Sri Lankan journalists suffered worst by all standards Tendency to sell news space for trivia grew in India A dozen journalists were killed in South Asia — most of them in conflict situations — during the year which also saw the media come under strain due to “over-commercialisation, monopolisation and excessive political clout.” Taking stock of the circumstances under which the media functioned this year, the South Asia Media Monitor for 2009...

Shocked by the “pernicious practice” of publishing “paid news” by some newspapers and television channels – particularly during the recent elections – the Editors Guild of India has strongly condemned this practice, “which whittles down the foundations of Indian journalism.” Taking cognisance of “paid news” at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, the Guild said: “Both the media organisations and editors who indulge in it, and the customers who offer...

Reader responses to last week’s column on media-related malpractices during elections throw further light on this serious issue, which is now before the Press Council of India. Some of them contend that the alleged malpractices were neither new nor confined to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. No less shocking than the “coverage package” of Maharashtra or the “cash transfer scheme” of Andhra Pradesh is the “power of extraction” that allegedly played...

Huge investments, the emergence of media conglomerates and their explosive growth have brought into focus new considerations that guide professional media decisions, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari said here on Wednesday. “Today, the demands of professional journalists are carefully balanced with the interests of owners and stakeholders of media companies and their cross media interests. The interplay of these conflicting demands is evident and [a] subject of...

  KEY TRENDS   • According to the CMS-India Corruption Study 2018, among states, 73 percent households in Telangana, 38 percent in Tamil Nadu, 36 percent in Karnataka, 35 percent in Bihar, 29 percent in Delhi, 23 percent in Madhya Pradesh; 22 percent in Punjab and 20 percent households in Rajasthan experienced demand for bribe or had to use contacts/middlemen, to access the public services @@    • According to the CMS-ICS 2017 study, the states where...