existence of ghosts even in the 21st century?,” he asked the presspersons and said the role of the media was to promote scientific reasoning among people. “If you provide undue importance to soothsayers, how can you bring about a change in society,” he asked.

In recent years, the media had been giving more space for imaginative reporting. “You are more interested in imagining what might have happened than what has actually happened. This is a bad trend and it affects both the media and the society. This cannot serve the media for long. People gradually lose confidence in media houses that attach undue importance to illusions and imagination,” he said.

In the pre-Independence era, newspapers used to focus on Freedom Movement. They played a major role in prompting the people to join the national movement. In the first two-three decades of post-Independence India, newspapers provided the much needed push for development programmes. “In recent years, however, corporate companies have taken over several media houses. Big companies hire journalists on a contract basis. In small organisations, journalists face many problems and hence they need job security,” he said and added that his government would soon launch a health insurance scheme for journalists and their family members.

A.S. Kiran Kumar, ISRO chairman, said that it was essential for journalists to keep updating themselves with the ever-expanding technology. “Nowadays, people access news through their mobile phones. This has become possible only because of the advancement being witnessed in communication technology. Media people should get used to the advanced technology to remain in the field,” he said. Veteran journalists and former presidents of the union H.S. Doreswamy, N. Arjun Dev, G.K. Sathya, Venkatesh and Gangadhar Mudaliar were felicitated. Information Minister R .Roshan Baig, Minister for Public Works H.C. Mahadevappa, Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader, Vijaya Karnataka Editor Thimmappa Bhat, KUWJ psresident N. Raju, Indian Federation of Working Journalists president K.Vikram Rao, Hassan Daistrict Working Journalists’ Association president Ravi Nakalgudu and others were present.

Hassan district Association of Working Journalists had organised an exhibition of photographs and cartoons. Photo journalists Ateek Ur Rahman, Janekere Paramesh, B.M. Ravish and Srinivas exhibited the photos taken by them. Noted cartoonist M.V. Shivaram displayed cartoons.

(Agencies)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Media, Siddaramaiah, Superstition

India Bans Al Jazeera for 5 Days for Showing ‘Incorrect’ Maps of Kashmir; network condemns censorship

April 23, 2015 by Nasheman

New Delhi imposes tight restrictions on all printed maps, insisting they show all of Kashmir as being part of India [Reuters]

New Delhi imposes tight restrictions on all printed maps, insisting they show all of Kashmir as being part of India [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera English has condemned a decision by the Indian government to take the channel off-air for five days over maps the channel aired of the disputed Kashmir region.

The ban, which took effect on Wednesday, concerned maps which on occasions during 2013 and 2014 did not mark Pakistan-controlled Kashmir as a separate territory.

Al Jazeera in India showed a blue screen on Wednesday with a sign saying “as instructed by the ministry of information and broadcasting, this channel will not be available”.

The maps, produced by external software, gave the same treatment to Indian-controlled Kashmir, though this was not subject to similar complaints.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim the whole of the region and have twice gone to war over its control since partition in 1947.

Al Anstey, the Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, called the ban “disproportionate,” saying it “needlessly deprives Indian viewers of our global news and programmes”.

“This is the latest in a series on ongoing issues. Our journalists have not been granted visas for years now,” Anstey said.

“We approach India like we do any other country – showing the world the positive and the negative, the humanity, and the diversity.

“This can be easily witnessed in the integrity and quality of the output that we have been allowed from India.

“We have though been severely hampered for too long by constraints placed upon us when trying to tell Indian stories to the world.”

The order comes amid a simmering censorship row in India over a series of recent bans that have sparked accusations of a growing climate of intolerance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They include a ban on screening a BBC documentary on the fatal gang-rape of a student that sparked mass protests in Delhi.

New Delhi imposes tight restrictions on all printed maps, insisting they show all of Kashmir as being part of India.

The government in 2011 ordered The Economist magazine to cover up a map of disputed borders in Kashmir.

The news weekly placed white stickers over a diagram of the borders on 28,000 copies on sale in India.

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Al Jazeera, India, Kashmir, Media

Presstitutes remark: PM Narendra Modi ‘salutes’ VK Singh, slams media for ignoring ‘good work’

April 20, 2015 by Nasheman

Narendra Modi V K Singh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was all praise for Gen (retd) VK Singh, who has faced attack from a section of the media over his “presstitutes” remark, as he hit out at the media for not highlighting the “good works” of his government.

