Media Ombudsman: necessity felt by the general public

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Media - Internal Ombudsman: need of the hour!

Snehalatha/ Bellevision

Udupi, 11 July 2011: Journalism which is in the cross roads can be brought to the right path only from within the journalism and cannot be done from outside, opinioned State Higher Education Minister Dr. V. S. Acharya. He was speaking upon inauguration of the new Press Club and laying foundation stone fort the News Bhavana. The Judiciary system, Legislatory system are all sometimes get into humorous or laughable situations. But the journalism should not become like that, said the Minister. Journalist should leave aside the negative approach and must encourage the personalities of good creative thinking and to those who does good work. In the public platform it is not possible for the politicians and officers to take a short cut for a long lasting achievement. And this principle applies to even journalists also, said Dr. Acharya.

State government has announced rupees 1 crore for the welfare of the Journalists, rupees 50 lakhs for the welfare of Senior Journalists, the monthly allowance has been increased from rupees 1,000 to 2,000, Smart card for the Journalists who crossed the age of 60 and also Mere Hanumatha Rao awards have been declared. The government is always ready to hear the petitions of the Journalists, said the Minister. State Journalists Association President Gangadhara Modaliyar speaking on the occasion, said that, after the Neera Radhiya case, there have been evidences that even the Journalism is not out of corruption. Elections have created a new corruption called paid news. The murder of Jyothi Dey in Mumbai proclaim that in our country even the Journalists are not safe. To all these problems and issues the only solution is to follow the Journalism ethics by all Journalists, he said.

other posts on Paid News, Judgemental Media, Media Ombudsman

The Bitter Truth: bias of The Hindu (Mangalore) reporting exposed!

Here is a sample of "news manufacture"

Our post on 12th February 2009

The Hindu report 05th November 2010

in spite of the judgement by the honourable First Additional Sessions judge, The Hindu continues to stick to its own "news manufacturing"! (even TOI does the same, almost bordering onto contempt of court!)

God save us from mediamen with ideological leanings,involved in propaganda!

Please show your displeasure, direct your comments to readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

Paparazzi culture creeping in...All for a breaking news!

Investigating agency plans to book scribe who had shown visuals of officials questioning Nithyananda on TV

MS Raghavendra, producer of a daily crime programme that's broadcast on Udaya TV, had shown visuals of officials questioning the self-proclaimed godman in a chamber inside the CID head quarters. Raghavendra had procured (bought) the visuals that were recorded on CCTV camera from a source.

The investigating agency is planning to book him on charges that include conspiring against the state and data theft.

Home Minister Dr VS Acharya, on the other hand, admitted that the department is planning to book some journalists, including Raghavendra. "As a few of them have grown so impish, we have to put brakes on them," he said. The state Home Minister fired salvos against Raghavendra for his attacks on the system as a journalist. (MidDay/NDTV)

Police too have Human Rights!

As if fighting the Maoists was not enough, the police involved in the anti-Naxal operations in Chattisgarh are stretched on another front where they have to spend a considerable time in courts.

Police often get bogged down by cases of alleged human rights violations in various courts resulting in diversion of manpower affecting its operational capabilities in the operations in the Naxal-hit state, top police officers said today.

And the man worried is none other than Director General of Chhatisgarh Police Vishwa Ranjan who finds himself in a catch-22 situation as his men have to spend more time in courts with lawyers to counter the propaganda of Naxals which is being spread through human rights activists.

The case of Dantewada, the heart of Maoist insurgency, has been cited by the police to buttress their point.

The district Superintendent of Police Amresh Misra has to spend half his time in Delhi with lawyers in a Public Interest Litigation filed before the Supreme Court by a human rights activist Himanshu Kumar alleging that 13 people were killed in fake encounters.

In fact, all the 13 persons were alive and their statements have been recorded before a magistrate in a Delhi Court, says Ranjan.

"But to counter this (allegation), my SP has to spend most of the time in Delhi briefing lawyers," he told PTI here. (Read Full Report)

Lessons to be learnt!

Plea to the media: Please Let the investigating officers do their job, do not spread rumours, do not be informants to the miscreants by giving live coverage of the scene of investigations, DO NOT quote irresponsible officials who want remain anonymous!

