From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 2 15:49:48 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 21:19:48 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Karnataka's e-governance initiatives gain momentum Message-ID: <3E62281C.4000007@vasnet.co.in> The implementation of e-Governance is set to gain momentum in Karnataka as the State Government has standardised the Kannada software for administration. "With the standardisation of the key board and development of the Version 3.0 of Nudi, the Kannada software, by the Department of IT in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre and the Kannada Development Authority, we have almost completed nearly 50 per cent of the tasks set out in the action plan on usage of Kannada in computerised administration," Mr Reddy, Director, Department of Information Technology, Government of Karnataka said. The onus would now be on popularising the software in various State Government departments, he added. Source: http://blonnet.com/2003/02/27/stories/2003022701071900.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 2 15:50:00 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 21:20:00 +0530 Subject: [icernet] `E-governance involves aligning multiple services' Message-ID: <3E622828.8060400@vasnet.co.in> There were 6 strategic thrust areas, namely, knowledge-based workplace, electronic service delivery, technology experimentation, operational efficiency improvement, adaptive and robust infrastructure and public education, apart from the three components of eServices like G2C (government to Companies), G2B and G2E (employees) and many agencies. When asked if a similar model could be implemented in India, pat came his reply - `the biggest challenge in India is leadership. This could be a stumbling block. To make eGovernance successful, the leader should give up certain powers, share information, work in unison with all the governmental agencies. Source: http://blonnet.com/2003/02/27/stories/2003022701600900.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 2 15:50:12 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 21:20:12 +0530 Subject: [icernet] China dances to Bollywood tunes Message-ID: <3E622834.1050306@vasnet.co.in> After wowing audiences as well as critics in far away Europe and the United States, Bollywood films are now making people in neighbouring China "dance to their tunes". Bollywood films and their songs seem to have established a niche in the hearts of the usually "Hollywood crazy" Chinese public. The latest evidence of the craze in China for Bollywood and things associated with it is the overwhelming response generated by a series of "Bollywood concerts" held all across the country in recent months. Source: http://news.sify.com/cgi-bin/sifynews/news/content/news_fullstory_v2.jsp?article_oid=12656623 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 2 15:50:21 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 21:20:21 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Changing journalism Message-ID: <3E62283D.1010107@vasnet.co.in> In the old days, reader interests (and aspirations) did not define news. Today it does. Cricket news stays firmly on page one, when World Cup matches are on. If a bus ramming into an army truck kills a schoolgirl it would normally be first lead on the local page. But the Times of India in Delhi carried the story last fortnight as its first lead on page one. News about people has gained ascendance. The old newspaper of record is disappearing among English dailes in India, with The Hindu being one of the few left. Today's front pages have fewer stories, and they are less and less about political developments. Source: http://hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/stories/2003030200200300.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:24:35 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:54:35 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Open-architecture Or Proprietary? The Essence Of DTH Is In Its Platform Message-ID: <3E6373B3.1070708@vasnet.co.in> Even as the much controversial direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting is yet to pick up momentum, it is in news once again. Over its foreign direct investment (FDI) component. Although two applications have come in for DTH, there are hindrances in the process of rolling out this technology: while one is the FDI cap of 20 per cent (total foreign investment allowed is 49 per cent), another is the sectoral cap. Technically speaking, DTH refers to distribution of muti-channel TV programmes in ku band by using a satellite system. In effect, TV signals are provided direct to the subscribers’ premises without passing through any intermediary such as cable operator. The advantage of ku band is that you need a very small dish antenna as compared to large dish antenna in the lower C band frequencies.Other benefits of DTH: Better quality of reception for consumers, greater choice of channels, backbone for IT-enabled services, and an alternative to the cable distribution system. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29216 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:24:26 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:54:26 +0530 Subject: [icernet] From CTV To CAS, Future Lies In New Technology Message-ID: <3E6373AA.9040606@vasnet.co.in> More than 20 years ago, when India switched over to colour television, the transition was not easy. Just like the country is at the crossroads now, facing some tough hurdles over a new broadcasting technology, conditional access system (CAS). In the earlier case, the issue of new TV technology was resolved through consensus of MPs following a pilot project. This time around, there has been a consensus too, but without a pilot to do the convincing act. Although in most developed countries, digital is the preferred technology, India presents a different scenario altogether. Industry experts have pointed out that all cable operators in India have analogue infrastructure in place, though some MSOs have started trials on digital modulators. Meanwhile, to put the record straight, digital boxes, though quite steep, would offer value-added services like interactive TV, Internet access, Net telephony, and tele-shopping. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29215 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:24:43 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:54:43 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Sex, History and Hinglish - Bollywood's new genres Message-ID: <3E6373BB.70304@vasnet.co.in> A three-hour, big-budget Hindi movie of boy-meets-girl theme, with top stars, lavish sets, spectacular scenes set in New Zealand and Switzerland and extravagant song-and-dance numbers, costs about $7m to produce. But this kind of cinema that Hindi cinema is famous for worldwide is now struggling for survival. Export is one of the only areas where there is a glimmer of hope. Currently the Indian cinema exports earnings stand at $200m a year despite rampant piracy. Over 118 Indian films were exported in 2002 Meanwhile the Government of India has announced that it will assist Bollywood in the export market with subsidies for participation at Cannes and other film markets. Now there are at least three new trends emerging in films being produced in Mumbai. First there are a spate of productions dealing with taboo subjects such as sex. Another group of Indian filmmakers are announcing period epics or films on famous Indian historical personalities. And the third genre is the low cost youth-oriented Hinglish (Hindi-English) productions. Source: http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=11473 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:24:51 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:54:51 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Indian cine talent dazzles on global map Message-ID: <3E6373C3.4010804@vasnet.co.in> The triumph of "The Warrior", which has bagged top British film awards, has given a fillip to the handful but dazzling Indian cine talent in international productions. Indians have, down the years, featured in a slew of international productions. Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri are some of the luminaries who have made a name in Hollywood productions. The reclusive Shashi Kapoor could well be considered as the earliest trendsetter. But perhaps the most prolific and well-accepted Indian actor abroad is Om Puri, who has played major roles in at least half a dozen international projects. Another Indian artiste who has been recognised and honoured internationally is Shabana Azmi. In fact, last year's New York Film Festival even featured a retrospective of her films. Waiting on the verge of international acclaim is the immensely talented Naseeruddin Shah. His international career has not taken off in a big way yet. Source: http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IE420030302090300 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:24:59 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:54:59 +0530 Subject: [icernet] From Localisation To Automation, Software Turns A Channel Driver Message-ID: <3E6373CB.9070009@vasnet.co.in> When content-provider NDTV announced the launch of its news channels in the capital recently, Dr Prannoy Roy, president of the company, mentioned a software that would help the channels localise their content to a certain extent. The software Iredeto would allow the NDTV channels to break away from national news at a particular centre, for instance, to give local weather and traffic news. In fact, most other news channels, which are in the process of being launch in a month or so, are also focusing hugely on new technology for special effects, graphics and logos. The message is clear: No broadcaster wants to be left behind in the tech race. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29219 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 3 15:25:08 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 20:55:08 +0530 Subject: [icernet] DTT: Just An Experiment For Public Broadcaster Message-ID: <3E6373D4.90200@vasnet.co.in> When it rains, it pours. The same goes for broadcasting technologies also. Conditional access system (CAS), direct-to-home (DTH) and then digital terrestrial transmission (DTT), all happening almost at the same time. Well, DTT is a little different in the sense that it is a project of the public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati. Although Prasar Bharati would welcome any participation from private broadcasters, there arent any takers yet. The advantage of using DTT: bypassing cable operator, while offering high-quality terrestrial transmission. The hurdle: DTT will only offer a limited number of DD channels. Also, theres a paradox in the case of DTT. That is, while DTTs saleability is much greater in metros considering the high price of the decoder boxes, it is an attractive option for rural and remote areas due to non-availability of cable TV there. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29218 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 4 14:14:38 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:44:38 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Media war Message-ID: <3E64B4CE.6030303@vasnet.co.in> As the world prepares for the US invasion of Iraq, the role of the media is being hotly debated in a variety of websites and newspapers with the US media being roundly criticised for becoming a mouthpiece of the Pentagon and the White House. If the Gulf War of 1991 was the worlds first television war, the Kosovo conflict was the worlds first internet war, the second Gulf War  as the expected Iraq invasion is being termed  will be a war fought before an intensely competitive media. Present day competition for news might make war reportage more professional but it may also spur the race for competitive sensationalism. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=19463 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 4 14:14:31 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:44:31 +0530 Subject: [icernet] I&B censors to snip ads before air time Message-ID: <3E64B4C7.3070707@vasnet.co.in> Assaulted by a slew of liquor and sexist commercials and unable to get satellite TV channels to take them off the air, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is considering pre-censorship of commercials before these are beamed to the public. Satellite channels paid little or no heed to notices issued by the Ministry last month. Hence, the plan to block such commercials. And to show that the Government means business, Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks Act is also being given a second look. As of now, pre-censorship of commercials, a provision in the Cinematograph Act, ensures that no commercial is screened in theatres without a certification from the Censor Board of Film Certification. Pre-censorship though comes with its own set of problems. With most channels uplinking from Singapore and Hong Kong, they follow the law of the land from where they uplink. So there has to be an arrangement to monitor these commercials before they are beamed into the country. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=19499 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 4 14:14:47 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:44:47 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Ministries differ on uplinking Star TV Message-ID: <3E64B4D7.8070500@vasnet.co.in> Though the satellite-uplinking policy allows all television channels to uplink from India irrespective of their ownership or management control, the Ministries of External Affairs, Home, Finance and Communications hold different views on the issue. These ministries had been consulted by the I&B Ministry as it decided to approach the Cabinet to take a fresh look at the uplinking policy in view of Star TV's application to run a 24-hour news channel. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/03/04/stories/2003030403481200.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 5 13:09:02 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 18:39:02 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Face Cyber Wrath In Return For A Pink Slip Message-ID: <3E65F6EE.3000701@vasnet.co.in> Not such a long time back, cyberspace was inhabited with junkies but now thugs, abusers and maniacs are crawling on the superhighway waiting to snare unsuspecting victims. Apart from unprincipled business rivals, the villainous characters could be the employee you sacked last month or worse, the byte from a disgruntled employee in the next cubicle. Their tools range from pornographic e-mails, cookie poisoning, to web defacement. The attacks range from obscene, threatening and defamatory e-mails to computer-aided sabotage, source code thefts, data theft, unauthorised access and alteration of data, targeted virus attack, the list is growing. According to a study Computer Crime and Abuse Report (India) 2002-02, conducted by the computer emergency response team of the Asian School of Cyber Laws, a company is more likely to be cyber-attacked by a former employee rather than a business rival. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29343 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 5 13:09:17 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 18:39:17 +0530 Subject: [icernet] IT, media catalysts for social change Message-ID: <3E65F6FD.2020502@vasnet.co.in> DEAN Media Studies, Guru Jambheshwar University, Dr B.K. Kuthiala, said the advent of information technology has worked magic on our lives, completely transforming the world. He was speaking on the inaugural day of two-day seminar on ‘‘Media and Society: Contemporary Issues’’ organised by Punjabi University’s department of Journalism and Mass Communication. He said IT revolution had broken geographical, social and cultural barriers and is helping mass communication modes make a deep impact on the society. Dr Kuthiala also stressed for wider interaction between various sections of the society to bring forth an environments of mutual understanding. Touching on the development of technology, he emphasised that even in the present structure, electronic media could bring about social change for the better. Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=45492 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 5 13:09:26 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 18:39:26 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Journalist Kuldip Nayar gets Lord Astor Award Message-ID: <3E65F706.8050703@vasnet.co.in> On February 28, Kuldip Nayar was pleasantly surprised when called on stage to be conferred the Lord Astor Award, given to a journalist from the Commonwealth country who has fought for upholding the freedom of press. The award was instituted by Lord Astor, a member of British Parliament and is given every alternate year to a journalist chosen by the Association of Commonwealth Editors. The award is in its 21st year now. Nayar was an editor with the Indian Express during the Emergency and was one of its most vocal critics. Before receiving the award, Nayar delivered a lecture on Communalism and its effects on the Indian Media. Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=45462 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 6 16:20:39 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 21:50:39 +0530 Subject: [icernet] API, CPJ provide online resources for war coverage Message-ID: <3E677557.6040201@vasnet.co.in> In an effort to prepare news professionals for global events, The America= n Press Institute (API) today launched "Beyond the Battle: Bringing Globa= l Stories Home," a section devoted to war coverage. The month-long projec= t aims to help journalists cover overseas events and issues and turn inte= rnational stories into local news. Topics on the site range from tips on = how to set up newsrooms for coverage of international stories to tips on = selecting photographs of tragedy. API has also added to its Journalist's = Tool Box lists of Web sites that provide information on military and defe= nse issues, geographic resources and other types of related news and info= rmation. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also created an o= nline resources guide, but this one offers safety guidelines for journali= sts covering war abroad as well as information for reporters at home. CPJ= 's "Buildup in the Gulf" provides background information and links specif= ic to the Middle East. Source: http://americanpressinstitute.org/news.cfm?id=3D897 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 6 16:20:51 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 21:50:51 +0530 Subject: [icernet] WorldSpace Joins The Battle For FM Space Message-ID: <3E677563.4050205@vasnet.co.in> At a time when radios popularity in the West is on the upswing, theres action in the Indian market as well. While a host of private operators are getting ready to launch their much awaited FM radio service in the three metros by end of this month and state-owned All India Radio is high on digital waves, US-based satellite radio service WorldSpace is planning a car radio initiative. This is among the many steps that this Washington DC-headquartered company is taking to face competition in the radio times such as these. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29415 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 6 16:21:01 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 21:51:01 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Varsities Begin To Tune In To Campus Radio Message-ID: <3E67756D.5060205@vasnet.co.in> AIR Resources head HO Srivastava told eFE that letters have been sent out to 400 universities and colleges across the country about the campus radio programme. According to Dr Srivastava, at least two of these universities are likely to sign up with AIR next week. AIR will offer total turnkey solution to these institutes, which would include providing transmitters, transmission towers, antenna, cable, playback facility and helping them get licences. The institutes will of course have to shell out some amount for the facility. AIR will charge each institute anything from Rs 10 lakh to 15 lakh for the total solution. Although theres no licence fee, campus radio may take time to actually get going. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=27914 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 6 16:21:11 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 21:51:11 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Govt re-looking uplinking policy in news Message-ID: <3E677577.1000103@vasnet.co.in> Government is giving a re-look at the existing uplinking policy in news and current affairs channels following an application from a wholly-owned foreign company for uplinking from India a 24-hour news channel, Lok Sabha was informed. Consultations have been undertaken with various ministries and it is proposed to take the matter to the Cabinet for consideration, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply. Government has received applications from eleven television companies to uplink 24-hour news channels, of which seven have been permitted while the rest are under examination, he said. Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/06news.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 6 16:21:21 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 21:51:21 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Campus Power: Desi Varsities Set To Join The Ivy League Message-ID: <3E677581.2090702@vasnet.co.in> Campus radio, quite a rage in the West, is finally a reality in India. In India, campus radio is all about setting up low-frequency FM radio stations in the 87.5 to 108 mhz range. The power of the FM transmitters would be 50 watts or even less, according to chief engineer and head AIR Resources HO Srivastava. Talking of licence, it is a long list of departments which have to give their clearance before the final nod is granted. So, it is certainly not a single-window clearance for a technology that is so enabling. While the licence will be issued by the information and broadcasting ministry, clearances are needed from Home and HRD ministries also. Besides, the Wireless Planning and Coordination Committee (WPC) of the ministry of communications would be responsible for allocating frequency spectrum to universities, colleges, schools and other educational institutions. After these clearances, AIR would take two to three months to set up a station. The good news is that theres no licence fee, but institutions would be charged for spectrum usage. And the bad news? No commercialisation and advertising would be permitted in the campus radio network. Also, compliance with the general broadcasting code of the country applies here too. The basic objective of the community radio broadcasting would be to serve the cause of community in the service area of the licence by involving members of the community in the broadcast of their programmes, said Dr Srivastava. These radio stations will be able to provide high quality radio service within a radius of five to eight km. These stations are expected to be used most widely by universities, institutes of technology, management schools and residential schools, for dissemination of information, lectures, debates and other formal and non-formal education within the campus and adjoining areas, Dr Srivastava added. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29217 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 7 16:20:11 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 21:50:11 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Entertainment Sector Revenues Up 27.7% In 2002 Message-ID: <3E68C6BB.2000100@vasnet.co.in> Revenues in entertainment industry rose 27.69 per cent in the calendar year 2002 to Rs 16,600 crore, according to consulting firm KPMG, which is the knowledge partner for Ficcis Frames 2003. Income from television accounted for over 60 per cent of the entertainment industrys revenues, touching Rs 11,100 crore against Rs 9,400 crore in 2001. The entertainment industry includes film, TV, music and radio. Cable TV subscription revenue is driving TV industrys growth totalling Rs 6,000 crore. Advertising income stood at Rs 3,900 crore. The cable and satellite (C&S) households have grown to 41 million in 2002, up from 37 million. With just 21 per cent penetration, the number of C&S homes is bound to go up. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29522 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 7 16:20:24 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 21:50:24 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Sun Network's FM Channel To Go On Air Message-ID: <3E68C6C8.2000801@vasnet.co.in> Sun Networks, the Kalanidhi Maran-controlled satellite television channel, will launch Suryan FM, a boquet of three Tamil frequency modulation (FM) radio channels in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. While the satellite television company will launch its FM stations in Coimbatore and Tirunelveli on Friday, the launch of the FM channel in Chennai will be sometime next month. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29557 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 7 16:20:36 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 21:50:36 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Sound beating for media counters Message-ID: <3E68C6D4.1020507@vasnet.co.in> Media and entertainment stocks have been hit hardby the ICC World Cup fever. As many as 10 media stocks have hit their 52-week lows on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), while most of other major stocks have lost between 10-30 per cent from their values on February 7, 2003. Media major Zee Telefilms, television content providers Balaji Telefilms, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Cinevista, Creative Eye and other entertainment companies such as Padmalaya Telefilms, Macmillan India, Jain Studios, GDR Media and Unistar Media are among the major companies to have touched their 52-week lows on the BSE. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/archives/2003/mar/50070303.030.asp From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 7 16:20:43 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 21:50:43 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Govt to crack down on vulgar television ads Message-ID: <3E68C6DB.4010607@vasnet.co.in> Reacting sharply to the sudden spurt in vulgar, politically incorrect and surrogate ads on television channels, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he was examining various options to correct the situation. ``I have come across idespread concerns and distress, this is a matter I have to consider,'' he said. In Britain, it has been pointed out, the script for a commercial has to be submitted in advance. However, there is no legal provision for pre-censorship for commercials in this country. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/comp/articleshow?artid=39495831 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 9 15:20:25 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 20:50:25 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Time for new script to attract financiers to big screen Message-ID: <3E6B5BB9.3030901@vasnet.co.in> The Indian film industry may have to right-size its prolific output once corporatisation takes roots. "Close to 85 per cent of Bollywood's revenues come from less than 30 per cent of the films it makes in a year," Mr Rajesh Jain, Executive Director (Corporate Finance), KPMG India Pvt Ltd, has said. An estimated 23 per cent of revenues in the Rs 16,000-crore entertainment industry come from films; Bollywood's is a major chunk of that. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/03/08/stories/2003030802360100.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 9 15:20:35 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 20:50:35 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Internet providers: Caught in their own web Message-ID: <3E6B5BC3.8000408@vasnet.co.in> Towards the end of the 90s, however, as suddenly as they had appeared, the ISPs started dying out. By 2000, more than 150 of the 550 ISPs had returned their licences, leaving just about 215 operational ISPs in the country. The few that remained had to undergo major changes. The survivors are working hard to stay afloat. The ISP market is now transforming from high volume-low value to low volume-high value services. The lesson learnt? A high number of users doesnt necessarily translate into revenues. The trick is to retain these users. Increased competition in the basic access market is driving ISPs to look at alternative revenue models. The disappearance of ISPs did not deter the growth of the subscriber base. According to estimates by IDC India, there were 2.4 million subscribers in 2001 and 3.1 million in 2002. This figure is expected to polevault to 8.26 million by 2006. Internet users fall into two categories: residential and business. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=19829 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 9 15:20:45 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 20:50:45 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Bombay High Court stays hike in Cable TV fee Message-ID: <3E6B5BCD.2010801@vasnet.co.in> Cable television viewers in Mumbai have heaved a collective sigh of relief at the Bombay High Court's decision to stay the increase in subscription fees. The court Friday ordered operators to collect cable fees that were in effect till December 2002 and not chargethe new increased subscription. Cable fees had increased from around Rs 200 a month to Rs 300 in the new year. Most operators provide between 80 and 100 channels on entertainment, sports and current affairs in a number of languages. At present most cable subscribers pay Rs.300 per month for the entire bouquet. Of the 80-100 channels on offer, only eight or 10 are regularly watched. The Indian government has enacted law to enable installation of set-top boxes so that subscribers can choose the channels they want to watch and pay only for them. The law will come into effect later this year after sufficient electronic set-top boxes are made available in the market.Meanwhile, cable operators and television channels are increasing subscription fees in a mad rush to maximise revenues. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_207658,000600010004.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 10 16:27:24 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 21:57:24 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Govt considering review of film censor guidelines Message-ID: <3E6CBCEC.3030300@vasnet.co.in> Concerned over growing violence in films, Government today told the Rajya Sabha it was considering seeking a review of the guidelines of the Central Board of Film Certification. Stating the government did not have much role to play and it was for the Censor Board to curb sex and violence in films, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said during the Question Hour that last year the Censor Board cut as much as 12,000 metres of film reel in 942 Indian films. "May be, there is a requirement to review the guidelines of 1991. I am thinking in these terms though the government does not come into picture," Prasad said while stating that there had to be a blend of both creativity and censor cuts. The freedom of expression should also be taken into consideration while undertaking any cuts in the films, the Minister said. The Censor Board also cut more than 1000 metres of foreign films during 2002, he said. Prasad said the consultative committee of the Central Board of film censor had at least two women members to monitor objectionable portions in films. If there is any uncalled for domestic violence in films, the consultative committee would deal with it, he said. In reply to another query, Prasad said if all the guidelines of 1991 were to be strictly implemented "then no films can be passed". PTI 10/March/2003 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 10 16:27:11 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 21:57:11 +0530 Subject: [icernet] E-Seva Sets A New Paradigm In Citizen Services Message-ID: <3E6CBCDF.4020300@vasnet.co.in> From a mere 4,800 transactions a month in August 2001 to a whopping 7.5 lakh transactions a month in February 2003: e-Seva, the Andhra Pradesh governments pet Government to Citizen (G2C) utilities service project has come of age. Amidst initial poor response from the citizens, e-Seva, which has overcome all the hurdles, has so far netted a thumping collection of close to Rs 2,000 crore (February-end) from a meagre collection of Rs 43 lakh in August 2001. Considered Andhra governments most successful e-governance project, e-Seva has created a new paradigm in citizen services, exploiting information technology to the full. A project, which started with less than 10 services in 2001, now e-Seva offers nearly 43 services, ranging from payment of utility bills to issuing of certificates, permits to licenses, reservation of buses to B2C services. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29698 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 10 16:27:36 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 21:57:36 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Media Lab Builds A Wi-fi Digital Bridge Across Gangetic Plain Message-ID: <3E6CBCF8.4070803@vasnet.co.in> Media Lab Asia (MLA) has claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough in taking computing and communication to masses. A research team of Media Lab Asia (MLA) has created an 85 km-long multi hop wireless corridor between Kanpur and Lucknow, called the Digital Gangetic Plain, using 802.11b protocol and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. This would mean that if the project could be commercially implemented, the 802.11b protocol  that is primarily used for indoor applications within an area of 500 meters  can be used for providing outdoor wireless connectivity for longer distances. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29692 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 10 16:27:47 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 21:57:47 +0530 Subject: [icernet] India must showcase parallel cinema to the world: Shabana Message-ID: <3E6CBD03.6070104@vasnet.co.in> Actress and MP Shabana Azmi has suggested that India must chalk out a plan to tap the tremendous scope for showcasing the country's parallel cinema globally. Indian cinema, she said, was the only one "which withstood the onslaughts of Hollywood." Shabana's debut coincided with the birth of India's parallel Cinema - independent non-mainstream films that began to appear in the mid-Seventies. Shabana has deplored the poor quality of prints of Indian films provided by Directorate of Film Festival at various international festivals. "It is extremely important Government realized that the retrospective films have a limited shelf-life and the Directorate needed additional funds to have updated prints of well known old films". Source: http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/entertainment/20030308-0.html From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 11 16:06:29 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:36:29 +0530 Subject: [icernet] The Net will play key role in Iraq war Message-ID: <3E6E0985.7070803@vasnet.co.in> The Internet will play an important role should a war against Iraq begin,= writes the president of CNN International Network, Chris Cramer, in The = Guardian. Cramer thinks the Net and "a new form of alternative or 'grassr= oots' journalism" can help global audiences get the whole picture in case= something as complex as a war in the Middle East takes place. We have al= ready seen the Internet becoming a powerful vehicle for information, Cram= er argues. Net users have used e-mail to send newsrooms reports and pictu= res of world events such as the Columbia shuttle disaster or last year's = severe floods in Europe even before camera crews and journalists teams co= uld get on the scene. The governments have also become aware of the power= of the Internet. The U.S. military has started an e-mail campaign asking= recipients in Iraq to get in touch with the United Nations in case they = wish to defect. Saddam Hussein apparently shut down ISPs in response. In = Iran, as well, an increasin g number of ISPs have been closed, The Guardian writes. But "resourceful = users" will eventually find a way to send their stories, Cramer argues. "= I can guarantee we'll see much more of the grassroots newsgathering shoul= d military action come to the Gulf again," he adds. However, this kind of= "newsgathering" may also bring about rumors and false information. "We s= hould tread very carefully and do well to remember that 'truth is the fir= st casualty of war,'" warns Cramer. Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,910785,00.html From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 11 16:07:14 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:37:14 +0530 Subject: [icernet] News Channels Getting A Bigger Share Of Ad Pie Message-ID: <3E6E09B2.2080102@vasnet.co.in> News channels have emerged as a strong genre in calendar year 2002 accounting for 11.30 per cent of total revenue from TV advertising despite enjoying just two per cent viewership, according to consulting firm KPMG. The reverse is the case with regional channels. Despite a 39.60 per cent share in viewership, they accounted for just 17.20 per cent of the total TV ad revenues in 2002. Mass entertainment channels continued their leadership position with a 46.80 per cent share in audience. They accounted for 57.40 per cent of total TV ad revenues. Sports channels enjoyed a viewership of 3.90 per cent while getting a 2.70 per cent share in revenue. Infotainment and kids accounted for 1.80 per cent viewership while enjoying a revenue share of 1.60 per cent. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29763 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 11 16:07:23 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:37:23 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Singapore firm wins contract to upgrade Indian cinema halls Message-ID: <3E6E09BB.1050504@vasnet.co.in> In a unique high-tech venture, a Singaporean technology firm has won a multi-million dollar deal to upgrade 400 Indian cinema halls with digital projectors by April 2004. The first movie theatre, in Mumbai, will start operating under the new format - the first in India - by the end of this month, the Business Times newspaper published from Singapore reported. To do this, Singapore-based GDC technology has set up a joint venture with Adlabs Films, India's largest motion picture processing lab, to retrofit the cinema halls by digital film servers and digital projectors. "Our target is to retrofit 1,500 e-cinemas in India by 2007," GDC Technology's marketing head Benjamin Ng was quoted as saying. The company will also convert Indian-made feature films into a digital format that will save thousands of dollars per movie in distribution costs, it said. "The feature film itself will be stored in a high- capacity disk drive double the size of a cigrette packet," Ng said adding "this will be couriered to the cinema. Once the movie's run has ended, another digital pack will be couriered and the old made obsolete. The entire movie will be digitally encrypted, so it will be impossible for pirates to copy it." "E-cinema is the way to go in India because the movie industry in India itself is unique. We are planning to offer through various distributors one digital movie a week," Managing Director of Adlabs, Manmohan Shetty, was quoted as saying. Source: PTI 11/March/2003 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 12 15:32:06 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 21:02:06 +0530 Subject: [icernet] CAS: The tussle continues Message-ID: <3E6F52F6.6060708@vasnet.co.in> There are so many aspects still to be resolved that one keeps coming back to CAS. In spite of months of lobbying and counter-lobbying, the government (read former information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj) stuck to its stand and got the necessary amendments in the relevant Act passed by the Parliament. Subsequent to that, several meetings, involving all the stakeholders (the broadcasting and cable sectors and the consumer), have been held at various levels. Increasingly, it is becoming a case of shadow boxing, what with the two earlier sparring parties - the cable fraternity and the broadcasters - continuing to be in a combative mood. CAS may be good for the whole industry, but the broadcasters also realise that in the short term, viewership is going to drop post CAS. Indian consumers don't take to new developments, especially where shelling out some extra bucks is concerned. Will they buy the set-top boxes, the day CAS is implemented, is the question that is going through every broadcaster's mind, notwithstanding the brave front put forward by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity1.asp?main_variable=MEDIA&file_name=med3%2Etxt&counter_img=3 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 12 15:32:28 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 21:02:28 +0530 Subject: [icernet] World Media Trend: Yellow journalism and the Red road Message-ID: <3E6F530C.4050805@vasnet.co.in> Yellow journalism is back in full force in America. Originally coined to describe the coverage that helped promote the Spanish-American War of 1898, the term describes a type of journalism high on exaggeration and bias, purposely misguiding readers to achieve the financial and political purposes of particular publishers and editors. During the turn of the 20th Century, it was driven by the competition between William Hearsts New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzers New York World. These days the yellow journalism comes primarily out of right-wing visions of an overwhelmingly world-dominant America - its national leadership and its radia-tolahs cry for war as their corporations capture market share. Today, it is mostly electronic and it rides the airwaves and cables of America. Journalism is thus reduced to talk about the news. In the electronic fireplace that television and radio were supposed to become, we see mostly the representations of several dozen talking, and more often yelling, heads. Chickenhawks - pundits and policy-makers that never experienced combat - the vast majority jingoistic to a fault, cheer for the bombs to fly. The cry of America: love it or leave it, and the straight-out willingness to insult the other side, are constant. >From Bill OReilly and Ann Coulter to Rush Limbaugh to Shawn Hannity and Laura Ingraham, would-be GI Joes and Janes parade through the medium, clamoring for war as the only course of action for a determined America. Even though in these pages we have stated reasons for American Indians to participate in this war, the shrill bellicosity of many on the right is, nonetheless, disconcerting. But the issue is about more than the likely war on Iraq. Its about a way of looking for accurate, truthful information that goes beyond the America of right and wrong, where everything is to be understood in terms of good and evil, right to left, conservative to liberal, Republican to Democrat. This Ping-Pong sense of truth that permeates American media (and increasingly, consciousness), we believe, unnecessarily limits the range of intelligence available to the American public. In media these days, you are expected to be either one or the other; and more and more commentators line up with one side against the other, rather than look for more comprehensive approaches. Source: http://www.msnbc.com/news/883784.asp From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 12 15:34:47 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 21:04:47 +0530 Subject: [icernet] War is a soft story when America's 'embedded' media takes aim Message-ID: <3E6F5397.7010407@vasnet.co.in> The age of embedded journalism has arrived. The shooting may not have started yet, but the media are on a war footing, with reporters and photographers for 200 news organisations now embedded, in Pentagon jargon, with American military units. This kind of access, which was largely missing in Afghanistan, is starting to produce the kind of stories Pentagon officials had hoped for  those that put a human face on war. Theres little chance of bad publicity, after all, when the subject is young men and women grappling with the rigors, the tedium and the fear of being shipped halfway around the world to take on Saddam Hussein. The feature approach fits especially well with the up-close-and-personal style of newer cable and Internet outlets that dont pretend to specialise in B-1 bombers and Al Samoud-2 missiles. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=20068 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:55:18 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:25:18 +0530 Subject: [icernet] India to be entertainment BPO destination of global media Message-ID: <3E720976.6050200@vasnet.co.in> The convergence of information, communication and entertainment would make India a hub of global entertainment business process outsourcing in the next few years. India would emerge as a major back operations destination for special effects and animation, with rushes of films shot in United States and United Kingdom being brought to India for processing and editing, E-Entertainment Alliance chairman Amit Khanna said at the inaugural session of a FICCI seminar on Technology for Information, Media and Entertainment Industry. Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/13bpo.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:55:08 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:25:08 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Indian movie pirates targeted Message-ID: <3E72096C.5080305@vasnet.co.in> The Hollywood-based Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA) are launching a joint initative in the Asia-Pacific region. MPA vice-president Michael C Ellis, in Bombay to talk to his Bollywood counterparts at a trade fair, said 6.1 million pirated DVDs were seized in the region last year - representing a loss to the industry of $600m (£373m). "The losses are just enormous considering it takes $89.4m (£55.7m) to make one movie in Hollywood and only one out of 10 movies to makes a profit," Mr Ellis said. He added that the Indian movie industry, which makes 800 films a year, loses nearly 17 billion rupees ($356m/ £222m) annually due to piracy. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2847045.stm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:55:41 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:25:41 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 16 channels get nod to uplink news, 4 in queue Message-ID: <3E72098D.2070609@vasnet.co.in> The government has allowed seven broadcasting companies to uplink news and current affairs programmes on sixteen channels from India. However, several channels of five networks are awaiting approval. The ones granted permission include TV Today Network for its Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, the Chennai-based Sun TV for four channels -- Sun News, Udaya News, Surya News and Teja News, the Sahara Group for seven channels -- Samay National and International, Sahara Samay UP, Sahara Samay MP, Sahara Samay Bihar, Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara Samay Rajasthan and Sahara Samay NCT, STV Enterprises for Punjab Today, Jain TV, Zee Telefilms and New Delhi Television. Firms awaiting the government's approval to uplink include Star TV and the BBC. Prannoy Roy's NDTV World , under which the company plans to launch its new Hindi channel, is also awaiting permission. Aroon Purie-promoted TV Today's English channel is also waiting for approval. Also in the queue is a lesser known company, Independent News Service, for its channel, India TV. Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/13uplink.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:55:29 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:25:29 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Nervous Star beams contingency plans Message-ID: <3E720981.8050309@vasnet.co.in> Will Star News go blank at the stroke of midnight, March 31, 2003? With just 18 days left and no uplinking licence in sight, a nervous Star Network is working on various contingency plans. If the government doesn't decide by April 1, 2003, Star has an option to enter into an agreement with a content provider who already has an uplinking licence. TNN learns Star may align with Rajat Sharma, who has one uplinking licence. At this stage, this seems the most likely option. The uplinking licence holder can be a dummy candidate using Star's 300-strong workforce. What if the government puts in place a ceiling on FDI in electronic news media on the same lines as norms for print? If so, Star has to pick a 26 per cent stake in an Indian broadcast company. It is said Star is currently charting out plans to negotiate with Indian firms to bring in a partner. At present, Star Network's Tamil channel Vijay TV is uplinked through Ronnie Screwvala's United Television although the content is owned directly by Star Network. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=40109963 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:54:52 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:24:52 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 'DTH, multimedia new revenue options' Message-ID: <3E72095C.80809@vasnet.co.in> Apart from the more familiar exploitation avenues through the box office, satellite, VCD/DVD format, newer and more specifically defined opportunities have arisen for exploitation through merchandising, direct-to-home-access, pay T.V, hand held access, multimedia exploitation, reformatting of content for different platforms and brand/ product show casing within movies. - Rohan Shah, managing partner, Economic Laws Practice Details at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=40098293 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 14 16:54:40 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:24:40 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 'TV commercials must adhere to advertising code' Message-ID: <3E720950.2020602@vasnet.co.in> The government has made it clear that it is necessary for all television commercials to adhere to the advertising code to escape action by the concerned authorities. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was equally obligatory for the channels to keep the ambit of the code in mind before telecasting a commercial. He said that offending ads were taken note of either by the ministry officials or the inter-ministerial committee set up under Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. Complaints received from viewers are also acted upon, he said in a written reply. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=40215928 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 16 16:20:28 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 21:50:28 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Entertainment Revenues To Hit Rs 419 Bn By 2007 Message-ID: <3E74A44C.1060708@vasnet.co.in> Revenues in Indias entertainment industry are estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent from Rs 166 billion in 2002 to Rs 419 billion by 2007, according to the Ficci-KPMG report released on Friday at Frames 2003. The television segment is set to grow at a CAGR of 21 per cent and achieve an annual revenue of Rs 292 billion by 2007 with pay revenues primarily driving the growth. The film industry, which recorded a loss of Rs 3 billion on gross revenues of Rs 39 billion in 2002, is expected to grow at approximately 19 per cent annually to reach Rs 93 billion by 2007. Television is the fastest growing entertainment medium in the country, led by pay revenues. Fuelling the rise in pay revenues will be the growth in cable and satellite homes from 41 million to 57 million. Besides, the average realisation per subscriber will go up from Rs 125 a month to Rs 250. "With the passing of the Conditional Access System (CAS), there is expected to be a far-reaching impact on the television sector by increasing the declared connectivity and pay TV revenues," the KPMG report on The Indian Entertainment Sector In the Spotlight, said. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30090 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 16 16:20:42 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 21:50:42 +0530 Subject: [icernet] How To Go Digital Without Power Message-ID: <3E74A45A.4030105@vasnet.co.in> Saroha, a remote village in Uttar Pradesh with no electricity, is on the countrys digital map. Here, Media Lab Asia (MLA) has set up its demonstration, proof-of-concept, for the rural communications system under its Digital Gangetic Plain (DGP) project. Part of the MLAs 802.Rural thrust, the corridor will reach Allahabad over the next six months to complete a digital triangle. This is part of MLAs living digital village labs programme for rural communications system. Researchers of MLA point out that all the other technologies are primarily built in the West and are not cost-effective for rural areas. Connecting rural areas is a big challenge because subscribers are geographically dispersed, sparsely located and economically weak. As a result, few telecom companies want to venture into these villages because the purchasing power in these villages is not enough to recover the cost of connecting them. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30134 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 16 16:20:51 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 21:50:51 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Living Media set to take over Reader's Digest in April Message-ID: <3E74A463.1090502@vasnet.co.in> COME April and the Indian Reader's Digest will be a part of the India Today group. The annual turnover of the monthly, with a print order of 5.06 lakh copies in India stands at Rs 25 crore. A Tata company, RDI Print & Publishing, has owned Reader's Digest in India since 1979 under a licence granted by the US parent. Globally, Reader's Digest sells 23 million copies across 60 countries in 48 editions and 19 languages and is the world's largest selling magazine. The Indian edition constitutes a small fragment of the $2.4-billion Reader's Digest Association Inc. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/03/15/stories/2003031502080100.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 16 16:21:00 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 21:51:00 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 'Media should not lose sight of their social purpose' Message-ID: <3E74A46C.7060300@vasnet.co.in> Media organisations should uphold standards and deal ably with the increasing pressures on their editorial content from their marketing arm without compromising on credibility or profitability. They should not lose sight of the social purpose of the news industry even as they keep pace with the demands and pressures of the changing times. These were the major themes deliberated upon by editors and senior journalists at a national colloquium on emerging media issues organised by the Media Development Foundation. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/03/15/stories/2003031504261200.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 17 15:42:19 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:12:19 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Film makers seek survival mantra Message-ID: <3E75ECDB.5070105@vasnet.co.in> The film industry is gasping for a fresh lease of life. The challenge: How to cope with drying up of finance, slowdown and revenue loss, and most importantly, growing dominance of television. IDBI has sanctioned around Rs 100 crore in the last two years to the film industry, it is cautious. "There is a risk in this business," said AK Dora, director, IDBI, which has financed 20 films, out of which seven has been released. "The way forward is to have a consortium financing than individual financing," he added. And, the performance of the film industry is well below expectations. Only six out of 300 films released in the last one year have become hits. While Hollywood makes about 225 films per year and earns $9.3 billion, Bollywood makes 800 odd films and but earns only $1.3 billion revenue. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=40498859 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 17 15:42:35 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:12:35 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Radio lovers ahoy, here come three new FM channels Message-ID: <3E75ECEB.6070803@vasnet.co.in> Radio City, Radio Mirchi and Red FM, which belong to STAR TV, the Times of India group and the India Today group respectively, have a sizeable presence in Mumbai. Now they will take the country's capital by storm. Predictably, music will be every station's recipe to sure success. An official survey by a radio station reveals that a whopping 99 percent of Delhi's audience wants the latest popular Bollywood and Indi-pop music. That is the niche the private channels will explore. Now the upper middle and elite classes will get a taste of what they exclusively want. With that will come big advertising.According to research, FM listeners and awareness in Delhi were higher than that in other Indian cities. Estimates vary from four and a half million to eight million listeners here. Source: http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEH20030316104646 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 17 15:42:46 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:12:46 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Boom time for news channels Message-ID: <3E75ECF6.909@vasnet.co.in> With increased consumer preference for news programmes, television news channels have grown faster than other niche channels. News channels also command a more-than proportionate revenue share. According to a TAM India data, the news category, with 2 per cent share of viewership, commands a revenue share of around 11 per cent. "People want to look at multiple views on a common subject. There is only one reality and the presentation of the reality makes the maximum difference," Haresh Chawla, CEO, Television Eighteen India, said. G Krishnan, CEO of Aaj Tak, said that while 70 per cent Americans depend on television for news, the Indian market is largely dominated by the print medium. "The other aspects that provide a huge potential for growth of television include the exponential growth of cable and satellite television, globalisation, technology and political instability." Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/17channel.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 17 15:49:22 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:19:22 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Licence fees queer pitch for FM Message-ID: <3E75EE82.7000500@vasnet.co.in> The emerging scenario in the country's private FM is that of gloom. A desperate call for rationalisation of licence fees was the main pitch for survival. The private FM players are now seeking a rationalisation of licence fees working in a revenue-sharing model between the participants and the Government. However, the Government is yet to respond to this proposal. Twenty-three parties bid over Rs 425 crore for 108 frequencies in 40 cities, but only 10 paid bank guarantees. In three years 13 stations were launched in nine cities.The private FM radio industry, confronted with high licence fees, is also faced with the grim scenario of low advertisement spend in favour of radio. FM radio's advertising spend is just one per cent. Therefore, the current FM radio business is unviable. Currently, FM's reach is 39 million people in nine cities. For viability, India needs a much higher reach. In comparison, the US has 14,000 radio stations, Italy 1,000, Spain 2,000 and India's small neighbour Sri Lanka has 20 stations. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/03/16/stories/2003031601720500.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 18 16:20:26 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 21:50:26 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Government caps FDI in TV news channels at 26% Message-ID: <3E77474A.3020504@vasnet.co.in> The government on Tuesday decided on the crucial uplink policy for foreign-owned news channels, restricting foreign direct investment to 26 per cent, at par with that in print media relating to news and current affairs. This would mean that STAR News, which is slated to launch its own news channel from April 1, would now have to apply afresh for uplinking, along with a majority Indian partner. Zee TV that has over 50 per cent foreign equity would also have to re-work its equity pattern in the course of this time period. The entertainment channels would continue to be dictated by the existing policy under which all channels irrespective of their ownership or management control are permitted to uplink from India subject to fulfilment of the eligibility criteria. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=40685731 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 18 16:20:18 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 21:50:18 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Seeing red with this pitch Message-ID: <3E774742.9070109@vasnet.co.in> The singular purpose of most advertising is to be memorable enough to impress a brand upon one's consciousness. Whether they do it by being outrageous, or ludicrous or patronising or truly entertaining, that is the purpose. So how seriously should one take the content of an ad, the stuff that surrounds the pitch? Should you credit it with heralding social doom as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) are currently doing? Should you blame advertising when gullible Indians buy the proposition it is pitching? Are you being a killjoy when you seek to tame the no-holds-barred creative fraternity in the advertising industry? Less economically and socially unequal societies than India have felt the need for regulatory bodies to tackle sexist and other kinds of offensive advertising, and have set them up. Because our award-winning creative brains have demonstrated that social responsibility cramps their style, may be it's time we did so too. Source: http://hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/stories/2003031600270300.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 18 16:20:31 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 21:50:31 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 'Law of contempt stands like a sword over media' Message-ID: <3E77474F.2080609@vasnet.co.in> Liberalising the law of contempt of court and scrapping the criminal defamation law to enable the media function without unreasonable restriction were the key suggestions that emerged at the end of a two-day soul-searching exercise by the media here. Initiating the discussion, Rajeev Dhavan, senior advocate, said the law of contempt was defective and stood like a sword over the media. While, on the one hand, the courts were willing to accept that protection had to be given to the press in terms of their institutional freedom and rights, on the other, they were not sufficiently liberal in contempt proceedings. Source: http://hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/03/16/stories/2003031602461000.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 19 15:56:54 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:26:54 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Licence Fees Too Hefty, Complain Pvt Radio Stations Message-ID: <3E789346.2040601@vasnet.co.in> If the radio station owners in India are to be believed, their business model is leading towards a "no-win situation." The government threw open the process of privatisation three years ago which saw a host of prospective players evincing interest. What was predicted to be a pot of gold has resulted in a very different scenario. