There had been a case earlier where Times Now twisted tweets of a user who responded to them on twitter and showed fabricated tweets. On the complaint of the user Times now was 1st in denial mode but later accepted their mistake. You can check the whole incident along with mails from Times now HERE.
Now thats a thing of the past but some people don't learn from there mistakes and Times now seems to be one of them. It has again been caught on the wrong side of journalism where it yet again twisted tweets of another user!
Whole Incident-
Times Now hosted a Newshour program on BJP wanting to host the national flag. It invited feedback from news watchers to tweet their feedback. Tweeple Malleshwara had responded with his tweet. Please check below:
And in their program, Times Now carried Malleshwara’s tweet. He was shocked to notice however that his tweet was twisted beyond recognition. Malleshwara was appalled.
It was not just Malleshwara whose tweet got twisted. Tweeple Praween was among others whose tweet ended up convoluted. Please check below
And in their program, this was how Times Now carried Praween’s tweet-
Now the question is- Are the viewers right in completely believing what the Media shows without questioning?
Credit for finding the bluff to ZoomIndianMedia.
EDIT-
A little more research showed that TimesNow "edited" tweets from all quarters and parties involved and toned down the language used. Thats pretty neutral in my opinion and thus TimesNow wasnt acting in a biased way. However how "ethical" is it to edit the feedback of persons and attribute it to them is a thing to question.
Credit for finding the bluff to ZoomIndianMedia.
EDIT-
A little more research showed that TimesNow "edited" tweets from all quarters and parties involved and toned down the language used. Thats pretty neutral in my opinion and thus TimesNow wasnt acting in a biased way. However how "ethical" is it to edit the feedback of persons and attribute it to them is a thing to question.
The below post is taken from HERE.
A tweet from @sureshnakhua was twisted according to “Times Now” ‘s whims and fancy and aired to substantiate their stand on their show “News hour Debate”.
Times Now's Fiasco-
On October 18th, 2010 a user named Suresh Nakhua tweeted to Times Now-
The twisted tweet which falsely showcased @sureshnakhua as “Congress supporter” was:
“Congress should not lose its focus by worrying about Modi”
Mr Suresh was agitated by this twisted tweet fiasco and emailed Times Now, with proof substantiating his claims, and demanded public apology.
Mr Hector Kenneth, Senior Editor,Times Now, replied to Suresh’s five repeated emails after seven days,citing:
“There was another user with the feedback that was wrongly ascribed to you”.
Mr Suresh did not buy this reason. He verified with the list of tweets sent to Newshour on 18/10/2010 between 0913hrs and 2358hrs, and again, emailed TIMES NOW denying their claims.
Mr Hector continued to be adamant,but later gave-in and admitted to the fiasco.
Screen shots of conversations between Mr Suresh and Times now can be found below (Click on thumbnails to view images clearly)
Suresh’s letter to Times Now:
Mr Hector Kenneth, Senior Editor,Times Now, replied to Suresh’s five repeated emails after seven days,citing:
“There was another user with the feedback that was wrongly ascribed to you”.
Mr Suresh did not buy this reason. He verified with the list of tweets sent to Newshour on 18/10/2010 between 0913hrs and 2358hrs, and again, emailed TIMES NOW denying their claims.
Mr Hector continued to be adamant,but later gave-in and admitted to the fiasco.
Screen shots of conversations between Mr Suresh and Times now can be found below (Click on thumbnails to view images clearly)
Suresh’s letter to Times Now:
Reply to Mr Suresh Nakhua from Mr Hector,Senior Editor of Times Now
Suresh’s letter proving the TIMES NOW’s claims wrong:
Reply from Arnab Goswami (Editor in chief)
Mr Hector continues to be adamant
Mr Hector gives-in,admits fiasco and apologizes
A very good article by another blogger which highlights how Indian media thinks it is above the law and nation and how it has the exclusive right to judge what is correct and what is wrong. Contains exact quotes from some shameless reporters and how their irresponsible and TRP hungry acts have put the nation in danger or have caused embarrassment to people.