Moreover please do not pass judgements when the investigations are on...

writeup of the week

Courtesy: VijayaKarnataka

Disclosure of Sensitive data to the media: Maharashtra ATF chief removed

Leaking sensitive information to the media by investigating police officers/personnel for petty gains or instant fame has been on the rise. This dangerous trend leads to destruction of evidence, escape of criminals...

A strong signal has been sent to all such individuals, with the removal of Maharashtra ATF chief.

" Raghuvanshi's expected transfer came in the wake of his utterances last fortnight following the arrest of two terror suspects in Mumbai who were planning to blow up an ONGC tank, a mall and a cloth wholesale market. The central government had expressed displeasure over what it felt 'leakage of sensitive information' pertaining to the two terror suspects by Raghuvanshi."(Full report)

The message is clear:

1. Please let the investigating agencies do their job, too much curiosity on the part of media, hampers the investigations/ outcome

2. Leakage of sensitive information to the media may not be good for the career of an investigating officer!

Earlier post:

Terror suspect in the garb of mediamen?

Sting Operation: Footage telecast in bad taste: CM

BANGALORE: Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and home minister V S Acharya have felt that the repeated telecast of the Swami Nityananda scandal footage to be in bad taste. The repeated telecast of the footage, he said does not well with the tradition of our country. "It does not adhere to our culture," the chief minister said. (TOI)

Sex & Crime News damaging our society

Mishandled media coverage of sexual violence/crime encourages sexist social attitudes and criminal activity, say experts A write up by By Anjira Assavanonda/AsiaMedia

Excerpts:
=The media's improper reporting of sex crimes had led to a phenomenon of ''sexual adversity''
=It is worrying that society was being subject to daily news reports of sexual violence, as if it were a common occurrence.
=''The journalists may feel they are doing their job well, reporting fast and intensely. But they forget that it may destroy the victims' dignity,''
=''We're in a society where humans are commercial goods. Humans make news. And yet we don't care what happens after the news is published,''
=''If we continue to accept that into our culture, sexual adversity will never end.''

Sardesai moots independent regulatory body for TV news media

The Hindu

MANGALORE: President of the Editors’ Guild of India Rajdeep Sardesai has expressed the need for an independent body to regulate television news media in the country.

Interacting with presspersons during his visit here on Sunday, Mr. Sardesai said: “Something like a broadcast regulatory of India should be constituted to keep a tab on media transgressions.” He stressed the importance of a body like the Office of Communications, which is an independent telecommunications regulator in the United Kingdom. Mr. Sardesai also gave the example of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and said: “If an advertisement is found to breach the standards set, the council has the power to pull it out of circulation and fine the advertiser.”

The Editors’ Guild, which is currently deliberating the “paid news” controversy exposed by The Hindu’s Rural Affairs Editor P. Sainath, did not have punitive powers like the ASCI and Ofcom, Mr. Sardesai said.

No role for government: However, he said that under no circumstances could the government be allowed to play a direct role in the functioning of a regulatory body. Responding to an idea mooted by Home Minister V.S. Acharya for the setting up of a media ombudsman, he said that the government, which is run by political parties, could not be entrusted with upholding the freedom of the press. He also expressed fears that it was likely to be swayed by political considerations as opposed to ethical ones.

Mr. Sardesai said that a regulatory body should be made up of “respectable” members of “impeccable and unquestionable integrity” from “across the board”, such as retired judges, members of civil society, and senior journalists.

Earlier Posts:

People want media ombudsmen

Accountability is the need of the hour

Arakere Jayaram writes...

Journalists should cut back on hype and fake outrage and reconnect with the public

The bitter pill

all posts on Ombudsman

Accountability: need of the hour

Background: Police Tuesday filed cases against two local dailies in Karnataka for carrying an article based on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's novel that sparked clashes and riots in two towns Monday, claiming two lives and injuring many. "We have booked cases under sections I53A, 153B and 295A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) against both the newspapers for provoking the public and causing misunderstanding between two communities," Bangalore additional police commissioner A.M. Pujar told IANS here.

