Newspaper Watch (India) for the month of August 2008. For latest newspaper watch, view homepage
31 August 2008
Cartoons of the Day
Punjab Kesai (Jalandhar Edition) has carried maximum number of cartoons today on variety of issues. The front page cartoon focused on high rate of inflation- it features a woman buying vegetables, while a man (appeared to be her husband) whispering - “…but do ask him, is it necessary to reveal PAN number for buying two kegs of vegetables?”. Yes, PAN number is neccaessy for buying expensive stuff in India and prices of vegetables have hit the roof! Now turn to page two and a cartoon appears on the state of the Indian cricket team which has seen a dip in its ranking. Next, on page three it’s the toon on the ongoing crisis in the Indian State of West Bengal over handing over of agricultural land for industrial use. Not all, page seven features a cartoon on the ongoing violence in the Indian State of Orissa.
Truth of the Day
Does the nation care about the people who fought for Indian Independence? Nope, if you go though N. Kalyani’s write-up about Laxmi Panda. Once a soldier in the INA who fought for Indian Independence., Laxmi Panda lives in poverty, forgotten by the government as well as society. “Who cares for the INA veterans? No one,” says Panda, ruefully.” Till a few months back she was working as a domestic servant, lost even her juggi to live and had no option than to spend nights in telephone booth or a shop. And even now she has been given a monthly pension of only Rs. 1000. But why not Rs. 22,000 which is pension for freedom fighter? “But then she does not meet the condition of having served a jail sentence!”. What a condition to fulfill for proving yourself to be a freedom fighter! Must read in full - “ Her last battle”. Hindu)
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29 August 2008
All in numbers
Two days after Swaminathan Aiyer declared -“We don’t import inflation from Mars” in Economic Times and concluded -“ So expect inflation to remin high despite falling prices”, weekly inflation figures are back to haunt the common man, not experts like Aiyer. Why, because he has failed to analyse the affect of ongoing high inflation on the micro level- the common man. And here, one doesn’t need to conduct an in-depth research. Ask the common man who is facing an uphill task of dealing with this ’evil’ everyday. What to eat- is the big question. But does one have the time to ask? However today, some newspapers headlines have highlighted statistically insignificant (0.2%) fall in the weekly figure of inflation. But is there finally some ‘real’ respite from the rapidly rising prices?
“ Inflation slips down notch to 12.4 per cent” (Indian Express)
“Inflation dips to 12.4 per cent” (Hindu)
“ Inflation shows first sign of let-up but food still costly” (Mail Today)
“ Inflation rate slides from its 13+ peak . Not much” (MetroNow)
“Crude helps cool prices but don’t rejoince yet 12.40%” (Economic Times)
Editorial of the Day:
Democracy in India
“S o the Government has decided to skip the monsoon session of Parliament altogether. This is most extraordinary. One hopes the Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, can muster the requisite courage to tick off the Government for this willful denial of the right of peoples’ representatives to meet and discuss the burning issues of the day. .…So much for its concern for parliamentary democracy! What next? It is clear from the timing of the next session that it would be this Parliament’s last…..” (Free Press Journal)
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28 August 2008
Povery Reminder
The day after the World Bank report on povery, it’s the time for Asian Development Bank’ turn to comment on poverty. Hindustan Times has carried a report with heading -” In booming Indian, over half are poor”. Why- “ Experts are quibbling, but what is the reality? India many have joined the league of hottest growth economies, but the jury is still out on whether the glass of poverty alleviation is half full, or half empty…earning of $1.35 per day puts more than half of India’s 1.1 billion population in the category of poor…”
Point to ponder- Do Indians really need World Bank and Asian Development Bank to come out and tell extend of poverty? Why forget the Local Sengupta Committee Report-“…There is no doubt that this ‘India shining’ has expended in the past and is still expanding at a very high rate. But his picture is spoiled by a virtually stagnant consumption expenditure and miserable working and living conditions of the 77 per cent of our population who arw poor and vulnerable…”
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27 August 2008
Reporting WB:
Which one of the below are closer to the crux of the recent World Bank report on poverty? Ask the poor?
