MIRACLE BARGAD (Banyan) TREE in Pitath

The big Banyan tree which fell down in a strong strom some two years back. It was just a chance that I got it clicked and saved in my Mobile camera phone. I tried to convince many electronic media people about the MIRACLE but no one believed. One of them even said aesha ho hi nahi sakta. One TV jurno said Delhi ne mana karwa diya hai. Well the below pictures tell the real story. The mediamen who are visiting the spot saying aesha bhi hota hai kaliyug mein. The branches were taken away by innocent people of the village and only the heavy root and trunk was left. As it was too heavy to be lifted and one thing more with no bridge on the CHHERA river there is no way for taking the help of tractor or any other heavy motorised machine to lift the tree trunk. Its a MIRACLE.

Its a miracle. The above picture shows the tree in straight position. No physical power was used to lift it like that. Well the faith of the people is so strong that puja and hawan is going on from the day on ie 20 JUNE 2008, Friday.

The huge trunk from a close range shot. The picture tells the story.

Devotees offering puja. Now the news have spread to far of places first, thanks to the cellular companies for providing tele network in the remotest village Pitath. The scene is like lut sake to lut prabhu ki maya bat rahi hai. All relatives were informed and those living outstation and abroad are rushing in just to have the ashirvad. Most of the local people suffering from several diseases and ailments are cured by the grace of PRABHUJI and the number of devotees is increasing everyday.

NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY NAMAH SHIVAY

DEAR ALL

Miracles do happen in this yuga also.

GREETINGS from Pitath, Bhojpur. May the greatest /blessings of MAHADEVJI be with you always I am writing this mail from PITATH a village some twenty kms west of Hari Gaon in Bhojpur district of Bihar , India. Pitath is 122 kms in west of Patna and about 55 kms from ARA the district HQs of Bhojp\ur. Bhojpur is in BIHAR, Bihar is ruled by Mr Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister). Earlier it was Mr Lalu Yadav and Mrs Rabri Devi managing the state of affairs in Bihar.

Interestingly the village is locted very near to Hari Gaon. Hari Gaon i srelated to Mauritius. The Honourable Prime Minister recently visited Hari Gaon. And just a little ahead of it the miracle has taken place. I am sending the report published in the local Hindi daily. The miracle__ there was an old banyan tree which fell down in a storm. The local people cut all its branches and took all the woods for cooking food. It so happened on Friday morning (JUNE 20, 2008) the tree all of a sudden got up on its own.

A boy who was sitting nearby saw it and ran away fearing something unusual was happening. He informed the villagers and it was a miracle.The people started doing puja and offering prashad.The local newspapers carried the report in the next day edition.

By that time the crowd started growing. I am also in possession of photo of the tree which was lying flat on the ground till Thursday(June 19, 2008).

I took the photo to highlight degrading environment.

The faith of people in miracle even in this kaliyuga is strengthened.

The people who don't believe in miracle should come and see the miracle on their own.

My purpose of sending mail to your excellency is to see for yourself the miracle of SHIVJI. Mahadevji's kind blessing is there and it will be very nice of your excellency to visit the place and get Prabhuji's blessings.