READ HERE
Few days ago I was browsing the net and came across the headline from the ToI's link-" If Hindu temple okay at ground zero, why not mosque: Obama"
Naturally I was angry as to why would Obama mention the temple when majority of USA's population is Christian and Hindus were nowhere related to the incident. But since we all know how media tries to sensationalise news I read the whole article. Just read it and find out yourself what Obama said and what ToI actually wrote!
Now Its upto people themselves whether they should still believe the money minded TRP hungry media or decide themselves what is right and what is wrong!
Full Article
MUMBAI - It's official: the world's largest-circulated English daily has been involved in some shady business. Exposing a long-known trade fact, a leading Mumbai English tabloid, Mid-Day, last week published the "rates" for purchasing editorial features in the Times of India. The Times has not issued a denial, and the rogue rate card seems to be the latest indicator of rotting media ethics and tolerance in India for corruption.
For sums ranging from US$45,000 to $66,000, the Mid-Day story alleged, one could buy a news feature plugging their business, get interviewed (the business owner supplies the questions and answers themselves) and have their picture published on the much-scorned Page 3 of the Bombay Times, the city supplement of the Times of India.
In the United States or the United Kingdom, uproar would have erupted after the expose. But the Times of India (TOI) was not even pressed to explain the allegation to its 4.5 million estimated readers, or to any regulatory body. Instead, some attempted to defend the indefensible. Shobhaa De, novelist and acidic columnist, incredibly called the TOI move "brave" and the "future of journalism", never mind the reader being taken for a ride, if not criminal fraud, with no distinct boundaries marked between news and advertisements.
In a brazen display of contempt for the basic tenets of journalism, the "service"' meant that the clear divide between advertisement and editorial was blurred for a negotiable price. The Times of India is already infamous for often plugging its own businesses, such as its search engine and web portal, in its news pages.
Full Article-
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FE18Df05.html
Riot- A public act of violence by an unruly mob.
Communal Riot- A public act of violence by an unruly mob with religion as the reason.
The "communal riots" have been the favourite topic of National and electronic media for quite sometime now. The "news" about Godhra episode was telecasted 24 x 7 on news channels. And even after 7-8 years of the episode, for media its just like a thing of yesterday and every other week there is a show to discuss its impact on India. Gujarat with re-election of Modi 2 times and with no.1 on development seems to have moved on but not the news channels. More recently Media reported "Kandhamal riots" with great zeal and words like "Hindu extremists", "Bajrang dal", "Right wing extremists" etc were frequently used.
To the common citizen it looks like only 2 riots happened ever! But the question for common man is-
"What happened in Bareilly?"
WHY THE RIOT HAPPENED?
Lucknow, March 2 (IANS) A minor communal clash followed by sporadic arson late Tuesday afternoon led the administration to clamp curfew in several parts of Bareilly city, officials said. Timely action by District Magistrate Ashish Goel was stated to have saved the situation from taking an ugly turn.
What did the Government do?
BAREILLY: Parts of the western UP city of Bareilly witnessed rioting again after Mayawati government, in a late Thursday night decision, freed Muslim leader Tauqir Raza Khan, who had been arrested allegedly for inciting violence.
Khan was ordered to be released soon after all the charges, except a milder one under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, were removed by the Uttar Pradesh administration and As reported by Times of India earlier in the evening, the UP government was under immense pressure from members of his community to release Tauqir Raza Khan. He was arrested on March 8 as he was he was allowed to walk free following immense pressure from the members of his community.accused of fomenting trouble, engineering riots and inciting people by police.
LINK
Why the electronic media didnt report this?
Links-
1.)LINK
2.) LINK
3.) LINK
Read full post >>
Communal Riot- A public act of violence by an unruly mob with religion as the reason.