Indian has fewer poor people: World Bank
“ India has brought down the number of people living bellow $1 a day by 2 percentage points to 24.3 percent in three years up to 2005.…”(Business Standard. Front page)
Cents and poverty sensibilities
“The World Bank has junked the dollar-a-day defination of poverty as outdated….this would mean that the share of population below $1.25-a-day poverty line climbs to 41.6% against 24.3% against 24.3% under the $1-a-day criterion…” (Financial Express. Front page)
The world is a poorer place…
“While here have been big successes in the fight to overcome extreme poverty, improved economic estimates show the world that there are more poor people wrounf the world than it was previously….(Statesman. Page 11)
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26 August 2008
Change
Haima Deshpande has raised a pertinent question- Should there be a retirement age for politicians? Take a clue - “ When every sector in the country has worked out a deadline for people to quit service, why should political parties not be brought within the purview of such a rule?…Though it is popularly believed that age brings with it experience and wisdom, in this day and age when wisdom is available at the click of a mouse such an idea seems outdated….Retiring politicians will also ensure less faction fights. At least the youth leaders will stay focussed for some time before they indulge in politics of factions…”. (Introduce retirement age for politicians. Free Press Journal). Point to ponder- why stop here? How about setting up minimum eligibility of passing an entrance exam for young politicians to improve quality!
K-Solution
The editorial of Tribune is spot on ‘Kashmir cauldron‘- “…This is the time for the moderates to raise their voice of sanity and convince those amenable to reason that the only way out of the imbroglio is though negotiations…Talks alone can help crystallise a solution which is both just and rational”. The crisis is affected newspapers from this region too. Take a clue- “Due to unprecedented restrictions and curfew the print edition of Greater Kashmir will not hit the stands on August 26, Tuesday. We regret the inconvenience caused to our esteemed readers. Staff members of Greater Kashmir couldn’t reach the office for second consecutive day, Monday in wake of the heavy deployment of troopers and policemen in the Srinagar city. This is for the first time in past one decade that GK has not hit the stands for two consecutive days“.(Greater Kashmir. Website).
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25 August 2008
Olympic Hope
The Editorial of Tribune focuses on China’s excellence in Olympics -” Olympic-size excellance” and describes China as sports superpower. “ In terms of nations, the Beijing Olympics was the story of the rise and rise of China, which has not only overtaken the US in the medals tally but has also left it, all others, way behind. In other words, it is not only the superpower in economic growth but also in sports too”. But what about India which won only one gold and two bronze medals? Here India has posed absolutely no competition to China - “…This has been India’s most successful Olympic outing over…most important, the jinx has been broken and if all goes well,the 2012 London Olympics may see us going one up on our record…One hopes that the exposure which they have received will come handy…”. Better ask the Indian sportsperson for 'real' hope details!
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24 August 2008
Polling Dynamics
The front page of Times of India carries an eye-catching headline- “ Let Kashmir go? 68% say no in 9-city poll”. People across nine cities were asked a number of questions….Should India let Kashmir let go if its people so wish…Should India hold on to it whatever the cost… Should these result be taken seriously? Well, this survey was conducted exclusively for the newspaper by a leading research marketing agency. But hang on, searched high and low, but not even a word the number of respondents and the associated error! Wonder why!?
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23 August 2008
Lost: Self Regulation
The Information & Boradcasting Ministry has found a deodarant advertisement's theme and content as "indecent, vulgur and replusive'and has asked the Indian Broadcasters Federation not to telecast it. The ministry has also asked the Advertising Standards Counil of India to provide details of complaints received and action taken by Consumer Complaints Council, if any, against this deodarnat ad. And if no complaint has been received, the ministry letter should be treated as a formal complaint and appropirate action many be inititated (Indian Express). Times of India has called this decision -" it seems to be a case of the governmnet getting overly pricky....in their misplaced zeal, they seem to have intruded into the ad man's creative space...".
Point to ponder: what happend to concept of self-regulation by advertisers for happy family viewing, that includes small kids too?
String Operation
A Judge Katju of Supreme Court of India has defended the use of sting operation by journalists to expose corruption in the society. He remarked-" I totally agree with sting operations.There should be more sting operations. Corrupt elements should be brought to light by these sort of operations. However his remarks are in contrast to the apporach of other bench of Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India which demanaded unconditional apology from a journalist who had exposed corruption in subordinate courts in the state of Gujarat though sting operation. This news has been carried by Hindustan Times on its front page.