Thanking you with profound regards.
GANESH Upadhyay,

Journalist and Social Activist

patnag@gmail.com

+91 9835071205
+91 9334669833

+91 9431848786

Call me anytimePatna

PITATH Banyan tree

MIRACLE_Banyan tree got up on its own

MIRACLE_Banyan tree got up on its own

CHAUTHAKHAMBA_Media outsourcing attracts ire of US brigade

Media outsourcing attracts ire of US brigade
Ravi Menon in Bangalore

June 03, 2008 13:24 IST

For instance, a digital advertising contract between India's second largest IT services provider Infosys Technologies and a major American newspaper group is threatening to become a rallying point for the brigade to regroup and renew attacks on outsourcing of management information systems (MIS) and key operations-related work to India.Infosys Technologies, according to sources, signed an advertising outsourcing deal with Missouri-based Kansas City Star sometime last month. The daily, a part of the McClatchy Company that also publishes the Miami Herald, will outsource advertising production work for its new media/digital business to Bangalore.
An industry source claimed that City Star would be outsourcing its entire digital advertising team to Infosys [Get Quote]. "While the deal is not substantial in terms of payback, over the next three to five years, City Star has been looking at gaining the economy of scale in its production set-up over the past year by outsourcing digital media production across a few of its publications to different vendors," the source said.
On the daily's website, City Star President and Publisher Mark Zieman said the move is expected to reduce the number of employees in the newspaper's advertising services department by up to nine.
"Given the historic transformation going on in our industry, the Star must continue to find ways to run more efficiently in every area," Zieman wrote, adding that all creative work for print and online advertisers would continue to be handled inhouse. "Of course, our advertising customers will continue to interact with our local sales and design representatives," Zieman said.
Zieman did not respond to an e-mailed questionnaire on the deal. An Infosys spokesperson, when contacted, refused to elaborate on the terms and duration of the agreement with the Star, saying that the company does not respond to queries on individual contracts.
Infosys is not the lone vendor in this case. Holdings of McClatchy, the third largest media conglomerate in the US, include the Miami Herald, the Star Tribune, Sacremento Bee, and the Raleigh News & Observer.
The first three dailies have outsourced a part of their advertising production to Express KCS, which runs a production centre in Gurgaon. A few publications owned by MediaNews Group Inc, including the San Jose Mercury News, are known to be among KCS' customers.
In February this year, publishing company Gannet Co Inc outsourced digital ad production work for group newspapers Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and Press & Sun-Bulletin, among other papers, to 2AdPro, a division of Bangalore-based content services vendor Ninestars Information Technology Ltd. Ninestars has global delivery centres in Chennai and Kancheepuram with software development and R&D work done out of Bangalore.
Earlier, The Miami Herald and San Francisco Chronicle, a Hearst Communications Inc publication, briefly flirted with the idea of outsourcing a substantial portion of editorial design work, including copy editing and page layout, to New Delhi-based Mindworks.
Both were quick to drop the plan in the face of stiff opposition from their rank and file, and hyperventilation on the topic from the local press. Now, it's the turn of advertising executives, ad production designers and graphic artists to quake in their shoes at the thought of their jobs getting outsourced to India.
The global market for multimedia digitisation services, which includes digital advertising production, currently stands at $2 billion, growing at over 30 per cent annually, according to experts. Indian companies are targetting an addressable market of 8-10 per cent by 2010. Not big by the hefty software exports target of $50 billion for that year, though a good handle for the outsourcing doomsayers to clobber Indian tech vendors with.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jun/03bpo1.htm

CHAUTHAKHAMBA_The problem that is the media

The problem that is the media
T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan

Between 1980 and 1997, I was a full-time journalist. Since then I have been a columnist for this newspaper. This takes up, on average, about three hours a day. In the remaining time, I do a bit of this and a bit of that and it is great fun.
But since my primary identity has been of a journalist, it is not surprising that people should complain to me about the media as if I can do something about it. Initially, I would defend my professional colleagues as being more sinned against than sinning. But not any longer because I think the journalists have a lot to answer for.
So I have decided to devote this article to the media, for two reasons. The first is that 11 years is a long enough time for me to be able to stop defending my former professional colleagues. Second, in the last few months, there has been a steep increase in the number of times people have voiced very deep dis-satisfaction with the media.
Thus, when people complain, it turns out very quickly that they are complaining about television. Print is usually less complained against.
Second, if you ask enough questions, it turns out that most of the complaints are occasioned by irritation rather than a factual mistake in reporting. That perhaps explains why there are fewer complaints against print, which irritates no one except those about whom it has got the facts wrong. They, of course, are incensed but it is only by chance that one gets to meet them when they are really angry. Some, of course, phone to protest.
Third, in the financial press � about which I can claim to know something � it is not mala fide (as is often assumed) but plain old fashioned ignorance that lies at the heart of the problem. This is not to say there are no bent journalists. But they are far fewer now than a decade ago.
Ignorance manifests in some strange ways. For example, a day before the RBI increased the interest rates, the largest circulated newspaper in the country reported that no such thing was even being contemplated. And when the increase was actually announced, the reporter on the largest-viewed business channel just lost it, saying the RBI had misled the markets because it had said that it "soothing" things just the previous day. Recently, a well-reputed newspaper carried a report on page one that every dollar that India accumulated between April and June cost it Rs 169 per dollar. The actual figure was less than Rs 43.
Fourth, there has been a staggering increase in the number of publications, and with it, a corresponding increase in the number of columnists, that is writers who have a fixed space reserved for them in the publication. The result is that persons with very little understanding, leave alone comprehension, have become pundits, writing pretty much what they please. (Many people believe I am one of them but a pox on them).
Fifth, with only a few exceptions, there has been a general devaluation of the editorial. Few papers ever took them seriously but now in most newspapers it has become just one more hole in the page to be filled. And, what is worse, many important newspapers, it has become a vehicle for airing the personal opinion of the editor, rather than that of some group or class interest, which is what the editorial used to do in the past. Two striking examples of this are worth citing.
One is the manner in which the nuclear deal has been written about by a leading newspaper from the south - India will become a US pawn in that country's battle against China. The other was the view, expressed repeatedly, in a BJP paper from Delhi that the exit of Nepal's monarch was a blow against Hindus, quite disregarding the fact that those who voted the monarch out were themselves Hindus. There has also been a steep decline in the intellectual quality of the persons charged with writing editorials because it costs so much to hire a clever, well-read and sensible writers.
Sixth, the proliferation of TV channels and its hit-and-run nature has meant the deployment of a vast army of the untutored persons who not only report the news but also, as they babble along, give opinions, usually in response to some inane question from the anchor. But, as I said, these persons are merely irritating. It is the print media that hurts more.
I can go on but the short point is clear: those who complain against the media have a much stronger case today than they did in the past. It is the media, particularly television, which has to take corrective steps. The policy only maximising viewership matters has resulted in people not watching the news as much as they used to - they read the ticker underneath instead.
In the old days they used to shoot the messenger who brought bad news. Now the messengers are shooting themselves.

