"We aren’t reporting against the government but in favour of the public."

Wondering about @DainikBhaskar's 'uncharacteristic' coverage? @AshwineSingh & @tweets_prateekg spoke to editors & reporters to understand some of the newsroom thinking behind it.
newslaundry.com/2021/06/01/we-… The shift to aggressive reporting can be attributed to scale of devastation/mishandling. Reporters & editors clearly see that "readers want the truth to be told". Others offered a branding explanation: “Our managing director says Bhaskar must always stand with public opinion."

There are plenty of journalists in India working for Indian orgs who are reporting on the pandemic bravely/meticulously. Noida-based studio ≠ 'domestic' media. In fact, Rana Ayyub hasn't reported on the pandemic but is repeatedly called on as a talkinghead in international media

https://twitter.com/camanpour/status/1389286861881892865

Even a pro-BJP channel like Aaj Tak does have reporters on the ground getting us important updates from the ground. It's another matter that anchors like Anjana et al are not using their material to question the government on primetime.

"Our job is also to give voice to people who don’t have it. And at a lot of these crematoriums people are coming up to us and expressing their grief and anger.”

Indian & foreign press is reporting from crematoriums because THAT IS where the story is.
newslaundry.com/2021/04/27/why… As deaths from Covid surged in New York last year, Reuters, Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, BBC, Telegraph showed drone footage of caskets being buried in mass graves. There were similar reports from graveyards in Brazil, Italy and the UK.

India isn’t being singled out.

Big win for @newslaundry against an extremely brainless attempt at harassing @tweets_prateekg for doing his job. The story in question was about layoffs in Sakal Times & they took umbrage to us using their logo for a story that is ABOUT the group.
newslaundry.com/2021/04/21/no-… Stories in question.
1) newslaundry.com/2020/03/27/the…
2) newslaundry.com/2020/06/11/the…

"RSS can be slow, but we need to act fast as the time is running out for us.”

In Amta constituency of Howrah, BJP has fielded one of its vocal critics — Hindu Samhati president for whom the RSS is too centrist. Report on the organisation & its men.
newslaundry.com/2021/03/20/str… The Hindu Samhati is home for pracharaks who have left the RSS fold. The organisation now attracts men who have formerly worked with mainstream political parties. Like Banti Khan who was born and brought up in 'Congress' culture.

.@ndtv is now showing a split-screen with visuals from farmer's protest. Rest of the channels remain on the DD feed. NDTV's coverage is quite strange to watch. There's live commentary from the R-Day parade occupying most of the screen with visuals from ANI on what seems like tear gas gone off at the protest site. I am sure they have reporters on ground to cut live to?

Absolutely nonsensical comparison.

Bajaj has stated an intent to not advertise alongside hateful content. It is to uphold basic human values/decency. Plus Bajaj DID NOT troll/abuse the channels or editors, land up at their studios to threaten them. He didn't even NAME ANYONE.

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1316342423036067840

Bajaj wants to stay away from content that is beyond reasonable doubt 'toxic'.

Those opposed to #tanishq, on the other hand, are opposed to the idea of inter-faith love. It's the sort of mentality that has made life hell for young couples in India. Even so...

When our correspondents first visited Hathras, the victim was still alive & the family was disappointed with lack of media attention. Then she died & their house was overrun by journalists with little sensitivity towards the ordeal they had been through newslaundry.com/2020/10/01/our… When Asha’s father was taken away by the police in the afternoon yesterday, her mother sat in a corner of the courtyard outside the house, her back against a stone pillar. She wore the same blue sari that she had been wearing on Sunday when these correspondents had visited her.

How did the two most circulated newspapers in UP cover #HathrasCase? Too late, too little.

Besides both papers had something else in common: they carried multiple half-page and full-page advertisements for the Uttar Pradesh government.
newslaundry.com/2020/10/01/how… The first mention of the case in the Lucknow edition of the Times of India was on September 29, on the victim being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital from Aligarh a day before. It was a single report split across Page 1 and Page 7, with barely 40 words on the front page.

Top advertisers feel they should come together and "convey it to the news channels that their tactics and questionable content ethics are making the platforms unsafe for brands."

Excellent news.

Story by @Niraj_Sharma1

bestmediainfo.com/lite/2020/09/i… It's been almost a year to @newslaundry's series Bloodlust TV, where we point to big brands sponsoring primetime debates that peddle misinfo and hate.

newslaundry.com/2019/10/21/blo…

.@tweets_prateekg spoke to 4 reporters who were present outside NCB office today who told him what exactly happened. Contrary to social media chatter, the journalist who slapped Pradeep Bhandari is neither from ABP News nor NDTV.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/24/rep… The journalist who slapped Bhandari told @tweets_prateekg: “He went live and said the NDTV reporter was frustrated, that he comes here to eat chai-biscuits. I went and asked him to behave, and he began hurling abuses at me. After that, I slapped him.”