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22 August 2008
Advertisement Watch
One does not quite often come across an advertisement by Reserve Bank of India in newspapers. Today is an exception, it comes with the self explanatory punch line- " Beware of Ficticious Mails offering Money" .While the advertisement by Delhi Police addresses senior citizens with the punch line-" We are concerned about your safety". However the advertisment of the day is an advertisment by a shoe retail chain with punch line-" Last few days Sale 50%. (at a store near you)" in Mail Today. This ad features shoes of different brands. What is interesting is a ladies shoe, which is accompanied by word - "Firangi"! A clear hangover from the colonial past!
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21 August 2008
Who cares?
Indian health case systemis not benefitting the majority of the common man - this fact is nothing new. Patralekha Chatterjee's write up in Asian Age has pointed out -" Why missing doctors and nurses worry Indian Inc". She points-“….a (corporate) study forecastes that India needs to invest Rs. 3,70,000 crores to provide just two beds for every 1000 people, from the present level of 0.86...the corporate interest in missing doctors and nurses is more recent.” Corporate interest! However in the whole article Patralekha failed to even mention the word- ‘corporate social responsibility” and how much should the corporate sector invest in improving dismal state of health care in India, for the majority poor! Remember the poor have no capacity to pay, so without lucarative profits, does the Indian corporate sector really care? They seem to have been rather busy in celebrating trillion dollar economy!
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August 20, 2008
14 turns 19
Two reports - " New Zealand may scuttle N-Deal at NSG" and "IGI officer 'removed' for clearing Haywood" has appeared on the front page of Times of India (Delhi Edition). If one needs to read full report, both direct readers to page 14. However, page 14 is full of classifies ads! Where is the rest of the news? Searched, they are placed on page 19!
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19 August 2008
Self Regulation: Failure
The front page of Hindu reports that the Supreme Court of India has expressed serious concern over media reporting of case and has isssed notice to the Central Government with a view to lay down norms and guidelines for the print and electronic media in covering criminal cases in which investigation stands pending. The apex court has aslos issued notice to the Press Council of India, Times of India, Hindustan Times, NDTV, Aaj Tak and CNN-IBN seeking their reposnse. Justice Katju said - "We will lay down guidelines on media coverage. We are not concerned about media critisising us. Let media say anything say about us, we are not perturbed...We are for media freedom. What we are saying there is no absolute freedom...". Yes, the self-regulation theory has clearly failed.
One must not miss Justice Katju's article in the same newspaper- " Ideal and reality: media's role om India". Take a look why-"...The Indian media today are largely acting irresponsibly and not serving the people in their struggle are not serving the people in their stuggle against poverty, unemployment, and other social evils, as they ought to be doing....While there were 512 accredited journalists the Lakme India Fashion Week, there were only six journalist to cover sucides in Vidharba..... Are not the Indian media behaving like Queen Marie Antoinette who, when told that the people did not have bread, said they could eat cake?...."
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18 August 2008
Anything Goes?
The front page of Asian Age has carried a brief report with the headline- "Biharis flee valley". It reports that "almost 2000 labourers from outside the state and their families, many of them Biharis, reached Jammu ...saying that they were forced to flee the valley due to harassement by locals..". At the end, it said-" Details on Page 3". Now, turn on to page three, read the healine of this report by the same correpondent-" 1500 labourers free valley". Does flee=free? And no prizes for the right answer!
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16 August 2008
Double Vision
The news report on same incident has been published twice in Dainik Jagran (New Delhi edition) on page 3 and 11, with no reference to each other! Was this news all about? Daily commuters from Shivaji Bridge station in Delhi, attacked prestigious train - Shatabdi Express, by stones. The Reason - they were angry over delays by railways. The police reached and situation was brought under control.
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15 August 2008
Independence Day : Financially
What's your wish on Indian independence day? Take a look at three financial newspapers. Financial Express on its front page goes overboard- " Here's wishing Indian a $trillion more". But not a word about inclusive growth here! The advertises too leave no opportunity, right! An ad private insurance company in the same newspaper comes with a punch line- 'In can make a difference. Believe in the power of one' and also 'wishes you a happy independence day.' While the punch line of a leading public sector insurance company reads-" Celebrating the assurance of Independence" (Financial Express). The same company has placed another ad in Economic Times, here it stresses-"...15 August 1947, a nation was born. In the same year .(name of insurance company) started its journey to insure ....". Further, a public sector bank banks on a preachy punch line-" Let's not stop" and more-"...Let's achieve our potential, Let's achieve without fear,. Let's achieve by habit. This independence day, let's understand that in our achievements , lies our nation's achievements". Another public sector bank ad starts off-" Share in the pride...Takes pride in being India's first truly Swadeshi Bank - set up by Indians and managed by Indians. Come share in the pride. Happy Independence Day" (Business Standard). And the list of advertisements seems endless....