The "communal riots" have been the favourite topic of National and electronic media for quite sometime now. The "news" about Godhra episode was telecasted 24 x 7 on news channels. And even after 7-8 years of the episode, for media its just like a thing of yesterday and every other week there is a show to discuss its impact on India. Gujarat with re-election of Modi 2 times and with no.1 on development seems to have moved on but not the news channels. More recently Media reported "Kandhamal riots" with great zeal and words like "Hindu extremists", "Bajrang dal", "Right wing extremists" etc were frequently used.
To the common citizen it looks like only 2 riots happened ever! But the question for common man is-
"What happened in Bareilly?"
WHY THE RIOT HAPPENED?
Lucknow, March 2 (IANS) A minor communal clash followed by sporadic arson late Tuesday afternoon led the administration to clamp curfew in several parts of Bareilly city, officials said. Timely action by District Magistrate Ashish Goel was stated to have saved the situation from taking an ugly turn.
Trouble sparked off over the passage of a Barawafat procession. What started with exchange of hot words between members of rival communities, almost instantly snowballed into a violent clash as members of a particular community went on an arson spree, burning down a few shops.
Who was responsible? What action did the police take?
Maulana Tauquir Raza Khan, president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council, was arrested late Monday from Bareilly, about 250 km from here. It was his “rabble rousing speech” that had led to communal tension in the district last week, officials said.
What did the Government do?
BAREILLY: Parts of the western UP city of Bareilly witnessed rioting again after Mayawati government, in a late Thursday night decision, freed Muslim leader Tauqir Raza Khan, who had been arrested allegedly for inciting violence.
Khan was ordered to be released soon after all the charges, except a milder one under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, were removed by the Uttar Pradesh administration and As reported by Times of India earlier in the evening, the UP government was under immense pressure from members of his community to release Tauqir Raza Khan. He was arrested on March 8 as he was he was allowed to walk free following immense pressure from the members of his community.accused of fomenting trouble, engineering riots and inciting people by police.
LINK
Why the electronic media didnt report this?
Links-
1.)LINK
2.) LINK
3.) LINK
Who is an "Internet Hindu?"Kanchan Gupta
Hindus who are proud to assert their identity and fly the Tricolour high have now found a new platform to have their say, the way they want it, without fear of being shouted down. Tired of being derided by pseudo-secularists in media who see nothing wrong with Muslim communalism and Christian fundamentalism but are swift to pounce upon Hindus for being ‘intolerant’, their cultural ethos crudely denigrated by the Left-liberal intelligentsia as antediluvian, Hindus have begun to harness technology to strike back with deadly effect.
They are bright, they are well-educated, they are not burdened with regional and caste biases, they are amazingly well-informed on national issues and world affairs, they are rooted in Indian culture, and they are politically alert. They hate being told they are wrong when they know they are right. They have a mind of their own and refuse to be led like sheep. Not surprisingly, they hold the Congress, the Left and regional parties in contempt, as they do journalists who cravenly ingratiate themselves with the establishment. For them, India matters — and matters more than anything else. Meet the ‘Internet Hindus’.
In recent days there has been a spate of articles disparaging the ‘Internet Hindus’, variously describing them as “loonies”, “fanatics”, “irrational”, “Hindu Taliban” and, by an enraged news channel anchor, “gutter snipes”. Much of the criticism has come from left-of-centre journalists who believe they have unfettered monopoly over media as their inalienable birth right. Exalted members of Delhi’s commentariat, who are indistinguishable from the city’s la-di-dah socialites, tend to turn up their noses every time they hear the phrase ‘Internet Hindus’ as they would at the suggestion of travelling by public transport. Others are given to contemptuously brushing aside ‘Internet Hindus’ as being irrelevant and describing their views as inconsequential. All this and more has neither dampened the spirit of ‘Internet Hindus’ nor blunted their assertive attitude.
