Guardian says 'Sorry' to Times of India

If you thought the Times Group can only twist the arms of the likes of Mediaah, then read this! The British newspaper Guardian has to apologise to Times group for using the term 'notoriously secretive' in an article on the Mumbai media war by its Indian correspondent Randeep Ramesh.
The article which previously opined: "The Times of India, run by the notoriously secretive Jain family, is a formidable competitor" now changed it to "The Times of India, run by the Jain family, is a formidable competitor."
But still the paper upholds some damning observations about the media behemoth: "Foreign investors are gradually being allowed to invest in Indian newspapers, a process of opening up slowed only by lobbying from the Times of India."
The paper also observed: "The younger members of the clan took over a decade ago and transformed the paper into a marketing team's dream, where editorial space is sold to advertisers and stories treat readers as consumers rather than citizens."
Read the Revised article at the following URL-
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,3604,1536716,00.html

Bravo Times of India! Can somebody urge Times of India to change its motto in its logo from 'Let Truth Prevail' to 'Let Truth Perish'!!!

How media killed Narayanan before his death

In this article from Newswatch, find how you in a rush for breaking news first, many a time channels overstep and make news before it happens. No wonder a channel has kept its punchline-Khabron se pehle khabar. I think this characterises the new genre of 24x7 news channels. I think we need a news channel who will keep a tab on all these news channels(media in the broader sense) and keep us informed about the blunders committed by media. When everybody is talking about content regulation and a Laxman Rekha for the media, I think an effective media of media is need of the hour. With niche channels becoming a trend, will somebody find such a channel a viable business proposition?

India TV: Chalo Bigade Mediaka Tasbir

India TV, I thought, will have some sense of propertion even after its Shakti Kapoor-Aman Verma even Dawood-Govinda scoops. I hoped Rajat Sharma will soon realise that for success of a news channel you have to build your credibility first, eyeballs will flow eventually. Sensationalism may pay divident for a short while but won't do always.
The way Dawood video was presented on TV, it was almost as if India TV has caught the real Dawood Ibrahim-Bharat mein pehli bar aap dekh rahein hai Dawood ka itna karib se chitra! Bharat ke khufia agencyon ke paas bhi aisa chitra upalabdh nahin hai! Still I pardoned India TV.
But now which right-minded person will support Rajat Sharma's address to the nation every day-Aap Baniye Reporter,Camera Uthaiye, Shoot Kijiye, Tape Ya CD Mujhe Bhejiye. Milkar badlenge Bharat Ki Tasbir! Sorry, Mr Sharma. you are not running a blogger.com where any one can write or show anything. With the way technology has advanced, anybody could morph anybody's picture or video and put him/her in trouble. Or are we leaving in a Ramrajya! Was it not enough Mr Sharma that you distorted the very concept of Breaking News through running a programme by its name, everyday for more than couple of hours! What do you think?!

Natwar Singh and the Indian media

Read last Sunday's Counterpoint by Vir Sanghvi (HT) on how the Indian media functions. Sanghvi, himself an eminent editor, though ex-, gives an inside view of the newsroom and how the editor and news editor both in a TV news channel and a newspaper sets and alters his/her priorities. And for we the people it is the front page lead story.

JANMAT-The Views Channel Launched

The not-so-much-publishised 'views' channel from the Shri Adhikari Brothers has atlast been launched after long delay. The new channel which comes with its unique USP was launched without any fanfare-infact quietly on yesterday evening at 8 pm.
The first show on Janmat was that of Shekhar Suman who is anchoring a serious news show-Aap Ka Haq. The first show focussed on the forgotten heroes of Indian military-the Prisoners of War languishing in some jails in Pak. Though the programme was good enough to watch but Shekhar Suman seemed an odd choice for such a serious kind of show which he is not accustomed to. It is infact hard to understand why Shekhar Suman is chosen for such a show when Janmat has a long list of many senior anchors. Suman who does not have any journalistic background seemed quite ill-fitted to put the right questions and moderating the session in an intelligent manner. His lack of knowledge of issues clearly showed on the way he handled the show. Sorry, Mr Suman, you are better do Poll Khol on Star News where you just have to add humour to the pre-decied script, but in this kind of serious shows, you better sit in the audience.
Other surprise that Janmat threw was Alka Saxena, who has queitly joined the channel after almost facing a demotion in Zee News. Nobody knows the inside story why Zee News behaved in such a manner to one of its longest serving employee. She was the news editor there. She is hosting a show in Janmat. Among other faces was Vir Shangvi who is anchoring a show 'Faces and Names', an English show with celbrities. But a regular English show in a supposedly Hindi channel! To me hard to digest. What do you think. From my side 50 marks to Janmat on Day one.

I'm Blogging! I'm Blogging!

Today, I am entering a new world-Blogosphere. It had been my daily habit to write my dairy in that small handmade notebook since Class 8th. I inherited the habit from my father who is a poet by his own merit and still continues to write his daily dairy at the age near to an octogenerian. I had named my dairy-Log Book, hardly knowing in those years of Pre-1995 that one day I will be writing my daily experience and commenting on events-at a platform called Blog-so similar to the name of my dairy. Though, I am claiming no father of Blogging or the coiner of the term, I mentioned this just because I am nostalgic while writing for the first time on this forum.
Being a media professional, I will be writing basically on media which ofcourse includes the new media-my ultimate point of fascination, and on whatever seems amusing, intellectually stimulating and deadly creative to me, because at the end of the day I consider myself an Innovatively creative person. I will try to raise issues that concern our society-particulary media and thus engaging you all in a kind of debate. Hope, I will enjoy the journey with you my fellow netizens-especially like-minded bloggers at my side. Looking forward for the marathon ahead!