Indian Media

A Sakshi of our troubled times

2010-12-11T00:22:00.001+05:30

Finally Jagan Reddy and entourage have resigned from the Congress party. But there is an uneasy calm, with everyone involved waiting for his next move. A new party is expected to be launched in less than 45 days. Sakshi TV and channel have benefited from the entire ‘just war’, according to some media observers. News television in South India is a peculiar animal. It is brazen, it is loud, it is

The Making of a Journalist

2010-12-06T23:15:00.000+05:30

This was published in the jubilee souvenir of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University in December 2010 As any wise one will tell you, there are many paths to get there. Be it Nirvana or the newsroom. Often, University-bound academicians assert the importance of journalism schools in making good journalists. One would like to believe, given the necessary sets of abilities, like language skills,

Facing the Truth or Facing the Music?

2010-12-06T22:53:00.000+05:30

Posted on Mediawhistle site on July 27 2009 Back in 2007 when the now famous/notorious show The Moment of Truth was launched by Fox network in the United States, Mike Darnell, the President of Alternative Programming at FOX is quoted by TV Week as saying, “This is going to be the talk of the town and knocked out of the park. You’re either going to love it, or think it’s the end of Western

The new moral universe?

2010-11-27T00:51:00.000+05:30

In this new game of privatising public resources, media has to be an important ally. Only an insider can create a credible smoke-screen that makes the mafia look like the saviours. It is clear now that the media honchos have been willing and quintessential insiders, says PADMAJA SHAW Posted Friday, Nov 26 16:13:29, 2010 on the website The Hoot This post-Diwali season, the fireworks continue

Trend-spotting in print media

2010-11-27T00:37:00.001+05:30

There’s something exciting unfolding on the print media scene. Two of the leading English language newspapers, The Hindu and The Times of India, are on a value-addition drive. PADMAJA SHAW is pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Crest edition. Padmaja Shaw Posted Thursday, Nov 18 23:27:15, 2010 on the website THE HOOT It is just over a year since The Times of India launched its Crest

Reporting Ayodhya-II

2010-11-27T00:34:00.001+05:30

In Hyderabad both Eenadu and Deccan Chronicle bent over backwards to maintain balance. One defining feature of Eenadu was the effort it took to present both the sides for almost all stories. PADMAJA SHAW and NAGAMALLIKA G examine Ayodhya coverage in the leading English and Telugu dailies. Padmaja Shaw and Nagamallika G Posted Saturday, Oct 23 00:03:21, 2010 on the website THE HOOT Comparative

Religion without social conscience

2010-10-19T00:21:00.006+05:30

Hyderabad has become a peculiar practitioner of religion. It all begins with the rains. First the Mahankali jaatra. Followed by Ganesh puja, followed by Durga puja. When we were growing up in the 50s and 60s in Hyderabad, only Mahankali jaatra used to be held, the most famous one being the Ujjaini Mahankali of Secunderabad. I do not recall loud drum beats and prolonged processions. People used to

Live TV and dubious judicial logic

2010-10-04T23:36:00.000+05:30

Whether a self-proclaimed custodian of God can go to court claiming land in His name and whether Indian courts can endorse such ownership of land was not explored by any channel. But it is heartening to see self-restrained broadcast media and vibrant English newspapers doing a fair job of one of the most difficult news events of recent times. Posted Monday, Oct 04 14:37:07, 2010 I have been

Response to the Shoma Munshi extract

2010-10-04T23:30:00.000+05:30

Response to the Shoma Munshi extract I have several bones to pick with the author of the book about the Jensen and Oster study which she seems to quote with enthusiasm in this extract. PADMAJA SHAW has trouble accepting the links put forth here between soaps and development. Posted Sunday, May 23 16:17:27, 2010 Read the excerpt from Shoma Munshi's ‘Prime Time Soap Operas on Indian Television

Women Against Violent Entertainment (WAVE)

2010-03-28T17:45:00.002+05:30

Many ideas and the original inspiration for the WAVE campaign are from my brother, who is, surprisingly, a senior corporate executive. The title WAVE (Women Against Violent Entertainment) is really to create a mexican wave across civil society against violent programming that targets women. Let's look at what the Mexican wave is all about from Wikipedia: "The wave (British English: Mexican wave;

