From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 21:57:17 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 15:57:17 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: On the economics of media diversity Message-ID: <4834.203.195.199.163.1062709037.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A spate of controversies in recent months regarding the adequacy of India's media policy points to the problems involved in putting in place, in piecemeal manner, a media policy to regulate a multi-component industry that has experienced rapid growth without being subject to an adequately worked-out and broad policy framework. At the centre of the media industry is the print media, facing much competition for both audience and advertising revenue from the rapidly growing television broadcast business. However, despite predictions that the coming of television and the new media would dampen, if not halt, the growth of the print media, recent years have been characterised by its relatively rapid and unhindered expansion. Circulation figures, though known to be unreliable because of inflated claims by some newspapers, do provide some indication of the orders of magnitude involved. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the total number of dailies in the country in 2000 stood at 5,364, having expanded at the compound annual rate of 7.4 per cent per annum between 1988 and 2000. However, not all these dailies report their circulation, so that total circulation figures for dailies refer to a much smaller number. Thus in 2000, the number of dailies "related to circulation" (or reporting circulation) stood at just 1,493 (which was lower than the number registered in the base year 1988) and their reported circulation stood at 59.1 million. It is in this background that we need to assess the threat from TV to the print medium. The growth of TV households and of those among them with cable and satellite (C&S) connections has indeed been rapid. The National Readership Survey of 2001 estimated that 42.3 per cent of Indian households were TV households and that, of these, 47.8 per cent were C&S households. As noted earlier, despite this, the gross and average circulation figures of reporting dailies seems to suggest that newspaper circulation is on the rise. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/2003/08/26/stories/2003082600260900.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 22:25:12 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 16:25:12 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'India's Press council could be a model for Malaysia' Message-ID: <1118.203.195.199.163.1062710712.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> K. Jayachandra Reddy, who is the PCI chairman, said Malaysia and India had similarities due to the existence of different races, religions, languages and cultures among the people. "The PCI has functioned quite well in such an environment, and Malaysia could look to India if such an organisation is to be established here," he said in an interview. Reddy, who is also chairman of the World Association of Press Councils Press Freedom and Media Ethics Committee, is here to help raise awareness of the importance of such a council. The PCI, set up in 1966, is a statutory quasi-judicial body created by an Act of Parliament and two-thirds of its 28 members are from the print media. "The composition of journalists, editors and newspaper owners itself shows that it is by and for the Press," he said, adding that the PCI was a regulatory authority to monitor the media. He said the PCI drafted certain principles from time to time and it acted as a guide. "The norms published give direction to members." He said between April 2001 and March last year, the PCI received 1,250 complaints from and against the Press, and most were adjudicated and disposed of. The objective of a council was to keep the public informed, be objective and provide fair criticism. "The role of journalists is to disseminate information and thereby guide and educate the public on fundamental issues." Reddy said it would not be wrong for such a council to support new government policies and legislations if they would benefit the people. He said it was pertinent for journalists to be aware at all times that media freedom came with responsibility and accountability. Source: http://www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20030902075623/Ar ticle/ From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 22:40:33 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 16:40:33 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Murdoch's Star TV threatened by Indian clampdown Message-ID: <1207.203.195.199.163.1062711633.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It will require foreign satellite news channels to be majority-owned by a dominant Indian partner, meaning Star will now have to shift editorial and operational control to a 51% Indian shareholder. Star has four weeks to comply with the new rules. Mr Murdoch is understood to have held talks with potential investors including the group that publishes the Hindustani Times and a Calcutta newspaper group about taking a 51% shareholding. But in an open letter issued last month, Star accused its rivals of running a media campaign "calculated to confuse and people and to misrepresent the facts". Set up more than five years ago as an English-language channel, Star News spent most of its time in the ratings doldrums. But following a relaunch in April as a Hindi-language operation that produced all its news in house, the channel's popularity surged. It now attracts around a 30% market share. Star India generates about £167m a year or 70% of Star TV's total revenues. Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,7497,1029519,00.html From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Sep 6 02:55:40 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 20:55:40 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Who will watch over industry? Message-ID: <1537.203.195.199.163.1062813340.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The industry perspective on the proposed regulator will have to be studied against the backdrop of a pending legislation - the Convergence Bill - which is currently under scrutiny with the standing committee suggesting about 70 plus recommendations.The bill attempts to replace a number of existing regulators like the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India and laws like the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995 across three major sectors - information, communications and entertainment or ICE sectors as per New Economy parlance. The first option discussed at the meeting was to expedite the establishment of a Convergence Commission. An interim regulator will be of "patchwork" significance believe many in the industry and therefore wish that the Government join hands with the private sector in pushing the legislation through.The second option mooted was that TRAI be asked to act as interim regulator, extending its jurisdiction from communications to broadcasting. But after analysing the feasibility of such a measure, it was felt that TRAI would not be able to take on the intangible problems of the broadcast sector which has its own dynamics. Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity1.asp? main_variable=MEDIA&file_name=med1%2Etxt&counter_img=1 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Sep 6 02:52:45 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 20:52:45 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: No ad exodus from pay channels for now Message-ID: <1485.203.195.199.163.1062813165.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> MEDIA planners and advertising industry professionals have said pay channels are unlikely to face an exodus of advertisers, though some may be forced to provide discounts for advertisement slots, with the introduction of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in Chennai. Pay channels — which cannot be accessed without a set-top box — would also lose a significant portion of their subscription revenues. Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/03/stories/2003090301321700.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 9 02:46:10 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 20:46:10 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Indian venture capitalists based abroad eye Bollywood Message-ID: <3974.203.195.199.163.1063071970.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A number of Indian venture capitalists based abroad are increasingly eyeing Bollywood as a new investment option, not just sticking with the stock market which is currently on a bull run. Expatriate Indians are coming together to form venture capital funds or investment companies that can invest millions of dollars in Bollywood, an industry which until recently was largely tainted with funds laundered by the underworld. Among wealthy investors who have tied up with local film production companies or individual movies with new scripts and tight budgets are New York-based K Sera Sera Productions and investment banker Rohit Aggarwal. Analysts feel the latest trend of venture capitalists will further boost the industry, which has been getting ``clean'' funds from local institutions since early last year. The first film to be financed by local corporate investors was ``Aankhen'' (Eyes), with the movie's entire 70 million rupee ($1.5 million) budget being funded by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). Bollywood has traditionally been funded by private individual financiers, independent producers and in the last few decades even by the Bombay underworld. The Hindi film industry's largest financier Bharat Shah was arrested in 2001 for alleged links with the underworld, dealing another blow to the already floundering industry. Source: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&dt=0908&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=Entertainment&pg=en_04.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 9 02:43:13 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 20:43:13 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'Media must shed obsession with Govt. news' Message-ID: <3907.203.195.199.163.1063071793.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Indian media was today urged to shed their excessive obsession with governmental news and about those in power and focus more on changes taking place in society. The Indian media and its role post-liberalisation was the focus of speeches by Information Technology and Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, and other speakers at the inaugural function of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Federation of PTI Employees' Unions and animated panel discussion that followed here. Inaugurating the celebrations, Shourie, who made a name for himself as Editor of Indian Express before joining the Government, said with liberalisation power was being sought to be transferred from the Government to the people and journalists should reorient their perspectives and tune with changes. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/01061805.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 19:04:41 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:04:41 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Use both TV and print to increase impact Message-ID: <2768.203.195.199.163.1063217081.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It’s something that most clients and agencies have always claimed to have known by instinct — the fact that using both print and TV gives them an advantage that’s greater than using either media in isolation. But it’s a theory that not too many clients actually put their money down to back. All that could well change with Impact Multiplier, a study by the Indian Newspaper Society and IMRB International that lays doubts to rest. Says Bharat Kapadia, chairman, Mumbai regional committee of the INS, “Impact multiplier is a theory that when you use two media like TV and print, the end exposure is greater than the total of the two. All over the world, including India, this has so far been done in a lab kind of condition with forced exposure of a small panel to the advertising.” Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=174098 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 18:03:16 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 12:03:16 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Hunt for AIR chief: Prasar Bharati turns to pvt sector Message-ID: <1621.203.195.199.163.1063213396.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> There are nearly a 1,000 joint-secretary-level officers serving the government of India, but few are interested in heading the All India Radio, it seems. The AIR director general’s post has been vacant for one year and six months, with the CEO, K S Sarma holding additional charge all through. It’s sister concern, Doordarshan has also been rendered headless earlier this month. Prasar Bharati has gone into an advertising spree, hunting for an eligible candidate of the rank of at least a joint secretary for both posts. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=172612 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 18:00:58 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 12:00:58 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Magnates Line Up For Murdoch Swayamvar Message-ID: <1587.203.195.199.163.1063213258.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> On Monday, a day before Star Group chairman and chief executive James Murdoch was to land in India to finalise the majority Indian partner for Star News, potential buyers and those close to the deal remained close-lipped about the “winner”. Among them, ad man Suhel Seth, who holds the maximum 30 per cent in Media Content & Communication Services (MCCS), a shell company floated by Star for uplinking its news channel from India, told FE that “it’s not a swayamvar”. Rather, Mr Seth looked at it as “an investment decision, where all partners should be comfortable”. Among the existing shareholders of MCCS, DSP Merrill Lynch chairman Hemendra Kothari holds 25 per cent stake while actress Maya Alagh has 5 per cent and lawyer Ryan Karanjewala 4 per cent. Ad man Suhel Seth has 30 per cent, after picking up Kumar Mangalam Birla’s stake who withdrew soon after entering the deal. Star News needs to conform to the revised uplinking guidelines by September 28. As per these guidelines, Star News must get an Indian partner with at least 51 per cent holding, to be able to continue uplinking from India. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41711 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 17:33:46 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 11:33:46 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Role of media in social change highlighted Message-ID: <2284.203.195.199.163.1063298026.