The first case was booked against Kannada Prabha, a Kannada daily of The New Indian Express Group (South) from Bangalore, for publishing a translated version of Taslima's article in English based on her novel "Lajja" Feb 28 in the Sunday supplement under the heading: "Parda o Parda".

The second case was booked against Siasat, a Urdu daily published from Bangalore, for a follow-up story March 1 stating that "an article based on the views of Taslima was published in a Kannada daily against the social custom/practice of wearing burqa (veil) by Muslim women".

The police also visited the newspaper offices late Monday and served notices to their publisher, editor and manager, directing them to carry an apology in Tuesday's issue and explain reasons for publishing the articles.

Both the newspapers carried an "apology" in Tuesday's issue on the front page for publishing the article and the follow-up story. But who will hold them accountable for the after effects/ damage caused to the public property?

DNA reports:

The home minister, VS Acharya, said media needed a rule book to behave more responsibly while handling sensitive issues.
Two people were killed in Shimoga in a violence sparked by an article in a Kannada daily allegedly written by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Replying to questions raised by members of the opposition in the legislative council, Acharya drew their attention to the restraint showed by American media while reporting the 9/11 attack on World Trade Center.
"None of the media broadcast close up of dead bodies or other ghastly pictures. Our media, too, should act with responsibility," he said.
While a free press was necessary in a democracy, media should not be judgemental. He felt the need for an ombudsman for media as in other sectors. Recalling the pub attack in Mangalore, he said it was another case of media hype.

Then it was PAID NEWS, Now it is a mad run for TRP!

Stage managed attacks, Invasion of Privacy, Paid news/ Advertorials, Glorification of crime news, selective blindness, merchants of fear, Judgemental writeups, Moral panic in the media, Actors in Politically sponsored dramas, Spreading panic and going scot free, False allegations ....

all these describe one section of the present day TRP hungry media...says this article from HosaDiganta

At last one writeup on this in the English Media...

Justice Somashekara report: what the "secular" media fails to report!

What the media has conveniently chosen to ignore!

Below are the extracts from the synopsis issued by the commission to the public.

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• In Some incidents there were indications of self-infliction or collusion or make-believe methods to create evidence of attack on churches or places of worship to support such things in other districts or places.
• There are indications of massive conversions to Christianity by circumstances and inducements but not by compulsion. Such conversions were only by faith and not of religion in legal or technical sense.
• All the materials in any form including literature, books, pamphlets, publications including the press and media in any form using abusive or insulting expressions either direct or with innuendos touching the religious interests should be banned if existing and censured if proposed to be published.Read full text released to the media

Media reports: "selective" blindness: Bangalore Feb 3: Home Minister V S Acharya on Tuesday said some statements in the interim report submitted by the commission including the collusion of Bajarang Dal, VHP and Sri Rama Sene members with police in attacking churches were not the observations of the commission but only submissions made before it. Speaking to reporters in Bangalore on Tuesday, Acharya also expressed surprise that the commission had made the contents of the report public. Acharya said the interim report submitted by the commission was in three parts - “recommendations of the commission”, “synopsis to the public” and “impression given to the commission.” Police excesses on protesting Christians and involvement of Bajarang Dal members in the attack were only “impression given to the commission” by people during disposition, he said.Commenting on the report being made public, Acharya said, “As per norm, commissions of inquiry submit their report in a sealed cover to the Government. After obtaining a nod from the Cabinet, the reports are tabled in the legislature. But we will not take exception, the report has already been made public, now nothing can be done, it’s okay”, Acharya said. The Home Minister pointed to a commission statement that “in some incidents there were indications of self-infliction or collusion or make-believe methods to create evidence of attack on churches or places of worship to support such things in other districts or places”. The government was studying all aspects of the report, but any action or implementation of the recommendations could be taken up only after the final report was received. Acharya sought to differentiate between the impressions of the commission itself and the impressions of the various parties who deposed before the commission. Much of what is reported is the impression the deposing parties had brought before the panel, Acharya said.(DHNS/IE)

Justice Somashekara Commission Submits Interim Report

Mangalore, Feb 1: The Justice B K Somashekara Enquiry Commission set up to investigate the church attacks in the state, presented its interim report to the government on Monday February 1.

The Commission has made several suggestions and recommendations to the government to consider and implement.