A new approach to TV debate

2010-02-27T11:32:00.001+05:30

Posted Monday, Mar 01 10:30:22, 2010 on the Hoot The public information scene in Andhra Pradesh in these days of big expansion of media in the private sector could be a copybook example of what Habermas considered the ‘structural transformation of the bourgeois public sphere’. In this transformation brought about by corporate media, instead of being shaped from critical rational debate and

Future of Public Broadcasting in India

2010-02-17T09:11:00.002+05:30

Published in The Broadvision,souvenir brought out on the 27th National Convention of the Programme Staff of All India Radio and Doordarshan, 10,11 December 2009, New Delhi Unless one is Rupert Murdoch, very few people have serious objections to the idea of public broadcasting. It’s almost like motherhood and apple pie. But both the high priest of commercial broadcasting, Rupert Murdoch, and the

India is ignoring its citizens

2010-02-07T18:07:00.000+05:30

Eric Randolph's thought provoking piece on the free press in India India is ignoring its citizens Despite criticism by civil society and the free press, the state is continuing its violent campaigns against Maoists unchecked o Eric Randolph o guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 February 2010 09.00 GMT Alongside the great internet firewall of China, the vicious paranoia of Burma's

Free Foxes Among Free Chickens

2010-01-17T01:09:00.000+05:30

Free foxes among free chickens? The commercial media operate like hardcore businesses, but when it comes to regulation, they wish to be treated with kid gloves as they claim to serve the values of free speech. What should the moral authority of the state protect - the right of the citizen to ethical journalism or the right of the media to sell its soul? Posted Friday, Dec 18 09:59:27, 2009 on

Strange experience

2010-01-15T22:49:00.000+05:30

We've lived in this flat for over 17 years without any problem. The security system has been non-exitent, but somehow everyone felt recklessly safe. Two weeks ago, a posse of police personnel arrived with some friendly advice about safety in flats and what we should be doing. A days later, there's this 20 something youngster who began prowling around our flat. He's been opening securely closed

Hospitals and the Political Farce in Andhra Pradesh

2009-12-24T23:48:00.000+05:30

Hospitals and the Political Farce in Andhra Pradesh Out here in Andhra Pradesh, we are living through life changing times. From the 9th of December 2009, when the central government announced its decision to initiate the process for the formation of Telangana state, neither the politicians nor the media have had a breather. While the Telangana protests subsided instantly, several of the political

Planned Inertia

2009-12-21T23:08:00.001+05:30

Planned Inertia One of the major recommendations of Akash Bharati, the comprehensive report that laid out the road map for the future of Indian broadcasting immediately after the Emergency, is to scrap the Broadcasting wing of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The report argued that such a wing is anomalous in a democracy where media must operate as autonomous institutions, autonomous

TV9 brings you the floods, live!

2009-12-06T15:52:00.000+05:30

TV9 brings you the floods, live! One saw several reporters in waist deep water, waving mics at people for sound bites. Another reporter on a boat waved the mic for bites from a person in neck-deep water! TV channels in Andhra Pradesh are repeat offenders of a cardinal sin in news – do not draw attention to thyself. Posted on The Hoot on Thursday, Oct 08 11:07:45, 2009 Disasters bring

Misogyny in Telugu serials

2009-12-06T15:49:00.000+05:30

Misogyny in Telugu serials Gone are the days of mother-in-law taunting the daughter-in-law to irritate. She now gets her kin knifed on a highway by her henchmen. Telugu serials are empowering women by making them evil. Posted on The Hoot on Sunday, Aug 16 12:47:30, 2009 Whenever one sees soaps on Telugu television, one is filled with amazement at the extent of anti-women programming

Transparency and the media

2009-12-06T15:45:00.000+05:30

Transparency and the media It is of great importance for the public to know who the owners of the newspapers and the channels are and what their primary source of funding is. It is also important to know who is on the Boards of these enterprises... Posted on The Hoot on Monday, Aug 10 17:35:14, 2009 Parliament elections are over. The verdict is unambiguous. The new government has

Time for an equal time rule?