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The media should project the issues being faced by the poor so that people with authority could make efforts to solve these problems, according to speakers at a workshop in Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday. During the international workshop on "Culture for Social Change", the participants claimed the media had become commercial to a large extent while the problems being faced by the marginalised sections of society should be highlighted. They were of the view that the media should focus on the poor even if they were not the consumers and targets of the advertisers. The act was organised by Actionaid, a non-governmental organisation that works with women in the Thar desert and other rural areas in the Sindh region. They said that rural women were being taught the skills to make their own documentaries equipment was being provided for them. Source: http://www.dawn.com/2003/09/10/local8.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 17:28:59 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 11:28:59 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Stop press! FDI is coming Message-ID: <2196.203.195.199.163.1063297739.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Bennett, Coleman & Co is said to be seeking a foreign equity partner for its financial daily, “The Economic Times.” “There have been some talks with ‘The Wall Street Journal,” confirms a senior company source. Though “The Economic Times” may or may not eventually get a foreign partner, Bennett, Coleman is poised to offload some stake in two of its English magazines, “Femina” and “Filmfare”, to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, Bennett Coleman’s rival in the capital, Hindustan Times Ltd, has already signed on a foreign partner, Henderson of the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Australia’s AMP. Hindustan Times Ltd is forming a separate company, HT Media Ltd, for the purpose. The K.K. Birla-owned media group is said to have offloaded a 20 per cent stake for Rs 125 crore. When all the government approvals come through, Hindustan Times may well be the first news media group to bring in foreign equity since the government relaxed the rules on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the print media last year. Both cases throw up one big question. Has foreign investment started pouring into Indian print media companies in earnest? No clear-cut answers are available at present, with industry men divided on the matter. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ice/story.asp?Menu=8&story=22609 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 17:20:03 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 11:20:03 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: NEW Chairman for PTI Message-ID: <1947.203.195.199.163.1063297203.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> M P Veerendrakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mathrubhumi newspaper group, was today unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Press Trust India (PTI), succeeding Vineet Kumar Jain, Managing Director of the Times of India group. Philip Mathew, Managing Editor of the Malayala Manorama group, was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman at a meeting of the Board following the 55th Annual General Meeting of the agency's shareholders here. Jain, N. Ravi (The Hindu), Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express), and two Public Service Directors, Justice H R Khanna, former Judge of the Supreme Court, and Prof. E V Chitnis, eminent physicist, were re-elected to the Board. Mrs. Shobhana Bhartia (Hindustan Times), C R Irani (Statesman), Aveek Kumar Sarkar (Anand Bazaar Patrika), Pravinchandra V Gandhi (Janmabhoomi Group), Vijay Kumar Chopra (Hind Samachar) and R Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar) are the other members of the Board. Veerendrakumar, a former MP, has served as Union Minister of State of Finance and Labour, and is also the current Vice- President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). He is the author of 11 books in Malayalam and has served as Chairman of PTI in 1992-93. Source: PTI From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 18:32:03 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 12:32:03 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Magazines aplenty, but where are the ads? Message-ID: <3186.203.195.199.163.1063387923.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Despite the steady decline in the share of advertising revenue of magazines over the last decade, four new specialist magazines are ready to hit the stands in the next 30 days. And a few more will be launched within the next few months. But are there enough advertisers ready to gamble with their advertising rupee on new titles? According to a recent report from TAM-Ad Ex, magazines currently have a 12.5 per cent share of overall print ad revenues -- estimated at about Rs 4,400 crore, up from a share of 11.8 per cent in 2000 but not even close to a more respectable 23 per cent share of print ad revenues in 1994. The drop in advertising revenues in magazines can be attributed to a steady increase in the ad revenue of TV channels -- especially news and current affairs channels, along with entertainment channels, that have mushroomed in the past four years. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=177316 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 18:29:55 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 12:29:55 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Print Media Stares At New FDI Rulebook Message-ID: <3181.203.195.199.163.1063387795.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The process began last month when government revised the guidelines for uplinking news channels from India, to bring television on par with print media. If FDI rules mandated 51 per cent single Indian shareholding in print (news and current affairs), it was made the same for the electronic media. Now the level-playing effort of the government has caught up with the print media (news) too, and changes have been made in its FDI guidelines. Print media was opened to FDI only last year. According to a senior official in the information and broadcasting ministry, there are two additions in the print FDI norms. While one pertains to financial strength of the newspaper and its circulation figure, another is about the definition of a ‘company’. The objective behind the revised guidelines is to ensure that loopholes are plugged, the official said. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41855 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 20:25:33 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 14:25:33 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: New guidelines for uplinking - TV 18 seeks clarifications on 'Public shareholding' Message-ID: <4681.203.195.199.163.1063394733.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Television Eighteen (TV 18), which owns CNBC-TV 18, has sought clarifications from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on how the public shareholding of the company would be treated in the wake of the new regulations stipulating the need for a dominant Indian shareholder. According to the recently revised norms, permission would be granted only to those cases where equity held by the largest Indian shareholder is at least 51 per cent of the total equity. However, in the case of TV 18, the Indian promoters hold just 24.52 per cent while the public holds a higher 31.53 per cent. Domestic financial institutions, banks and mutual funds hold about 12.61 per cent, private corporate bodies hold 6.42 per cent while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hold about 8.14 per cent. Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/12/stories/2003091202590100.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 00:31:32 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:31:32 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Media Award - Reporting on the Information Society Message-ID: <4367.203.195.199.163.1063668692.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> GKP/Panos Media Award Reporting on the Information Society Announcement The inaugural "Reporting on the Information Society" awards, given jointly by the Global Knowledge Partnership and Panos, aim to encourage and bring to international recognition thoughtful and incisive reporting on developing countries' progress to becoming "Information Societies." Four awards of $2,000 each will be made for published journalism by developing country journalists (print, radio, TV or web) that goes beyond describing projects or new investment initiatives to analyse broader questions such as the social impact of ICTs, particularly on rural or disadvantaged groups, or national and global communication policy issues. The winning entries will be disseminated internationally and honoured at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, December 2003. To submit a piece of work for consideration, send a clipping, audio or video tape, transcript or web reference by email to: award@panoslondon.org.uk Two years ago around this time, television news channels made big-time news all over the world. The 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) was yet another turning point for TV news, when images of the towers crumbling down were beamed into millions of living rooms. Along with news channels across the world, TRPs(television rating points) of those in India also rose. Ever since then, several news channels have been launched in the country and are competing furiously for eyeballs. To appear cutting edge, most of them are leveraging new technology like never before. A recent conference—Newsrooms Tech India 2003—showcased some of the latest technologies being used all over the world in the area of news, which is all about speed and accuracy. Besides international companies, even media houses including Zee and Sahara had lots to talk about how new technology influences news television. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42032 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 00:05:57 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:05:57 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'No proposal to allow FDI in news agencies' Message-ID: <4101.203.195.199.163.1063667157.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> There was no proposal now before the Centre on allowing Foreign Direct Investment in news agencies in the country, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Ravi Shanker Prasad, said. The question of allowing FDI in news agencies would arise only if "the stake holders made a unanimous request for the same", Prasad told a press meet. "It is a very sensitive and delicate issue. Let them say in a unanimous voice", he said, adding "there are differences of opinion among the stakeholders in the matter, he said. Prasad said that 26 per cent FDI was permitted in print media, that too, with clear cut parameters, that editorial, managerial and the operational part should be in Indian hands. 'Two or three' organisations had approached the government with proposals in this regard and the same were under scrutiny," he said. On the steps taken by the centre to promote the entertainment sector in India, he said 100 per cent FDI had been allowed in Entertainment Television under the open entertainment policy. Stating that Direct Home Telecast would open new horizons in entertainment in the country, he said the Zee Television network had been given license for DTH. Others were also in the pipeline. Referring to the controversial Conditional Access System (CAS), he said the Centre wanted to introduce it in consensus with state governments. However, a request in this regard had to come from the states, Prasad said. Source: Malayala Manorama Sep. 15, 2003 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 23:46:19 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:46:19 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'Statute changes needed to avoid curbs on press' Message-ID: <3942.203.195.199.163.1063665979.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, in his welcome address at the 125th anniversary celebrations of the newspaper said statute changes had become necessary to eliminate the problem of how at least two of the "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech and expression provided for in Article 19 of the Constitution had been used against the press. These restrictions had become unreasonable and illiberal in practice, he said referring to the way in which criminal defamation and criminal contempt of court laws had been used against the press - to create what might be called a "chilling effect". The Indian press enjoyed a freedom that was enviable by the standards of the developing world. This freedom flowed from Article 19 and had been put on a pedestal by judicial interpretation. "We feel that to safeguard Article 19 freedoms, defamation must be de-criminalised and the civil remedies made more effective, and the sky-high powers assumed by the higher courts to act as `judges in their own case' must be taken away by Parliament and the people." Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/14/stories/2003091401390100.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 23:43:27 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:43:27 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Newspaper should be the voice of the voiceless - VAJPAYEE Message-ID: <3931.203.195.199.163.1063665807.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has said that there is an increasing tendency in a section of the media to project trivial things in life, to give more importance to certain aspects than is intrinsically due, to highlight the fads and fashions of the rich and the over-privileged and to aggressively advertise a consumerist lifestyle which is simply beyond the reach of the majority. Speaking at the 125th anniversary of "The Hindu" newspaper at Chennai, the Prime Minister said, "All this happens to the exclusion of attention paid to the problems of the masses, their sufferings and their aspirations, even their courageous – and often successful – efforts to overcome their odds." A newspaper should be a voice of the voiceless. It should be the hope of the hopeless. But this is not always the case. The common man is often invisible in the pages of our glossy newspapers and magazines, he added. Vajpayee said that he did not mean that the Indian newspapers do not highlight exploitation in society or corruption and wrongdoing in the corridors of power. They indeed, have a long and proud tradition of doing so. Such exposure of corruption and wrongdoing forces those in government to be vigilant. It also assists the self-corrective mechanism of a democracy. He cautioned that vigilance must be based on veracity and verification. The Prime Minister said that he would like the media to play its part in communicating the vision of India as a Developed Nation and enriching this vision with substantive intellectual content drawn from both Indian and international sources and motivating the people around this vision. He said that in doing so the media would not be supporting any particular party, government or ideology, for the vision of India as a Developed Nation transcends party politics. He also said that the media could take care of its responsibilities and professional ethics. However, it should draw its own ‘Lakshman Rekha’ , he added. Source: http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/rsep2003/13092003/r130920034.html From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 23:38:23 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:38:23 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Star weighs option to exit news Message-ID: <3871.203.195.199.163.1063665503.