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14 August 2008
Reality Check
The staff of National Library of Kolkota gheraoed the director-in-charge after they were asked to catalogue 20-25 books a day per person against 6-8 they handle now. The employees argued that they had to read a book to ascertain its subject before cataloguing and that "at times it takes an entire day to catalogue a single book". Telegraph (Kolkota) did a reality check and found that it took maximum 30 minutes to 'process' or 'catalogue' a book .
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13 August 2008
Economic Slowdown?
Despite hike in fuel prices, ads of luxury cars are making appearance in newspapers with stress on status and power (read no reference to fuel efficiency). One ad features a hidden car by international car company with a punchline- " Be envied. Or envy." Another comes with the punchline-" Power that never lets you down" (Times of India). Another ad features the luxurious SUV along with a woman and stress "It's inspiring it's commanding it's me!...'comes loaded with all the luxuries you want...". Its not all, another sporty car ad points out- " An new rush of exhilaration" (Economic Times). From these ads, one cannot conclude that growth of Indian economy has slowed down, which is reflected in the editorial of Economic Times-" The economy is cooling".
Gold Win: Other side
DNA (Mumbai edition) on its front page reveals the other side of Abhinav's winning Gold medal at Beijing- "How altered gunsights almost cost India the gold India's first individual Olympic gold". Take a look at extracts-"..Abhinav Bindra's gunsights were found altered just before the medal round.....Bindra refuses to speculate who could have possibly fiddled with his weapon and is not considering filing any official complaint as there is no way to prove anything? Rumours within the shooting team suggest that it would be extremely difficult for anyone other than an Indian to get close to the gun".
Indian authority's apathy towards sportsman is not very new. Times of India (Delhi Edition) has brought into light how the nations treats its meritorious veteran sportsperson - "Our first individual winner died in poverty". Take a look- "...his (wrestler- Khashaba Dadasahed Jadhav, who gave India its first individual Olympic medal) family and villagers remember how the national hero struggled to survive, despite his feat, and died a tragic death without any national or state recognition...".Any takers for nurturing sports talent and looking after their welfare? Why no time, too busy in cricket?
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12 August 20008
Editorial of Day
"The sorry spectacle of two Indian women tennis players- the much-hyped Sania Mirza and Suneetha Rao turning up for the Olympics opening ceremony in their track suits which they wore for practice, rather than the prescribed uniform that all others wore, typifies the `chalta hai’ attitude that characterizes our sports.... It is difficult to imagine that any other country would have condoned such gross indiscipline...Reports say just about every sports official is in Beijing for the Olympic Games. Officially, there are 42 officials for a small squad of 57 sportspersons. But there are many more who are there on some pretext or another. There are `observers’, who do liaison work for one of the federations...This country has a meager sports budget which too is used substantially for administrative expenses to pay the salaries and perks of officials. There is little left for the training of sportspersons, the purchase of their equipment and for their healthy upkeep...Despite a plethora of reports having identified the malaise, there is woeful lack of infrastructure for sportspersons to be identified, mounded and groomed. Apart from poor infrastructure and narrow mindsets, India’s Olympic disaster can be attributed to the lack of a system for discovering and nurturing talented youth. The country has no long-term strategy to encourage sports education in schools or colleges...". (Free Press Journal. Mumbai).
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11 August 2008
Insecure Commoners
Six senior officials of the municipal corporation of Delhi will be sent to Beijing to study the preparations made by China for the Olympics (Times of India). Yes, Delhi & around is busy preparing for the commonwealth Games in terms of physical infrastructure. But the most important area which is grossly missed is- safety. And one doesn't need to go to Beijing to know that! How safe is power capital and around? Ask any young girl and you would know the dismal state instantly. Mail Today has carried a report how "brave RJs (all women) fight molester (drunk) cabby". However not all are such fortunate, and after the media handling of the Aarushi case, many young women are not reporting the crimes, specially physical assault. Now, the insecurity has extended beyond women. MetroNow cover story warns-" NCR cabs not safe" and asks what a common man would like to know-" is that a safe mode of transport here?" Times of India reports- " Bike -borne criminals keep NCR cops on toes".