Chauthakhamba_India's poor pay Rs.9 bn in bribes for basic facilities

India's poor pay Rs.9 bn in bribes for basic facilities

Sat, Jun 28 06:54 AM

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS)
India's poor paid nearly Rs.9 billion in bribes over only three months to avail basic public utility services, a new study said Saturday.
NGO Transparency International India (TII) found in its survey conducted between November 2007 and January 2008 that Rs.8.83 billion was paid as bribes by those living below the poverty line (BPL) to avail 11 types of services.
The survey found that the police department was the most corrupt, with two out of every five people seeking its help forced to pay bribes.
According to the survey conducted by the Centre for Media Studies and issued by TII, those involved in land records and registration services took the second spot in the list of bribe takers.
The ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) launched by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government is also plagued by corruption, it said.
Even though the 'school education up to Class 12' was the least corrupt service, it was found that BPL households paid Rs.120 million in bribes to put their children to school.
'This kind of corruption that denies people their entitlement to basic and need based services, many of which may be 'free' by law, results in the poor finding themselves at the losing end of the corruption chain,' said TII chairman Admiral (retd.) R.H. Tahiliani.
'This increases disparity in income and deepens poverty,' he added.
For the poor who have no option but to go to government hospitals fo healthcare, the situation is disappointing.
'Almost four million BPL households had to bribe hospital staff to get services like getting admission in the hospital, getting a bed, diagnostic services and getting an OPD card,' the report said.
The total amount of bribe paid to the hospital staff by the poor in the last one year is estimated to be Rs.870 million.
Nearly one million households were denied hospital services simply because they either refused to pay bribes or could not afford to do so.
The study also revealed that 5.36 million BPL families had to pay bribe or use a contact to avail public distribution service (PDS) that is meant for them.
A majority pointed out that they bribed officials in order to get a ration card.
The survey further revealed that people have to bribe officials in order to get an electricity connection or to get faulty electricity meter rectified.

Dhaka media carries routine reports on Manekshaw death

Dhaka media carries routine reports on Manekshaw death

Sat, Jun 28 01:22 AM

Dhaka, June 28 (IANS)

The Bangladesh media Friday carried wire service reports about the death of former Indian Army chief Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, but there were no commentaries or editorials on the man who scripted Bangladesh's liberation from Pakistan in 1971.
This was in sharp contrast to the rich tributes that were paid to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, who commanded the ground offensive Dec 3-16 that culminated in the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops and the creation of Bangladesh. That was on the 25th anniversary of the liberation in 1996 and again when Aurora died May 3, 2005.
Manekshaw was India's army chief in 1971. The joint India-Bangladesh forces led by Lt. Gen. Aurora, then head of the Indian Army's Eastern Command, and Bangladesh's Col. M.A.G. Osmany carried out the military campaign.
The nitty gritty of the campaign had been planned by Maj. Gen. J.F.R. Jacob, chief of staff of the Eastern Command.
The low-key reaction to Manekshaw's death is not surprising because at the political level, Bangladesh has been generally wary of acknowledging the role the Indian armed forces played in its liberation. India lost over 4,000 soldiers in the process.
For Bangladesh, its heroes are the sector commanders who led the forces during the December campaign.
One of them, Ziaur Rahman, later went on to become the army chief and then the president.
Bangladesh's heads of state and governments have, however, at the diplomatic level, expressed appreciation of India's role in the creation of the nation.
The Chief of Bangladesh Army Gen. Moin U. Ahmed was in India earlier this year after which a 11-member delegation of former Indian Army soldiers who took part in the 1971 war visited Bangladesh.
Led by Jacob, they were well received by Ahmed and other top brass and by the public at several receptions held in their honour.