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30091 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 19 15:56:42 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:26:42 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Private FM Players May Miss April Deadline Message-ID: <3E78933A.2050702@vasnet.co.in> Even as the buzz is that private FM licencees would launch their radio stations in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata by the first week of April, the installation process is yet to be over. Much of the material required for setting up the stations is being imported, according to an official at Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (Becil), which has been appointed integrator for the private FM radio project in three metros—Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30338 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 19 15:57:04 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:27:04 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Launching Telecoms II Message-ID: <3E789350.8070701@vasnet.co.in> Launching Telecoms II Mar 13th 2003 >From The Economist print edition New wireless technologies that render bandwidth irrelevant could kick-start a revolution in communications bigger than the internet AMERICA recently had a chance to kick-start a whole new engine of technological innovation‹with business opportunities that could have dwarfed those generated by the internet a decade ago. Through political infighting, it muffed it. By voting in effect to maintain the status quo, rather than embark on reforms aimed ultimately at dismantling the country's antiquated regulations that govern the telephone network, the Federal Communications Commission has consigned the telecoms industry to further floundering. Call the missed opportunity ³Telecoms II². Unlike its predecessor, this is all about freeing people from having to plug into telephone lines and cables‹and letting them have speedier data connections than they ever imagined. It all started with digital cell phones a decade ago, but has now exploded into a panoply of radio technologies‹from wireless LANs (local area networks) to smart antennae, ultrawide band transmission and mesh networks. Despite the parlous state of the telecoms sector, the pace at which start-ups offering the new WLL (wireless local loop) technology have been raising money shows that at least the market has faith in the future. Apart from providing an alternative over the ³last mile² to homes and offices at modest cost, WLL delivers internet access ten times faster than the speediest broadband connections the telephone companies or cable TV firms can offer (see article). What could make Telecoms II the economic engine of the next decade is the way such networks are largely ³user financed² and deployed in an unplanned, ad hoc manner‹and thus free to grow exponentially if demand for them takes off. David Reed, a telecoms expert who helped design the internet, points to how, over the past year, the 802.11b (³Wi-Fi²) standard has created an entirely new market for wireless networks in the home and office‹without any form of government initiative and during the depth of telecom's worst recession. That is what can be done when manufacturers and users are set free to exploit just a tiny unlicensed chunk of the radio spectrum. But to make Telecoms II happen in a big way, regulators have to stop policing the radio spectrum as if it were some precious, scarce resource. The problem is that the regulations governing the separation of broadcasting channels, to prevent neighbouring stations from interfering with one another, were established 70 years ago and reflect the technical limitations of the time. Today, instead of being a crude tunable circuit built of coils and condensers, a radio is more likely to be a piece of software burned into a DSP (digital signal processor) chip that can reconfigure itself on the fly‹hopping from channel to channel, thousands of times a second, while seeking gaps through which to send bursts of data. With frequency-hopping ³softradio², interference is irrelevant. That means broadcasting channels can be crammed cheek by jowl, with no buffer zones between them. Also, when such adaptive digital radios are allowed to co-operate with one another, the network's capacity can actually increase‹rather than decrease, as was long believed‹with every new radio added. In short, with ³co-operative gain², there is no upper limit to the amount of information that can be transported. Thus, bandwidth‹as a measure of communication capacity‹is also irrelevant. Forget interference Before such disruptive ideas can be used to unleash the next big wave of technological innovation, regulators have to rid themselves of obsolete notions about interference. Because of such fears, ³repeater stations²‹the key to co-operative gain‹have been largely barred from wireless networks. Another regulatory hangup is the way networks operating on different frequency bands‹say, Wi-Fi and mobile phones‹have been prevented from interconnecting. But the biggest problem inhibiting Telecoms II is the habit of reserving various radio bands for specific services. Historically, that made sense when it was hugely expensive to build radios that could be tuned to more than a few adjacent bands. Today, digital radios that can dynamically jump all over the spectrum are to be had for the price of a microchip. America has missed its chance to start the deregulatory ball rolling, first with the wired networks and then with the wireless ones. Now it is up to Asia and Europe to avoid making the same mistake. Copyright © 2003 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved. From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 20 16:42:35 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 22:12:35 +0530 Subject: [icernet] CAS - A step to protect TV consumers Message-ID: <3E79EF7B.2050005@vasnet.co.in> Come July 14, 2003 and the TV viewing would undergo a revolutionary change in the four Metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The Conditional Access System (CAS) to view the Pay Channels through the Set Top Box would come into operation. With the implementation of this scheme, the consumer would get protection against the arbitrary and very frequent hike in the cable subscription and also the forced payment for even the channels he does not want to view by bunching the channels with bouquets by the broadcasters. The CAS scheme provides that the consumer would get only the channels he wants and pay for only those he actually wishes to view. The broadcasters would have to notify the cost of every pay channel, the list of which would have to be displayed by the cable operators. The CAS brought in by amending the Cable TV Act of 1995 during the Winter Session of Parliament makes it mandatory in the areas notified by the Government that all pay channels would be transmitted through an addressable system. This would be possible by installing a small box called Set Top Box (STB) at the consumer’s place. However, for viewing only the Free to Air (FTA) channels the box will not be required. The Government would prescribe from time to time the maximum amount to be paid by the subscriber for the basic service tier of FTA and the number of free channels. The Government would also determine the cost for the FTA brought for different States, cities and areas of the country. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has constituted a Task Force to determine the above criteria and the cost. The Task Force has representatives of consumers, NGOs, cable operators, multi system operators, STB manufacturers and broadcasters. The Bureau of Indian Standards has already notifed the standards for the STBs. There are about four crore cable TV homes in the country. Over 280 channels have footprints over India. Out of about 80 channels delivered to the viewers, 31 are pay channels and 49 free-to-air channels. MSOs control about 60 per cent of total cable homes. Average subscription paid by the viewer is about Rs. 150 to 300 in big cities. With the implementation of the Conditional Access System the entire transmission system of TV signals through the cable would become transparent. It would not only protect the consumers against frequent and arbitrary hikes in cable rates and undesirable transmission of channels but also make the advertisement rates realistic and plug the loopholes in the collection of entertainment tax. The consumer would be able to block the reach of unwanted channels, which he felt embarrassing to view in a family. Though there are demands from various State governments and consumer associations asking for extension of CAS to more cities other than the four metros, the Government would wait for the successful implementation in the first phase before extending it further. (PIB Features). Source: http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fmar2003/f200320031.html From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 20 16:42:24 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 22:12:24 +0530 Subject: [icernet] BBC World To Focus On News, Current Affairs Message-ID: <3E79EF70.3000804@vasnet.co.in> BBC World will increase its news and current affairs programming while cutting down on lifestyle content. “We will have less of travel and lifestyle related programmes. We will develop more of news and current affairs based programmes like Asia Business Report,” said BBC World managing director Patric Cross. BBC World has been separated from being a commercial subsidiary of BBC Worldwide. BBC has created a new company, BBC World Ltd., which runs the commercial TV channel. The integration of international news and information division bringing together BBC World Service and BBC World has been complete in December, 2002, said Mr Cross. BBC World is BBC’s 24-hour English language, international news and information TV channel. BBC World Service is in international radio broadcasting while BBC Worldwide syndicates programmes. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30402 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 20 16:42:46 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 22:12:46 +0530 Subject: [icernet] India: All News, All the Time Message-ID: <3E79EF86.60407@vasnet.co.in> --------------000108050905040905070105 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Indians have long been known for their passionate interest in politics and world affairs. But starting in April, they'll be plugged into the global village as never before. At least four new domestic news channels -- double the current number -- are expected to be available that month to the 43 million households subscribing to cable TV. The TV news explosion is partially triggered by the breakup of a five-year partnership between Rupert Murdoch's Star TV and Indian production company New Delhi Television (NDTV). Star pays NDTV $20 million a year for newscasts in a contract that expires on Mar. 31. After that, Star plans to go it alone with a 24-hour, Hindi-language news channel. NDTV will in turn launch channels in English and Hindi. Around the same time, the Zee TV network and broadcaster Aaj Tak plan to start English cable-news channels -- just in time for a possible war in Iraq and elections in seven Indian states. TV set maker Videocon also wants to enter the fray. The lure is one of the world's biggest future media markets. Some 200 million Indians now watch cable, vs. 110 million four years ago, and subscriptions grew 40% last year, says UBS Warburg Securities (India) Research Director Sandeep Bhatia. Fees of just $3 a month for 75 channels make cable affordable. News programs grab less than 3% of the $2 billion in advertising and subscription revenue in India. But news viewership has surged by 250% since the September 11 attacks. Annual ad spending on news shows has leapt from $8 million to $50 million in two years -- and should double by 2005, predicts Anurag Batra, managing director of exchange4media, a Web portal for the media industry. To grab viewers' attention, broadcasters are opening their wallets to expand news operations and snare top talent. Star alone has hired 300 reporters in the past six months from local newspapers and Hindi channels like Zee for its 21 bureaus across India. Rival NDTV bagged Star's top sales executive and has hired away news anchors and reporters from Aaj Tak's broadcast station. Monthly salaries for TV reporters have doubled, to about $1,250, in the past six months. Stodgy state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan, which reaches 400 million viewers, is sending its own reporters to the Middle East should war erupt. Exchange4media figures channels are pouring $100 million annually into studios, equipment, satellites, and staff. "Everybody is looking forward to the battle for the news," says Kunal Dasgupta, chief executive of Sony India, which will distribute NDTV's new channels. Not every channel is likely to survive. Analysts predict the field will consolidate and be led by Aaj Tak, Star, NDTV, and Zee. Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_12/b3825115_mz033.htm --------------000108050905040905070105-- From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 21 15:02:37 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 20:32:37 +0530 Subject: [icernet] How PwC Accounts For The Oscars Message-ID: <3E7B298D.5040103@vasnet.co.in> The Oscars will be given away for the 75th time this weekend, but in the last 69 years, only 11 people have known the results till a few moments before each individual award is announced. This is the level of secrecy surrounding not only the world’s most popular cine awards, but also events closer home like the Zee Cine Awards, International India Film Awards, Hero Honda ITV Awards, Zee Alpha Marathi Awards and Overdrive Auto Awards. Two of these 11 people are Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas, partners with international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) International and responsible for this year’s results. The firm has been selected for the 69th straight year to oversee the tabulation of the Oscar votes for the diamond anniversary of the Oscars, and it has been providing similar services for the Indian events mentioned above.The winners at Oscars are elected by about 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences taking about 1,700 man-hours compressed within a week to tabulate the result. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30460 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 21 15:02:47 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 20:32:47 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Is it bowling vs bombing on TV? Message-ID: <3E7B2997.4030408@vasnet.co.in> While the exact viewership numbers for the India-Kenya semi-final will be out later next week, the television industry feels that World Cup will continue to draw in the audiences. But these viewers will frequently flip to the various news channels to see the action on the battlefront. "With events like the war, there is always a surge in viewership for news channels. After the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center the viewership for the news channels grew by about two-and-a-half times. One is expecting a similar pattern this time too," said Mr Atul Phadnis, Director, S-Group, TAM India. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/03/21/stories/2003032102450100.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 21 15:02:59 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 20:32:59 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Star, UTV may tie up for news channel Message-ID: <3E7B29A3.7080106@vasnet.co.in> UTV is among the several media companies Star India Ltd is talking to for collaborating on the launch of its Hindi news channel in India. Industry sources say UTV is a serious contender for the post. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has a 15 per cent stake in UTV, which is promoted by Ronnie Screwvala. Besides, UTV and Star are joint-venture partners in Vijay TV. However, Star is said to be talking to Rajat Sharma's Independent Media Private Ltd and Jain TV as well. Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/21star.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 21 15:03:07 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 20:33:07 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Download To Uplink: Overseas Rulebooks To Come In Handy Message-ID: <3E7B29AB.5070207@vasnet.co.in> Foreign broadcasting rulebooks are likely to serve as a role model for the government when it frames the fresh uplinking guidelines for news channels. Claiming that Indian broadcasting norms are far more liberal than in other countries, officials in the information and broadcasting ministry are busy citing stiff rules in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia and the UK, among others. These views are expected to be reflected in the detailed uplinking guidelines for news channels.Take, for instance, the case of Australia. Its principles for transborder satellite television broadcasting highlight the significant function of the regulator.In the UK too, broadcasting regulations are in plenty. The Independent Television Commission is responsible for regulating all forms of commercial TV in the UK. Among the Asian countries, Malaysia has been following the ‘‘closed sky’’ policy.Singapore, presents a similar scenario. In the US, citizenship is an essential criterion in the broadcasting business. In the UK, there are several cross-sectoral restrictions. In Australia, the foreign holding allowed in a broadcasting company is among the lowest. In China, state-holding is the order of the day. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30453 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:10:12 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:40:12 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Multiplexes Hit By Bollywood Lows Message-ID: <3E7DDC64.1070107@vasnet.co.in> Multiplexes, or building complexes that have more than one film screen, are the smart new things in all big Indian cities and towns. Right from the choice of films, the style, the cyber cafe, the food stalls, down to the professional valet parking service, multiplexes are the places where films must be watched. However, the multiplex is not just changing the movie going experience. It is changing the very character of the area it is located insuddenly, the surrounding becomes upmarket and fashionable. Not just that, the multiplex is slowly but surely altering the way films are made and distributed. Smaller films find convenient exhibition, and viewers get an option of foreign films, offbeat and regular potboiler cinema all in one place. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30595 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:10:23 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:40:23 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Cartoons As Brands Message-ID: <3E7DDC6F.8060203@vasnet.co.in> In the cartoon, because pain and injury have been made plausibly absent, comedy can go where human physical limitations prevented it from going before. A real actor in a live-action film would have to appear hurt. But this world of cartoons has changed irrevocably and forever. The cartoons today are full of violence, blood and gore. Ironically, nowhere is this change more marked than in Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In today’s world, cartoons function as global brands and licensing has wrenched them out of their true contexts. Characters like Superman, Batman, Captain America, The Avengers, whose adventures have thrilled millions of readers, have today been reinterpreted as representing the forces of good—a virtuous God-fearing democratic America fighting the forces of evil, represented earlier by Islamic terrorism and now the sinister Saddam. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30603 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:10:31 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:40:31 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Minister wants overseas market for Indian films tapped Message-ID: <3E7DDC77.4060102@vasnet.co.in> About 800 pictures pop out of the cans every 12 months, but except for a handful made by a fading team of artistic directors, the rest of them sink without a trace. Most of these do not even break even, and in a climate of such loss and disappointment, film moguls have often been turning to the Government for help, and, of course, in some cases to the mafia. Admittedly, some organisations such as the National Film Development Corporation, the Children's Film Society of India, and the Directorate of Film Festivals, whose purpose has been to promote — — and create an awareness of — — good, sensitive and sensible cinema, have been under-performing. So too, most men in charge of the celluloid world; they have ignored the one vital ingredient necessary to make our pictures memorable: script. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/03/23/stories/2003032302901100.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:10:40 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:40:40 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Star News to continue after April 1 Message-ID: <3E7DDC80.6090805@vasnet.co.in> Asserting that there would not be any delay in airing of its news channel from April One due to the Cabinet decision on capping of foreign investment at 26 per cent, chief of Star TV India - which is 100 per cent foreign owned - Ravina Raj Kohli said the channel will continue in its present form but the content provider will change. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=41141506 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:10:50 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:40:50 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Media role under scanner Message-ID: <3E7DDC8A.7050900@vasnet.co.in> The increasing commercialisation of media  forcing newspapers to sell their front pages to advertisers and making attempts to trespass into the private lives of those who matter, is a new phenomenon. At the same time, those at the helm of the media cannot underestimate the common reader. A newspaper can sell him an advertisement masquerading as news item once, but the next time, it would be caught and this would ultimately affect its credibility. All such changes in the media were discussed at the seminar on Role of media in society, organised by the Panjab Universitys Department of Mass Communication. Television has forced newspapers to look beyond straight news and focus more on analysis of news, which has already been broken. At the same time, mixing editorials with news is not justified, felt the speakers. Just like politics, journalism is also being personalised. Media and society are complementary and each has to check the other from wavering from its real path, said the speakers. Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=47067 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 23 16:11:06 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:41:06 +0530 Subject: [icernet] News-hungry surfers slow internet Message-ID: <3E7DDC9A.2000107@vasnet.co.in> News websites are having trouble dealing with the massive increases in tr= affic caused by internet users' voracious appetite for war coverage, foll= owing the attack by the United States against Iraq, with many sites' resp= onsiveness slowing to a crawl and some sites not appearing at all for lar= ge numbers of web surfers. Traffic has tripled to the BBC News website, = with the average download time slowing from 0.47 down to 1.88 seconds. T= he site of famed Arabic news network Al-Jazeera is only available in burs= ts. The news sites of Yahoo and MSNBC have seen comparable increases in = traffic, with traffic to the internet's top 15 news sites increasing by 4= 0 per cent on average. In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001 = - when many sites shut down completely - news companies developed strateg= ies so that they would not be caught out again, but, apart from the major= players like the BBC or CNN, most sites are still struggling to keep up = with demand. Source:=20 http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=3D15490=20 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 24 16:56:52 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 22:26:52 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Ballot To Bytes: The Idea Is To Tap Young Voters Message-ID: <3E7F38D4.60809@vasnet.co.in> If initiatives like e-government and e-parliament are engaging the world attention, e-election is also an online step being experimented by some governments. A report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) talks about this new drive. The internet was deployed as a significant election weapon for the first time in the UK in 2001, but voters hardly noticed it, says the report quoting the Electoral Commission. The use of new technology such as the Internet was expected to reverse the low turnout, but it is clearly yet to catch up. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30655 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 24 16:57:12 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 22:27:12 +0530 Subject: [icernet] War on candid camera Message-ID: <3E7F38E8.8020601@vasnet.co.in> It has often been said that the information age is a great leveller  everyone has equal access to information, and thus to an opinion. There is an apocryphal story about a harassed aide asking his general what he should tell the journalists. Well tell them nothing until its over and then well tell them who won, said the good general. Intense media scrutiny of the theatre of war has completely transformed the criteria for adjudging the winner. The generals and their political bosses may be tempted to manoeuvre information, but those still cameras transmitting live pictures will keep them honest. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=20702 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 24 16:57:23 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 22:27:23 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Virtual Governance: About Times When Democracy Will Be Online Message-ID: <3E7F38F3.5040107@vasnet.co.in> With globalisation completely changing the ways of the world, e-parliament is an idea gradually gaining ground. One of the definitions of e-parliament is that it will be a democratic global think-tank centred on the worlds elected members of Parliament. According to Earth Action, an UK-based global network backing this e-initiative, e-parliament will give you a window on the increasingly important interplay of world public opinion, citizen networks, religious movements and transnational corporations which often determines world events. In effect, e-parliament will give one a way to make ones point on the global stage. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30656 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Mon Mar 24 17:01:40 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 22:31:40 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Publish, Interact or Transact: Govts' Big E-riddle Message-ID: <3E7F39F4.8040705@vasnet.co.in> E-government is much beyond a concept or a theory now. It is fast becoming the norm as more and more countries join the online bandwagon. Tracking the e-government initiatives, Tech n Biz had in the past two issues looked at various countries across the world, including India. The UK, US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong are some of the countries where considerable progress has been made in e-governance. A recent survey conducted by Accenture had also put some of these countries on top of the e-ratings. The list had Canada, Singapore, US, Australia, Denmark and UK, in that order. Yet another study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked the US as the top country in e-readiness, followed by Netherlands, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Finland, Singapore, Norway and Hong Kong. In the previous issue, we had showcased the e-government strides made by the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30652 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 25 15:44:39 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 21:14:39 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Online paid content to jump to $2 billion in 2003 Message-ID: <3E807967.4020207@vasnet.co.in> A survey published by Jupiter Research states that consumer spending for online content is on track to increase by 30% this year to $2 billion, Internetnews.com reports. However, Jupiter cautions that in the short-run, Web advertising is still a good interim revenue source while the paid content revenue stream is slowly phased in. For the next year or so, Jupiter estimates that online media houses will get 60%-70% of their revenues from advertising. According to the report, the 2003 paid content figure is split across different categories like news, sports, health and adult content providers, thus, "making it difficult for any one company to collect a significant share of that spending." The report was released at Jupiter Research's Online Media Conference being held March 24-25, 2003, in New York City. Source: http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2168971 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 25 15:44:59 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 21:14:59 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Need for war information jams Web sites Message-ID: <3E80797B.5010304@vasnet.co.in> Numerous Web sites are finding it difficult to handle the additional load= of readers looking for updates and information on the Iraq war, the BBC = and Internetweek.com report. These sites include the Arab news site, Al J= azeera, the BBC, ITV News, Alternet, and U.S. military sites such as the = Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy sites. All these sites experienced= significant slowdowns and outages according to Eric Siegel, principal In= ternet consultant for Keynote. Keynote found that BBC News Online average= page download times slowed 0.47 seconds to 1.88 seconds and ITV News wen= t through a more drastic slowdown from about 5 seconds to about 16 second= s on March 20, 2003, reports the BBC. Al Jazeera had outages on March 19,= 2003, but recovered around 10 a.m. Eastern time the next day, returning = to 100% availability and 8 second download time. Siegel speculated that t= he Al Jazeera site was hit especially hard since most of the Arab world t= urns to it for information. On the other hand, people in western countries have a variety of online = sources such as CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, and European news sit= es. Source: http://www.internetwk.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D7900= 136 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 25 15:45:07 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 21:15:07 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Murdoch's Star Group to Provide 24-Hour News Channel in India Message-ID: <3E807983.2040007@vasnet.co.in> As war in Iraq and continued tensions in Central Asia give people here more reasons than ever to watch television news, Rupert Murdoch's Star Group is about to start a 24-hour news channel in India. Star Group, which is based in Hong Kong and is owned by Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation, is Asia's largest broadcaster, beaming 40 channels of programming in eight languages, via satellite and cable, to 300 million viewers in 53 countries. And the Indian market, where Star already provides entertainment programming, is second only to China in size of potential audience  with many fewer government restrictions on program content. The Indian news channel, to be called Star News, is set to go on the air in early April. It will be aimed at the 41 million households in India with cable television. An additional 41 million or so Indian households have television sets that receive local over-the-air programming broadcast by government stations. The average age of the current Indian news watcher is 40 years, 60 percent of India is under 30. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/business/worldbusiness/24STAR.html?ex=1049086800&en=378c8d9832966179&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Tue Mar 25 15:45:17 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 21:15:17 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Watching the World Cup and the War live Message-ID: <3E80798D.8070303@vasnet.co.in> Ever since then, the two international news channels that are most watched in India have stuck, almost exclusively, to live coverage of the Iraq situation. They were probably hoped that within the next 24 hours they would bring alive to viewers the shock and awe that America had promised and which Osama Bin Laden had actually delivered on September 11, 2001. All those who watched the first war broadcasts would have noted how the American media went on about the surprise attack as though they had expected a prior announcement of the precise timing of the first strike against Iraq. Fortunately for Indian television channels, the TRPs (television rating points which measure the popularity of television programmes) are equally divided between the World Cup and the War; and so is the gambling on the outcome of both events. The World Cup is the biggest event for Indian bookies in four years. The business runs into several thousand crores of rupees for each big match and the betting frenzy at its peak for the final last Sunday. As it turns out, CNN and BBC seem determined to turn the war into as much of a universal viewing spectacle as cricket. They build up the tension with images of various talking heads, then cut to battle tanks speeding through the Iraq desert and project the actual missile attacks like distant firework displays as they destroy Iraqs cities. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=20717 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 26 16:09:50 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 21:39:50 +0530 Subject: [icernet] NDTV close to deal with 'Indian Express' Message-ID: <3E81D0CE.5060106@vasnet.co.in> The Prannoy Roy-promoted New Delhi Television is likely to sign a content tie-up with the Indian Express group. Shekhar Gupta, editor and chief executive officer of the group, is also expected to host a show for the channel. As per the alliance, every story that is broken by Indian Express will also be picked up by the channels. NDTV will also leverage the strengths of Indian Express' foreign reportage. Sources indicated that both the channels will be launched simultaneously on April 1, 2003 and will be distributed by 'One Alliance' platform. NDTV expects to seed 5,000 boxes by April and is targeting 10,000 by December for the news channels. The strategy is to reach all networks where One Alliance is present. NDTV channels which will be on Panamsat satellite expects reach 16 million households to begin with. Source: http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/26ndtv.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 26 16:09:39 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 21:39:39 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Cas(e) For Clash, Cable Operators May Block Signals Message-ID: <3E81D0C3.9040008@vasnet.co.in> July 14 seems a long time away. But fourteen weeks isnt that much time either, if one considers the hot soup threatening to drown couch potatoes in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai on that day. The worst case, when mandatory conditional access system (CAS) will become operational, is hard to imagine. In the absence of set top boxes and back-end subscriber management systems, 6.4 million cable TV screens in the four metros will go blank. Compounding the confusion is the expected pricing of a basic tier comprising 30 free to air channels. Government can mandate what goes into that bouquet. Not surprisingly, there is much anxiety on which these channels will be. (Strictly speaking, at present only 17 Doordarshan channels, Aaj Tak, MTV, BBC, Sahara, SABe, Jain, Splash, CMM, all Eenadu channels, Surya, Sun, Sun News, Udaya, Raj, Lashkara, Gurjari, Asianet, Kairali and some regional channels are free to air, the rest are sold as bouquets to cable operators). The Rajya Sabha had in December 2002 passed the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill to introduce CAS. The Lok Sabha had earlier passed the Bill in May 2002. CAS was envisaged to reduce infighting in the industry and enable consumers the access of pay channels of their choice (the Bill is silent on monopolies of individual cable operators) through a set top box and pay for only those. However, those willing to settle for just the free-to-air variety can just pay the basic tier fee and do without the set-top box. CAS also aims to resolve the ongoing tussle between broadcasters and cable operators over the number of subscribers. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30861 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Wed Mar 26 16:09:59 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 21:39:59 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Star, Zee, CNBC to reduce foreign stake to 26% in Indian ops Message-ID: <3E81D0D7.20701@vasnet.co.in> Several television news channels including Star, Zee and CNBC said they would cut the foreign investment to 26 per cent per cent to comply with new uplinking policy, guidelines for which were announced earlier. As per the guidelines, while Star - which is wholly foreign owned - and CNBC India each gets three months' time to comply with the foreign investment cap, channels like Zee already uplinking from India have been allowed up to one year to almost halve its existing foreign equity. In CNBC India, while Raghav Behl's TV 18 holds 49 per cent equity, the majority 51 per cent is held by CNBC Asia. Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=130592 ------------------ Government gives 3 months reprieve to news channels Finally, STAR has got a breather on its news channel front. The government announced a transitory arrangement with regard to guidelines for television news channels that uplink from the country. According to the latest guidelines, television content providers and channels currently using VSAT or satellite video phone for broadcast purposes have been given a period of three months to comply with the uplink policy that puts a FDI cap of 26 per cent on television news channels. In keeping with editorial restrictions placed on print media in news and current affairs, the government said that TV news channels have to register under the Companies Act, 1956, with majority of board of directors, chief executive officer and news editors being resident Indians. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=41469392 ---------------- Govt issues guidelines for uplinking policy http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=130483 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 27 16:05:36 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:35:36 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Truth is elusive in wartime Message-ID: <3E832150.3040603@vasnet.co.in> The media have faced difficulties establishing what is true in a war that is being fought as much in the press as it is on the battlefield. BBC director of news Richard Sambrook has admitted it is proving difficult for correspondents in Iraq to distinguish the truth from false reports, after a series of media claims about the progress of coalition forces turned out to be premature. "Nobody including the media has the full picture of what's going on. Reporting the war is about putting together fragments of information. We're all trying to work out this jigsaw and what the overall picture is," Mr Sambrook said. The Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr has been reported as being taken by coalition forces more than nine times since Friday and Basra has been the subject of further confusion after reports that Iraqi civilians were involved an uprising Wednesday proved premature. The British broadcaster has said that in reporting the war it will state clearly when a report has come from just one source. "We have to be completely transparent and clear with our audience, to say 'this is what we've heard, we'll try to check it out and do the best we can'," Mr Sambrook said. Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,922242,00.html - From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 27 16:05:46 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:35:46 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Uplinking Policy Has Different Strokes For Different Folks Message-ID: <3E83215A.3050401@vasnet.co.in> The government has come out with three sets of provisions in the new uplinking norms for TV news channels, having introduced some last minute changes in the guideline document. While the guidelines, which were issued here on Wednesday, ask news broadcasters proposing to uplink from India to adhere to the 26 per cent foreign equity cap, the existing channels with more than the specified limit will get one year to set their house in order. Then theres yet another category, which has sparked off a debate on which channels/software providers fall under it, giving three months of transitory time to some. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30877 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 27 16:05:55 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:35:55 +0530 Subject: [icernet] DD pulls the plug on live telecast rights Message-ID: <3E832163.3060206@vasnet.co.in> Officials at Doordarshan decided that, from this year, the national broadcaster would not renew its annual contracts with any of the sports federations other than cricket. Reason? Cricket brings in crores in ads, not to mention the viewership. For other sports, DD shells out crores  with little hope of any returns  to the various sports federations for telecast rights to covering events within the country. However, Doordarshan  which has an obligation, as public broadcaster, to televise ethnic sports and set up a channel with a Rs 31-crore budget exclusively for that  will still offer to televise events for free, and also includes the option of marketing the events jointly and sharing revenues. This year alone, Doordarshan has paid Rs 13 crores as fee rights for live telecast to the various federations, including All-India Football Federation (Rs 7.25 crores); Indian Hockey Federation (Rs 1.2 crores); All India Tennis Association (Rs 1 crore); Indian Womens Hockey federation (Rs 1.2 crore); and the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (Rs 2-3 lakh per National meet). Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=20899 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 27 16:06:05 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:36:05 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Take a commercial break, I&B Ministry tells pay channels Message-ID: <3E83216D.4080309@vasnet.co.in> Information and Broadcasting ministry has told the satellite channels that if they want to remain pay channels after July 14, they will have to make up their mind on the source of revenue. Pay channels, the ministry insists, will have to be ad-free. They cannot earn money through subscription and advertising, officials said. They point out that it is the practice in the US and other developed countries. In India, most satellite channels earn money through subscription and advertisement revenues. The ministry, keen on pushing the western logic, said it has an assurance from the Advertising Standard Council of India. As of now, the adspend on television channels is roughly around Rs 4,000 crore annually. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=20935 --------- Broadcasters will be severely dented If the ministry goes ahead with this proposal, listed channels like CNBC and Zee Network, part of Zee Tele Films Ltd. (P.ZEE), will have to choose between subscription or advertising revenue. The profitability of most broadcasters will be severely dented if the government agrees to this proposal, officials in the media industry say. The changes were proposed by consumer forums. "This is an illogical argument. This means that a newspaper can't charge a stand price because it's carrying advertisements," says an official with a Bombay Stock Exchange-listed media company. Zee, the only media company to feature in the 30-share benchmark BSE Sensitive Index, or Sensex, has witnessed an average growth of 50% in its subscription revenue over the past three or four quarters. The subscription revenue of Zee, which has a cable television distribution joint venture with AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL), has grown strongly because it has the largest number of channels on offer compared to any other broadcaster in India. Yet, advertisements make up around 65% of Zee's annual revenue of $210 million. Source: http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/030327/15/39gpi.html From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Thu Mar 27 16:09:36 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:39:36 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Editorial, management control in Indian hands - News channels uplink norms put in place Message-ID: <3E832240.6050800@vasnet.co.in> April 1, 2003 may finally see an additional half-a-dozen news channels going on air with the Government guidelines for news channels planning to uplink from India. I & B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said currently about 100 channels are available, of which 47 were news channels and 16 were 24-hour news channels. Eight more applications by various news channels are pending of which five were round-the-clock channels. Among these are applications from NDTV, BBC and Star News. Explaining the objective of the cap, the Minister said that world over the regimes were restrictive with 20 per cent limit in Australia and 25 per cent in the US. "India's policy is most liberal," he added. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/03/27/stories/2003032702760100.htm From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:52:03 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:22:03 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Theories on why Al-Jazeera's site shut down Message-ID: <3E846FA3.6040108@vasnet.co.in> The Register is arguing that Al-Jazeera's new Web site, reportedly taken = down by a hack attack (see related brief), may have actually been unplugg= ed by its host. The site "drew immediate hack attacks, but this has been = swiftly followed up by the disappearance of the site's DNS records," The = Register writes. It adds, "considering the timing one is also drawn to th= e possibility that something involving a Big Red Switch might have been i= nvolved." Al-Jazeera's IT manager Salah Al Seddiqui said before the site'= s removal that according to its vendor in Qatar "U.S.