The recommendations are:

• Government should ensure protection to all religions and their institutions, particularly in the affected districts due to attacks and especially to minority religions and should be spelt out in clear terms without politicization.

• As a first measure, the government should convince the affected Christian institutions and persons that it shares their miseries and sentiments suffered due to unpleasant incidents of attacks in all forms with sympathy, compassion, and concern by taking all the religions and political parties into confidence.

• The district administration at all levels should be made liable for all violations in any form and extent of such protection.

• A common modality should be framed and adopted for all the district administrations to deal with all situations of religious matters uniformly, impartially, effectively, and speedily.

• The intelligence wing of the government, at least in all districts, must be geared up with trained personnel, infrastructure, headed by expertise and commitment to social and religious causes especially to deal with all situations of religious conflicts supervised and monitored at least by an officer of IGP cadre of the state.

• The state should take all measures to ensure fundamental rights for freedom of conscience and free profession and propagation of religion within the meaning of Article 25 of the constitution of India in letter and spirit.

• Religious harmony awareness programmes may be initiated at village and taluk levels to avoid unexpected religious conflicts with elders of all religions constituting the peace committees.

• Legislations through special law within the competence of the state under lists of the constitution may be passed to ensure prevention of atrocities on any person in the name of religion in any form and protection of all persons claiming the privileges by virtue of a religion as per the law without reference to the conflicting legal consequences.

• All communal organizations in whatever name or form preaching or practicing any activity against any religion in any form should be banned as per the law existing to be legislated with the serious consequences of forfeiting assets to the government free from all encumbrances.

• All the materials in any form including literature, books, pamphlets, publications including the press and media in any form using abusive or insulting expressions either direct or with innuendos touching the religious interests should be banned if existing and censured if proposed to be published.

• All criminal cases registered investigated or charge sheeted against all persons or institutions for the incidents of attacks etc, during the relevant period with cut out date ending 31 December, 2008 may be withdrawn or compounded as per law, however on any reasonable conditions including the plea of bargaining sentence and probationary measures depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case.

• Compensation for all claims for damages to the property or injury to any person during the incidents and thereafter shall be inquired and paid within one month from the date of communication of the recommendation by the appropriate authorities like the deputy commissioner of the districts either pending or made within one month there from deducting any amount already paid as indicated in the report while dealing with petitions of each district.

• There must be least or no policing regarding religious matters and to be handled with care and compassion by taking the religious leaders or heads into confidence and entry into any religious place by the police for any action should be totally with the permission or at least consultation with the religious persons in charge of the places.

• The government should constitute a task force under the chairmanship of the commission with duly nominated members from the departments of the government to monitor and implement the recommendation of the commission.

All decisions taken by the government on the recommendations of the commission and implementation by the government may be published as far as possible. All other questions not covered by these recommendations will be provided in the next or final report.

Below are the extracts from the synopsis issued by the commission to the public.

• In some incidents there were indications of self-infliction or collusion or make-believe methods to create evidence of attack on churches or places of worship to support such things in other districts or places.

• There are indications of massive conversions to Christianity by circumstances and inducements but not by compulsion. Such conversions were only by faith and not of religion in legal or technical sense.

• The attacks on the churches or places of worship has deeply affected the harmony between the members of Hindu and Christian religions and created suspicion in the minds of each other.

• Strong impression is created that the members belonging to Bajarang Dal, Sri Rama Sene, and VHP etc. are mainly responsible for attacking churches or places of worship mainly in Mangalore and South Canara districts spreading to other districts and other parts of the state. Other so-called attacks were only make-believe.

Commission's move termed as breach of privilege

Home minister V S Acharya citing the Commission of Inquiries Act, said provisions in the said Act mandate a commission set up under the Act to submit its report to the state legislature. In this case, Acharya said, legislature means the Cabinet. "The report should have reached us in a sealed cover, deliberated in the Cabinet, which in turn would take a decision on making its contents public by placing it before the assembly," he said. (TOI)

Why not a terrorism awareness campaign and a media ombudsman?

