The Proposal to hike FDI:
CNN-IBN bagged three prestigious awards in various categories by its journalist’s who stood tall on their motto of ‘whatever it takes’. Journalists Anubha Bhonsle, Preeti Singh and Arijit Sen were honoured with the prominent award in New Delhi by Shri Hamid Ansari, Honorable Vice President of India.
Anubha Bhonsle won the ‘Best Political Reporter’ award for her show ‘Paisa Power Politics’ exposing the relationship between those who fight elections and those who fund it'.
Preeti Singh won ‘Best on the spot Reporter of the year’ for her coverage of the flood affected areas inside the Karnool district of Andhra Pradesh.
Arijit Sen was awarded the ‘Best reporter from North East for his reports on fake encounters in Manipur and the plight of people caught between militants and the state
Comedy Central:
TV audiences in India would be able to watch international shows "South Park", "Saturday Night Live", "Seinfeld" and many more as American channel Comedy Central will finally be available. Going on air Jan 23, it will be country's first 24-hour channel dedicated to English language comedies.
Before India, Comedy Central has been available with localized channels in Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Hungary, Swedan, Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, Israel and Spain.
Viacom 18, a joint venture between Viacom and India's Network 18 group, has been instrumental in bringing it here.
Mnister of State for Information and Broadcasting C.M. Jatua said the FDI limit for all carriage services, including direct to home (DTH), internet protocol television (IPTV), mobile TV, Headened in the Sky (HITS) and teleport services has been proposed to be raised to 74 percent.
The limit in FM radio is proposed to be raised to 26 percent.
The limit in news and current affairs TV channels, however, was proposed to be retained at 26 percent. It would go up to 49 percent in local cable operators (LCO).
The minister also proposed to permit FDI up to 49 percent through automatic route for all carriage services.
"For content services such as uplinking, downlinking and FM radio, no automatic route is allowed," he said.
The minister said: "The rationale for enhancing FDI in broadcasting carriage services is to bring in parity with the telecom sector in view of convergence of technologies...
Media majors not cleared Lok Sabha TV for its footage
The public broadcaster funded from the lok sabha budget is the only tv channel permitted to set up cameras in the house. When Parliament is in session,its proceeding are broadcast live on the channels. The private news channels are to clear Rs.3crores for using Parliament feed. Since 2008,the public broadcaster has been charging private channels Rs.1 lakh for using budget ,rail budget,presidential addresses, no confidence motions and special debates. For a Rs.3 lakh package, channels are free to use any event feed for one year.The channels are refusing to pay,saying the feed should be provided free " in national interest.Between 2008 and 2011 ,the unpaid bills have piled up and now amount to Rs.3.2 crore according to LSTV sources.out of 55 channels including a few news websites which covered the 2009-10 budget speech using Lok Sabha TV feed, only six have cleared their bills.
Attack on Media
Jyotirmoy Dey, Editor, Special Investigation ,Mid-Day, was not the first journlist to be shot dead this year in India. Umesh Rajput from the Hindi daily, Nai Duniya, Was killed near Raipur in Chattisgarh on Junuary 23, and earlier on December 20, 2010Shushil Pathak of Dainik Bhaskar in Bilaspur. In 2011 alone, there have been 14 instances of attacks on journalists according to a report from " The Free Speech Hub of thehoot.org. On May 19, Deys's colleague Tarakant Dwivedi was arrested under the Official Secrest Act by the Government Railway Police for an article written over a year ago in another newspaper on the poor storage conditions of hi tech weapons bought after the 26/11 attack. However, the gunning down of Dey in broad daylight by four unidentified men has rattled a meadia inured to gangland killings. The police believe it was "the work of professional' presumably hired guns connected to the underworld.
Maharastra Government has been promising a law that makes attacks on journalists a non -bailable offense.That may not be the solution.it is crucial to implement esisting laws and make sure the guilty are punished.
Maharastra Government has been promising a law that makes attacks on journalists a non -bailable offense.That may not be the solution.it is crucial to implement esisting laws and make sure the guilty are punished.
