The past few years, we have seen the ranking of India in the World Press Freedom Index has been declining steadily. Two years back, in 2021, India slipped two spots to 142nd rank, a far cry from its 2016 ranking of 133. In 2022, the country’s ranking fell even further to 161st among 180 countries. This decline in press freedom[Read More…]
The Delhi Union of Journalists salutes all journalists and other employees in the media sector on the 30th World Press Freedom Day. Proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993, the World Press Freedom Day on May 3 is supposed to act as a “reminder to governments” of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. For journalists, the Day[Read More…]
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Delhi has done three surveys with a foreign journalist based in Delhi that has some startling revelation that reflects on the freedom of the press in India. The three surveys conducted from 2020 to 2022 were shared with the Ministry of External Affairs but there was no response from the ministry that further puts a[Read More…]
In an address to the Trondheim World Festival in Norway, John Pilger charts the history of power propaganda and describes how it appropriates journalism in a ‘profound imperialism’ and is likely to entrap us all, if we allow it. In the 1970s, I met one of Hitler’s leading propagandists, Leni Riefenstahl, whose epic films glorified the Nazis. We happened to[Read More…]
On May 3 World Freedom Day ten international human rights and press freedom organizations (including the Committee to Protect Journalists and PEN America) expressed serious concern at the increasing assaults on journalists and media freedom in recent times. They called upon the Indian authorities to stop targeting journalists and critics, and more particularly to desist from prosecuting them under sedition[Read More…]
Lack of trust in the news media is the news these days. The reasons are; rampant misinformation, the rise of authoritarian governments, the dominance of social media, etc. are adding to the lack of trust in the news media. To discuss these issues, experts gathered in Honolulu at the recent East-West Center International Media Conference. Here I am putting up[Read More…]
Background To understand the manoeuvrings of media, the framework within which the media is situated during specific paradigms of governance needs to be understood. Historically, there are links between forms of governance in the pre- and the post-independence phases in India and their impact of media (Boga, 2020). Imperialist countries that were dominant global powers imposed ethnonationalist frameworks to govern[Read More…]
When journalism became Churnalism – the churning out of massive amount of articles in a relatively short period of time, it turned journalism into a form of corporate propaganda that reflects the ideology of media owners. Yet, it also made media outlets to be increasingly reliant on the so-called news agencies that supply newspapers and TV with news items. Associated[Read More…]
As one might have expected, the already severe problems of Churnalism have become even worse with the arrival of news’ websites demanding ever faster output. Churnalism is a form of journalism based on corporate press releases and pre-fabricated stories provided by external news agencies. Churnalism uses pre-packaged materials instead of reporting news and it is done for fast output. It[Read More…]
Solidarity reporting calls on journalists to push beyond reporting the easy soundbite from an official press release in order to do the work of representing people experiencing injustice. Imagine that a reporter is writing a story about your house, which has become practically unlivable. The reporter wants to understand the issues in the house, how it affects people who are[Read More…]
When the Wire and Cross-current broke the news of the Assam Chief Minister’s family having been involved in a landscam in three different areas of the state,turning govt. land allotted for charitable purposes into real estate with majority shares under their belt,everyone expected the popular press here to raise a huge furore.The report pinpointed the location,the specific category of the[Read More…]
In 2021, a total of 45 journalists were killed in connection with their work, IPI research revealed on December 29, 2021. The sombre tally reflects the continued risks of doing journalism and reaffirms journalist safety as a global challenge. International Press Institute (IPI) calls on authorities to end impunity for these crimes and to ensure the protection of journalists, who[Read More…]
Even as human vultures of a wide amalgam -train their guns, on Nehru’s 17 years as Prime Minister, and his role in India’s freedom struggle and the struggle of the Non-aligned movement, what stands out today- are many of Nehru’s thoughtful writings, his letters to Chief Ministers, his regular press conferences, and of course his thoughts on freedom of the[Read More…]
Hi! I’m Aniketh Brian Madhok, an 18-year-old boy with a smiley face, little mischevious, fun loving and always polite with others. Living in the metropolitan city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. I am currently studying in 12th Standard and am about to take my Term-1 ISC exams. It has been a year since I have not paid any heed[Read More…]
Six years ago, I wrote an article that appeared on Countercurrents, just as this one does. The piece was strident, even didactic, but was in large part a plea. The notion was to explain why the pathology of “free content” creates a race to the bottom in journalism. A byproduct of this is that – given the “no free lunch”[Read More…]