Iran tries man accused of spying for Israel: media Sat Jun 28

Iran tries man accused of spying for Israel: media Sat Jun 28

TEHRAN (Reuters) -

An Iranian man was put on trial on Saturday in Tehran on charges of spying for Israel, media reported. Iran's state radio said the man was accused of acting against Iran's "security through engaging in espionage for the Zionist regime" and had been paid by Israel's intelligence service Mossad. It did not name the accused.An official in Israel's foreign ministry said Israel was not familiar with the case.ISNA news agency reported that spying tools alleged to have been given to the man by Mossad were displayed in court.Iran's state broadcaster's website said the young man was put on trial in Tehran's Revolutionary Court, which deals with cases involving national security issues. It did not say whether he denied the charge.Iran, which does not recognize Israel, has previously reported breaking up spy networks. It has accused the United States and "Zionists" of trying to destabilize the Islamic Republic.Iranian officials accuse Washington of backing a so-called "soft revolution" that involves using intellectuals and others in the country to try to undermine the ruling system.Radio, citing the judge, said the verdict would be announced in a week.(Reporting by Hashem Kalantari, writing by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Value-based Journalism

Value-based Journalism:
A Global Survey of the Perceptions of Newspaper Journalists

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dr. P.L. Joshi, Professor ,
University of Bahrain,
Box 32038, Bahrain

(Email: joshi@buss.uob.bh ; prem@acadjoshi.com )
www.acadjoshi.com

Fax: 00973 17 449776 or 00973 17 438603

(Please return this questionnaire either as an attachment or Fax it or send it by post . Anonymity and confidentiality of responses is assured. The survey is purely for academic purposes.
In case you do not wish to reply to any specific questions except QUESTION NO 1, please leave that question blank.
Thanks).

Objective of the survey : To examine the perceptions of newspaper journalists on the issue of value-based journalism in today’s globalization, i.e. which important values guide them in their reporting on news, views and analysis? The topic of the survey is very current and newsworthy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The following are some of the universal values for journalism which may be expected to be followed in reporting of news, views, analysis etc. by the journalists. To what extent do you agree/disagree that these values are followed? ( Please enter either a score or tick in the appropriate column). Rating scale is :

Strongly agree (5) Agree (4) Neutral (3) Disagree (2) Strongly disagree (1)

Some Universal Values
Strongly
agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
1. Truth and Accuracy





2. Objectivity





3. Completeness





4. Aggressiveness





5. Fairness





6. Accountability





7. Avoiding violation of others privacy





8. Courage





9. Independence





10. Perseverance





11. Verification of facts





12. Loyalty





13. Inquisitiveness





14 Transparency





15. Compassion





16. Public interest





Any other ( pls. Specify …….








Any comments and suggestions in the above context :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Do you think that cultural values and the legal system prevalent in your country influence your reporting on news and views ?
a). Yes □ b) No □ c) Undecided □

3. To what extent do you feel that sensationalizing of stories in the newspapers have become essential for survival and growth of journalism in the age of globalization?

a) To a very large extent □ b) To a large extent □ c) To some extent □
d) Undecided □ e) Not at all □

Any comments and suggestions in respect of (2) and (3) :

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Based on your experiences, how often do you use the following approaches to journalism. Please use the following rating scale: ( You can either tick the columns or enter a score ).

To a very large extent (5) To a large extent ( 4) Undecided (3)
To a least extent ( 2) Never (1)

Statement
Always
To a large extent
Undecided
To a lesser extent
Never
1. Skill-based journalism





2. Evidence –based journalism





3. Investigating journalism





4. Value –based journalism





5. A combination of these






5. Please use a rating Scale: of Strongly agree ( 5) ………………Strongly disagree (1)


Strongly
agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Do you think that it is difficult to follow a value-based journalism in the age of globalization?











Are there any barriers which hinder you in following a value-based journalism?
Yes □ No □

If yes, can you list any THREE such main barriers:?
1. ……………………………………………………………………….
2………………………………………………………..
3…………………………………………………………

General Information:

1. Name of the respondent (optional) …..
2. Gender: Male □

3. Country : …….. City……

4. Age (years) :

Less than 25 yrs
25-35 yrs
35-45 yrs
45 and more






5. Educational background : ( Pls. tick the appropriate column)

Under-graduate
Graduate
Post-graduate
Others (Pls. specify…….