Excerpts from a writeup by Arakere Jayaram
Read full article
"The Home Minister Dr.V.S.Acharya's proposal for setting up a media ombudsman was unfortunately never debated"

"Those watching the media scene in Karnataka recall the bitter debate over the now forgotten move of the Ramakrishna Hegde government to introduce a Bill on freedom of the press. In 1988, the Hegde government had introduced the Karnataka Freedom of Press Bill which in fact was very much in favour of the freedom of the press. It in fact included the right to information for journalists. The Bill had aimed at providing immunity to journalists from disclosure of source of information, right of access to public documents and provided penalty for causing hurt etc. with the intention of preventing any journalist from performing his duties. Those were the days when the newspapers reigned supreme and there were no private television channels."

"Apparently Dr.Acharya is not the first one to talk of some regulation of the media, whose freedom he has rightly said is not limitless. The Minister, a veteran politician of the State was a member of the Janata Party which in 1977 removed the shackles on the press imposed by the Congress government in the days of the Emergency. Let it be remembered that the very first amendment to the Indian Constitution had among other things imposed some restrictions on the Freedom of Speech and Expression which includes Freedom of the press. The Congress Party has a questionable record when it comes to safeguarding the freedom of the press."

"Questions about how the private TV channels are respecting the freedom are raised when it is observed that they had accompanied the Sri Rama Sene activists even at Belgaum on Feburary 14 when a Valentine's Day party was disrupted. They had done so at the time of the attack on the pub in Mangalore. The private TV channels in Tamil Nadu are no better. They covered live the brutal fight in the Madras Law College hostel some months ago involving students belonging to Dalit and Thevar caste groups. In none of the incidents the channels tipped off the police about the intentions of those who had invited them to "catch them live".
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V V: The truth about media errors

Interview with Deccan Herald

an Ombudsman speaks...

Think Tank: Fear and loathing in the newsroom
Journalists should cut back on hype and fake outrage and reconnect with the public to not show photographer information

Professor John Horgan / Article reproduced from From The Sunday Times, February 15, 2009

As Press Ombudsman, I am struck by the frequency with which people contact my office asking me to hurl a thunderbolt at some journalist or other. It’s not only that they feel they have been wronged in some way, but also because they have a real fear that if they engage personally with a journalist or a newspaper they will inevitably come off second best in a struggle between unequals.
No journalist worth his or her salt should expect to be universally loved, but is it a good thing that journalists evoke such fear? Where is the dividing line between honest indignation and arrogant prescription? Does journalism sometimes take on, chameleon-like, some of the attributes of those in public life whom it attacks for being out of touch, for dodging uncomfortable issues, and for refusing to take responsibility when things go wrong?
Other people knock on my door not because they are afraid to deal with journalists but because their reasonable attempts to do so have been met with a deafening silence. My own dealings with newspapers and journalists are generally businesslike and efficient: is there some reason why a small number of them cannot deal with the public — their ultimate paymasters — in the same way?
I know journalism is a high-pressure business, and dealing with the public is time-consuming and often unrewarding. But there are times when a little more humility and efficiency would go a long way towards restoring public confidence in print media that are under threat. In an ideal world, my office would be a last resort rather than the first port of call.
Independent regulation is good and useful in itself, whether in journalism or in banking. But if one profession after another turns into a cat-and-mouse game between the regulators and the regulated, we are on the way to fulfilling George Bernard Shaw’s sharp-tongued observation that all professions are conspiracies against the laity. Journalism should set its face against such an outcome and should continue to hold the feet to the fire of any other profession which looks like it is heading in that direction.
There is a continual risk, especially in straitened times, that the pressures of time and money will convert journalists into drones, residual processors of facts and opinions that have been generated elsewhere and which they will not have the time to evaluate or sift properly.
The web is a huge research tool and should not be underestimated. But journalists need to remember that their fingers on the keyboard are not the only tools of their trade. So are their eyes, ears and legs. They need to turn the damn computer off, get out and explore the world on the other side of the screen. It always repays a visit.
In journalism, crime always pays, but not always in the right currency. Newspapers would be a lot less interesting if there were no news of crime, and indeed crime reporting is often in the public interest, as well as being something that the public is interested in.
We employ Police to catch criminals and judges to sentence them. If journalists don’t think these institutions are doing their job properly, criticism is in order: that is what a free press is for. But there are a couple of reasons why journalism should stop short of operating on the basis that it could do a better job of either.
Justice should be the currency of the courts and the Police. Synthetic anger, trials by media and invitations to moral panic are no substitute. Worse, they run the risk of deadening the sensibilities of readers so that, when the wolf is really at the door, they will be unable to distinguish the hype from the reality.
If we are encouraged to believe that criminals are beyond redemption and have no human rights, what is the point of a probation service? Is inflicting collateral damage on the innocent families of those who have broken the law worth thinking about, or is it simply a question of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Is vengeance preferable to justice?
If we persist in maintaining that although every saint has a past, no sinner has a future, do we not run the risk of coarsening public debate? And perhaps wearying readers, listeners and viewers with a diet of fake outrage that begins by boosting circulation and ends by turning people off?
Very little of this comes under the media’s new code of practice. But all of it invites reflection by journalists on what they are doing, and why.
This is an edited version of a recent address given by Professor John Horgan, the Press Ombudsman, at the University of Limeric

