Self censorship?

IN Media Watch Briefs | 28/04/2017
The story on India having slipped  three places in the international press freedom rankings is one several newspapers have carried. It is based on an index of press freedom report by the global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders which says that journalists  are less free under the Modi government due to threats from Hindu nationalists.The Economic Times had the story too, with the headline India slips in media freedom ranking: Report. But the report has now been removed.  And, hold your breath, TOI removed the story too! Self censorship?                      
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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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