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Star India, Rupert Murdoch’s Indian operation, is reviewing whether to continue at all with the Star News channel in India with just a 26 per cent stake in the news business. This is one of the options that the company brass is exploring following the recent visit of Star group Chairman James Murdoch to India. Star is also weighing its options on whether it should sell its 26 per cent equity in its news content company, Media Content and Communication Services (MCCS) to an Indian company in case it decides to get out of the news business. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=2&story=22933 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 23:24:31 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 17:24:31 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Radio City seeks court protection Message-ID: <2505.203.195.199.163.1063751071.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> After Star News, it is now the turn of Radio City to seek court protection against the Government's move to cancel the licence for violating the FM radio norms. The Ispat group-owned Music Broadcast Private Ltd (MBPL), which holds the Radio City licence, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking a stay to prevent the Government from cancelling the licence. Star India Pvt Ltd, through its subsidiary Digiwave, is the sole content provider for Radio City. The decision to move court comes even as the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry felt that the answers provided by MBPL on issues relating to the loan and content sharing agreements with Digiwave have not been adequately answered. Source: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13252507&vsv=157 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 23:22:55 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 17:22:55 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Phased Out, But AIR Longs For Short Wave Message-ID: <2492.203.195.199.163.1063750975.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is on a short wave splurge, contrary to international trends. Even as Prasar Bharati’s radio division—All India Radio—claims to be phasing out short wave (SW) transmission in keeping with government recommendations, its actions indicate otherwise. For instance, AIR installed five transmitters in short wave frequency a few months ago. Officials, however, reasoned that the “new strategy” on phasing out short wave came after orders were placed for these transmitters. Also, purchase of five short wave transmitters was part of the Ninth Plan project, they added. But that’s not the only short wave drive here. AIR National Channel was revived recently on short wave too. To top it all, AIR is now planning 24-hour news channels for Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Guwahati on short wave! Incidentally, the working group on the information and broadcasting sector for the Tenth Plan had recommended that short wave in analogue mode should be phased out, citing poor reception quality. While officially the word is that “existing transmitters are being used in the best possible manner till their life ends”, insiders are calling the exercise “meaningless”. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=40046 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 23:21:32 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 17:21:32 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Expert Panel On FM Radio Asked To Submit Its Report By Sept 30 Message-ID: <2486.203.195.199.163.1063750892.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The government has asked the expert committee on FM radio to submit its report by September 30. The committee headed by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) secretary general, Amit Mitra, is finalising the report for the second phase of private FM radio. Among other things, the panel is looking at the option of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in FM radio, according to highly placed sources. Currently, only up to 20 per cent foreign institutional investment is permitted in a private FM venture. Besides FDI, another significant issue under consideration for the sector is allowing news and current affairs in private FM radio, said a committee member. So far, only non-news content can be telecast on private FM. With licencees protesting against this norm, government may review the non-news clause, it has been indicated. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41726 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 01:16:42 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:16:42 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Zee all set to launch country's first DTH platform Message-ID: <2352.203.195.199.163.1063844202.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The formalities for setting up the country's first Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform next month were completed with the signing of the final license document by the ZEE'S ASC Enterprises Limited with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Under DTH, which will mean installation of a small dish antennae outside every subscriber's home and a set top box, any subscriber can receive as many as 200 channels through Ku band without passing through an intermediary such as a cable operator. The approval permitting the introduction of this technology in the country had been given by the Cabinet almost three years ago and there are two other contenders in the field - Star TV whose project is stuck in a Court Case in Gwalior and Doordarshan which hopes to launch its platform early next year. In a major step towards effective convergence of technologies, the government had, in November 2000, lifted the ban on setting up of DTH platforms on Ku Bandwidth. The lifting of the ban on the Ku Bandwidth permitted the use of frequency bands above 4800 MHz not only for DTH but also other sectors like telecom and the information technology sector, with the country proceeding fast towards convergence of infotech, communications and entertaiment (ICE). According to the guidelines issued by the government in January 2001, the foreign equity holding including FDI, non-resident Indians, overseas corporate bodies and FII, investment should not exceed 49 per cent. Foreign direct investment was capped at 20 per cent. Broadcasting companies or cable network companies are not eligible to collectively own more than 20 per cent of the total equity of the applicant company, which itself must not have over 20 per cent equity share in a broadcasting or cable network company. It was also stipulated that management control of the applicant company must rest with the Indian partner, with majority representatives on the board and the chief executive being a resident Indian. Furthermore, it was stipulated that the signals would be mandatorily updated from Indian earth stations. The licensee has to pay an annual fee equivalent to 10 per cent of its gross revenue as reflected in the audited accounts in the company for that particular financial year. The license will be valid for 10 years from the date of issue. Source: http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13253451 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 01:13:01 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:13:01 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Foreign film industries try to woo Bollywood Message-ID: <2284.203.195.199.163.1063843981.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Film industries around the world are courting prolific Bollywood after realising that the Indian song-and-dance movies can yield long-term dividends by drawing tourists to the locales of their favourite hits. India produces more than 800 movies a year and Bollywood, has for decades sought out lush scenes of mountains and lakes for its formulaic love stories. The first Indian film to be shot in New Zealand was "Sanam Harjai" in 1995 and since then 90 films have been produced entirely or in part in the country. The influx has led not only to short-term employment in New Zealand but to a major growth in tourism. In 1995 there were only 400 tourists from India to New Zealand and this figure rose to 25,000 in 2001 only because of the awareness among the Indians created by Bollywood. Source: http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=13253728&vsv=37 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 01:13:05 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:13:05 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Community Radio Gives India's Villagers a Voice Message-ID: <2285.203.195.199.163.1063843985.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> India's first independent community radio initiative is in this millet- and tomato-growing village in the southern state of Karnataka. It is a cable radio service because India forbids communities to use the airwaves. A media advocacy group, with the help of U.N. funds, laid cables, sold subsidized radios with cable jacks to villagers and trained young people to run the station. "The power of community radio as a tool of social change is enormous in a country that is poor, illiterate and has a daunting diversity of languages and cultures," said Ashish Sen, director of Voices, the advocacy group. Emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling in 1995 declaring airwaves to be public property, citizens groups and activists began pushing for legislation that would free the airwaves from government control. Two years ago, India auctioned its FM stations to private businesses to air entertainment programs. And late last year, India allowed some elite colleges to set up and run campus radio stations. By keeping the airwaves restricted, activists complain, the Indian government lags behind such South Asian neighbors as Nepal and Sri Lanka. Nepal launched South Asia's first community radio station in 1995 and today has at least five independent stations across the country that address people's complaints and act as hubs of information in times of strife. In Sri Lanka, Kothmale Radio has been an integral part of the Kothmale community for 14 years. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21353-2003Sep16.html From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 22:47:09 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 16:47:09 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: FM Radio Panel Plays FDI Tune, Wants Licensing Reprogrammed Message-ID: <1782.203.195.199.163.1063921629.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Although a formal report is yet to be out, the expert committee on FM radio has reached a broad consensus on recommending a revision in the foreign investment norms and lifting restriction on news broadcast. The committee, headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra, is also in favour of bidding for one-time entry fee for the second phase of private FM. Significantly, the view of the committee is that foreign investment norms in FM radio should be on par with print and television. In both print (news and current affairs) and TV news channels uplinking from India, foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per cent is allowed. In private FM, only up to 20 per cent foreign institutional investment (FII) is permitted. If the expert committee recommendations are accep-ted by the government, FDI up to 26 per cent could be permitted in private FM radio ventures too. Also, while news and current affairs programmes cannot be beamed on private FM stations now, the committee is likely to recommend to the government that such a restriction is illogical. In sensitive areas such as Srinagar and the north-east, there may be some cap on beaming news, however, with certain members having reservation about allowing news in private FM. The existing private FM players have been lobbying hard with the government to permit news. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42261 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 22:44:14 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 16:44:14 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Media's Power to Shape Third World Images Message-ID: <1774.203.195.199.163.1063921454.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> When people watch "The Dammed" on PBS this month, most will see a story of plucky tribal villagers in India putting their lives on the line to resist a giant dam that threatens to wipe out their land and livelihood. Behind the David and Goliath tussle, however, is the unseen story of how media influence the events they portray. Sardar Sarovar, the most infamous dam in Indian history, is actually the largest in a series of 30 large, 135 medium and some 3,000 small dams across the Narmada river. The dam has already spawned at least eight films and angry protests as far away as California and Canada. When celebrated Booker Prize-winning author and current anti-war/globalization prophet Arundhati Roy waded into the controversy, media attention went through the roof. Audiences may see the tribals as simple people superstitious about eclipses and river gods, but the onslaught of media attention has changed them irrevocably. Even a film that tries to tell their story to the world ends up changing who they are. Source: http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=076a0d3b6b378af361c015a56550e31c From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 22:29:15 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 16:29:15 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Report on participatory journalism released Message-ID: <1581.203.195.199.163.1063920555.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> New Directions for News has issued a report on how technological developments are changing the relationship between audiences and news organizations. The "We Media" study looks at the different ways people are informed in an evolving digital age and how, in turn, audience behavior, itself, impacts the news media. The report investigates the concept and practice of "participatory journalism" and describes how it's altering the news and information world through the popularity of Weblogs and self-publishing. A guide for news organizations on how to incorporate and respond to these advances is included. Source: http://www.ndn.org/webdata/we_media/we_media.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Sep 20 03:13:19 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 21:13:19 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: FT to pick up 13.85% in BS Message-ID: <1723.203.195.199.163.1064023999.