.

6. Present Position : ( Please tick the appropriate one)

Chief-Editor or Editor

Sub-Editor

Other editorial Staff

Reporter /journalist

Columnist

Critique

Freelance

Others ( pl. specify



7. Total experience in journalism :
Less than 5 year
5- 10 years
10-15 years
15 and more years










Would you be interested in receiving a summary of the findings of this study?

a) Yes □ b) No □

----------YES------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for your participation and kind cooperation . I appreciate and RESPECT your opinions.



NOTE:

For any additional information valued readers are requested to contact Mr Rakesh Praveer, a respected Journalist on email ID
praveerrakesh@rediffmail.com

FEF Desk
chauthakhamba@yahoo.com
mona.mangalam@gmail.com

PITATH 9835071205

PITATH BANYAN TREE

PITATH Banyan Tree MIRACLE

Bargad Tree earlier in Pitath, Bhojpur

+91 9835071205

'Media should strengthen role as human rights advocates'

'Media should strengthen role as human rights advocates'
By MA. ALETA O. NIEVAabs-cbnNEWS.com
Families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings on countless times have thanked the media for keeping their quest for justice alive by continuously reporting on the hundreds of cases of human rights violations in the country.
"In any society not just the Philippine society, our role is to be a monitor and guarantor of society to make sure the government doesn’t overstretch its attacks on the people," said Alan Davis, Director of Special Projects of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and Project Director of the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project during a discussion on Media Coverage on Human Rights in ABS-CBN News Channel's Media in Focus Thursday night.
Davis believes that journalists should advocate human rights and not just write stories about what violations are being done.
"I think there is no such thing as real objectivity everything is subject. Every time a journalist makes a decision they make a subconscious decision on how to frame a story. They are going to cover this story and not that story or use that quote or not that quote or use that picture or not that picture. Everything is subconsciously subjected," said Davis.
Davis explained that every story is related to human rights and should not be treated as just being a leftist or a rightist issue.
"The government has human rights concerns and responsibilities. It’s not always right for people to suggest, especially in the Philippines, that human rights is a leftist thing," he said.
Valid criticsm
For her part, Rowena Paraan, the secretary general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) agreed that there is no real objectivity "because the journalists decide whether to take up for example, the story of Karen Empeño or to take up another case."
Paraan said the media only took the issue of human rights violation seriously around 2004-2005 after the Amnesty International came up with a report and the visit of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston to the Philippines.
Human rights group Karapatan has recorded more than 900 cases of extrajudicial killings from 2001 up to the present.
"I think there is a valid criticism on some human rights organizations that media during the early years of the Arroyo government was not doing its job," Paraan said.
Despite this, Paraan believes that there were improvements in terms of media engaging in more human rights stories.
"I think so. When Philip Alston came to the Philippines it was a big media thing. Journalists were all covering the visits of Alston and after that, journalists monitored some of the cases. We should not limit the issue of human rights to extrajudicial killings, it’s a broad, broad issue," she said.
Although Davis considers that journalists are doing a good job in reporting human rights issues in the print and broadcast media, he still thinks that there is a problem in the society of the beat system.
He said that most local journalists whom they have talked to during their seminars in the regions are very much interested in writing stories about human rights but the difference in interests makes them ask "where does human rights fit" and "it might not get published in the newspapers" even if every story should be a human rights story.
‘Not telling story is the bigger problem’
When asked if telling more human rights stories desensitize the public to the issue of human rights, Paraan said that it would depend on how the journalist tells the story.
"There's a way of telling a story that you won’t be that. But not telling the story, that's a bigger problem," she said.
Most families of victims of human rights violations turn to media for help in the hope of finding a missing relative or finally obtaining the justice they have struggled for so long.
"In fact if you go to the province, people look at broadcasters, especially broadcasters, they trust them more than they trust the local government. They go to the reporters, the broadcasters if they have problems with hospital bills, if they need money to bury their relatives, they go to them if they have problems in the schools," Paraan said.
Help from media
During an earlier segment of Media in Focus, Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan explained that it is the media who is helping her in her search for justice.
"Nakakatulong positively," Mrs. Cadapan said adding that journalists who cover the disappearances of her daughter Sherlyn and fellow University of the Philippines student Karen Empeño, delivered the actual details given to them.
For Davis, journalists should also investigate cases saying "I think that they should and they do and they have done in the past. I think it embarrasses the police, the AFP and government bodies sufficiently for them to do their jobs. I think it’s the role of the media to be an advocate of society-that's people who don’t have a voice, that’s people in power. Media has to be a non political force but a force to change and has to keep people on track and specially the election time."
Paraan said that media is able to stay neutral when faced with the cases of human rights violations.
"I think if you ask human rights workers they would say I think we need to do more. Its not because were doing too much of it, leaning to the side of the victims, but they think we are doing not that much and that we need to do more precisely why we have this project," she replied.
Can be violators too
But while media is being trusted by majority of the public, journalists oftentimes commit human rights violations too like when presenting a suspect who is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.
Paraan added that the perception that human rights is a leftist issue prevalent among journalists.
"The tendency is to treat a case of extrajudicial killing as a leftist issue so when other human rights issues comes up it is also treated as a leftist issue because the one who complains for example about low wages, lack of housing are usually members of militant groups," she said.
Furthermore, she said that when there are complaints, they are treated as leftist issue, "that’s why we need to educate journalists."

