A new look for the Hoot, and renewed resolve

Airlines sometimes acquire new livery, newspapers re-launch with new design and masthead, and magazines resize themselves. The objective in each case is purposeful change, to announce that you mean business with renewed zest.

It¿s the same with the Hoot which has been around for six and a half years on the sort of budget normal websites would consume in a few months. Still, we needed a contemporary look and better navigation, and to offer more value in use. So we decided to take the plunge and pay the bills later! 

The new design comes with fresh resolve. Indian media needs a watchdog more than ever, and it needs one that looks sharp. So the owl is leaner and perkier, and the new sections less fuzzy in nomenclature. Our resources and tools for journalists now occupy a fixed and prominent place. We hope visitors will quickly learn to navigate the new Hoot and make it a daily habit.

Limited funding has long limited what we can offer. Indian funding to run a media watchdog has not been forthcoming, and our application for registration under India¿s Foreign Contributions Regulation Act has been pending for an entire year. We hope that will change. Media accountability serves everyone¿s purpose and should be vital for a democracy. If you approve of what we do, spread the word about the Hoot, advertise on it and support it in whatever way you can. A secure payment gateway for Indian contributions is a new feature on the site. We also need to nurture more media criticism of a high order, so keep us on our toes with your feedback.

The Hoot has three objectives. To help journalists see themselves as others see us by holding up a mirror to media practice; to provide tools and resources to help them to do their job better, and to be a press freedom watchdog. Four journalists have been sentenced to jail for contempt of court. The government tries to compensate for its inability to bring about broadcast legislation by issuing arbitrary diktats which shut  TV channels down for a period of time. And self-censorship within media establishments is on the rise. All of this needs to be pointed out by a hooting owl.

So enjoy the new Hoot. Use the comments section after each article. Check out our columns section for both Hoot columns as well as links to media columns elsewhere. Enjoy our media briefs and tell us what is happening in the media you work for so that we can keep the snippets coming. And check out our jobs section which we promise to keep updated.  

We aim to be a site which keeps media practitioners on their toes. Nothing  more, nothing less.