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Financial Times will pick up a 13.85 per cent stake in Business Standard Ltd for Rs 14.1 crore. The details of the agreement will be worked out before Business Standard applies for government approval for the investment under the FDI rules for print media framed last year. The deal puts Business Standard Ltd's valuation at Rs 101.8 crore. This will be the second major foreign investment announced in an Indian newspaper, the first being Henderson's proposed acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in HT Media Ltd, floated by Hindustan Times Ltd. However, it is the first such investment by a leading global newspaper. Business Standard and Financial Times first began their cooperation a decade ago through editorial syndication of reports from FT's 300 correspondents worldwide. Over the years, the cooperation has been further expanded. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/updates/news.asp?story=5698 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Sep 20 03:08:56 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 21:08:56 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'Prasar Bharati a Humpty Dumpty' Message-ID: <1675.203.195.199.163.1064023736.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Prasar Bharati, said Verghese, has been a Cheshire cat with a small grin that had expanded a bit but that had again started contracting. Run by the ministry, the Prasar Bharati was not a board but a signboard, he added. ‘‘A Humpty Dumpty they began to put back together but that was again dealt a sad blow.’’ His comments, coming in the wake of I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking Director General Doordarshan S.Y. Quraishi to step down, surprised everyone. Contacted by The Indian Express, Verghese stood by his comments, saying no one has understood the Prasar Bharati properly. ‘‘I blame everyone—the media, the Government, the I&B Ministry—for this.’’ He charges that Charter 12 of the Prasar Bharati Act—which talks about the functions and powers of the corporation, detailing its role as a public service broadcaster—is being followed fitfully or not at all due to lack of interest of the people concerned. Given that it gets its personnel from the Government and its funding from the I&B Ministry, the Prasar Bharati’s functioning has been cramped, Verghese added. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=31844 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Sep 20 02:56:15 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 20:56:15 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Headline feeds satisfy web user's appetites Message-ID: <1531.203.195.199.163.1064022975.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The latest tool for online publishers is the Short for Rich Site Summary (RSS ), which allows websites and individual users to subscribe to headline feeds from news sites, with links to the complete stories. The feeds can be read on special software called news aggregators or on websites such as Bloglines.com. RSS is getting a boost from the popularity -even on newspaper sites- of blogging, or web logging. Many bloggers, who write online journals that typically link to other websites, use RSS because it is an easy way to aggregate headlines from a large number of sources. One of the newest RSS offerings is from The Telegraph in New Hampshire, US, where nh.com Editor Ernesto Burden's team built a feed for the latest presidential primary news. The Christian Science Monitor offers the entire paper in this format and also lets users subscribe to specific sections such as world coverage or arts, said its partnership development specialists Joel Abrams. While the site has no way of tracking individual RSS users, it serves over a million RSS files per month. "As with other Net technologies, there isn't yet an obvious business model here. I think it's better to have people read your content than not," Mr Abrams said. Source: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1981142 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 23:22:25 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:22:25 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Media Images Of Terrorism Message-ID: <1366.203.195.199.163.1064355745.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> THE picture, images, faces and religious identity given to terrorism by the US government and the western media have been completely internalised by our mainstream media. One can understand why the Sangh Parivar and its sympathisers should project the deteriorating relationships between different religious communities in this country, to which they have themselves contributed so crucially, as reflections of a civilisational divide; but our mainstream media as well works with this notion all the time. That these images and framework are global has contributed in no small measure to their success and effectivity. Source: http://pd.cpim.org/2003/0921/09212003_nalini%20taneja.htm From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 23:19:20 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:19:20 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: INS cautions print media against 'price wars' Message-ID: <1303.203.195.199.163.1064355560.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Cautioning against "price wars" and "undesirable trends" like predatory pricing, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) outgoing president Abhay Chhajlani on Friday told the print medium to ensure that competition remained healthy and "does not become cut throat in nature". Asserting competition had become the watch word in the era of liberalisation, he said, "needless to say, while we have to gear ourselves to deal with the competition from the electronic media, we must also recognise that there is competition for space within the print medium. "We must, however, ensure that such competition remains healthy and does not become cut throat in nature." On competition within the print medium, he said that at various centres, "price wars" relating to cover prices of newspapers were being witnessed. "In some cases, cover prices have been brought down so drastically that it even weakens our case when we approach the government to seek relief on issues like customs duty on newsprint". Over the years, he said, the society had successfully negotiated many hurdles and "apparently we are sailing smoothly in placid waters. Beneath the surface, however, there are undesirable trends gaining strength, like predatory pricing to eliminate healthy competition". Source: http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030919132423 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 23:15:05 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:15:05 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: FTdeal to boost overseas investment in Indian print media Message-ID: <1235.203.195.199.163.1064355305.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A host of Indian print media companies are expected to explore possibility of attracting foreign investments in the days ahead, enthused by the Financial Times' move to enter into a deal with a local business daily. Analysts say the Financial Times' investment in Business Standard marks the first major foreign investment in an Indian daily by a strategic investor after New Delhi liberalised the investment norms in the domestic print media last year. Source: http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=16004 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 22:55:59 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 16:55:59 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Governments are silencing Internet free speech Message-ID: <4753.203.195.199.163.1064354159.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Governments across the globe are weakening the promise of the Internet as a refuge for free speech by intensifying monitoring and setting restrictions, a new study revealed. The study, Silenced, was made available at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva. Silenced showed that democratic governments have used the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 to pass laws, such as the Patriot Act in the United States, that allow a degree of intrusion into private records that would have seemed unbelievable before that date. The report also said that non-democratic governments are using Internet-related technology to take censorship to a level that would have otherwise been impossible, the article says. Source: http://www.silicon.com/news/500022/1/6093.html?et=search From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 20:12:18 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:12:18 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: FM Radio Privatisation: Govt May Drop Co-location Of Transmitters Message-ID: <2498.203.195.199.163.1064430738.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Co-location of transmitters, which was mandatory in phase one of FM radio privatisation for the metros, is likely to be dropped now. If that is done, the immediate gainer will be Mumbai. While players in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were forced to co-locate on a single tower to save spectrum, Mumbai was given time till December 2003 to co-locate. However, since the second phase of privatisation is round the corner and more frequencies are about to be allocated, the existing players in Mumbai are expected to be spared also, said sources. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42635 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 20:07:40 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:07:40 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'Govt has no right to block Yahoo group' Message-ID: <2440.203.195.199.163.1064430460.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Internet company Yahoo! seems to have complied with the Indian government's Monday order to block the "kynhun" e-Group. But did it have to? Precedent and legal opinion say no, it didn't. "The Information Technology Act does not give government the right to block web sites. The Act only talks about 'interception', which means the government can monitor the internet, not block access," says cyber law advocate Pawan Duggal. Effectively, this means the IT Act cannot be used to block or restrict people's access to seditious material. Source: http://sify.com/news/pioneer/fullstory.php?id=13259504&vsv=71 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 20:06:17 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:06:17 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Tatas Set To Steer Star DTH Venture With 80% Stake Message-ID: <2422.203.195.199.163.1064430377.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> After tying up with Kolkata-based Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) for Star News, the group is understood to have narrowed down on the Tatas as Indian partner for its Rs 250-crore direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting project. Star is likely to make an announcement soon, government sources said. Tata branding, sources said, is likely to be an USP for the Star DTH project. With 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in a DTH venture, the Tata group is expected to hold 80 per cent and Star 20 per cent. The total foreign investment allowed in DTH is 49 per cent. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42633 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 20:22:05 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:22:05 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: FDI in TV channels - the secret war Message-ID: <2603.203.195.199.163.1064431325.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A vociferous group of Indian broadcasters and a host of regional channels have formed what they call the Indian Media Group (IMG). The IMG is, of course, a hastily constituted conglomerate of several powerful Indian media companies (Bennett, Coleman & Co., the India Today group, Sahara and Zee, to name a few) floated to take up the Star News issue with the government. That slugfest between Indian broadcasters and foreign entertainment channels has largely escaped media attention. Understandably so. Much of the manoeuvring has been going on behind the scenes, whether it is Gurumurthy meeting Advani or Sahara chairman Subroto Roy dropping in on Prasad. And not many people wish to go on record on the matter. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ice/story.asp?Menu=7&story=23620 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 25 20:13:59 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 14:13:59 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Govt On Revenue-sharing Wavelength For FM Radio Message-ID: <2906.203.195.199.163.1064517239.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It is more or less final that private FM radio sector would shift to a revenue-sharing model from the existing licence fee regime. There’s a broad consensus on this view among the members of the expert committee on radio, according to sources. Although the committee, headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra, has been debating on whether to recommend a revenue- sharing structure or a fixed amount for a period of 10 years, it is firm on revenue-sharing now. Revenue-sharing will follow payment of a one-time entry fee through a process of bidding. The committee is yet to arrive on a revenue-sharing figure, but indications are that it will be quite low. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42698 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 25 20:07:25 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 14:07:25 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: ICT workshop for Asian women journalists Message-ID: <2812.203.195.199.163.1064516845.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> OneWorld South Asia is holding a workshop for Asian women journalists in Bangalore from November 8 – 14, 2003 to introduce them to Internet-based technologies. Last date for applications is October 8. Find more details at http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/68622 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 26 22:36:39 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:36:39 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: Rupert Murdoch battles on in India Message-ID: <3187.203.195.199.163.1064612199.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Many countries fear foreign control of their news media, especially when the foreigner is Rupert Murdoch. India, where suspicion of multinational firms runs deep in everything from soft drinks to accountancy, has more qualms than most. Star News, a Hindi-language news channel produced by a scion of Mr Murdoch's News Corp, has had to jump through a series of regulatory hoops. The Indian market, it seems, is worth a few contortions. Star's persistence highlights the potential of the Indian market. About 44m Indian households, some 22% of the total, have cable TV, the third-largest subscriber base in the world. Star has a very successful “bouquet” of channels, covering movies, music and sport, and Star Plus, which offers Hindi-language entertainment. Last week, this channel broadcast all of India's 20 most-watched cable TV programmes. Star News, too, is gaining market share. According to TAM Media Research it now reaches 27% of viewers, just behind the market leader, Aaj Tak, with 29%. Source: http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2087928 From icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 26 22:32:21 2003 From: icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:32:21 -0500 (GMT+5) Subject: 'Foreign media investors are not rushing into India' Message-ID: <3134.203.195.199.163.1064611941.