thevigil.in: public scrutiny of news media

On Monday, May 24, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address a press conference in New Delhi to unveil the report card of his government’s performance in its first year. The press conference is going to be unlike any other before it. It will not be limited to Delhi journalists. Reporters from Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Lucknow will be present by video to pose questions to the prime minister. Maybe a few questions will be taken from foreign capitals too. According to Harish Khare, the information adviser to PM, about 250 news channels and 1,500 print journalists will cram Vigyan Bhawan, the venue.

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By B V Rao

I was always worried I would die without knowing enough about Arindam Chaudhuri. But last week, The Hindu and Tehelka put me at ease. Thanks to these two highly respected publications, I will leave this world armed with better information about the management mogul, his life and his works. continue reading…

By Srimoy Kar

After all, 24×7 news channels need meat and blood to sustain viewer interest but one-upmanship in breaking news seems to have created a virtual storm in a tea cup in the trainjack case.

More at expressbuzz.com

By BIKRAM VOHRA

After 40 years in journalism and running 12 newspapers I have to confess to two passions. Aviation and the pursuit of human dignity. In the second category, the judgement by the colour of one’s skin has always burned me up and I see it as the worst form of racism practised with sinister malice in India. continue reading…

S B Easwaran posted his comments to my post “Learn to wring a chicken’s neck…”  wondering about the wisdom of an Hindustan Times article romanticising Kobad Ghandy, the alleged Maoist leader arrested in Delhi. I’m throwing up Easwaran’s comments as a separate post to carry forward the PublicScrutiny of that debatable article.

— B V Rao, administrator

By S B EASWARAN
Is a Maoist the more interesting for having gone to Doon School, for coming from an affluent and urbane Parsi family of Bombay? Is he the more interesting for his naive psychology of minor or ritual brutality in preparation for human violence and death of hundred-fold magnitude? Is he the more interesting for the polished affluence of his fruit-icecream fortunes? Or is he just a more interesting story for all that? continue reading…

By B V Rao

I’m not saying that. Kobad Ghandy, the top Naxalite who was recently arrested in Delhi, is saying that. And he’s saying that courtsey Jyoti Punwani, a Mumbai freelance journalist and courtsey the Hindustan Times.

continue reading…

first published on exchange4media.com

By B V Rao

“Our editors run their businesses without any commercial consideration. Let me give you an example. It came to me as a compliment from somebody the other day. On CNN IBN our film Welcome (a film we’ve taken a huge bet on) was reviewed by Rajeev Masand on his very popular show. Rajeev said: “The film is so bad that anyone who goes and sees it and enjoys it, I will personally pay for his psychiatric treatment.” This was his line, on our own channel, about our own film. There is no influence on our editorial… continue reading…

By Smita Deshmukh

First things first – I’m not an avid TV news watcher..I’m a TV listener (genre of people who listen to TV news, while they continue to do other things, yes, we do exist). Since I was almost quarantined in my room due to a severe bout of flu, I decided to do the impossible – watch the news channels. continue reading…

Source: http://exchange4media.com/

By B V Rao

News channel editors are like horses. They wear blinkers to work! That need not necessarily be a bad thing. Horses are forced to wear blinkers so they see only the road ahead and stay on course. We all call that focus, staying on the job, and any manager worth his salt will tell you that that is a great asset. continue reading…