Media watchdog urges Vietnam to release blogger

Media watchdog urges Vietnam to release blogger
2 hours, 4 minutes ago
HANOI (AFP) - A media rights watchdog on Thursday urged Vietnamese authorities to free a blogger arrested before the Olympic torch relay who the group said was being targetted for his political views.
Nguyen Hoang Hai, who blogs under the pseudonym of Dieu Cay, was arrested April 19 for tax fraud. Authorities accuse him of not paying taxes for 10 years on a property that he owns, said the group, Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
"Tax fraud was just a pretext to prevent Dieu Cay from demonstrating when the Olympic torch went through Ho Chi Minh City and from criticising the communist party online," RSF said in a statement received Thursday.
The Beijing flame was dogged by protests against China's rule of Tibet and other human rights issues on several stops on its global journey.
Dieu Cay's arrest came 10 days before the torch passed through the former Saigon. The blogger is known for his opposition to Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the disputed Paracel and Spratleys archipelagos in the South China Sea -- island chains that Vietnam also claims.
"Dieu Cay had posted articles on his blog about protests worldwide during the Olympic torch's progress through various cities, along with articles critical of China's policy in Tibet and the Parcel and Spratly archipelagos," RSF said.
"He had called for demonstrations as the torch passed through Ho Chi Minh City," the group added.
In Vietnam, anti-Chinese sentiment had flared in rallies since late last year over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos, and the issue was hotly debated on unofficial weblogs ahead of the torch relay.
Vietnam initially allowed peaceful demonstrations outside Chinese diplomatic missions last December but later deployed police to stop repeat rallies.
The Spratly and Paracel island chains have been flashpoints for years.
The Spratlys are claimed in full or part by China and Vietnam as well as the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, and the Paracels are claimed by China, which now occupies them, as well as by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Sensationalism: The Established Media's Only Answer To The Long Tail?

Sensationalism: The Established Media's Only Answer To The Long Tail?