Prime connect launch
India’s largest media conglomerate – Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) today announced a joint venture with Yogesh Radhakrishnan, a veteran professional in the Indian Cable & Satellite industry, to form Media Network & Distribution (India) Ltd (MNDIL). MNDIL will launch ‘Prime Connect’, a brand which will be an independent distribution platform, that will organize and distribute channels in India through various platforms viz. MSOs, DTH, IPTV and all emerging digital platforms across homes & commercial establishments.Under the agreement, Media Network & Distribution (India) Ltd (MNDIL) will be an exclusive distributor for The Times Group Channels - TIMES NOW, ET NOW, MOVIES NOW and zoOm. Prime Connect intends to expand its bouquet by including more 3rd party channels for distribution.
FDI Approved
The government has approved 24 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs.2,727.41 crore, including Rs.1,100 crore investment in power sector by Asian Genco Pte Ltd of Singapore.
NDTV Lifestyle Holdings' proposal to raise Rs.186 crore through induction of foreign equity has also been approved. The company plans to raise the money for uplinking and broadcasting of non-news and current affairs programmes.
Jagran Media Network Pvt. Ltd's plan to raise Rs.225 crore and Kal Media Services Pvt. Ltd's plan to raise Rs.3,96 crore foreign funds have also been approved.
Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the government has rejected 12 proposals and deferred 22 proposals, an officials statement said .
India's first Web Television
The "Indianvibes", kochi based media house , will launch first web television with HD quality on 1st January 2011.Initially, it will concentrate in Delhi, Mumbai,Chennai and Bangalore and later expand to other cities of India said Andrin mendez owner of the Web visual Media.
Colors channel new initiativeHindi entertainment channel Colors is set to bring an Indian version of "Guinness World Records" soon, and Indians will get a chance to showcase talent that can become new world records.
"Guinness World Records, Ab India Todega", to be produced by Miditech Pvt Ltd, will be launched early 2011. The channel is on the lookout for a "Bollywood face" to host the show
Coca-Cola mobile phones,online media
Coca-Cola India recently rolled out latest communication campaign 'Shadow' for brand Coca-Cola featuring Bollywood heartthrob and Coca-Cola Brand Ambassador- Imran Khan on mass media. Part of the global 'Open Happiness' campaign in India, this is the first ever campaign in the history of Coca-Cola India, which was first released on mobile phones and online media and is now being released on television.
The campaign has already been downloaded and previewed by over 300,000 consumers and already has over 90,000 referrals online. The latest communication is targeted at the youth and reinforces the need to connect with other human beings in this lonely world.
Reliance Television New strategey
Reliance Television Pvt. Ltd., the broadcast subsidiary of RBNL, has announced the appointment of Arup Gopikrishna to lead Distribution for the coming up slate of TV channels starting with the BIG CBS relationship. In this capacity, Arup will be responsible for the market penetration by entering into strategic distribution alliances with MSOs, DTH operators, and Commercial establishments etc.
Sameer heads UTV 3G initiatives
UTV has brought on board Sameer Pitalwalla as Business Head – 3G for UTV Interactive, the digital arm of UTV group. Sameer will be responsible for UTV Interactive division( 3G initiatives).
Prior to joining UTV Interactive, Sameer worked with the Times Group, where he created the Times Audience Network (TAN) the digital video arm of the Times Group. He was responsible for creating the online video platform and on demand video platform for mobile and web as a part of the TAN initiative.
In addition to his role in TAN, Sameer was also the Business Head of Follo, the group's recent foray into digital distribution of celebrity content and led on business development initiatives for Indiatimes.com, which included strategic relationships with television broadcasters at large.
MTV Launch Youth Magazine Noise Factory
MTV, lauched whacky and hip monthly magazine – Noise Factory in November.Noise Factory is priced at Rs. 75 and is available via subscriptions across 23 cities in India or at select locations and bookstores like Odyssey and Landmark, as well as your favourite magazine-wallah in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata amongst others.Noise Factory is a reflection of the young Indian’s life – a happy mix of music, careers, travel, gaming, trends.