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Stating that the entry of Western media will have a positive impact on the Indian media, Chandan Mitra, MP and veteran journalist, has said that foreign investors were not rushing into the country and will not rush into it. "I don't expect invasion of foreign investors in the Indian media as there was not much profit on the card," Mitra, Editor and Managing Director of Pioneer, a leading New Delhi daily said. Asked to express his views on the entry of Western media in India, Mitra told members of the Indian Journalists Association here last night: "It will have positive impact. It will facilitate up-gradation of the technology." Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/03261117.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 16:57:17 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: On the economics of media diversity Message-ID: <4834.203.195.199.163.1062709037.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A spate of controversies in recent months regarding the adequacy of India's media policy points to the problems involved in putting in place, in piecemeal manner, a media policy to regulate a multi-component industry that has experienced rapid growth without being subject to an adequately worked-out and broad policy framework. At the centre of the media industry is the print media, facing much competition for both audience and advertising revenue from the rapidly growing television broadcast business. However, despite predictions that the coming of television and the new media would dampen, if not halt, the growth of the print media, recent years have been characterised by its relatively rapid and unhindered expansion. Circulation figures, though known to be unreliable because of inflated claims by some newspapers, do provide some indication of the orders of magnitude involved. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the total number of dailies in the country in 2000 stood at 5,364, having expanded at the compound annual rate of 7.4 per cent per annum between 1988 and 2000. However, not all these dailies report their circulation, so that total circulation figures for dailies refer to a much smaller number. Thus in 2000, the number of dailies "related to circulation" (or reporting circulation) stood at just 1,493 (which was lower than the number registered in the base year 1988) and their reported circulation stood at 59.1 million. It is in this background that we need to assess the threat from TV to the print medium. The growth of TV households and of those among them with cable and satellite (C&S) connections has indeed been rapid. The National Readership Survey of 2001 estimated that 42.3 per cent of Indian households were TV households and that, of these, 47.8 per cent were C&S households. As noted earlier, despite this, the gross and average circulation figures of reporting dailies seems to suggest that newspaper circulation is on the rise. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/2003/08/26/stories/2003082600260900.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 17:25:12 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'India's Press council could be a model for Malaysia' Message-ID: <1118.203.195.199.163.1062710712.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> K. Jayachandra Reddy, who is the PCI chairman, said Malaysia and India had similarities due to the existence of different races, religions, languages and cultures among the people. "The PCI has functioned quite well in such an environment, and Malaysia could look to India if such an organisation is to be established here," he said in an interview. Reddy, who is also chairman of the World Association of Press Councils Press Freedom and Media Ethics Committee, is here to help raise awareness of the importance of such a council. The PCI, set up in 1966, is a statutory quasi-judicial body created by an Act of Parliament and two-thirds of its 28 members are from the print media. "The composition of journalists, editors and newspaper owners itself shows that it is by and for the Press," he said, adding that the PCI was a regulatory authority to monitor the media. He said the PCI drafted certain principles from time to time and it acted as a guide. "The norms published give direction to members." He said between April 2001 and March last year, the PCI received 1,250 complaints from and against the Press, and most were adjudicated and disposed of. The objective of a council was to keep the public informed, be objective and provide fair criticism. "The role of journalists is to disseminate information and thereby guide and educate the public on fundamental issues." Reddy said it would not be wrong for such a council to support new government policies and legislations if they would benefit the people. He said it was pertinent for journalists to be aware at all times that media freedom came with responsibility and accountability. Source: http://www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20030902075623/Ar ticle/ From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 4 17:40:33 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Murdoch's Star TV threatened by Indian clampdown Message-ID: <1207.203.195.199.163.1062711633.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It will require foreign satellite news channels to be majority-owned by a dominant Indian partner, meaning Star will now have to shift editorial and operational control to a 51% Indian shareholder. Star has four weeks to comply with the new rules. Mr Murdoch is understood to have held talks with potential investors including the group that publishes the Hindustani Times and a Calcutta newspaper group about taking a 51% shareholding. But in an open letter issued last month, Star accused its rivals of running a media campaign "calculated to confuse and people and to misrepresent the facts". Set up more than five years ago as an English-language channel, Star News spent most of its time in the ratings doldrums. But following a relaunch in April as a Hindi-language operation that produced all its news in house, the channel's popularity surged. It now attracts around a 30% market share. Star India generates about ?167m a year or 70% of Star TV's total revenues. Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,7497,1029519,00.html From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 5 21:55:40 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Who will watch over industry? Message-ID: <1537.203.195.199.163.1062813340.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The industry perspective on the proposed regulator will have to be studied against the backdrop of a pending legislation - the Convergence Bill - which is currently under scrutiny with the standing committee suggesting about 70 plus recommendations.The bill attempts to replace a number of existing regulators like the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India and laws like the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995 across three major sectors - information, communications and entertainment or ICE sectors as per New Economy parlance. The first option discussed at the meeting was to expedite the establishment of a Convergence Commission. An interim regulator will be of "patchwork" significance believe many in the industry and therefore wish that the Government join hands with the private sector in pushing the legislation through.The second option mooted was that TRAI be asked to act as interim regulator, extending its jurisdiction from communications to broadcasting. But after analysing the feasibility of such a measure, it was felt that TRAI would not be able to take on the intangible problems of the broadcast sector which has its own dynamics. Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity1.asp? main_variable=MEDIA&file_name=med1%2Etxt&counter_img=1 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 5 21:52:45 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: No ad exodus from pay channels for now Message-ID: <1485.203.195.199.163.1062813165.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> MEDIA planners and advertising industry professionals have said pay channels are unlikely to face an exodus of advertisers, though some may be forced to provide discounts for advertisement slots, with the introduction of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in Chennai. Pay channels ? which cannot be accessed without a set-top box ? would also lose a significant portion of their subscription revenues. Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/03/stories/2003090301321700.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 8 21:46:10 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Indian venture capitalists based abroad eye Bollywood Message-ID: <3974.203.195.199.163.1063071970.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A number of Indian venture capitalists based abroad are increasingly eyeing Bollywood as a new investment option, not just sticking with the stock market which is currently on a bull run. Expatriate Indians are coming together to form venture capital funds or investment companies that can invest millions of dollars in Bollywood, an industry which until recently was largely tainted with funds laundered by the underworld. Among wealthy investors who have tied up with local film production companies or individual movies with new scripts and tight budgets are New York-based K Sera Sera Productions and investment banker Rohit Aggarwal. Analysts feel the latest trend of venture capitalists will further boost the industry, which has been getting ``clean'' funds from local institutions since early last year. The first film to be financed by local corporate investors was ``Aankhen'' (Eyes), with the movie's entire 70 million rupee ($1.5 million) budget being funded by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). Bollywood has traditionally been funded by private individual financiers, independent producers and in the last few decades even by the Bombay underworld. The Hindi film industry's largest financier Bharat Shah was arrested in 2001 for alleged links with the underworld, dealing another blow to the already floundering industry. Source: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&dt=0908&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=Entertainment&pg=en_04.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 8 21:43:13 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'Media must shed obsession with Govt. news' Message-ID: <3907.203.195.199.163.1063071793.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Indian media was today urged to shed their excessive obsession with governmental news and about those in power and focus more on changes taking place in society. The Indian media and its role post-liberalisation was the focus of speeches by Information Technology and Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, and other speakers at the inaugural function of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Federation of PTI Employees' Unions and animated panel discussion that followed here. Inaugurating the celebrations, Shourie, who made a name for himself as Editor of Indian Express before joining the Government, said with liberalisation power was being sought to be transferred from the Government to the people and journalists should reorient their perspectives and tune with changes. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/01061805.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 14:04:41 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Use both TV and print to increase impact Message-ID: <2768.203.195.199.163.1063217081.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It?s something that most clients and agencies have always claimed to have known by instinct ? the fact that using both print and TV gives them an advantage that?s greater than using either media in isolation. But it?s a theory that not too many clients actually put their money down to back. All that could well change with Impact Multiplier, a study by the Indian Newspaper Society and IMRB International that lays doubts to rest. Says Bharat Kapadia, chairman, Mumbai regional committee of the INS, ?Impact multiplier is a theory that when you use two media like TV and print, the end exposure is greater than the total of the two. All over the world, including India, this has so far been done in a lab kind of condition with forced exposure of a small panel to the advertising.? Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=174098 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 13:03:16 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Hunt for AIR chief: Prasar Bharati turns to pvt sector Message-ID: <1621.203.195.199.163.1063213396.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> There are nearly a 1,000 joint-secretary-level officers serving the government of India, but few are interested in heading the All India Radio, it seems. The AIR director general?s post has been vacant for one year and six months, with the CEO, K S Sarma holding additional charge all through. It?s sister concern, Doordarshan has also been rendered headless earlier this month. Prasar Bharati has gone into an advertising spree, hunting for an eligible candidate of the rank of at least a joint secretary for both posts. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=172612 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 10 13:00:58 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Magnates Line Up For Murdoch Swayamvar Message-ID: <1587.203.195.199.163.1063213258.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> On Monday, a day before Star Group chairman and chief executive James Murdoch was to land in India to finalise the majority Indian partner for Star News, potential buyers and those close to the deal remained close-lipped about the ?winner?. Among them, ad man Suhel Seth, who holds the maximum 30 per cent in Media Content & Communication Services (MCCS), a shell company floated by Star for uplinking its news channel from India, told FE that ?it?s not a swayamvar?. Rather, Mr Seth looked at it as ?an investment decision, where all partners should be comfortable?. Among the existing shareholders of MCCS, DSP Merrill Lynch chairman Hemendra Kothari holds 25 per cent stake while actress Maya Alagh has 5 per cent and lawyer Ryan Karanjewala 4 per cent. Ad man Suhel Seth has 30 per cent, after picking up Kumar Mangalam Birla?s stake who withdrew soon after entering the deal. Star News needs to conform to the revised uplinking guidelines by September 28. As per these guidelines, Star News must get an Indian partner with at least 51 per cent holding, to be able to continue uplinking from India. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41711 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 12:33:46 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Role of media in social change highlighted Message-ID: <2284.203.195.199.163.1063298026.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The media should project the issues being faced by the poor so that people with authority could make efforts to solve these problems, according to speakers at a workshop in Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday. During the international workshop on "Culture for Social Change", the participants claimed the media had become commercial to a large extent while the problems being faced by the marginalised sections of society should be highlighted. They were of the view that the media should focus on the poor even if they were not the consumers and targets of the advertisers. The act was organised by Actionaid, a non-governmental organisation that works with women in the Thar desert and other rural areas in the Sindh region. They said that rural women were being taught the skills to make their own documentaries equipment was being provided for them. Source: http://www.dawn.com/2003/09/10/local8.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 12:28:59 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Stop press! FDI is coming Message-ID: <2196.203.195.199.163.1063297739.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Bennett, Coleman & Co is said to be seeking a foreign equity partner for its financial daily, ?The Economic Times.? ?There have been some talks with ?The Wall Street Journal,? confirms a senior company source. Though ?The Economic Times? may or may not eventually get a foreign partner, Bennett, Coleman is poised to offload some stake in two of its English magazines, ?Femina? and ?Filmfare?, to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, Bennett Coleman?s rival in the capital, Hindustan Times Ltd, has already signed on a foreign partner, Henderson of the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Australia?s AMP. Hindustan Times Ltd is forming a separate company, HT Media Ltd, for the purpose. The K.K. Birla-owned media group is said to have offloaded a 20 per cent stake for Rs 125 crore. When all the government approvals come through, Hindustan Times may well be the first news media group to bring in foreign equity since the government relaxed the rules on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the print media last year. Both cases throw up one big question. Has foreign investment started pouring into Indian print media companies in earnest? No clear-cut answers are available at present, with industry men divided on the matter. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ice/story.asp?Menu=8&story=22609 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 11 12:20:03 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: NEW Chairman for PTI Message-ID: <1947.203.195.199.163.1063297203.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> M P Veerendrakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mathrubhumi newspaper group, was today unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Press Trust India (PTI), succeeding Vineet Kumar Jain, Managing Director of the Times of India group. Philip Mathew, Managing Editor of the Malayala Manorama group, was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman at a meeting of the Board following the 55th Annual General Meeting of the agency's shareholders here. Jain, N. Ravi (The Hindu), Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express), and two Public Service Directors, Justice H R Khanna, former Judge of the Supreme Court, and Prof. E V Chitnis, eminent physicist, were re-elected to the Board. Mrs. Shobhana Bhartia (Hindustan Times), C R Irani (Statesman), Aveek Kumar Sarkar (Anand Bazaar Patrika), Pravinchandra V Gandhi (Janmabhoomi Group), Vijay Kumar Chopra (Hind Samachar) and R Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar) are the other members of the Board. Veerendrakumar, a former MP, has served as Union Minister of State of Finance and Labour, and is also the current Vice- President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). He is the author of 11 books in Malayalam and has served as Chairman of PTI in 1992-93. Source: PTI From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 13:32:03 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Magazines aplenty, but where are the ads? Message-ID: <3186.203.195.199.163.1063387923.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Despite the steady decline in the share of advertising revenue of magazines over the last decade, four new specialist magazines are ready to hit the stands in the next 30 days. And a few more will be launched within the next few months. But are there enough advertisers ready to gamble with their advertising rupee on new titles? According to a recent report from TAM-Ad Ex, magazines currently have a 12.5 per cent share of overall print ad revenues -- estimated at about Rs 4,400 crore, up from a share of 11.8 per cent in 2000 but not even close to a more respectable 23 per cent share of print ad revenues in 1994. The drop in advertising revenues in magazines can be attributed to a steady increase in the ad revenue of TV channels -- especially news and current affairs channels, along with entertainment channels, that have mushroomed in the past four years. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=177316 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 13:29:55 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Print Media Stares At New FDI Rulebook Message-ID: <3181.203.195.199.163.1063387795.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The process began last month when government revised the guidelines for uplinking news channels from India, to bring television on par with print media. If FDI rules mandated 51 per cent single Indian shareholding in print (news and current affairs), it was made the same for the electronic media. Now the level-playing effort of the government has caught up with the print media (news) too, and changes have been made in its FDI guidelines. Print media was opened to FDI only last year. According to a senior official in the information and broadcasting ministry, there are two additions in the print FDI norms. While one pertains to financial strength of the newspaper and its circulation figure, another is about the definition of a ?company?. The objective behind the revised guidelines is to ensure that loopholes are plugged, the official said. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41855 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 12 15:25:33 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: New guidelines for uplinking - TV 18 seeks clarifications on 'Public shareholding' Message-ID: <4681.203.195.199.163.1063394733.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Television Eighteen (TV 18), which owns CNBC-TV 18, has sought clarifications from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on how the public shareholding of the company would be treated in the wake of the new regulations stipulating the need for a dominant Indian shareholder. According to the recently revised norms, permission would be granted only to those cases where equity held by the largest Indian shareholder is at least 51 per cent of the total equity. However, in the case of TV 18, the Indian promoters hold just 24.52 per cent while the public holds a higher 31.53 per cent. Domestic financial institutions, banks and mutual funds hold about 12.61 per cent, private corporate bodies hold 6.42 per cent while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hold about 8.14 per cent. Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/12/stories/2003091202590100.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 19:31:32 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Media Award - Reporting on the Information Society Message-ID: <4367.203.195.199.163.1063668692.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> GKP/Panos Media Award Reporting on the Information Society Announcement The inaugural "Reporting on the Information Society" awards, given jointly by the Global Knowledge Partnership and Panos, aim to encourage and bring to international recognition thoughtful and incisive reporting on developing countries' progress to becoming "Information Societies." Four awards of $2,000 each will be made for published journalism by developing country journalists (print, radio, TV or web) that goes beyond describing projects or new investment initiatives to analyse broader questions such as the social impact of ICTs, particularly on rural or disadvantaged groups, or national and global communication policy issues. The winning entries will be disseminated internationally and honoured at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, December 2003. To submit a piece of work for consideration, send a clipping, audio or video tape, transcript or web reference by email to: award@panoslondon.org.uk Two years ago around this time, television news channels made big-time news all over the world. The 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) was yet another turning point for TV news, when images of the towers crumbling down were beamed into millions of living rooms. Along with news channels across the world, TRPs(television rating points) of those in India also rose. Ever since then, several news channels have been launched in the country and are competing furiously for eyeballs. To appear cutting edge, most of them are leveraging new technology like never before. A recent conference?Newsrooms Tech India 2003?showcased some of the latest technologies being used all over the world in the area of news, which is all about speed and accuracy. Besides international companies, even media houses including Zee and Sahara had lots to talk about how new technology influences news television. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42032 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 19:05:57 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'No proposal to allow FDI in news agencies' Message-ID: <4101.203.195.199.163.1063667157.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> There was no proposal now before the Centre on allowing Foreign Direct Investment in news agencies in the country, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Ravi Shanker Prasad, said. The question of allowing FDI in news agencies would arise only if "the stake holders made a unanimous request for the same", Prasad told a press meet. "It is a very sensitive and delicate issue. Let them say in a unanimous voice", he said, adding "there are differences of opinion among the stakeholders in the matter, he said. Prasad said that 26 per cent FDI was permitted in print media, that too, with clear cut parameters, that editorial, managerial and the operational part should be in Indian hands. 'Two or three' organisations had approached the government with proposals in this regard and the same were under scrutiny," he said. On the steps taken by the centre to promote the entertainment sector in India, he said 100 per cent FDI had been allowed in Entertainment Television under the open entertainment policy. Stating that Direct Home Telecast would open new horizons in entertainment in the country, he said the Zee Television network had been given license for DTH. Others were also in the pipeline. Referring to the controversial Conditional Access System (CAS), he said the Centre wanted to introduce it in consensus with state governments. However, a request in this regard had to come from the states, Prasad said. Source: Malayala Manorama Sep. 15, 2003 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 18:46:19 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'Statute changes needed to avoid curbs on press' Message-ID: <3942.203.195.199.163.1063665979.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, in his welcome address at the 125th anniversary celebrations of the newspaper said statute changes had become necessary to eliminate the problem of how at least two of the "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech and expression provided for in Article 19 of the Constitution had been used against the press. These restrictions had become unreasonable and illiberal in practice, he said referring to the way in which criminal defamation and criminal contempt of court laws had been used against the press - to create what might be called a "chilling effect". The Indian press enjoyed a freedom that was enviable by the standards of the developing world. This freedom flowed from Article 19 and had been put on a pedestal by judicial interpretation. "We feel that to safeguard Article 19 freedoms, defamation must be de-criminalised and the civil remedies made more effective, and the sky-high powers assumed by the higher courts to act as `judges in their own case' must be taken away by Parliament and the people." Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/14/stories/2003091401390100.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 18:43:27 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Newspaper should be the voice of the voiceless - VAJPAYEE Message-ID: <3931.203.195.199.163.1063665807.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has said that there is an increasing tendency in a section of the media to project trivial things in life, to give more importance to certain aspects than is intrinsically due, to highlight the fads and fashions of the rich and the over-privileged and to aggressively advertise a consumerist lifestyle which is simply beyond the reach of the majority. Speaking at the 125th anniversary of "The Hindu" newspaper at Chennai, the Prime Minister said, "All this happens to the exclusion of attention paid to the problems of the masses, their sufferings and their aspirations, even their courageous ? and often successful ? efforts to overcome their odds." A newspaper should be a voice of the voiceless. It should be the hope of the hopeless. But this is not always the case. The common man is often invisible in the pages of our glossy newspapers and magazines, he added. Vajpayee said that he did not mean that the Indian newspapers do not highlight exploitation in society or corruption and wrongdoing in the corridors of power. They indeed, have a long and proud tradition of doing so. Such exposure of corruption and wrongdoing forces those in government to be vigilant. It also assists the self-corrective mechanism of a democracy. He cautioned that vigilance must be based on veracity and verification. The Prime Minister said that he would like the media to play its part in communicating the vision of India as a Developed Nation and enriching this vision with substantive intellectual content drawn from both Indian and international sources and motivating the people around this vision. He said that in doing so the media would not be supporting any particular party, government or ideology, for the vision of India as a Developed Nation transcends party politics. He also said that the media could take care of its responsibilities and professional ethics. However, it should draw its own ?Lakshman Rekha? , he added. Source: http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/rsep2003/13092003/r130920034.html From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Sep 15 18:38:23 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Star weighs option to exit news Message-ID: <3871.203.195.199.163.1063665503.