This is not all. The Union Rural development Minister has called upon the intelligentsia to curb the malpractices in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Asian Age). But how will the minister ensure safety of these people? Take a clue from report on the front page of Tribune- " Timber mafia attacks forest team: kidnaps official"- " A team of the forest department of Ropar has paid dearly for catching a haul of 50 quintals of timber...". With no specific law to protect the whistleblower, why should the common man be called by the government to risk his/her life to unearth corruption?
Do remember, now in its third year of implementation, National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme had drawn flak from various quarters, with India’s auditor of government accounts Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pointing at several lacunae in the way it has been executed. The CAG, which studied the performance of the scheme in 68 districts of 26 states, reported irregularities such as diversion of funds and mention of work that did not exist, and lack of proper reviewing and oversight mechanisms. The auditor’s report had also mentioned non-implementation of various procedures by state governments, including delays in setting up state employment guarantee councils and commissioners, embezzlement of funds, and non-achievement of employment objectives. The same minister had sought to play these down, saying they were “only aberrations due to some local problems.” (Mint. 2/04/08). Now calling intelligentsia to curb the malpractices in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ?
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10 August 2008
Advertisement of Day
Advertisements remind us that 15th August is approaching. An ad by a magazine in Indian Express comes with the punch line- " Wake up India. It's time for a second freedom struggle". Why? " Get the full story in the Independence Day Special issue...."
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9 August 2008
Performance
The opening ceremony of Olympics at Beijing received front page coverage by most leading newspapers in English. Take a look at a few from Delhi-
Colour fest at Bird's nest (Hindu)
Great Game begins (Asian Age).
China shows its firepower (Times of India)
China Dazzles the word" (DNA)
Magic, made in China (Indian Express)
An olympian beginning (Statesman)
China positions itself as global power (Free Press Journal)
Beijing Bedazzles (Mail Today)
Let's play (Hindustan Times).
It is not a secret that not many Indians are seriously expecting India to win many medals in this international competition. Nevertheless, how far did the Indian contingent fare in this Olympics opening parade? Take a clue from Free Press Journal, front page- "A slipshod India cut a sorry figure in the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony with the female members of the contingent — in contrasting outfits — looking completely misfit on the occasion...". Indian Express (page 21), points out that Indian contingent did not enforce dress code in the opening ceremony. -"...Indian contingent cut a somewhat sorry figure in their mismatched costumes...the female members, it seems had forgotten to discuss their customs with each other, making it seem like a veritable go-as-you-like...".
Ire of the Day
The 'babus' (read bureaucracy) have appeared in two newspaper reports, which don't make a pleasant reading. The Supreme Court of India has vented out its anger on babus- "In this country you need huntering (flogging) to make you work..."(Tribune. front page). The judges were lamenting the attitude of the top bureaucrats and the frequent complaints of citizens that policemen do not register FIRs promptly. On the other hand, take a look what headline of Aloke Tikku's news report reads - "Babus can keep loot till proved guilty" (Hindustan Times, page 11).
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8 August 2008
Competition: Other side
It is usually believed that competition is good for health of any sector. But about media (specially television) ? The monopole of a sole government television channel no longer holds ground today, viewers have plethora of channels to chose from. But what about quality? The editorial of Tribune has accepted - "Aarushi case is an eye-opener". Take a look-" The media is bound to be haunted for a ling time by its handling of the Aarushi Talwar murder case. Therefore, even if the case is no longer making headlines in newspapers and on television, criticism of its coverage of the crime is unlikely to die down anytime soon...Television channels, driven by peer pressure and competition for ratings, tends to present news in as dramatic a manner as possible...The competition between television channels is so ugly and inhuman that nothing is considered too low to score over rivals....".
Television channel's own version of Aarushi murder case was so crude and raw that it made many parents of kids ban these news channel. It will not be exaggeration that 'Aarushi' media fear has creped in many young women. But take a clue from an advertisement of a television channel that has appeared in Economic Times with a punchline- "All illusion, we are news".