Ravina Rawal, Editor-in-Chief - MTV Noise Factory
Radio Mirchi turns Facebook into an Audio book
Radio Mirchi 's , hilarious jokes show (Sud) come live on Face book on 13th December.Sud was responded to his fans thrtough audio updates in his characteristi style of talking.This is the first time a radio character entertained on face book ( social media platform )
Prasar Bharati chief executive officer (CEO) B.S. Lalli Suspended
President Prathibha Patil had given her assent for a Supreme Court inquiry into the financial mismanagement charges against the Prasar Bharati CEO. Patil's assent came on a reference made by the government.
Lalli, a 1971 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, was indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission for breach of parliamentary privilege, showing favours to some broadcast companies and committing financial mismanagement. Radia tapes case
The conversations raises two questions for the media and citizens. Does the public have a right to know the contents of recordings (such as the Radia CD) that expose manipulation and corruption in high places?, Second: privacy issue involved
From the point of view of those who are on the recordings, there is indeed a breach of privacy: the contents, they say, should have been used only in the investigation of the particular case for which the tapping was authorised; there was no excuse for its reaching the public or the media, which is illegal. This is the objection Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, has raised in his November 22 petition to the Supreme Court seeking an injunction on transmission of those conversations in any form. Radia was handling public relations for Tata’s group and he figures in a conversation with her that has appeared in the media
"You need to use your sources and not let the sources use you. These are the first lessons one gets in a journalism school," said Vinod Mehta out look editor towards the end.
U.S. tense over WikiLeaks Plan
There has been tention rise at the State Department here after whistleblower website WikiLeaks revealed via its Twitter account last week that it next release would be seven time the size of the Iraq war Logs release earlier in the summer.The Defence secretary Mr.Crowley said the State Department "decried " the expose."These revelations.. are going to create tension in our relationships with our friends around the world .Among the countries said to be notified about the possible release by WikiLeaks are India, Russia, Iceland, Iraq Turkey, Israel ,Norway, Denmark, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Not a Big deal
Rani Mukherji asked to down her middle finger
The Censor board of India raised objections over making of " No one killed Jessica", in which Rani Mukherji showing her middle finger in the office corridor has got the film stuck up.The censor board said the scene is offensive for family viewing.
Women's commission wants monitor TV content
The National Commission for Women (NCW) Friday demanded that amendments to the Prohibition of Indecent Representation of Women and Children Act be passed promptly so that there is stringent monitoring of content on electronic media.
Reacting to the public outrage on reality shows like "Big Boss" and "Rakhi ka Insaaf", Girija Vyas, chairperson of NCW, said only a stringent law can regulate TV content.
Jetwings magazine of Jet Airways recieves crticism for its content
Jagran's new logo
Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), India’s leading media and communications group, launched the corporate identity of the brand with a new logo. The word ‘Jagran’ means awakening and the most powerful depiction of this idea lies in the Rising Sun. Jagran Prakashan Limited ’s objective is to create enlightenment and there can be no better face for the brand than the Sun dispelling the darkness and ushering in light and warmth to the world.The Government red eye on reality shows
Prime time advertising rates. For Colors, that is airing Bigg Boss 4, is learn t to be charging around `1.5 lac per ten seconds and has recently increased it to about `1.75 lac per ten seconds with the entry of international star Pamela Anderson on the show on weekdays. For weekends, which are Salman Khan special, a brand spends about `2.5 lac per ten seconds.
WikiLeaks focus on Iraq war
WikiLeaks, which released the papers despite Pentagon's warning that it count endanger informants and reveal war strategy, called the document drop" the largest classified military leak in history.The Iraqi docuements were made available to The New York Times, the British newspaper The Guardian, the French newspaper Le Monde and the German magazine Der Spiegel on the condition that they be embargoed until now.