Posted by David Berlind, Jun 2, 2008 10:15 PM

In response to my last post (the one on why both the NY Times and Mashable.com were off-base about the connection between blogging and heart failure), several readers wrote to offer an opinion about the direction that the NY Times' coverage is taking. Have you noticed the dramatic background music being played on your favorite local or national news program? The river of graphic headlines on most big-league news sites? Some shortcuts in reporting being taken that certain news outlets would never have taken before? You can thank the Internet's....
...so-called long tail for the pickle that the established media is in, and having a hard time finding its way out of.
To be fair, every media outlet and every journalist, for that matter, has their great days and then their off days: days when they look back at the what went out that day and say, "We (or I) could have done better." I can also point to plenty of impressive and current coverage from the Times and Mashable.com. But when technology writers venture out of their comfort zone to discuss matters of medicine without even trying to report on the facts and a venerable brand like the Times lets it happen, you know the litmus test for integrity is changing. Thank the long tail.
Regarding the author and section (within the Times) of the NY Times story that I referred to, InformationWeek reader JohnJ wrote:
Matt Richtel is a technology writer, and he wrote this article in the paper's Technology section. He's not qualified to write medical articles, and should stick to subjects he knows about.
Reader NJ Mike wrote:
Just another example that the New York Times no longer deserves the respect or status that it once did. Just because it is not a tabloid and that it is published in New York doesn't mean it is a quality newspaper. The "paper of record" is anything but that title, which it hasn't been deserving of for quite a number of years.
An wrote:
As for The Times, well, most mainstream media is unreliable and full of shoddy reporters who don't know how to write. It's a dated system that no one wants to be a part of anymore, so they pick up whatever trash they can find on the street to write for them.
First, thanks to the small group of people who responded so far. Second, the call-outs above are only three comments and are in no way projectable. But each of them contains some shred of truth that, to me, as both an employee and student of the media business, is more demonstrative of the established media's struggle than not.
The second word in "media business" is business. My father, also in the media business, used to tell me how a media property (a magazine, a newspaper, radio station, etc.) is like a three-legged stool. One leg is your audience. The other leg is your advertising. The third leg is your content and editorial. If you weaken or pull out any one of the legs, the stool falls over.
This isn't true of all media properties, as some have a slightly different model (eg: Consumer Reports has no advertising). But thanks to the blogosphere and YouTube (where everyone gets a printing press or a TV station for free), the long tail is really giving the established media a thrashing.
Taken as a whole, the blogosphere and YouTube are basically media properties the likes of which older media properties never had to contend with before. If, in that long tail of the blogopshere, you find five sources of information that you really like, you are more likely to shift your content consumption time to those five sources rather than open up additional consumption time to accommodate the new content. That means shifting away from whatever you're regularly consuming today. That shift -- terrifying to most media executives -- is under way. For the most part, every minute you spend with YouTube or with some authoritative blogger's blog is one less minute you're going to spend with a previously relied-upon source of information.
This battle for eyeball and eardrum seconds forces the existing media to resort to things it might not have done 10 or 15 years ago in order to not just keep readers, but to grow their audiences as well. Growth? Yes. The last time I checked, the idea was to grow a business, not maintain it. But before the established media can return to growth, many outlets have to stop the bleeding.
Whether its CNN, The New York Times, or Mashable.com, the headlines, the presentation, the background music (where offered) are clearly more sensationalized. They're candy machines and, unfortunately, we live in a world where candy is preferred over a decent meal.
Some media properties have resisted this temptation better than others. But it's a very sad statement about media consumption as well (yes, you and me) since it speaks to what audiences are demanding (or what media execs think is working). Call it what you want (I've heard "Foxification"). It's a seduction to the dark side that, in reality, is no match for the long tail.
The proof is around us every day.
For example, on CNN.com, I just watched media veteran Larry King interview a man who claims to have shot video of an alien. The headline reads Space alien seen on video, man claims. I clicked only to find that there is no video of an alien. It's more like 10 minutes of agony for Larry King who, somewhere midstream through the segment, realizes he must summon all the experience he has to turn a nothing story into something worthwhile.
The absurdity is just as much my fault (for clicking) as it is the editor's (the one who decided to do this story) for chasing after my click.
Is this what the established media has come to?

Russian president criticizes media bill

Russian president criticizes media bill

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's new president urged parliament Monday to scrap a bill widely seen as restrictive to the media.
In a letter to the lower house of Parliament, the text of which was released by the Kremlin, President Dmitry Medvedev criticized the proposed legislation and warned that it could hurt media freedom.
"The bill's provisions could only create obstacles to the normal functioning of mass media," Medvedev said in the letter. He advised the State Duma to dump the bill, which allows authorities to suspend and close down media outlets for libel and slander.
It was not immediately clear whether Medvedev's move signaled his intention to take a more liberal course compared to his predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose eight-year tenure saw a steady rollback of post-Soviet media and political freedoms.
But the move followed up on campaign promises to give more freedom to businesses, civil society and media. Some observers voiced hope that he could soften some of the most repressive policies of his predecessor.
During Putin's tenure, major national television networks came under the control of the Kremlin or its allies, and Russia's print media also experienced growing official pressure.
But critics said that Medvedev, who took office May 7, would likely follow Putin's guidance, who has retained clout as prime minister.

