Malicious reporting?

IN Media Watch Briefs | 05/01/2016

The Tamil Nadu government has begun the new year undeterred, filing two criminal defamation complaints against TOI and Dinamalar for their coverage of the Chennai floods. In Dec. 2015 the Supreme Court had observed that the bulk of defamation cases in the country are filed in Tamil Nadu. The city public prosecutor, M L Jegan, who is the CM's man for filing such prosecutions, moved the complaints on her behalf. The Times story in its December 9 edition on the delay in the decision to open the sluice gates causing the flood trouble, invited the CM's ire. Dinamalar had said that the TN govt. had converted torrential rains into floods. Both reports were termed malicious and defamatory.

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Amazon resisting voluntary censorship

The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.

Let the games begin

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.