Media and Elections

Let the games begin

IN Media Watch Briefs | 2018-09-07

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..


Block level social media warriors

IN Media Watch Briefs | 2018-07-21

ET reports that the Congress party will  have a hyperlocal social media strategy for the forthcoming state elections. It says the Congress social media cell has "identified block level social media warriors" who will give feedback on community level issues to the party's social media  war room. Such as which local temples..


Naga media, the elections and ‘solutions’

BY VIKAS KUMAR| IN REGIONAL MEDIA |18/03/2018

Naga newspapers’ unwillingness to engage with the real issues plaguing the state was on display in the recent elections.

 

Head in the sand

IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |03/03/2018

 CNN New18 had a telling map of  the political contours of the NE when Narendra Modi became PM (all states with the Cong except two) and what  it looks like now, no states with Congress except one that it just might hang on to. But what was the Congress tweeting..

 

Mood of the nation?

IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |26/01/2018

How do you report the findings of a poll?  With the PM's personal popularity holding,   or with the fact that the ruling alliance NDA would not get a majority?  Or that in vote share the UPA  is just two percent points  behind the NDA?  Surely not getting a majority..

 

Setting the agenda for the Telangana elections

BY PADMAJA SHAW| IN REGIONAL MEDIA |02/01/2018

The media’s coverage of a dalit protest reveals how it played into the BJP game, promoting its agenda by repeating its claims and slogans,

 

Gujarat 2017: How did the media fare?

BY SEVANTI NINAN| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |14/12/2017

Though partisan channels batted for the incumbent, there was enough clear-eyed reporting on offer to unsettle the ruling party.

 

Zee News does its bit

IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |15/11/2017

 Zee News has rolled up its sleeves  to do battle on behalf of the BJP as the Gujarat elections approach.  On Nov 14 they played the Hardik Patel CD at prime time,  and when it showed precious little that was incriminating the voice over said the channel was not playing..

 

EVMs: conspiracy of silence?

BY RAVIKIRAN SHINDE| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |31/03/2017

Why have the media bought the view that EVMs are infallible when some experts – and the Supreme Court – disagree?

 

How Jagran and Ujala covered UP: Part I

BY ANKITA PANDEY| IN MEDIA MONITORING |25/02/2017

Of all the parties in the UP election, the BJP received more coverage in Amar Ujala and Dainik Jagran, mainly because it had more star campaigners. 

 

How Jagran and Ujala covered UP: Part II

BY ANKITA PANDEY| IN MEDIA MONITORING |25/02/2017

Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala were pretty balanced but one striking failure was putting tough questions to politicians on behalf of their readers

 

Overhyping the Ajmal Factor in Assam polls

BY RAJEEV BHATTACHARYYA| IN REGIONAL MEDIA |26/05/2016

Sections of the media failed to see the BJP wave and made the mistake of over-estimating the role of AIUDF’s Ajmal.

 

 

Sweet victory, despite the media coverage

BY SEVANTI NINAN| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |19/05/2016

Does goondagiri and corruption loom much larger for journalists than it does for voters? Is that why they missed the Mamata sweep,

 

NDTV’s Battleground Assam: wrong on history and facts

BY AMAN WADUD| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |12/04/2016

Prannoy Roy classifies all Muslims in Assam as migrants and Ahoms as Assamese but the earliest Muslim settlers came before the Ahoms did,

 

Failing to read Bihar

BY JYOTI PUNWANI| IN OPINION |07/12/2015

A few brilliant reports apart, the preconceptions of the English press prevented them from grasping what was happening in the Bihar election.

 

Recall the ones we got right?

IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |17/11/2015

The Bihar elections may have been driven out of people's news recall by subsequent events but the outcome still rankles for Today's Chanakya, the pollster who inverted the results somewhat. It has now come up with a new effort to retrieve its reputation: a release saying that they would just..

 

Winning channel, losing pollster

IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |08/11/2015

By 11 am on November 8 there were two clear media outcomes. CNN IBN which had been calling itself the election headquarters just as Times Now had, was the clear leader among channels, with far more leads at a given time than the others. It called the Bihar elections  just..

 

One step forward, two steps backwards

BY SEVANTI NINAN| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |07/11/2015

Caste dominated the Bihar election and its coverage. The state's progress was seen through its prism

 

Modi the moderate?

BY Jyoti Punwani| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |04/06/2014

Did Narendra Modi really discard the traditional electoral ploys of caste and religion in his campaign, as the media claims?

 

The pull of the polls

BY Mannika Chopra| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |17/05/2014 

Many, many opinions, and some facts too, on news channels as the results of a hotly contested election are announced.

 

Did the media manufacture consent in this election?

BY The Hoot| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |22/05/2014

Is the press so powerful in India that it is able to manufacture consent?

 

Explaining an amazing election 

BY sevanti ninan| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |18/05/2014 

But is it indeed only one man's victory or a victory derived from the first past the post system that our parliamentary democracy follows?

 

Exit poll 2014: yet another manufactured media jamboree?

BY NUPUR BASU| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |14/05/2014 

At 6.30 pm on May 12, the exit polls burst through on TV channels. The only problem was that the range was so wide that the numbers only indicated who was winning.

 

"People don't ask about issues that journalists are obsessed with"

BY ANJALI PURI| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |10/04/2014 

As Delhi voted, the fortunes of three journalists who made their political debut in this general election as the candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party were also being decided.

 

Minimal presence, minimal use

BY KANNAMMA RAMAN and ASHWIN PARTHASARATHY| IN SPECIAL REPORTS |07/01/2014

Women contestants in the recent Delhi polls were either totally absent from social media, or at best fringe actors.