“I salute Gen (retd) VK Singh,” Modi said as he hailed the “unprecedented” rescue mission led by the minister for evacuating Indians out of Yemen. The Prime Minister also heaped praise on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her work.

Modi was critical of the media for ignoring Singh’s work at a time when newspapers worldwide highlighted the Indian rescue mission.

He said that the Indian media took note of it, but due to other reasons — a reference to the criticism of Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs, for his use of the term “presstitutes”.

“Can you imagine? Bombardment is going on in Yemen 24 hours and everybody is out to kill each other and we, after talking to so many countries, manage to stop this for two hours to evacuate as many Indians as possible. It is not a small incident.

“I believe this is the first time in the world that a government minister has stood on the battlefield like a soldier to do this work… I salute General VK Singh,” he said at a meeting of BJP MPs here.

Taking a dig at Indian media, Modi said, “Look at TV channels and newspapers the world over, they are talking about how India has conducted the operation from the forefront. Indian newspapers spoke about it in the end and that too due to some other reason.”
Modi also lauded Swaraj, saying that the External Affairs Ministry had never before worked like it was doing under her.

“If somebody (in distress) tweets to her at 1 am in night, she replies by 1.10 am. The embassy concerned is alerted… Has anybody ever seen India’s External Affairs Ministry work like this?” he asked.

Lamenting the lack of what he described was an “echo- effect” of the good works of his government, he said that if BJP was “naturally attached to power” then the party would have organised a grand show to felicitate Singh and Swaraj.

“I will request it now,” he said, adding, “Thousands of people who have come back safe will always have respect for you. Whether media shows your photographs or not, you have made your place in people’s hearts.”

Thanking Modi for his praise, Singh said in a tweet, “Thank you @narendramodi ji for the kind words of appreciation, none of this would have been possible without your able leadership and guidance.”

Using the opportunity to drive home his government’s pro- poor credentials, Modi said that most of those evacuated by it in foreign countries were poor people who had gone there in search of better livelihoods.

Earlier, in an interview to PTI, Singh had alleged that an “insidious campaign” was being run against him by a section of media at the behest of arms lobby that is “working overtime” to subdue him and he has briefed the Prime Minister about it.

Under fire for using the word “presstitutes” for the media, Singh had also offered his apologies to journalists barring a small section of media persons, who were carrying out a “motivated campaign” against him.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: BJP, Media, Narendra Modi, Presstitutes, V K Singh

Are Media debates really useful?

March 31, 2015 by Nasheman

Representational Image.

Representational Image.

by Virag R Dhulia

I was sitting at the guest room of DD news with three feminists – a prominent feminist, a male feminist and one more woman. They lost the debate to me on camera so they were insulting me off camera. On camera too they tried same. I was wondering about this male feminist who was so much in support of women but was actually making fun of me, a Woman!I returned with moist eyes,this did not happen for the first time; I had similar experiences at different media channels.

Those who go to the media and represent men’s rights must have noticed that there is only one pro men person and others are feminists. Generally media chooses a weak pro men debater so that they can make fun of him/her. If there is some strong pro men debater they either do not allow him/her to speak or just mute the mike. Basically they do not want to talk pro men or about men’s rights,they invite us to add fun element to the show.

I had a tough time when a retired judge and a famous feminist started laughing on men’s issues. So we got the message that they do not want to propagate men’s rights, for them abuse of men is a laughable matter. If we analyze about media debates then it is like a bunch of people sitting and shouting at each other, it does not solve the problem. It increases frustration and unnecessarily wastes our energy which can be used in other important tasks.

We do not need the paid media to speak for us; we will speak for ourselves.At one news channel when the guest coordinator came to know that I am about to speak for men, she gave me a weird look and stopped interacting with me. On one such occasion they called me and they wanted me to say something on the famous so called rape case of the country. I politely refused to participate andwhen they asked me the reason, I said,”talk about men and I will surely come”, the phone was cut after this .

After a series of false rape cases, the feminist media became desperate to bring the feminist agenda on air. Also, after Arnesh Kumar judgement, 498a got diluted a lot so they thought of a new trick and the trick was, “Marital Rape“. I got the news that I will be getting call from a prominent channel for the topic.

The call was from a woman guest coordinator, she wanted some victims where husband was charged with marital rape and came out clean. Basically they wanted to showone man as a victim and then make fun of him with the popular tactics of media.

I asked the woman on phone, “lady what to do you mean by marital rape and there is no such law.”

