Rebuff from Nepal

IN Media Watch Briefs | 04/05/2015

On 3 May, #GoHomeIndianMedia became one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter. Apparently this began after Sunita Shakya, a non-resident Nepali, wrote a blog post for CNN on 1 May called “Letter To Indian Media” pointing out Indian TV channels’ insensitive reporting from Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake. Later many other Nepalis as well as Indians expressed similar sentiments. “We neighbours have watched Indian TV askance, for competitive jingoism in reportage & talk shows,” tweeted Kanak Mani Dixit on 3 May. “This explains much of #GoHomeIndianMedia.”

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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.