-PTI Calling the prevalence of paid news as "shocking and very disturbing", PCI chairperson Justice Markandey katju said the information provided by the panel, appointed by him, only shows that self regulation by media was proving to be ineffective. There has been large-scale practice of ‘paid news’ in the Gujarat elections, a fact-finding team of the Press Council of India has claimed. Calling the prevalence of paid news as “shocking and very disturbing”,...

-The Hindu The Leveson report on the British press should jolt the Indian media into acting against ills such as paid news, and focus on being an agent of progressive social change After an inquiry lasting a year, Lord Justice Leveson has delivered a damning verdict on the decades of “outrageous” behaviour by the media. If anything, this verdict would apply in even greater force to a large section (not all) of...

-CNN-IBN The arrest of two editors of Zee News Sudhir Chaudhary and Samir Ahluwalia has ignited the debate over whether there is a need for regulation of the media. Talking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, editors called for regulation of the media. Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey katju says Zee's licence should be suspended if charges are found true. "If there are 40 out of 48 representatives of the media in the...

-The Hindu Mumbai: Two young women were arrested here on Monday on charges of “promoting enmity between classes” and “sending offensive messages through [a] communication service,” after one posted, and the other ‘liked,’ a message on Facebook on Sunday, questioning the Mumbai bandh that followed Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s death. Both of them were released on bail by a local court on Monday afternoon. “With all respect, every day, thousands of...

-The Times of India The government on Friday said that it would not play big brother with regard to the media and hoped that any course correction required would come from the media itself. In a statement on the occasion of National Press Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and I&B minister Manish Tewari came out support of self-regulation, which was in sharp contrast with Press Council chief Markandey katju seeking greater regulatory...