 

Delhi poll: social media potential high, readiness poor

BY KANNAMMA RAMAN and ASHWIN PARTHASARATHY| IN SPECIAL REPORTS |25/11/2013

As of now the question is not whether the social media will play an important role in the forthcoming Assembly election but whether parties are geared to use it?

 

Andhra panchayat polls coverage 'confusing'?

BY R.Jagadeeswara Rao| IN REGIONAL MEDIA|25/07/2013 

Results of first phase of panchayat elections held in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, as reported in various newspapers, have left the reader and viewer confused and amused.

 

Assam channels re-enact poll wars

IN MEDIA PRACTICE |17/05/2011

The Assam election process has been completed and the Congress has been returned to power with a thumping majority.

 

The Sun shines on Karunanidhi in TN polls

BY Sanjay Bharthur| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |30/03/2011 

The DMK front rally was telecast live by Sun News. With a control of over 60 per cent of electronic media, the DMK holds an edge in Tamil Nadu elections.

 

TV transforms Assam's election experience

BY TERESA REHMAN| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |18/03/2011

Today, television has brought elections closer home. And common people are giving vent to their pent-up feelings and frustrations on the various shows on television.

 

All the news that’s fit to buy

BY S Y Quraishi| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |20/03/2010

Paid news is not free speech. The commission is concerned about the undue influence that paid news can create in the mind of the voter. It is against free and fair polls. It could derail democracy,

 

Selling coverage and getting away with it

BY hoot| IN MEDIA PRACTICE|29/10/2009

Now that the elections in Maharashtra are over will the Election Commission consider being more proactive than it was after the Lok Sabha elections in the matter of paid news

 

More on how the media earned from the elections

BY Anil Chamdia| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |09/06/2009

The way in which the ruling party in Punjab had chalked out a plan for exploiting the media to its advantage during elections as can be seen from the following chart.

 

Poll time reality check

BY KALPANA SHARMA| IN OPINION |17/04/2009

Elections are a time when the media discovers the real India and ventures to do stories about them. They give newspapers a news hook to run such stories,

 

Prince in the Pi(libhi)t and other poll-time maladies

BY Padmaja Shaw| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |04/04/2009

Anchors should record their own shows, analyse them interruption by interruption, trivial question by trivial question and see if there’s some real news they can add to beef it up..

 

Telugu channels in election mode

BY Padmaja Shaw| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |15/02/2009

During this election season the Election commission should ensure that the media is not manipulated by candidates, political parties and partisan lobbies,

 

After Mayawati does mainstream media matter?

BY James Mutti| IN REGIONAL MEDIA |15/05/2007 

Despite refusing to feed itself into the media machine that is believed to be essential to disseminating political information, the BSP won.

 

The pitfalls of instant edits

BY Darius Nakhoonwala| IN OPINION |13/05/2007

Everyone got the UP election wrong. But no one said sorry.

 

Opinion polls or poll opinions?

BY ramanujan| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |01/05/20

The Hindu survey seems to be more scientific and methodical while the others only reflect the editorial policy of the publication concerned. 

 

Media influence in Kerala elections

IN MEDIA PRACTICE |17/04/2006

The CPM openly admitted that in Kerala this time they had to accept changes owing to media pressure.

 

Pre election advertisement politics

IN MEDIA PRACTICE |17/02/2006

Ever seen a sting or expose on how governments spend money on meaningless press advertisements? You won’t.

 

Towards A Flawed Verdict

IN MEDIA PRACTICE |26/10/2004

Ignored so far by the major media, a small storm has been gaining in strength with its eye in these flawed voting machines.

 

India’s post-election media circus

BY ninan| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |24/05/2004

In the news business this is the sort of fortnight to die for. So how did our fourth estate acquit itself during this period?

 

Commerce, politics and caste in UP election coverage

BY Vij| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |19/05/2004

Tongue fully in cheek, Awasthi says that upto 10% of ‘biased’ stories don’t hurt a paper’s credentials…

 

The media and the verdict of Election 2004

BY ninan| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |13/05/2004

The media missed the big picture, and it was the party with less advertising on television that got seats.

 

Exit Polls 2004, what went wrong -- Part II

BY B S Chandrasekhar| IN BOOKS |23/05/2004

There were at least four areas where the pollsters appear to be deliberately transgressing the basic principles of research methods.

 

Exit polls 2004: What went wrong and why -- Part I

BY B S Chandrasekhar| IN BOOKS |20/05/2004

The exit polls on the average have given 68 more seats to NDA than it got and consequently 36 seats less to Congress and 32 seats less to Others.

 

Why opinion polls go wrong

BY Arvind Kalia and Shipra Mathur| IN BOOKS |05/05/2004

Any scientifically designed survey can go wrong drastically if errors occurring in interpersonal communication and observations are not taken care of.

 

Media boom in Orissa, at election time?

BY patnaik| IN REGIONAL MEDIA|28/04/2004 ?

Elections for the Parliament and Assembly seats are being held simultaneously in Orissa after 33 years, making it the perfect launching pad for at least ten new newspapers.

 

Theory and practice of election forecasting

BY B S Chandrasekhar| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |24/04/2004

An overview of forecasting methods, their perils and the pollsters’ track record so far.

 

One on one campaigning in Goa

BY ninan| IN REGIONAL MEDIA |22/04/2004 

The island state with an 82 per cent literacy rate is attempting an opinion-building exercise with low cost and low-key campaign strategies. 

 

Election 2003—half baked analysis

BY hoot| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |08/12/2003

If you look closely at the coverage it becomes clear that one thing journalists no longer do very much is to analyze the poll data carefully.

 

Assessing The Role Of Television In The General Election 1998.

IN BOOKS |08/09/2002

 

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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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