She kind of explained to me, “madam marital rape means those husbands who force their wives for sex,”

I said, “But that never happens”.

She was getting desperate,”Madam, I need numbers of such men who have gone through the false allegations”.

I said, ”Alright I have many men in touch with me who are blamed of violence, dowry and sexual assault too”.

She said,”No, not dowry law victims I want victims of fake marital rape charges”.

I said,“What is the program about?”

She cut my question and asked, “Do you have numbers of victims?”

I said, “Yes I have but I will not give you as I know you will make fun of them and my boys have dignity.“

She was aghast and played the last card,”Actually madam we want to talk about male victims “,

I said, “Really, then make a program exclusively on men and I promise to bring men from different arenas.”

She lost it and said ”alright madam thanks.”

Then she called an activist at Hyderabad said same things to convince him to be a part of the discussion. Our activist asked similar questions what the program is all about?How many people are participating?Who all will be the part of panel?

She offered flight ticket to him but could not convince him. He said, “See, if you want to make a program on men, let it be men only, we will not jump inside the feminist agenda, so think before making such program. Men’s pleas cannot come in between the feminist propaganda. “

The reality came out as they wanted to talk about the Supreme Court ruling which refused to accept marital rape. Our activist blasted at them asking, “You are saying you want to talk about male victims, thenwhy don’t you discuss the skyrocketing suicide of husbands, or the woman who cut her husband’s genitals or the Dimapur, Agra,Rajasthan lynching of innocent men based on mere suspicion or the amity fake gang rape case which ruined the lives of 2 young men?You want us to talk about a subject which does not exist but you will not talk about the atrocities on men happening everyday“. The phone was disconnected after this.

Till the media learns to talk about men, it is important to give them a clear message that we are not jokers who will come entertain you and discuss every crap with you. If you think that abuse of men is a myth, then so be it. We have the power to tell the truth to the worldourselves.

Media is paid by some very powerful feminist agenda otherwise how someone can just offer flight ticket from Hyderabad to Delhi. If feminists are paying them, then what is the point in talking to them?

There are other ways of creating awareness and presenting ourselves. Time has come when media needs to talk on our terms and conditions not theirs. Our message has already reached and now those who are not taking us seriously are the people who do not want to accept reality. You wake up those who are sleeping not those who are just pretending to sleep.

Media showed its true colors when it started making fun of Indian cricket team when they lost the semifinals. This is how everyone judges a man – onefailure and he is no more significant!

How does one trust such media? Many people call me and say madam I want to highlight my case in media. It is an illusion that they are for common man and they fight for truth, they actually fight for their agenda and business. Every tear is money for them, they earn by tarnishing image of men, so why to be part of them? Let them have their circus alone with feminist, manginas and white knights; we will utilize our time to train people who want to give misandry a good fight.

Also, it is important to mention here that those media persons who genuinely spread the word of men’s rights have had their careers grow like anything. So, choice is with media.

Virag R Dhulia is the Head of Gender Studies at Confidare Research.

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: Debate, Media

Legendary journalist Vinod Mehta passes away

March 9, 2015 by Nasheman

Vinod Mehta

New Delhi: Vinod Mehta, one of India’s best known journalists, died here on Sunday of multi-organ failure, doctors said.

The 73-year-old Mehta, who at one time worked as factory hand in Britain, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), its spokesperson Amit Gupta told IANS.

AIIMS said Mehta suffered from several neurological issues and had been bed-ridden for three to four months. He was admitted to AIIMS in critical state last week.

Outlook group, which was the last major media group Mehta founded, announced the death of its founder-editor-in-chief “with deep sadness”. Even after ceasing to be its editor, he was its editorial chairman.

Modi said in a tweet: “Frank and direct in his opinions, Vinod Mehta will be remembered as a fine journalist and writer. Condolences to his family on his demise.”

President Pranab Mukherjee also offered his condolences and tweeted that “the eminent journalist made immense contribution to journalism”.

Born in Rawalpindi before India’s partition, Mehta’s family moved to India when he was only three years old. He grew up in Lucknow, studying in the La Martinere school and Lucknow University.

His big moment came in 1974 when Mehta, at age 32, took up editing “Debonair”, a men’s magazine in India which boasted of serious articles as well as centre-folds.

He later went on to launch other successful publications such as Sunday Observer, The Pioneer and Outlook. He also founded the Indian Post and The Independent newspapers.