Here are some statistics, culled from an ongoing online survey, which would help create a generic profile of ‘Internet Hindus’. The survey is open to all Hindus who use the Internet; the response has been overwhelming. Of those who have responded, 88.9 per cent have identified themselves as ‘Internet Hindus’, indicating they attach no shame to the term though their critics would want them to feel ashamed. Of the respondents, four per cent are aged 20 years and below; 55 per cent are aged 30 and below; 31 per cent are 40 and below; and, only 10 per cent are aged above 40. In brief, 90 per cent of them are young Indians.
The educational profile of the respondents is awesome: 43 per cent are graduates (most of them from top-notch engineering, science and medical colleges); 46 per cent are post-graduates (a large number of them have MBA degrees from the best B-schools); and, 11 per cent have PhDs. It is understandable that none of them is unemployed. Those without jobs are still studying (17.3 per cent) and can be found in labs and classrooms of the best universities here and abroad. Of the 82.7 per cent who are employed, 3.1 per cent earn up to Rs 2 lakh a year; 18.4 per cent earn up to Rs 6 lakh a year; 34.7 per cent earn up to Rs 12 lakh a year; and, 26.5 per cent earn more than Rs 24 lakh a year. Nearly 60 per cent of them frequently travel abroad on work and holiday. Some 11 per cent have travelled abroad at least once.
Contrary to the impression that is being sought to be created by their critics, ‘Internet Hindus’ are open to ideas, believe in a plural, law-abiding society and swear by the Constitution. They are often appalled by the shenanigans of our politicians, including those of the BJP, and are ruthless in decrying politics of identity and cynical vote-bank policies. They have no gender prejudices and most of them think banning FTV is downright silly in this day and age. The ‘Internet Hindus’ will not countenance denigration of their faith or biased media coverage of events, but 91.9 per cent of them respect and accept other religions. Asked if India is meant only for Hindus, an overwhelming majority of them, responding to the survey, said, ‘Hell, no!’
So why do they infuriate pseudo-secularists in media and make Delhi’s commentariat see red? There are three possible explanations. First, the Net is beyond the control of those who control newspapers and news channels. While the print and audiovisual media have for long excluded contrarian opinion and denied space to those who disagree with absurd notions of ‘secularism’ or question the quality of reportage, the Net has provided space to the ‘other’ voice.
Real time blog posts now record the ‘other side’ of the day’s story (“The Prince was shouted down in Bihar, not feted by students!”), Twitter affords instant micro-blogging even as prime time news is being telecast (“That’s not true. I live in Bareilly. This is not how the riots began!”), and YouTube allows unedited amateur videos of events (the Meraj riots, the Islamist violence in Kashmir Valley) to be uploaded, giving the lie to edited and doctored versions shown by news channels.
Second, unlike carefully selected ‘Letters to the Editor’ in newspapers and ‘Feedback’ posted on news channel websites, the reactions of ‘Internet Hindus’, often savage and unflattering, cannot be thrown into the dustbin or deleted with a click of the mouse. English language media journalists, long used to fawning praise from readers and viewers, are horrified that someone can actually call them ‘dumb’ in public space and there’s nothing they can do about it. Third, the established elite, most of them middle-aged, are beginning to feel threatened. Here’s a new breed of Indians who have used merit and not ‘connections’ to make a mark in professional excellence, young men and women who are educated and articulate, and are willing to challenge conventional wisdom as preached by media ‘stars’ who have rarely, if ever, been questioned.
The elite who dominate newspapers and news channels are seen by ‘Internet Hindus’ as part of India’s past, not future. As one ‘Internet Hindu’ writes in his blog, “A large number of ex-elite can’t stomach fact that children of bankruptcy are better travelled, better read and dominate the Internet!” Harsh, but true.
