Media Monitoring

Govt bracing to 'gag' media through broadcast services bill, says Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Modi government of preparing to "gag" digital media, social media, OTT platforms and those who write and speak in private capacity by bringing in the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, and said the country will not tolerate such actions. The Congress general secretary shared on X two quotes of Mahatma Gandhi (Young India, 1922) and that of Jawaharlal Nehru (March, 1940) in which they had stressed the importance of freedom of speech and press. "These two examples show that our citizens have not got freedom of speech and freedom of the press just like that. Millions of people have fought for it for years," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. "Civil liberties and freedom of the press are the great legacy of our martyrs and freedom fighters," she said. In the history of independent India, no government could ever think of crushing the freedom of the citizens, Priyanka Gandhi said. "Today, on one side by the us

WhatsApp, TikTok, X and content creators emerge as major news sources

The proportion of people paying for news, in 20 rich countries, has remained at 17 per cent for the last three years

Delhi HC seeks police stand on plea by Prabir Purkayastha against UAPA FIR

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the city police on a plea by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha challenging the FIR against him under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations of spreading pro-China propaganda. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice on the petition that was filed in 2023 after the journalist's arrest in October. The counsel for the Delhi Police opposed issuance of notice on the petition and informed the court that the news portal's human resources department chief Amit Chakravarty has turned an approver the case. The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on October 3 last year and both of them are currently in judicial custody. According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the portal came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country. It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the ...

White House writes to WHCA over inaccurate reporting by major media outlets

In a rare move, the White House Counsel's Office has written to the White House Correspondents Association expressing concern over the striking inaccuracies in the reporting of several US media outlets on the recent release of a Special Counsel report on the handling of classified documents by President Joe Biden as a private citizen. In the letter addressed to WHCA president Kelly O'Donnell from NBC News, White House Counsel's Office spokesman Ian Sams listed out the alleged factual inaccuracies in the reporting of several American media outlets, including CNN, CBS News, the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Sams also asked that the letter be distributed through WHCA's email chain that goes out to its members and journalists. The WHCA, however, refused to share the letter through its platform. It is inappropriate for the White House to utilise internal pool distribution channels, primarily for logistics and the rapid sharing of need-to-know information,

Newsclick HR head Amit Chakravarty moves HC seeking bail in UAPA case

NewsClick's Human Resources department chief Amit Chakravarty on Wednesday urged the Delhi High Court to grant him bail in the case lodged against the news portal under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that it received money to spread pro-China propaganda. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved the order on the bail plea by Chakravarty, who turned an approver in the case last month, after the police said it has no objections if the relief is granted to him. Chakravarty's lawyer said that he has been granted pardon in the case by the trial court and was also cooperating in the probe. "I have been in custody since October 3, 2023, and still the matter is at the stage of investigation. No chargesheet is filed," the lawyer told the court quoting Chakravarty. Special Judge Hardeep Kaur had last month allowed Chakravarty to turn an approver and pardoned him. Chakravarty has claimed that he was in possession of "material information" about the case which he was willing to disclose to

Sanjay Raut booked for sedition over objectionable article against PM Modi

An FIR was then lodged against Sanjay Raut under sections 153 A, 505 B and 124 A (sedition) of the IPC

NewsClick row: HR head moves bail plea, Prabir seeks release of electronics

On October 25, the trial court had allowed the Delhi Police application which sought 9 days of further custodial remand of Prabir and Amit Chakravarty

NewsClick row: SC to hear pleas of Purkayastha, HR in UAPA case on Oct 19

The Supreme Court Wednesday said it will hear on October 19 two separate pleas of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty against their arrest under anti-terror law UAPA, after the Delhi High Court refused to grant them any relief. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra, which took up the petitions, told senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Purkayastha and Chakravarty, respectively, that it needs to peruse the pleas. "We need to go through the files. We will take both the matters tomorrow," Justice Gavai said. On October 16, the top court agreed to list the matter urgently after Sibal mentioned it before the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The CJI had asked Sibal to circulate the case papers and said he would take a call on urgent listing of the matter. The Delhi High Court had on October 13 dismissed their pleas against arrest and subsequent police remand in the case. Both were arrested by the .

Kremlin tells state media to start admitting some failures in Ukraine war

After months of reporting virtually nothing but battlefield successes, state TV has lately been cataloging Russian retreats and defeats - without the usual positive spin from the Ministry of Defence

EU drafts new media laws amid concern over spying, state pressure

The European Union's executive branch unveiled plans Friday for new laws that it said would help protect media freedom and independence in the 27-nation bloc at a time of mounting concern about the dangers of political influence in several member countries. Spurred into action allegations of state spying on reporters, the use of political pressure on news outlets and the placing of advertising to peddle influence, the European Commission said the EU needs a European Media Freedom Act. We see a lot of worrying trends regarding media in Europe, and it's not only a matter of one or two countries, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told reporters in Brussels. She said the proposed legislation is needed for the times we live in, not for the times we would like to live in. The commission has criticised the governments of Hungary, Poland and Slovenia in recent years for trying to pressure their national media. But EU officials say they see the risk of political influence in mo

Samsung launches 'Odyssey' curved gaming monitors in India: Details here

The Samsung Odyssey gaming monitors includes a G9 model of 49-inch screen size and a G7 model, which would be available in 32-inch and 27-inch screen size variants

This is no Emergency

By looking for an Emergency in our times, we forget to notice that the first Republic inaugurated with the Constitution of India is already over

How successive Indian governments have been monitoring the media

From boycotting programmes and functions, to blocking broadcasting signals, the present dispensation seems bent on snuffing out 'negative' news ahead of state polls and the 2019 general election