ABC of Indian Media-Advertising, Bollywood, Corporate Power

P. Sainath is a firebrand activist, and incidentally a journalist.
But he is understandably a spokesman for journalism and journalist issues these days, for good reasons
1) He is at The Hindu, which likes to discuss media-related issues on its pages, especially those that relate to ethics

2) As a methodical prodder passionate about rural and social issues, Sainath comes from the "development/activist" school of journalism, and is thoroughly disturbed by the trivialisation of many serious issues

3) He writes well, with a strong tendency to marshall facts and use telling phrases which can match any lawyer or public orator.

Here he is, arguing about how the Indian media is almost systematically being held to ransom by the superficial troika of advertising, movie glamour and corporate agenda. Good, essential reading for media watchers.

Is social media a threat to journalism?

Here is a piece from Chris Cramer, a BBC and CNN veteran and current Reuters Global Editor, Multimedia, on what social media and "citizen journalism" means to the media. The bottomline: credibility and integrity matter, and profits follow.
I agree with a lot of what he says, having worked at Reuters-- with its commitment for some basic principles. But there is a chaotic universe out there and we need more innovations -in products, services and business models.

Mumbai attacks shows shakeout in Indian TV news

In the middle of a very busy run, here are a few quick thoughts on how TV News is not going to be the same again in India.

Great reportage from the ground on Times Now, Headlines Today and CNN-IBN, not necessarily in that order. NDTV seems to be lagging -- and very fatigued.

Lots of great articulation from the ground by tireless reporters that I have never heard of or seen much. A great new generation of television journalists is in the making.

Hindi news channels turn mainstream, and everybody watches and surfs on such occasions across channels and languages

TV reportage lacks cohesion in presentation, because it focuses too much on images and "on-the-spot" feeds. Leaves something for print to do.

A one-stop shop for PR folks accessing bloggers

 Here is how bloggers are getting together to engage with PR folks.My friend Ajay Jain at TechGazing is doing this.

The site is http://www.blognewsroom.com

Crowdsourcing: where social media meets reportage

The other day, I spoke of how Twitter feeds can become a source for reporters covering a hot breaking event -- because people with mobile phones and access to eyewitnesses can instantly put stuff into the World Wide Web.
Now, I have discovered a smart new word for it: crowdsourcing.
Here is the Wikipedia entry for that word.