We can describe the ‘Internet Hindus’ as the “lunatic fringe”, but that won’t change the fact that their tribe is growing by the day. Soon, those on the fringe will move to the centre and their critics will find themselves precariously perched on the fringe. The Right is gaining ground as is the access and reach of the Net; newspapers and news channels, the Left’s last refuge, no longer command absolute control over information flow. It would be unwise to ‘block’ the voice of ‘Internet Hindus’, as then their clamour to be heard will further increase and there is nothing we can do to silence them. The times they are a-changin’.
DAILY PIONEER LINK
Article on topic from the Daily Pioneer HERE.
Few days ago I came across an interesting term "Internet Hindus" while reading the newspaper. For better understanding of this post and the article later let me define broadly what "Internet Hindus" stands for.
Internet Hindus are people socially active on blogs, forums, social networking websites, microblogging websites etc that are quite vocal about their views on Hinduism, Media, Politics and nation as a whole.
Now the question arises- How are Internet Hindus different from Normal Hindus? And why this term was coined to differentiate between the two?
The fact lies behind the bitter truth of Media controlling the people. (Check my article on it HERE.)
Media can act like a slow poision by showing the same kind of news and promoting the same kind of views again and again and affect the viewer's subconscious mind so that he develops a certain outlook and view point. Why this is done is a different question and there are various factors responsible for it - TRP wars, Political funding, Kickbacks, Parental organisations who fund the channels etc.
Media for the past few years have been promoting a certain kind of mindset and ideology which will be evident once you become a "Internet Hindu" as some frustrated journalists like to call it.
For example- I was a "normal" Hindu about 1 year back. I used to watch news channels extensively and was pretty much aware about the country and politics. Then I joined the "Jaago Re" community on Orkut since I wanted to get my Voter card made. There someone asked me to post an article in the "NDTV" community since he was BANNED from there (talk about freedom of expression!) and couldnt do that. Subsequently I joined the community and got to know some more facts. Later I joined the "Indian politics" community and finally "India" community.
After many months of long reading of various articles I got to know the completely different side of the picture. How the news articles are twisted, How the "Breaking news" are completely different from what happened, How the headlines are made misleading to gain TRP's etc.
Thus the Internet Hindu is aware about the media and then it is evident then he is critical about it and also critical about the views which the media tries to force on the viewer. It is dangerous for the media since the ideology they are promoting would suffer a setback along with the setback to their own selfish interest. So in a very clever move they are trying to ridicule these people by terming them as "Internet Hindus" who according to them dont represent the real Indians so that other "normal" hindus continue believing the media blindly and thus dont become "Internet" hindus.
1 thing that is important to mention here is that there is also lots of FALSE content doing the rounds of internet which may brainwash some people and would infact go against Internet Hindus and would question their credibility. It is easy to get brainwashed and be fooled by words without any authenticity. That is how terrorists are made.
And sadly some people want to portray us in the same light by coining a different term for us and claiming that we are brainwashed and different from actual Hindus. But most people like me have always relied on VALID SOURCES before believing in any news and forming opinions and thus all news posts in my blog are supplemented with valid links from newspapers.
The final question then is "How can one say media is biased and then provide valid links and rely on the same Media for believing news at the same time"?
The statement isnt contradictory and the answer is hard work , patience and using the mind. One should have the patience to read/follow the whole news rather than just read the Headline/breaking news part. Some channels, newspapers etc can promote a certain ideology but in a vast country like India there is always a way of knowing the truth and atleast some credible source (News channel, newspaper) cover the other side of story too.
And then its for your mind to compare the 2 sides and chose the correct one. If you find 20 news links to 1 side of the story you would find 1 news link that tells the other story and thats where "Internet Hindus" come and make the other side popular so that more people know both the sides much to the dislike of certain section of People and Media. Sadly for them-
Internet Hindus are here to stay!