-based DataPipe coul= d no longer host its site from the end of this month," and that the site'= s servers would be transferred to Europe. The Al-Jazeera London office to= ld The Register that the site was unavailable because of heavy demand, an= d that the U.K. branch was waiting for an update from its Qatar headquart= ers. The Register is speculating the site has no chance of being accepted= by U.S. providers, due to=20 its being criticized for screening shocking pictures of dead British and = U.S. soldiers. "So it's perfectly possible that someone along the line de= cided, owing to pressure and/or common prudence, not to continue involvem= ent with the company," the technology news Web site writes. The Register = goes on to argue that, if Al-Jazeera's Web site wouldn't have disappeared= , the U.S. government would have probably gotten involved to shut it down= =2E Still, The Register recognizes it is also possible that the site was = vulnerable to attack, and "the disappearance of the DNS was therefore a c= onsequence of the attack, ... although it has also been suggested to us t= hat the company's DNS did not come under an insupportable load during the= attacks." Source: http://theregister.co.uk/content/6/29984.html ----------- Al-Jazeera hacked again, and again http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/03/27/52355-ap.html From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:52:19 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:22:19 +0530 Subject: [icernet] SC challenges media to come out with truth on Mysore scandal Message-ID: <3E846FB3.907@vasnet.co.in> Anguished over the manner in which media "scandalised" the three judges of the Karnataka High Court by linking them to Mysore sex scandal without basis, the Supreme Court on Friday threw a challenge to the scribes to "come out with the truth" so that action could be taken against persons involved in it. The Chief Justice said when the inquiry panel asked the correspondents, who wrote the news reports on the scandal, one claimed immunity from disclosing the source and the other said he wrote on the basis of a phone call without identifying who had called him. The required informations were not given despite the inquiry panel assuring them that identity of their sources would be kept secret. "Merely to indulge in sensationalism, nobody can claim immunity. Everyone, including myself and other citizens are accountable and so is media," Justice Khare said. "Nobody from media can say that they have a right to spread rumours. How can the press say they can publish anything. Nobody is above law, neither me nor media. There has to be some reasonable basis for publishing something and not merely on the basis of a telephone call." He said. Source: http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEL20030328030838 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:52:30 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:22:30 +0530 Subject: [icernet] Promos of 'A' films to be censored Message-ID: <3E846FBE.5090300@vasnet.co.in> Promos of 'A' certificate films may soon fall under the censor board's axe with the Government concerned about scenes from such movies being aired on television. "How can a movie which has got an 'A' certificate be allowed to show its songs and even some scenes freely on television?" I&B Minister Ravi S Prasad said at a function organised by the National Women's Commission in the Capital. He added his ministry was considering putting a stop to this practice. Source: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=20129 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:52:39 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:22:39 +0530 Subject: [icernet] AMRA Survey Outlines Guidelines For Advertisers Message-ID: <3E846FC7.6020208@vasnet.co.in> Focus more on advertisements for financial services, insurance products and essential commodities like oil and atta besides those for cars that run on diesel. Ads for products like soaps, detergents, paints and designer jewellery can wait. This is what a special consumer sentiment survey conducted by the Hong Kong -headquartered Asian Market Research Association (AMRA) reveals. The reason why financial services that provide loans for setting up own ventures will receive the maximum attention is because in a war-like scenario where people are leaving behind their jobs and homes in the Middle East to return to their native land, chances of exploring entrepreneurial options would weigh higher on the consumers psyche than looking out for jobs in the homeland. When a consumer is confronted with uncertainty and panic, such advertisements will only leave him with a sense of dismay rather than identify with the advertisements that are being splashed all across the media. Further, in terms of the nature and content of the advertisements the survey points out that some of the advertisements like that of airlines for instance need to possibly dwell on the timings and schedules rather than travel convenience. This is more so because the urge to return to the respective nations from the Middle East will weigh high on the consumers mind more than anything else. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30657 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:52:58 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:22:58 +0530 Subject: [icernet] CAS Taskforce To Appoint Agency To Survey Cable Ops Message-ID: <3E846FDA.5050007@vasnet.co.in> In a three-hour long meeting, the taskforce on the conditional access system (CAS) decided to engage an independent agency to survey the ground realities of cable operation in the metros. This, when the government wants CAS to be rolled out by July 14just about 14 weeks to go. At the end of the meeting, the basic tier pricing under CAS continued to remain a mystery. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30955 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:53:08 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:23:08 +0530 Subject: [icernet] A Medium Meets Its War Message-ID: <3E846FE4.4090405@vasnet.co.in> Not to be outdone, newspaper-based Web sites girded for war, too, adding staff in the middle of the night and dispatching journalists to do original reporting from Iraq and help print correspondents add audio and video. Reporters across the Gulf -- including hundreds "embedded" with American troops -- planned to file stories using laptops hooked up wirelessly to the Internet. Foreign correspondents for The Washington Post and the New York Times are using the Internet to answer questions submitted electronically by readers. All of which sets the stage for a new kind of war coverage, one that combines the immediacy of television with the depth of newspapers and adds the public participation unique to the Internet. It's probably too early to tell whether the second Gulf War will turn into an "Internet war" in the same way that radio shaped perceptions of World War II, television shaped views of Vietnam and cable TV dominated coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. The truth is nobody knows how much Internet technology will add to the story -- or how people will choose to learn about events in the Gulf. Many might prefer to passively watch TV or listen to radio without taking the time to click through the elaborate offerings Internet news sites have spent months designing. It remains to be seen how many people want to play such a lively role in consuming news, but it's a good bet that many who do explore the Internet news experiments will wind up hooked. Every major news story in the past has led to bigger online news audiences. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56322-2003Mar19 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:53:18 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:23:18 +0530 Subject: [icernet] War coverage a defining moment for online news Message-ID: <3E846FEE.8090809@vasnet.co.in> Online coverage of the war in Iraq has been has been fast, well planned a= nd relatively free of significant technological snafus, Editor & Publishe= r columnist Steve Outing reports. Coverage of the first days of war onlin= e got close to providing a replacement for broadcast news, Outing says. T= he best online coverage is coming from broadcast big guns like CNN, BBC N= ews and MSNBC, which have the infrastructure to provide video on demand. = MSNBC has seen a huge boost in Web traffic since the start of war. The si= te churned out more than 6 million live video streams and on-demand video= clips on the first night of the war alone, Outing says. The Web has also= been successful at delivering breaking news headlines at nearly the same= speed as broadcast news, he says. But Outing's optimism isn't echoed by = all. A recent New York Times article showed that some Web analysts are di= sappointed in the lack of online-only offerings. Source: http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/features_columns/article_disp= lay.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D1848575 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Fri Mar 28 15:56:40 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:26:40 +0530 Subject: [icernet] 'Brand Managers worldwide are in dire crisis' Message-ID: <3E8470B8.40206@vasnet.co.in> Hes touted as one of the gurus of advertising. For, Prof John Philips Jones has authored five best-selling books on advertising concepts in the last ten years. With a career spanning over three decades, Prof Jones, the adjunct professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, has seen it all. During his recent visit to Mumbai, FE caught up with him for an exclusive interview. How do you perceive the current state of the advertising industryglobally? Do you think print and television ads will take a back seat in the years to come? Whats the key to your success in the global advertising arena? How effective are award winning campaigns in promoting brands in the marketplace? What are the current trends in marketing? What are the emerging trends in the market research industry? Details at: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=30962 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 30 16:19:34 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 21:49:34 +0530 Subject: [icernet] NYT ed: Why Al Jazeera Matters Message-ID: <3E871916.1060002@vasnet.co.in> Why Al Jazeera Matters n August 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, precipitating the first Persian Gulf war, state-run media in the Arab world suppressed the news for three days. Today, word of such an attack would be out within minutes because of a television station called Al Jazeera. Financed by the iconoclastic emir of Qatar, the gulf state where our war operations are based, Al Jazeera is the only independent broadcasting voice in the Arab world, watched by 35 million people. That is why the decision by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to bar the station's reporters is so repugnant. The exchanges' complaint against Al Jazeera is that it is not "responsible." This is a cryptic allegation but it seems linked to the television station's decision last Sunday to show images of dead American and British soldiers as well as P.O.W.'s in Iraq. But Al Jazeera says that after the Pentagon asked it to remove the pictures until families had been notified it did so for eight hours, while the television stations of numerous countries continued to show them. In truth, it seems that New York's exchanges have a broader complaint, heard in various forms elsewhere ‹ that Al Jazeera is insufficiently supportive of America and its war in Iraq. As the only uncensored Arabic television in the world, Al Jazeera does indeed slant its debates and discussions in a way that can be hostile to the West. It is not Fox News. But if our hope for the Arab world is, as the Bush administration never ceases to remind us, for it to enjoy a free, democratic life, Al Jazeera is the kind of television station we should encourage. It is the only Arabic television station that regularly interviews Israeli officials. It is also an important forum for American officials. Last week alone, it interviewed three senior members of the American government, including Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Al Jazeera has also been a vital source of information about Al Qaeda. Its reporters have had access to Qaeda leaders, and tapes of Osama bin Laden have found their way to the station's offices. This has been a useful window on a world that for too long has been utterly alien to us. The ban on Al Jazeera by the princes of the free market puts them in impressive company. Libya and Tunisia have both complained that Al Jazeera gives too much airtime to opposition leaders. Jordan has thrown it out. Kuwait refused visas to its correspondents who were to be placed with American forces based there. If a free, uncensored press ever arrives in the Arab world, many Americans will be shocked by what it says. Then, the energetic if somewhat tendentious broadcasts of Al Jazeera will seem, in comparison, like the nuanced objectivity of the BBC. For right now, Al Jazeera deserves all the help and support it can get. Source: New York Times Edit - March 30, 2003 From arulselvan@vasnet.co.in Sun Mar 30 16:19:48 2003 From: arulselvan@vasnet.co.in (Arul Selvan) Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 21:49:48 +0530 Subject: [icernet] World's media keys on war Message-ID: <3E871924.3020200@vasnet.co.in> The reports are gripping, visceral, passionate -- products of a fast-moving war and the fast-moving media racing to process it. Around the world, news columns and airwaves crackle with conflict, amassing a first rough draft of dismay, condemnation and occasional support. An Indian journalist warns that the United States "seems headed for a quagmire." An Indonesian newspaper upbraids the "barbaric invasion" of American forces. "The USA underestimated Iraq," a Swedish paper says. And from a Sri Lanka daily: "Stop this war forthwith." "How can Washington achieve its democratic ends if much of the world believes its means are undemocratic?" a reporter for Singapore's Straits Times, Janadas Devan, wrote in a commentary Friday. After a week of fighting, the world's media are steeped in coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Much of it is emotional, some of it is highly critical of the United States and a bit of it is supportive. From Russia to Latin America, Africa to Southeast Asia, newspapers and TV stations are pulling out all the stops to deliver information -- and strong opinions -- to their readers and viewers. Often that involves distinct criticism of the United States. In Britain, the top U.S. ally though its citizenry is divided, the tabloids are robustly patriotic: "Desert heroes close in on tyrant's henchmen," Thursday's edition of The Sun wrote. War coverage there is so intense that some newspapers have columnists to cover the coverage. Most aren't impressed. In China, state TV has been offering unprecedented blanket coverage and its version of analysis. Like state-controlled newspapers, it reflects the government's opposition to the war. The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily invoked former President Jimmy Carter's anti-war comments in its coverage. Across Arab nations, sentiment is running squarely against U.S. action. In Cairo, a front-page column Friday by Al-Ahram's editor in chief, Ibrahim Nafie, featured the headline: "Stop aggression against Iraq before it's too late." The popular satellite network Al-Jazeera, condemned in the United States for its coverage of Iraq and for using footage of coalition forces' corpses, said it had a duty to show the world casualties no matter where they're from. In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, opposition is running high. Photos of dead U.S. or British soldiers and Iraqi civilian victims as well as news of coalition setbacks are played prominently. And in Kenya, a "before and after" cartoon in Friday's East African standard showed Saddam Hussein with Horns and George W. Bush with a halo. The next panel showed it the other way around. One English-language newspaper in Bangkok is offering a unique take. The Nation has published daily reports about life under bombardment from a Thai law student holed up in a Baghdad apartment near one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces. Many media outlets are covering anti-war protests heavily as well. In Denmark, The Politiken, one of the country's three largest dailies, said the media covering the conflict are being manipulated. Source: http://www.milforddailyne