“I’ll speak out even if I come out of this. And today, tomorrow, or a year later — I will come out of this for sure.”

Few weeks before his arrest, #UmarKhalid spoke to @sighyush on Delhi Police's narrative hunting and the media campaign against him.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/14/the… The activist said that he had reconciled himself with a police witch-hunt in March. “After Malviya’s video, and the right-wing media’s campaign, I was expecting to be questioned. I was mentally prepared to be arrested back in March and April,” he said.

Sudarshan News' one-hour-long offensive against Indian Muslims last night violated at least 5 of fifteen Cable Television Networks Rules.

We didn't spot any Amul ads on the show, which means the company heard many of us who appealed to them to withdraw.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/12/no-… Bad news is that @myogiadityanath's government continues to spend the taxpayers' money to poison the airwaves.

"At multiple points in the show, Chavanke used cartoons with big beards, crooked noses and skull caps to represent Muslims," notes @sighyush.

"Shiv Sena is not going to lose any ground...Kangana Ranaut is providing enough material to the Shiv Sena to prepare its cadre to do what they are best known for — rada sanskruti. The rowdy culture.”

@tweets_prateekg reports
newslaundry.com/2020/09/11/wit… Party workers and political analysts told Newslaundry that in recent years, Sena followers have had greater liking for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah rather than Uddhav Thackeray, thanks to the Modi-Shah duo’s “rough and tough” measures.

After @TejinderSsodhi's resignation, I spoke to several former employees of Republic to know of their experiences in the organisation.

Here's what they had to say.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/07/its… A common theme that emerged from our conversations with former Republic TV employees is the emphasis on sting operations.

A senior anchor, who now works with a mainstream English channel, told me that there are instructions given to 'wire up and meet your sources'.

I have been thoroughly intrigued by the online vilification of #RheaChakraborty — the memes, the posters, the #JusticeForSSR fan pages calling for her arrest. Who are these guys?

@NidhiSuresh_ speaks to 3 such men who are united in their hate for Rhea.
newslaundry.com/inside-the-onl… Dheeraj hadn’t been a big fan of Rajput; what drew him was the fact that Rajput, like himself, was also from Bihar and managed to make it big in Bollywood.

He is one of the administrators of a Facebook group called “Justice for Sushant Singh Rajput”.

PTI reporter's family first called 102. The ambulance arrived 2 hrs later only to refuse to take him. They were told to call 108, to reach ambulances for Covid patients. Family made frantic calls to 108 but received no response.

Horror story from UP.
newslaundry.com/2020/09/02/two… In Maharashtra, delay in getting a cardiac ambulance to shift a Pune-based TV reporter to a hospital resulted in his death. The reporter initially tested negative for Covid on August 27.

“People from @republic have dragged the whole media in the dirt."

@tweets_prateekg spent a day with reporters standing outside #RheaChakroborty house and came back very depressed. Must read.
newslaundry.com/2020/08/31/med… “Rhea Chakraborty only speaks to a select few channels,” I heard one Republic Bharat reporter speak into the camera. “Is she afraid of Republic Bharat?”

Thread on #BoycottAmul trend.

The piece that seems to have triggered the trend is a @newslaundry story, which is part of our Bloodlust TV series. In this series, we alert advertisers to bigoted content they end up powering with ad money.
newslaundry.com/2020/08/29/pow… Sudarshan News is right up there when it comes to promoting hate and a repeat offender.

The point, however, is not to boycott brands but to alert the brand in case they don't know where their ads are being placed — many have agencies doing the work for them.

.@Amul_Coop, UP government, Hempushpa (brand ambassador @vidya_balan) & Saheli (brand ambassador @TandonRaveena) did you know you are powering programmes on Sudharshan News that airs views like: "Muslims should be removed from India.”

newslaundry.com/2020/08/29/pow… Quoting things said on last night's programmes so brands realise what they are backing with their money:
"Those who call judges randi are getting judgements like this. But we Hindus, who respect the court, are not getting justice.”

The media trial against #RheaChakrobarty is ghastly, but then you are reminded of the Sudha Bhardwaj case and words fail.

It was TV news channels again that had launched a full-blown campaign against her before her arrest. It's a privilege to say 'let's just switch off'... ...many don't have the option because TV news actively comes at your to hound and destroy your life.

This was Republic painting her as an enemy of the state.

newslaundry.com/2018/07/06/rep…