Communal violence rocked Shimoga which is Karnataka chief minister B S Yedyurappa's constituency after a newspaper published an article authored by Tasleema Nasreen regarding the purdah system.One person was killed at Shimoga after the police opened fire to quell a mob which was protesting against the Bangladeshi author. Rioters resorted to violence on Monday after by setting ablaze several vehicles. They also pelted stones thus forcing the shut down of the entire town. The violence even spread to neighboruing Hassan which is still gripped by communal tension. Hassan is former PM Deve Gowda's constituency.
When reports last came in the situation in the two places was still tense. Curfew has been imposed in Shimoga while prohibitory orders are in place in Hassan. Security has been beefed up in the entire state as a precautionary measure.
A verrnacular daily had translated a write up by Taslima Nasreen regarding the purdah system. Some persons had opposed the article and resorted to violence.
Link
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So much cries for the freedom of expression of " M.F. Hussain" But media remains silent on the issue of Taslima!
A person not belonging to Hinduism mocks it and it is termed as freedom of expression whereas a person following Islam says something against the religion and Media choose to remain silent!
There are many kinds of war- Civil war, Biological war, Nuclear war but the worst kind is PROPAGANDA WAR.The reason is that it is the propaganda spread against things leads to the actual war.
In today's world most people have very strong opinions which generally dont change. Now whats the source on which the opinions are based? Newspapers, News channels, Radio etc i.e. THE MEDIA.
Now pause for a moment and think- Is the media controlling you? Is it making you believe what they want you to believe?
Its important and correct to have an opinion but is it flexible enough to change once you know the other side of story? Or have people been "brainwashed" that they dont want to even look at the other side!!
Its dangerous if you are controlled by someone else and its even more dangerous if the masses are controlled by someone else!
"The pen is mightier than the sword"
But what if the pen is in the wrong hands? Now the question comes- "Why would the media do something like this?". Their job after all is to make the people aware!
WRONG!! In the age of TRP's and Profit generation ethics are taking a back seat and money is what matters!
DID YOU KNOW??
During the recent Maharashtra elections many newspapers and news channels telecasted and wrote congress advertisements as NEWS thus manipulating the voters and ultimately the results. All this was done for MONEY. The nexus was ultimately exposed by "THE HINDU" newspaper ( Detailed post on this coming soon).
When you dont believe in advertisements of products is it right to believe in advertisements disguised in the form of news? Or has the time come to be rational and look for alternate sources of information and be flexible in approach.
Lets look at the power of Media with the help of an example.
Think about BIHAR for a moment. There are high chances that a not so good picture of it came into your mind. Widespread poverty, illiteracy, corruption, scams is what one thinks of.
But do you know that in the past year Bihar was the 2nd highest state in terms of development next only to Gujarat!! Have a look at the following article from ToI-
The perception might have changed after reading the success story of Bihar in the newspaper though you might not have believed it otherwise! Thats the power Media carries.
Though it doesnt mean that whole Media is at fault or they do not do anything right. Media has highlighted many important issues in the past and will do so even in the future. But it is time to realize the nexus functioning in Media ( The movie Rann would throw more light on this I hope). Should people stop believing media blindly and start analysing themselves?
There opinion might not change even after that but then they are sure that its their OWN opinion and not someone controlling them.
Godhra Riots- A communal blunder and BJP's worst nightmare. But do you know 1984 Anti-Sikh riots were much worse (A detailed post coming soon).
Varun Gandhi's much publicized speech against the muslims. A similar speech was made against the Hindus in Andhra Pradesh I guess at a similar time. NO NEWS! Also check the manifesto of the NCP candidate here . Again NO NEWS!
Congress- Party for the youth. An analysis of the MP's after election revealed that BJP had more "youth" MP's than congress. And after few months another report in ToI mentioned that Congress youth MP's had started LEAST discussions in Parliament!
Sugar at Rs 50/- kg, More than 30% of population STILL below poverty line, 50 years of Congress (Common man's govt) rule, No talk of price rise in Media! Connect the dots.
Is It time to start looking for answers?
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