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Star India, Rupert Murdoch?s Indian operation, is reviewing whether to continue at all with the Star News channel in India with just a 26 per cent stake in the news business. This is one of the options that the company brass is exploring following the recent visit of Star group Chairman James Murdoch to India. Star is also weighing its options on whether it should sell its 26 per cent equity in its news content company, Media Content and Communication Services (MCCS) to an Indian company in case it decides to get out of the news business. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=2&story=22933 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 18:24:31 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Radio City seeks court protection Message-ID: <2505.203.195.199.163.1063751071.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> After Star News, it is now the turn of Radio City to seek court protection against the Government's move to cancel the licence for violating the FM radio norms. The Ispat group-owned Music Broadcast Private Ltd (MBPL), which holds the Radio City licence, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking a stay to prevent the Government from cancelling the licence. Star India Pvt Ltd, through its subsidiary Digiwave, is the sole content provider for Radio City. The decision to move court comes even as the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry felt that the answers provided by MBPL on issues relating to the loan and content sharing agreements with Digiwave have not been adequately answered. Source: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13252507&vsv=157 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 18:22:55 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Phased Out, But AIR Longs For Short Wave Message-ID: <2492.203.195.199.163.1063750975.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is on a short wave splurge, contrary to international trends. Even as Prasar Bharati?s radio division?All India Radio?claims to be phasing out short wave (SW) transmission in keeping with government recommendations, its actions indicate otherwise. For instance, AIR installed five transmitters in short wave frequency a few months ago. Officials, however, reasoned that the ?new strategy? on phasing out short wave came after orders were placed for these transmitters. Also, purchase of five short wave transmitters was part of the Ninth Plan project, they added. But that?s not the only short wave drive here. AIR National Channel was revived recently on short wave too. To top it all, AIR is now planning 24-hour news channels for Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Guwahati on short wave! Incidentally, the working group on the information and broadcasting sector for the Tenth Plan had recommended that short wave in analogue mode should be phased out, citing poor reception quality. While officially the word is that ?existing transmitters are being used in the best possible manner till their life ends?, insiders are calling the exercise ?meaningless?. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=40046 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 16 18:21:32 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Expert Panel On FM Radio Asked To Submit Its Report By Sept 30 Message-ID: <2486.203.195.199.163.1063750892.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The government has asked the expert committee on FM radio to submit its report by September 30. The committee headed by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) secretary general, Amit Mitra, is finalising the report for the second phase of private FM radio. Among other things, the panel is looking at the option of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in FM radio, according to highly placed sources. Currently, only up to 20 per cent foreign institutional investment is permitted in a private FM venture. Besides FDI, another significant issue under consideration for the sector is allowing news and current affairs in private FM radio, said a committee member. So far, only non-news content can be telecast on private FM. With licencees protesting against this norm, government may review the non-news clause, it has been indicated. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41726 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 17 20:16:42 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Zee all set to launch country's first DTH platform Message-ID: <2352.203.195.199.163.1063844202.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The formalities for setting up the country's first Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform next month were completed with the signing of the final license document by the ZEE'S ASC Enterprises Limited with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Under DTH, which will mean installation of a small dish antennae outside every subscriber's home and a set top box, any subscriber can receive as many as 200 channels through Ku band without passing through an intermediary such as a cable operator. The approval permitting the introduction of this technology in the country had been given by the Cabinet almost three years ago and there are two other contenders in the field - Star TV whose project is stuck in a Court Case in Gwalior and Doordarshan which hopes to launch its platform early next year. In a major step towards effective convergence of technologies, the government had, in November 2000, lifted the ban on setting up of DTH platforms on Ku Bandwidth. The lifting of the ban on the Ku Bandwidth permitted the use of frequency bands above 4800 MHz not only for DTH but also other sectors like telecom and the information technology sector, with the country proceeding fast towards convergence of infotech, communications and entertaiment (ICE). According to the guidelines issued by the government in January 2001, the foreign equity holding including FDI, non-resident Indians, overseas corporate bodies and FII, investment should not exceed 49 per cent. Foreign direct investment was capped at 20 per cent. Broadcasting companies or cable network companies are not eligible to collectively own more than 20 per cent of the total equity of the applicant company, which itself must not have over 20 per cent equity share in a broadcasting or cable network company. It was also stipulated that management control of the applicant company must rest with the Indian partner, with majority representatives on the board and the chief executive being a resident Indian. Furthermore, it was stipulated that the signals would be mandatorily updated from Indian earth stations. The licensee has to pay an annual fee equivalent to 10 per cent of its gross revenue as reflected in the audited accounts in the company for that particular financial year. The license will be valid for 10 years from the date of issue. Source: http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13253451 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 17 20:13:01 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Foreign film industries try to woo Bollywood Message-ID: <2284.203.195.199.163.1063843981.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Film industries around the world are courting prolific Bollywood after realising that the Indian song-and-dance movies can yield long-term dividends by drawing tourists to the locales of their favourite hits. India produces more than 800 movies a year and Bollywood, has for decades sought out lush scenes of mountains and lakes for its formulaic love stories. The first Indian film to be shot in New Zealand was "Sanam Harjai" in 1995 and since then 90 films have been produced entirely or in part in the country. The influx has led not only to short-term employment in New Zealand but to a major growth in tourism. In 1995 there were only 400 tourists from India to New Zealand and this figure rose to 25,000 in 2001 only because of the awareness among the Indians created by Bollywood. Source: http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=13253728&vsv=37 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 17 20:13:05 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Community Radio Gives India's Villagers a Voice Message-ID: <2285.203.195.199.163.1063843985.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> India's first independent community radio initiative is in this millet- and tomato-growing village in the southern state of Karnataka. It is a cable radio service because India forbids communities to use the airwaves. A media advocacy group, with the help of U.N. funds, laid cables, sold subsidized radios with cable jacks to villagers and trained young people to run the station. "The power of community radio as a tool of social change is enormous in a country that is poor, illiterate and has a daunting diversity of languages and cultures," said Ashish Sen, director of Voices, the advocacy group. Emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling in 1995 declaring airwaves to be public property, citizens groups and activists began pushing for legislation that would free the airwaves from government control. Two years ago, India auctioned its FM stations to private businesses to air entertainment programs. And late last year, India allowed some elite colleges to set up and run campus radio stations. By keeping the airwaves restricted, activists complain, the Indian government lags behind such South Asian neighbors as Nepal and Sri Lanka. Nepal launched South Asia's first community radio station in 1995 and today has at least five independent stations across the country that address people's complaints and act as hubs of information in times of strife. In Sri Lanka, Kothmale Radio has been an integral part of the Kothmale community for 14 years. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21353-2003Sep16.html From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 17:47:09 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: FM Radio Panel Plays FDI Tune, Wants Licensing Reprogrammed Message-ID: <1782.203.195.199.163.1063921629.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Although a formal report is yet to be out, the expert committee on FM radio has reached a broad consensus on recommending a revision in the foreign investment norms and lifting restriction on news broadcast. The committee, headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra, is also in favour of bidding for one-time entry fee for the second phase of private FM. Significantly, the view of the committee is that foreign investment norms in FM radio should be on par with print and television. In both print (news and current affairs) and TV news channels uplinking from India, foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per cent is allowed. In private FM, only up to 20 per cent foreign institutional investment (FII) is permitted. If the expert committee recommendations are accep-ted by the government, FDI up to 26 per cent could be permitted in private FM radio ventures too. Also, while news and current affairs programmes cannot be beamed on private FM stations now, the committee is likely to recommend to the government that such a restriction is illogical. In sensitive areas such as Srinagar and the north-east, there may be some cap on beaming news, however, with certain members having reservation about allowing news in private FM. The existing private FM players have been lobbying hard with the government to permit news. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42261 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 17:44:14 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Media's Power to Shape Third World Images Message-ID: <1774.203.195.199.163.1063921454.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> When people watch "The Dammed" on PBS this month, most will see a story of plucky tribal villagers in India putting their lives on the line to resist a giant dam that threatens to wipe out their land and livelihood. Behind the David and Goliath tussle, however, is the unseen story of how media influence the events they portray. Sardar Sarovar, the most infamous dam in Indian history, is actually the largest in a series of 30 large, 135 medium and some 3,000 small dams across the Narmada river. The dam has already spawned at least eight films and angry protests as far away as California and Canada. When celebrated Booker Prize-winning author and current anti-war/globalization prophet Arundhati Roy waded into the controversy, media attention went through the roof. Audiences may see the tribals as simple people superstitious about eclipses and river gods, but the onslaught of media attention has changed them irrevocably. Even a film that tries to tell their story to the world ends up changing who they are. Source: http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=076a0d3b6b378af361c015a56550e31c From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 18 17:29:15 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Report on participatory journalism released Message-ID: <1581.203.195.199.163.1063920555.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> New Directions for News has issued a report on how technological developments are changing the relationship between audiences and news organizations. The "We Media" study looks at the different ways people are informed in an evolving digital age and how, in turn, audience behavior, itself, impacts the news media. The report investigates the concept and practice of "participatory journalism" and describes how it's altering the news and information world through the popularity of Weblogs and self-publishing. A guide for news organizations on how to incorporate and respond to these advances is included. Source: http://www.ndn.org/webdata/we_media/we_media.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 19 22:13:19 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: FT to pick up 13.85% in BS Message-ID: <1723.203.195.199.163.1064023999.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Financial Times will pick up a 13.85 per cent stake in Business Standard Ltd for Rs 14.1 crore. The details of the agreement will be worked out before Business Standard applies for government approval for the investment under the FDI rules for print media framed last year. The deal puts Business Standard Ltd's valuation at Rs 101.8 crore. This will be the second major foreign investment announced in an Indian newspaper, the first being Henderson's proposed acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in HT Media Ltd, floated by Hindustan Times Ltd. However, it is the first such investment by a leading global newspaper. Business Standard and Financial Times first began their cooperation a decade ago through editorial syndication of reports from FT's 300 correspondents worldwide. Over the years, the cooperation has been further expanded. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/updates/news.asp?story=5698 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 19 22:08:56 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'Prasar Bharati a Humpty Dumpty' Message-ID: <1675.203.195.199.163.1064023736.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The Prasar Bharati, said Verghese, has been a Cheshire cat with a small grin that had expanded a bit but that had again started contracting. Run by the ministry, the Prasar Bharati was not a board but a signboard, he added. ??A Humpty Dumpty they began to put back together but that was again dealt a sad blow.?? His comments, coming in the wake of I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking Director General Doordarshan S.Y. Quraishi to step down, surprised everyone. Contacted by The Indian Express, Verghese stood by his comments, saying no one has understood the Prasar Bharati properly. ??I blame everyone?the media, the Government, the I&B Ministry?for this.?? He charges that Charter 12 of the Prasar Bharati Act?which talks about the functions and powers of the corporation, detailing its role as a public service broadcaster?is being followed fitfully or not at all due to lack of interest of the people concerned. Given that it gets its personnel from the Government and its funding from the I&B Ministry, the Prasar Bharati?s functioning has been cramped, Verghese added. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=31844 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 19 21:56:15 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Headline feeds satisfy web user's appetites Message-ID: <1531.203.195.199.163.1064022975.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> The latest tool for online publishers is the Short for Rich Site Summary (RSS ), which allows websites and individual users to subscribe to headline feeds from news sites, with links to the complete stories. The feeds can be read on special software called news aggregators or on websites such as Bloglines.com. RSS is getting a boost from the popularity -even on newspaper sites- of blogging, or web logging. Many bloggers, who write online journals that typically link to other websites, use RSS because it is an easy way to aggregate headlines from a large number of sources. One of the newest RSS offerings is from The Telegraph in New Hampshire, US, where nh.com Editor Ernesto Burden's team built a feed for the latest presidential primary news. The Christian Science Monitor offers the entire paper in this format and also lets users subscribe to specific sections such as world coverage or arts, said its partnership development specialists Joel Abrams. While the site has no way of tracking individual RSS users, it serves over a million RSS files per month. "As with other Net technologies, there isn't yet an obvious business model here. I think it's better to have people read your content than not," Mr Abrams said. Source: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1981142 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 18:22:25 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Media Images Of Terrorism Message-ID: <1366.203.195.199.163.1064355745.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> THE picture, images, faces and religious identity given to terrorism by the US government and the western media have been completely internalised by our mainstream media. One can understand why the Sangh Parivar and its sympathisers should project the deteriorating relationships between different religious communities in this country, to which they have themselves contributed so crucially, as reflections of a civilisational divide; but our mainstream media as well works with this notion all the time. That these images and framework are global has contributed in no small measure to their success and effectivity. Source: http://pd.cpim.org/2003/0921/09212003_nalini%20taneja.htm From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 18:19:20 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: INS cautions print media against 'price wars' Message-ID: <1303.203.195.199.163.1064355560.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Cautioning against "price wars" and "undesirable trends" like predatory pricing, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) outgoing president Abhay Chhajlani on Friday told the print medium to ensure that competition remained healthy and "does not become cut throat in nature". Asserting competition had become the watch word in the era of liberalisation, he said, "needless to say, while we have to gear ourselves to deal with the competition from the electronic media, we must also recognise that there is competition for space within the print medium. "We must, however, ensure that such competition remains healthy and does not become cut throat in nature." On competition within the print medium, he said that at various centres, "price wars" relating to cover prices of newspapers were being witnessed. "In some cases, cover prices have been brought down so drastically that it even weakens our case when we approach the government to seek relief on issues like customs duty on newsprint". Over the years, he said, the society had successfully negotiated many hurdles and "apparently we are sailing smoothly in placid waters. Beneath the surface, however, there are undesirable trends gaining strength, like predatory pricing to eliminate healthy competition". Source: http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEK20030919132423 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 18:15:05 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: FTdeal to boost overseas investment in Indian print media Message-ID: <1235.203.195.199.163.1064355305.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A host of Indian print media companies are expected to explore possibility of attracting foreign investments in the days ahead, enthused by the Financial Times' move to enter into a deal with a local business daily. Analysts say the Financial Times' investment in Business Standard marks the first major foreign investment in an Indian daily by a strategic investor after New Delhi liberalised the investment norms in the domestic print media last year. Source: http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=16004 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Tue Sep 23 17:55:59 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Governments are silencing Internet free speech Message-ID: <4753.203.195.199.163.1064354159.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Governments across the globe are weakening the promise of the Internet as a refuge for free speech by intensifying monitoring and setting restrictions, a new study revealed. The study, Silenced, was made available at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva. Silenced showed that democratic governments have used the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 to pass laws, such as the Patriot Act in the United States, that allow a degree of intrusion into private records that would have seemed unbelievable before that date. The report also said that non-democratic governments are using Internet-related technology to take censorship to a level that would have otherwise been impossible, the article says. Source: http://www.silicon.com/news/500022/1/6093.html?et=search From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 15:12:18 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: FM Radio Privatisation: Govt May Drop Co-location Of Transmitters Message-ID: <2498.203.195.199.163.1064430738.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Co-location of transmitters, which was mandatory in phase one of FM radio privatisation for the metros, is likely to be dropped now. If that is done, the immediate gainer will be Mumbai. While players in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were forced to co-locate on a single tower to save spectrum, Mumbai was given time till December 2003 to co-locate. However, since the second phase of privatisation is round the corner and more frequencies are about to be allocated, the existing players in Mumbai are expected to be spared also, said sources. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42635 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 15:07:40 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'Govt has no right to block Yahoo group' Message-ID: <2440.203.195.199.163.1064430460.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Internet company Yahoo! seems to have complied with the Indian government's Monday order to block the "kynhun" e-Group. But did it have to? Precedent and legal opinion say no, it didn't. "The Information Technology Act does not give government the right to block web sites. The Act only talks about 'interception', which means the government can monitor the internet, not block access," says cyber law advocate Pawan Duggal. Effectively, this means the IT Act cannot be used to block or restrict people's access to seditious material. Source: http://sify.com/news/pioneer/fullstory.php?id=13259504&vsv=71 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 15:06:17 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Tatas Set To Steer Star DTH Venture With 80% Stake Message-ID: <2422.203.195.199.163.1064430377.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> After tying up with Kolkata-based Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) for Star News, the group is understood to have narrowed down on the Tatas as Indian partner for its Rs 250-crore direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting project. Star is likely to make an announcement soon, government sources said. Tata branding, sources said, is likely to be an USP for the Star DTH project. With 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in a DTH venture, the Tata group is expected to hold 80 per cent and Star 20 per cent. The total foreign investment allowed in DTH is 49 per cent. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42633 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Sep 24 15:22:05 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: FDI in TV channels - the secret war Message-ID: <2603.203.195.199.163.1064431325.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> A vociferous group of Indian broadcasters and a host of regional channels have formed what they call the Indian Media Group (IMG). The IMG is, of course, a hastily constituted conglomerate of several powerful Indian media companies (Bennett, Coleman & Co., the India Today group, Sahara and Zee, to name a few) floated to take up the Star News issue with the government. That slugfest between Indian broadcasters and foreign entertainment channels has largely escaped media attention. Understandably so. Much of the manoeuvring has been going on behind the scenes, whether it is Gurumurthy meeting Advani or Sahara chairman Subroto Roy dropping in on Prasad. And not many people wish to go on record on the matter. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/ice/story.asp?Menu=7&story=23620 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 25 15:13:59 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Govt On Revenue-sharing Wavelength For FM Radio Message-ID: <2906.203.195.199.163.1064517239.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> It is more or less final that private FM radio sector would shift to a revenue-sharing model from the existing licence fee regime. There?s a broad consensus on this view among the members of the expert committee on radio, according to sources. Although the committee, headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra, has been debating on whether to recommend a revenue- sharing structure or a fixed amount for a period of 10 years, it is firm on revenue-sharing now. Revenue-sharing will follow payment of a one-time entry fee through a process of bidding. The committee is yet to arrive on a revenue-sharing figure, but indications are that it will be quite low. Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=42698 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Sep 25 15:07:25 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: ICT workshop for Asian women journalists Message-ID: <2812.203.195.199.163.1064516845.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> OneWorld South Asia is holding a workshop for Asian women journalists in Bangalore from November 8 ? 14, 2003 to introduce them to Internet-based technologies. Last date for applications is October 8. Find more details at http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/68622 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 26 17:36:39 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: Rupert Murdoch battles on in India Message-ID: <3187.203.195.199.163.1064612199.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Many countries fear foreign control of their news media, especially when the foreigner is Rupert Murdoch. India, where suspicion of multinational firms runs deep in everything from soft drinks to accountancy, has more qualms than most. Star News, a Hindi-language news channel produced by a scion of Mr Murdoch's News Corp, has had to jump through a series of regulatory hoops. The Indian market, it seems, is worth a few contortions. Star's persistence highlights the potential of the Indian market. About 44m Indian households, some 22% of the total, have cable TV, the third-largest subscriber base in the world. Star has a very successful ?bouquet? of channels, covering movies, music and sport, and Star Plus, which offers Hindi-language entertainment. Last week, this channel broadcast all of India's 20 most-watched cable TV programmes. Star News, too, is gaining market share. According to TAM Media Research it now reaches 27% of viewers, just behind the market leader, Aaj Tak, with 29%. Source: http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2087928 From icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Sep 26 17:32:21 2003 From: icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu (icernet-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:40:54 2005 Subject: 'Foreign media investors are not rushing into India' Message-ID: <3134.203.195.199.163.1064611941.squirrel@mail.vasnet.co.in> Stating that the entry of Western media will have a positive impact on the Indian media, Chandan Mitra, MP and veteran journalist, has said that foreign investors were not rushing into the country and will not rush into it. "I don't expect invasion of foreign investors in the Indian media as there was not much profit on the card," Mitra, Editor and Managing Director of Pioneer, a leading New Delhi daily said. Asked to express his views on the entry of Western media in India, Mitra told members of the Indian Journalists Association here last night: "It will have positive impact. It will facilitate up-gradation of the technology." Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/03261117.htm