Never a Dull Moment

IN Media Watch Briefs | 18/02/2016

Various news channels' coverage of the JNU crisis and the Patiala House Court attacks range from the outrageous to the laughable. Arnab the Terrible on Feb 17's Newshour Debate, lashed out at the media at large for being unprofessional (read anti-national) and not having the courage, as Times Now did,  to carry the footage of the gathering in JNU that conclusively proved the complicity of some student leaders in their 'seditious'  intent. (He did not add where Times Now received the footage from or whether it was verified). Later, on the channel, BJP's spokesperson, Sambit Patra on his iPad showed footage of Kanihya Kumar mouthing anti-India slogans. Perhaps the more 'professional' Times Now should have informed its audience on the authenticity of the tape before airing it.

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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.                   

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.                 

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