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Written-off: How the Indian news media deals with its freelance journalists
Date published: January 13, 2009
Author: Newswatch Desk
In late February last year, we carried out an informal survey of freelance journalists in India. The questionnaire itself was ad hoc, but the trends that emerged were clear—most freelance journalists in this country are perceived to be the stepchildren of the Indian news media. Though some indications are there, we want to come up with concrete numbers. Hence, this—the first ever research study about the status of freelance journalists in India. We wanted to look at job (in)security, payment defaulters, general working conditions, legal frameworks, copyrights, arm-twisting tactics of news establishments, et al.
Journalist's video gives rare look at war behind Taliban enemy lines
A Norwegian journalist has been granted unprecedented access to the Taliban army for the first time. The journalist, Norwegian Paul Refsdal, says Taliban leader Commander Dawran granted him the...
Iran newspaper calls Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a 'prostitute', wants her death
A hardline Iranian newspaper has called the French first lady a "prostitute" and recommended she be put to death for supporting a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for adultery.
Under the...
Ugandan court strikes down criminal sedition, upholds right to free speech
Uganda's Constitutional Court has declared the country's criminal sedition offence, which has been used to prosecute journalists, unconstitutional.
The ruling was based on a 2005 constitutional...
Two Ukrainian TV stations have licences revoked, could face criminal charges
The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed grave concern for the state of media freedom in Ukraine after a court ruling forced one TV station off the air and limited the licences of...
Mumbai terror attacks coverage was extensive but theatrical, DD News was least sensational
Shortly after it dawned on all and sundry that what was initially thought of as only a gang war, was in fact a concerted attack by terrorists on the night of November 26, 2008, all eyes of the nation, and the world, were trained on Mumbai. The coverage of the attacks was to become a watershed in India’s television history. But hardly had the first night wore on, signs of criticism of the coverage began surfacing. Over Facebook status messages, through SMSs, and subsequently through blogs and other outlets. Even as National Security Guard (NSG) commandos fought a pitched battle with the terrorists, and television cameras and journalists kept viewers updated all through, coverage itself became news. For all the wrong reasons, one might argue.
Media covers accused more than victims in high-profile cases, finds Newswatch study
The last few years have seen a number of high-profile cases in Indian courts wherein the rich and mighty have been held guilty and sentenced to prison. The news media, in many cases, has been accused of conducting its own shadow trials. The news media coverage these court cases have derived has been phenomenal. This year saw Delhi courts passing verdicts in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder and BMW hit-and-run cases.
Noida CEO killing: Inaccuracies, inconsistencies , anti-labour bias marked coverage
On September 22, 2008, the chief executive officer of a firm in the industrial town of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh was killed by some sacked workers. Gory incidents like these, usually, bring out contentious issues that form the backdrop — provided those are contextually highlighted by the news media.
Newswatch decided to look at the news media coverage that the incident generated. The study was conducted over a four-day period starting the day the CEO was killed. It was meant to be a qualitative analysis, not a quantitative one. The idea was to look at the way the news media covered the issue, and not quantify the exact number of publications or news outlets that did a story, or did not.
After the preliminary data collection, 114 news items were shortlisted for analysis. Inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and preponderance of anti-labour quotes marked the findings.
Written-off: How the Indian news media deals with its freelance journalists
In late February last year, we carried out an informal survey of freelance journalists in India. The questionnaire itself was ad hoc, but the trends that emerged were clear—most freelance journalists in this country are perceived to be the stepchildren of the Indian news media. Though some indications are there, we want to come up with concrete numbers. Hence, this—the first ever research study about the status of freelance journalists in India. We wanted to look at job (in)security, payment defaulters, general working conditions, legal frameworks, copyrights, arm-twisting tactics of news establishments, et al.
Indian media ignored indigenous Dongria Kondhs, gave lopsided coverage to corporate giant Vedanta
The Indian media by and large ignored the indigenous tribals living in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa while according lopsided, voluminous coverage to Vedanta during recent developments over the corporate giant’s controversial mining and refinery projects in the eastern state, an independent study has found.
Indian newspapers made passing or no mention of the Dongria Kondh tribals whose very existence would have been at stake had the ministry of environment and forests not rejected the forest clearance for the project. On the other hand, the coverage centered around the UK-based Vedanta Resources and its activities, charges against it, and its denials, found the study by Newswatch, an online monitor that looks at news and developments pertaining to press freedom, journalistic ethics, and the news media industry.