A Review of Andrey Mir’s “Postjournalism and the death of newspapers.” While there are several books analyzing the impact of social media on society, Andrey Mir’s book “Postjournalism and the death of newspapers. The media after Trump: manufacturing anger and polarization” distinguishes itself by focusing on the impact of social media on traditional media. The defining analysis of traditional[Read More…]
My talk at the International Festival of Whistleblowing, Dissent and Accountability on May 8. Transcript below. https://video.emergeheart.info/videos/watch/0e680370-0f59-4110-aaca-d0d0c228f47f?start=0s I wanted to use this opportunity to talk about my experiences over the past two decades working with new technology as an independent freelance journalist, one who abandoned – or maybe more accurately, was abandoned by – what we usually call the “mainstream”[Read More…]
On World Press Freedom day, Radical Desi has announced a new award for the daring journalists who have stood up for the oppressed and questioned the power. Named after the newspaper started by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – an undisputed leader of the so-called untouchables in India – the Mooknayak journalism award will be given annually to exceptional media personalities. The[Read More…]
A ‘well known’ Hindutva protagonist masquerading as journalist passed away yesterday resulting in a message of ‘condolences and ‘tribute’ right from the Prime Minister and Home Minister to ‘progressive’ ‘liberals’ expressing grief of his untimely passing away. It is said that he passed away due to cardiac arrest but fact of the matter was he was also covid infected. The[Read More…]
“A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.” – Joseph Pulitzer A media system set up to serve the needs of the Financial Institutions will not serve the interests of the majority of the population. Media ownership, since the Bill Clinton deregulation, has been greatly concentrated and globalized. 1. Its[Read More…]
Bhaskar Parichha, a senior journalist, explores the role of editors in swaying public opinion. In recent years the increasing influence of the media has changed the shape of Politics all over the globe. Consequently, it has raised provocative questions about journalism’s role in the political process. There are questions about media’s effect on the political system and the subsystems– the[Read More…]
An Analysis of a decade of arrests, detentions, summons, interrogations and show-cause notices against journalists in India 2010-20 The year 2020 has been a bad one for journalists in India. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused illness and death, and the lockdown resulted in salary cuts and loss of livelihood due to mass retrenchments effected by media houses. The killing and[Read More…]
This year earlier on September 1st we commemorated the 40th anniversary of Punjabi journal Surkh Rekha,which was a landmark event in the history of Indian revolution. Originally it was the mass paper of the Central Team C.P.I. (M.L.) It was founded 40 years ago by Nazar Singh Boparai.on September 1st, 1980.No journal in the history of Punjab illuminated the flame[Read More…]
The journalists, critics and social media writers today are facing false cases foisted by the State and Police. A senior journalist is fighting a sedition case for criticising the Centre’s policies . A doctor in the Government Hospital was victim of abuse of the state power but rescued by the High Court. One news web portal Telugu One.com is out[Read More…]
The recent observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court towards the functioning of media in India seem to be an urgent need of redefining and restructuring the electronic media in accordance with the constitutional values, freedom of media, individual rights and right to privacy. ‘Sensation above sense’ becomes one of the most important weapons in the hand of media owners to[Read More…]
When I was a boy I once heard my father wondering to my mother why “a day did not have more than twenty-four hours”. I know it is difficult to believe, but it is a fact that my father spent several decades of his life working fourteen to sixteen hours a day. When he ate, slept or relaxed, only he[Read More…]
• Journalists, because they can rub shoulders with so-called VIPs, start thinking that they too belong to the elite circle. Over the years many in the profession enjoying good perks, have started looking down on trade unions of journalists. But with Covid leading to loss of jobs and health hazards, it is time for a rethink. • In Maharashtra the[Read More…]
The Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC) has come out with a strong statement against assaults on three reporters by the supporters of ruling Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. The August 11 incident happened in New Delhi, the national capital of the world’s so-called largest democracy. Three journalists, including one Sikh, one Muslim and an unidentified[Read More…]
‘Freedom of press’ means the right to print and publish without any interference from the state or any other public authority. But this, Freedom, like other freedoms, cannot be absolute but is subject to well-known exceptions acknowledge in the public interests, Which in India are enumerated in Article 19 of the constitution. Press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir is under[Read More…]
Eidul Azha, a sacrificial festival for the Muslim, is due in Bangladesh on Saturday and many other countries. It is one of the two largest Islamic festivals. The majority Muslim Bangladesh celebrates the religious gala with due festive mood and share sacrificial meats with other Muslims, especially the poor. This year the Eidul Azha knocks the door of the Muslims[Read More…]