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7 August 2008
Fall Out
The Supreme court of India criticized the role of media for tarnishing the image of the doctor couple who lost their only child- Aarushi. The court also criticized media for acting as super investigating agency in the Aarushi murder case. The court observed- "irretrievable damage has been done to the couple , who lost their only child. This is unthinkable in a democracy".
True, but the extent of damage is more, as now many women are not willing to report physical assault on them in any police station. Why?- they fear undesirable publicity in the media like in Aarushi case which will adversely affect their image. An increase in crime against women in making, thanks to irresponsive reporting by media? Does someone care? Hang on, did you say, we care, no increase in crime against women when official statistics will not show! So what's the problem. Really?
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6 August 2008
Even God cannot Save ?
Even God will not be able to save this country," a fuming Supreme Court said on Tuesday while slamming the government for its refusal to amend the law for launching criminal prosecution against those illegally occupying official houses. "We are fed up with this Government," the apex court said, adding: "They don't have the guts to differ with the opinion of the clerks.""Even God will not be able to save this country. In India even if God comes down he cannot change our country. Our country's character has gone. We are helpless," a bench of Justices BN Aggrawal and GS Singhvi observed. (DNA).
When a clerk is more powerful than even government of the largest democracy of the world, what is the state of governance, is not difficult to imagine. What to talk about the state of the common man who tries to resist rampant corruption every single day. Not to forget a recent survey had revealed that below poverty line households paid more than 883,00,00,000 (883 crore rupees) to avail basic services like Public Distribution systems, hospitals, school education, electricity and water supply. However no urgent concert measures seem to be pressed and successfully implemented to control increasing corruption. Rajender Puri has pointed out -"End political corruption to end war against terrorism" (Free Press Journal. Mumbai). But what about the war against corruption that the common man is fighting everyday?
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5 August 2008
Report of the Day
Pradeep Thakur reports on the front page of Times of India that rare books, manuscripts and letters associated with Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and others may have been stolen from National Library, situated in Kolkata. That's not all. Take a look- "..worse there's no way to know what exactly is missing, because the register containing the records of library's rare books division itself is missing...". A must to read.
'420' ka khel
Rupert Mudoch's Star Group will invest Rs. 420 crore to launch six new channels in India in regional language in India, in the next 120 months. Good enough, but didn't his advisors tell him what '420' means to the Indian people!
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4 August 2008
Double Vision
The same news regarding carjacking has been published twice on page 4 & 5 of Dainik Jagran (Gurgaon Edition). The featured new report is word to word the same, with the only difference -a few change in the heading!
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3 August 2008
Editorial of Day
Very rarely editorial in Indian newspapers focus on NASA. Take a look at one of the exceptions-'LOST IN ORBIT' in Statesman (Kolkota Edition).
In the 17th century, when Galileo Galilei looked into the night sky through his telescope, he knew he had enough evidence to refute the geocentric view of the universe, but he could not have imagined that some three hundred years after his death, machines made by human beings would be travelling across space to distant planets and human beings too would be circling the earth in satellites...The most spectacular and popular achievement of Nasa’s many projects was in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon...Nasa’s silver jubilee might pose different kinds of challenges than the conquest of space. The agency currently receives $17 billion from the government of the United States of America. Reports suggest that at current funding levels, Nasa would be unable to meet some of its important goals by 2013..."
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2 August 2008
Boycott a channel?
A leader of the main opposition party in India had recently declared that the party will boycott CNN-IBN television channel, if the channel does not immediately telecast the tapes of the sting operation 'cash for trust vote'. He accused the channel of succumbing to government and corporate pressure.
The Editors Guild of India has expressed shock at the pressure tactics being adopted by the BJP against CNN-IBN television channel. The editor of CNN IBN channel had made it public that investigation into the bribery case is incomplete and only if all the facts are authenticated, the channel will air the tapes. The channel had voluntarily handed over the tapes to the speaker of Lok Sabha, who has set up a parliamentary committee to investigate. The Guild has called upon all editors to resist pressure tactics from political parties and leaders which infringe on the freedom of the press (Tribune).
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1 August 2008
Advertisement of Day
Times Now, a television channel has placed an advertisement in Economic Times with a punch line-" On trust vote day India placed its trust in Times Now". It goes on to state that record number of viewers tuned and stayed on its channel throughout the recently held Trust vote in the parliament. Incidentally, much before the final results were announced, this channel had declared winner of the trust vote!