2009-12-06T15:39:00.000+05:30

Time for an equal time rule? If one examines this issue, the origin of the problem is in the severe lack of access to the media time and space that all candidates face. Time for an equal time rule that mandates airtime to all contesting candidates? Posted on The Hoot on Saturday, May 23 12:21:03, 2009 The great Indian election juggernaut moved, and as ever with the faceless Indian

YouTube candidate

2009-12-06T15:36:00.000+05:30

YouTube candidate Like all great strategists, from his early days as Lok Satta chief, JP has been using media, particularly television, to reach out to a larger audience. The campaign of Jayprakash Narayan of Lok Satta... Posted on The Hoot on Tuesday, Apr 14 14:59:24, 2009 Is he an insider or an outsider? All media houses in Andhra Pradesh are watching what he does keenly. None of

Prince in the Pi(libhi)t and other poll-time maladies

2009-12-06T15:32:00.000+05:30

Prince in the Pi(libhi)t and other poll-time maladies Anchors should record their own shows, analyse them interruption by interruption, trivial question by trivial question and see if there's some real news they can add to beef it up... Posted on The Hoot on Saturday, Apr 04 14:31:57, 2009 One thought that this was a different election. An election, post-Mumbai floods and post-Kasab,

Telugu channels in election mode

2009-12-06T15:18:00.001+05:30

Telugu channels in election mode During this election season the Election commission should ensure that the media is not manipulated by candidates, political parties and partisan lobbies.... Posted on The Hoot on Sunday, Feb 15 22:29:04, 2009 The general election season is upon us. The juggernaut of Indian democracy is lumbering up to roll and its festive season for the 24/7 news

Media in times of anarchy

2009-12-06T15:11:00.000+05:30

Media in times of anarchy This is the kind of event that brings back the debate about the nature of Indian democracy and the role media can play in it. The case of encounter killings in Andhra Pradesh and the polarity of opinion reflected in the media.... Posted on The Hoot on Sunday, Dec 21 21:51:54, 2008 The dust still hasn't settled on the Mumbai attack and its aftermath. But

When the going gets tough....

2009-12-06T15:00:00.001+05:30

When the going gets tough ... Anchors on NDTV have been pushing viewers to invest. One is not sure if there is conflict of interest in such advice from ESOP holders in a listed media company... Posted on The Hoot on Monday, Oct 27 22:43:22, 2008 It will not be an exaggeration to say that NDTV taught India how to do television news in style. The reporters and anchors of the

Manufacturing Hindutva?

2009-12-06T14:57:00.000+05:30

Manufacturing Hindutva? The entire story is a web of self-incriminating confessions from the accused that render any need for fair trial that all citizens of India are entitled to, unnecessary. Posted on The Hoot on Monday, Oct 13 22:40:32, 2008 When I read the cover story: Inside the Mind of The Bombers, carried by India Today, 13 October 2008, as an average reader I expected some

Keep this alternative alive and healthy

2009-12-06T14:41:00.001+05:30

Keep this alternative alive and healthy If anyone wants a model for socially responsible, public interest broadcasting as an alternative to the commercial cacophony that satellites pour into our homes, the Lok Sabha channel would fit the bill. The idea is to recognize that one cannot please everyone. Posted on The Hoot on Saturday, Jun 28 17:25:55, 2008 By July 24 the Lok Sabha

News or Reality TV?

2009-12-06T14:33:00.001+05:30

News or Reality TV? Do we, citizens of this country, actually need protective laws to save us from the ugliness of media? Posted on The Hoot on Saturday, May 31 13:28:27, 2008 Indian commercial television is in terminal decline. Specially the news channels. A couple of weeks back a young Indian woman, Jyothirmayi, was murdered by an Indian student in UK. Her family is from Vijayawada.

Cheerfully partisan

2009-12-06T14:21:00.001+05:30

Cheerfully partisan! Y.S.R Reddy's family newspaper Sakshi lays bare the nature of investment in the Telugu media. Posted on The Hoot on Wednesday, Apr 09 13:53:11, 2008 March 23, 2008 saw the launch of Sakshi, a Telugu newspaper in full-colour with 23 simultaneous editions. The initial print run was 12.7 lakhs. The USP of this paper is that it has been launched by the Andhra

Survival Tricks of Telugu TV Channels

2009-12-06T12:37:00.000+05:30

Survival tricks of Telugu TV channels The channels are leading a wave of religious revivalism purely because religion and culture can also be packaged and sold. Posted on The Hoot on Thursday, Apr 03 23:11:07, 2008 Over the last several months, Telugu TV channels have been resorting to a new revenue generation strategy: carrying advertisements for precious stones with magic

Short story: Epiphany

2009-12-06T12:10:00.000+05:30