The most stringent nationwide lockdown was imposed during the start of covid19 pandemic. This caused widespread retrenchment and job cuts throughout the country. The journalists of mass media have not also been spared from this. This has been an all India phenomenon. The corporatisation of mass media, like any other business, is always looking for its investment of capital and[Read More…]
There is a media ‘dangal’ going on in Tamil Nadu between those who believe in god’s party and those who do not. A fictitious pro god party is created with a mission to attack godless parties, as a devised political strategy in an attempt to capture power in the state. How far such political strategy to divide people between on[Read More…]
In early 15th century Europe, news used to be political, economic, military and diplomatic messages of the ruling classes. There was no mass media. It was often the voices of the businessmen and ruling elites circulated within their own networks. The revolutionary upheavals and democratisation of society during 19th century led to the growth of mass media. People used mass[Read More…]
Indian Democracy Matters, strongly condemns the vicious social media campaign being carried out against certain senior journalists in Tamil Nadu, who are known for their independent and unbiased views on political and social issues. The attacks are part of a pattern also seen in many other parts of India, where independent journalist voices are sought to be suppressed using a[Read More…]
The suicide by a scribe jumping from the roof top of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on July 6, 2020 was shocking. Journalist Tarun Sisodia (37) was working with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and hailed from Bhajanpura locality of Northeast Delhi. He was admitted to the AIIMS with specific symptoms and tested positive for Covid-19. He ran[Read More…]
Malaysia’s record on letting journalists be is a blotted one. This month, authorities have been kept busy intimidating the independent news outlet Malaysiakini, with a seven-member federal court panel agreeing to hear contempt proceedings against its editor-in-chief Steven Gan. Charged under section 114A of the Evidence Act, Gan and his outlet are said to have permitted the publication of over[Read More…]
Eight police personnel lost their lives in the Kanpur crime scene in Uttar Pradesh in a gunfire from the history-sheeter, criminal Vikas Dubey. Vikas Dubey is not the first or the last criminal in politics, nonetheless, he has again exposed the nexus of politics and criminals. The Bahubali saga is not an old story in the politics of Uttar Pradesh.[Read More…]
There has been a lot of noise made in Australia about the need for broader protections when it comes to the fourth estate and the way it covers national security matters. In a country lacking a backbone in terms of constitutional free speech, journalists are left at the mercy of authorities when it comes to exposing egregious abuses of power. [Read More…]
The massive financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 infection around the world is not new news today. Renowned economists have already written numerous articles on the impact of the financial crisis on society in the future. Many studies by researchers have previously been published. Researchers, considering various industries and service sectors, have concluded how many thousands or millions of rupees[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sanket Nayak and Abhimanyu Hazarika Recent coverage of events outside the national and financial capitals reopens the debate of improving regional disparities in news Three natural tragedies have hit eastern parts of India over the last few weeks, each of a major scale. The latest of them being the oilfield blowout, now turned into a raging fire,[Read More…]
The profession of journalism in the conflict zone is very challenging, difficult and risky. There is a very thin line which determines balance of the loyalty, bias and narrative of a journalist in support or against the conflicting sides of the conflict. This is the fundamental reason that a lot of journalists lost their lives in the conflict regions or[Read More…]
On 22nd March, 2020, to show gratitude to doctors, paramedics, policemen and sanitation workers, lakhs of people came on their balcony to emote their sentiments and were seen beating in cacophony whatever utensil they found suitable. This clarion call (as some liked to call it) was given by PM Modi. All kudos to the intention of the PM, however, what[Read More…]
When a veteran war reporter like Robert Fisk constructs his argument regarding the siege of Aleppo based on ‘watching’ video footage, then one can truly comprehend the near impossibility of adequate media coverage on the war in Syria. In a recent article in the British ‘Independent’, Fisk reflects on the siege, uprising and atrocious Nazi massacres in Warsaw, Poland in[Read More…]
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Submission To Australian National Anti-Corruption Commission, NACC: Mainstream Media Lying 
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Pulwama Bombing 14th February 2019: Unanswered Questions 
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International Day of Peace: Fostering Harmony and Unity in a World of Diversity 
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Eddelu ( Wake up) Karnataka: The Great Citizen’s Wall Against BJP 
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Little Amal Entertains and Informs on Refugee Children’s Strife 
Google Trial Must Fuel the Global Movement Against Digital Capitalism 
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US imperialist hypocrisy and the Libyan flood 
Some Remarks on Russia in Global Politics Today 
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