ಇದು ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಟೀಕೆಯೇ?

ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ತಿಳಿಸುವ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ...ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದ ವಿಷಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ರಂಪ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ...ಅದೂ ಒಂಥರಾ "ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಲ್ಲೆ" ಸ್ವಾಮಿ!
ಬೇರೆಯವರ ತಪ್ಪನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ...ಆದರೆ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಆಗಬಾರದು. ಅದರ ಹೆಸರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದೊ ಸಿದ್ದಾಂತದ ಪ್ರಾಪಗಾಂಡ ಆಗಬಾರದು ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಉದ್ದೇಶ...
(ಅಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೂ ಬ್ಲಾಗರ್ ಗಳು ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಜಾಹಿರಾತು/ ಸಬ್ಸಿಡಿ/ ಸೈಟು/ ವಿದೇಶ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ / ಬಸ್ ಪಾಸು ಪಡೆಯುವ ಜನ ಅಲ್ಲ ನೋಡಿ!)

ಒಂದಂತೂ ಸತ್ಯ : ನಿಂದಕರಿರಬೇಕಯ್ಯ!

ಮೆಲುಕು : ಆಗಷ್ಟ್ 2008 ರಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾದದ್ದು...

"ಟಿವಿ ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಮಾನಹಾನಿಕರ ಸುದ್ದಿಗಳು/ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಹಿಟ್ ಅಂಡ್ ರನ್ ಕೇಸು ಇದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ..."

ನಿರಂಜನ ವಾನಳ್ಳಿ, ಉದಯವಾಣಿ...

(ಬ್ರೆಕಿಂಗ್ ನ್ಯೂಸ್ ಚಿತ್ರ ಕೃಪೆ TV9)

The Bitter Truth...Click on the image

Heinous act, equally condemnable is the "Judgemental writeup"

A simple example for "biased reporting" or reporting with "pre conceived news" "news fabrication"...a heinous crime of alleged sexual assault of a school girl, leading to her unnatural death...(already the culprit has been arrested) Kannada newspaper on the left has a 2 column, 10cm writeup in the Page 10, under routine crime news...However, a national newspaper, with a reporter with "ideological leanings" thinks it is fit to be published in the Front Page, 3 columns and 20cm...He is also judgemental...in declaring what allegedly caused her death...very creative writing...Now, dear readers, don`t you think, there is a need for some 'self regulation' by the those in the media?

What you can do now? Write to the Readers Editor, The Hindu, express your displeasure! readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

You can't have a first-rate commando force and a third rate magistracy. You can't have defence and intelligence personnel who will nab terrorists and courts that will let them off, or, better still, enable them to live off the treasury as state guests for years.
Writeup by Arun Shourie, Courtesy .Iindian Express



I am happy that healthy deliberations were held across the state in political, government and media circles in the past few days...
Most terrified visual media Scribes snub Acharya
(newspapers have press council, who controls the visual media?)

The Bitter Truth...






Introspection by the media, need of the hour...by
Vishweshwar Bhat
ನೂರೆಂಟು ಮಾತು - ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರ್ ಭಟ್


News Scan 12.02.2009

Healthy discussion on Media Ombudsman concept

A state of "Moral panic in the media" ?