-First Post A lot has been written in recent weeks about crony capitalism, but an important issue for the media to introspect over is this: can this happen without significant amounts of crony journalism? When media Companies begin to think they can run coal plants, surely this compromises them (Lokmat Group, DB Corp). When political parties think they ought to own media houses or be aligned to one (YSR Congress’ Sakshi, the...

-NDTV The Congress is not in favour of a petrol price hike anytime soon, sources have told NDTV. The party's core group met this evening and discussed the issue, sources said. Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy, who is not a part of the core group, was also present at the meeting. Just a few hours, before the meet, Mr Reddy had said the "painful duty" of a hike in fuel prices cannot be...

-Live Mint The judgement whittles down an already embattled freedom available to the Press  In an important judgement it delivered on Tuesday, the Supreme Court has institutionalized the power to temporarily prohibit the Press from reporting court proceedings in case it interferes with the right to a free and fair trial. While the court shied from prescribing guidelines for the Press on court reporting, in the same breath it allowed individuals and Companies...

-The Hindu The Water Resources Ministry has sought the help of L. Rajagopal — the businessman-cum-Member of Parliament from Vijayawada with major interests in large-scale water projects — to organise an event on Wednesday on interlinking of rivers. Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal will be the chief guest at the “Dialogue on Inter Linking of Rivers: Issues and Challenges.” Mr. Rajagopal is the chairman of the Organising Committee for the event...

-Live Mint/ The Wall Street Journal Contributions more than doubled between 2004 and 2009 polls; experts say published figures just tip of the iceberg  Contributions, including money from top Companies, to the country’s two largest political parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), more than doubled between the 2004 and 2009 general elections. This revelation affirms a trend of Companies, most of which are listed, opting for a transparent route to...