Wrong comparison

IN Media Watch Briefs | 11/03/2013

A story in Indian Express cited a recent Lancet study which said that probability of death due to cancer in Punjab is much less than the national average. However, the reporter failed to notice that the data used for the study dated back to 2001–03. Instead, the story goes on comparing these results with a door-to-door survey conducted last year which put the cancer incidence in Punjab at 90 persons per one lakh, higher than the national average of 80 persons per lakh. Such mistakes show why we always need to verify the methodology of a scientific study before giving it prominence.

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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.