A gifted writer, Mehta authored a biography of Bollywood actress Meena Kumari and Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of slain prime minister Indira Gandhi. His much acclaimed memoir, “Lucknow Boy”, came out in 2011.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Lucknow, said: “I express my heartfelt condolences… His demise has left a big void in the field of journalism.”

(IANS)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Media, Outlook, Vinod Mehta

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

KNOW US

  • About Us
  • Corporate News
  • FAQs
  • NewsVoir
  • Newswire
  • Realtor arrested for NRI businessman’s murder in Andhra Pradesh

GET INVOLVED

  • Corporate News
  • Letters to Editor
  • NewsVoir
  • Newswire
  • Realtor arrested for NRI businessman’s murder in Andhra Pradesh
  • Submissions

PROMOTE

  • Advertise
  • Corporate News
  • Events
  • NewsVoir
  • Newswire
  • Realtor arrested for NRI businessman’s murder in Andhra Pradesh

Archives

  • April 2025 (50)
  • March 2025 (35)
  • February 2025 (34)
  • January 2025 (43)
  • December 2024 (83)
  • November 2024 (82)
  • October 2024 (156)
  • September 2024 (202)
  • August 2024 (165)
  • July 2024 (169)
  • June 2024 (161)
  • May 2024 (107)
  • April 2024 (104)
  • March 2024 (222)
  • February 2024 (229)
  • January 2024 (102)
  • December 2023 (142)
  • November 2023 (69)
  • October 2023 (74)
  • September 2023 (93)
  • August 2023 (118)
  • July 2023 (139)
  • June 2023 (52)
  • May 2023 (38)
  • April 2023 (48)
  • March 2023 (166)
  • February 2023 (207)
  • January 2023 (183)
  • December 2022 (165)
  • November 2022 (229)
  • October 2022 (224)
  • September 2022 (177)
  • August 2022 (155)
  • July 2022 (123)
  • June 2022 (190)
  • May 2022 (204)
  • April 2022 (310)
  • March 2022 (273)
  • February 2022 (311)
  • January 2022 (329)
  • December 2021 (296)
  • November 2021 (277)
  • October 2021 (237)
  • September 2021 (234)
  • August 2021 (221)
  • July 2021 (237)
  • June 2021 (364)
  • May 2021 (282)
  • April 2021 (278)
  • March 2021 (293)
  • February 2021 (192)
  • January 2021 (222)
  • December 2020 (170)
  • November 2020 (172)
  • October 2020 (187)
  • September 2020 (194)
  • August 2020 (61)
  • July 2020 (58)
  • June 2020 (56)
  • May 2020 (36)
  • March 2020 (48)
  • February 2020 (109)
  • January 2020 (162)
  • December 2019 (174)
  • November 2019 (120)
  • October 2019 (104)
  • September 2019 (88)
  • August 2019 (159)
  • July 2019 (122)
  • June 2019 (66)
  • May 2019 (276)
  • April 2019 (393)
  • March 2019 (477)
  • February 2019 (448)
  • January 2019 (693)
  • December 2018 (736)
  • November 2018 (572)
  • October 2018 (611)
  • September 2018 (692)
  • August 2018 (667)
  • July 2018 (469)
  • June 2018 (440)
  • May 2018 (616)
  • April 2018 (774)
  • March 2018 (338)
  • February 2018 (159)
  • January 2018 (189)
  • December 2017 (142)
  • November 2017 (122)
  • October 2017 (146)
  • September 2017 (178)
  • August 2017 (201)
  • July 2017 (222)
  • June 2017 (155)
  • May 2017 (205)
  • April 2017 (156)
  • March 2017 (178)
  • February 2017 (195)
  • January 2017 (149)
  • December 2016 (143)
  • November 2016 (169)
  • October 2016 (167)
  • September 2016 (137)
  • August 2016 (115)
  • July 2016 (117)
  • June 2016 (125)
  • May 2016 (171)
  • April 2016 (152)
  • March 2016 (201)
  • February 2016 (202)
  • January 2016 (217)
  • December 2015 (210)
  • November 2015 (177)
  • October 2015 (284)
  • September 2015 (243)
  • August 2015 (250)
  • July 2015 (188)
  • June 2015 (216)
  • May 2015 (281)
  • April 2015 (306)
  • March 2015 (297)
  • February 2015 (280)
  • January 2015 (245)
  • December 2014 (287)
  • November 2014 (254)
  • October 2014 (185)
  • September 2014 (98)
  • August 2014 (8)

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in