A new role for the media

A new role for the media

Big conservative papers like the Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and DongA Ilbo have been looking pretty shabby at the daily candlelight protests. Citizens parading in the streets pass by the tall buildings that house those newspapers and call out for them to, ¡°Turn off those lights! You¡¯re not worth the electricity!¡± There are slogans telling them to go out of print, and their reporters on the ground at these protests find themselves being ridiculed. They¡¯re saying these papers can¡¯t be seen as news media, so their position is not much different from the way the government-controlled media was given a baptism by pebbles at the climax of the April 19 Revolution in 1960.
The reason these newspapers are being scorned is because they are pushing positions that run contrary to the will of the people. Early in the mad cow disease issue, their coverage was largely about preaching to the people, about how American beef is safe, and about how the Korean people don¡¯t know what they¡¯re talking about. After the government went through the motions on those additional negotiations, these papers announced that would be enough and tried to keep additional demands at bay. It tried to discredit the candlelight protests with the absurd, like saying that someone was agitating from behind the scenes. Now they are suddenly calling for President Lee Myung-bak to wake up and change, but that looks mostly like dwitbuk chigi, hitting the drum after the beat has come and gone, only because they realize the country is angry at them as well as at the government. They put their trust in the influence they enjoy and tried to push the will of the people this way and that, and this is what they are doing after having failed.
The media is, by its nature, supposed to suggest things that must be dealt with by the community, and to put those things to public discussion. It is supposed to perform the function of suggesting the agenda. The reason people have been turning their backs on the big papers in their coverage of the candlelight protests is because the papers saw the people only as entities that should accommodate their intentions.
That kind of arrogance doesn¡¯t work anymore. The public was once a consumer of information, but now, through the Internet and mobile communication, it produces information and debates common issues through exchanges in real time. Direct action takes place simultaneously online and offline, and on a massive scale. In the past, public opinion was formed through the one-way delivery of information by the massive newspaper and broadcasting companies, but now it is interactive communication that owns the market of public opinion.
The people are interactive communicators, and they are taking a stand; they¡¯re out to correct a public opinion formation device that is not what it should be. There is a petition of signatures of people who say they are going to stop subscribing to the Chosun, JoongAng, and DongA, and there is an online campaign against companies that advertise with those papers. This is something different than official government pressure on advertisers in that it is essentially a kind of consumer movement and citizen action, since it is the consumers of these media that are directly trying to influence them. It is also a strong warning, one that says the old ways of painting the pages of newspapers with the opinion of a minority - the newspaper conglomerates - isn¡¯t going to be accepted anymore.
If these newspapers ignore the changed climate, the news media as a whole could find itself not being trusted. This is what makes the fact that a few newspapers are being criticized for their arrogance not just the concern of those few papers. It is time to explore a new role for the media, one that is befitting of the new ways of communication.

Growth in PRINT media industry

Print media industry to record 14 per cent growth

New Delhi, June 3

The print media industry recorded a growth of 16 per cent last year and stood at Rs 14,900 crore, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.Rising literacy across the country has led to a possibility of more growth and expansion in future as well, said Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) P R Dasmunsi.He was addressing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee attached to the ministry on 'Growth of Print Media in Liberalised Economy' here on Monday.In a detailed presentation on the growth trend, the minister quoted a recent study of Indian media and entertainment scenario conducted jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and PriceWaterhouse Coopers.In 2007, the magazine industry size was estimated at Rs 1,900 crore and registered a growth of 15 per cent over the previous year.In the next five years, the newspaper publishing market is expected to reach Rs 24,300 crore, according to the study.Dasmunsi said that liberalisation in print media was catalysed in June 2002 when the Government allowed 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) into Indian companies engaged in publishing newspapers and periodicals in the news and current affairs sector.He said 100 per cent FDI is permitted in companies engaged in publishing specialty, scientific and technical magazines besides those publishing Indian editions of foreign speciality, scientific and technical magazines.In the past five years, the ministry has given approvals for publication of 284 magazines in this sector, said Dasmunshi.

PTI

Welcome to CHAUTHAKHAMBA

Welcome to CHAUTHAKHAMBA

Welcome friends.

This blog is dedicated to all associated with media.

If you are a reader you have got a strong right to be here. The content you get may not be according to your taste. You might be having a better idea, a better cause, a better point to mention, a better presentation skill and need a platform. You need to be here. You are welcome.

If you are a viewer you need to be here for putting in your voice and feelings for the benefit of all silent viewers who watch and forget to add a word... if it could have been like this it would have been better and served the purpose of creating awareness...

If you are a writer and wish to write for the people and issues which your publishers are not interested or anything under the SUN for the benefit of mankind and planet EARTH. Now we have the option of making planet Mars a better place to live in. I am sure we can suggest ways for its proper and systematic planning and development. You need to be here and present your case.

Well if you are a publisher and feel to take the cause of global peace, progress and prosperity you need to be here. The reason is very simple and the logic is also very simple. Just close your eyes and imagine--how many people know good grammar but how many are good journalists.How many guys know two plus two are four but how many are well placed in counting the ups and downs of lfe. Are they in a position to extend their helping hand for the advancement of society. If no you need to be here for the promotion of peace, progress, prosperity and equality.