India

With a circulation of 16.5 lakh copies (according to ABC for the period of January to June 2002) and a readership of 1.3 crore as indicated by the latest round of the Indian Readership Survey, Dainik Bhaskar seems to be a comfortable leader. But resting on its laurels is not a trait one can associate with the Hindi daily that recently forayed into the eight state, namely Maharashtra, adding one...

Business Standard has finally fallen in line with national and international norms in terms of size. After months of holding on to its original height of 56 cm and width of 38 cm per page (full area), Business Standard, the flagship brand from the company with the same name, will reduce its size. Starting today (Monday, October 28, 2002), it will be slimmer with its width at 35 cm (height remains...

On 11 July 2002, police in the Indian capital of New Delhi took four Nepalese citizens into custody, including three journalists, on charges of assisting Maoist rebels. According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report, those arrested include journalists working for "Nepali Awaj" ("Voice of the Nepalese") newspaper, which is published in New Delhi. The arrested journalists are Parth Chhetri...

In a letter sent to the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Jaswant Singh, Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders - RSF) asked for the real reasons for the arrest of Burmese journalist Soe Myint, managing editor of the Mizzima press agency. "We are justified in asking whether the arrest of this journalist, reputed for his reporting on human rights violations in Burma, has a direct...

Aaj Tak in Punjabi. Well, that's how the STV Enterprises brass would like to describe its 24-hour Punjabi news channel, which debuted on January 14. The channel, branded Punjab Today, aims to bring "news about people to the people" (Lokan dian khabran lokan tak). A free-to-air channel, Punjab Today beams via Thaicom 3 satellite. Promoted by Delhi-based broadcast equipment service provider Jugal K...

CPJ mourns the tragic deaths of our colleagues Anju Sharma of the Hindustan Times; Sanjiv Sinha of the Indian Express; Ranjan Jha of the television news channel Aaj Tak; and Gopal Bisht, cameraman for Aaj Tak. All four journalists were killed on September 30 when their chartered plane crashed during a flight between New Delhi and Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh State. Four other passengers, including the...

According to PPF, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), India's sole gateway to the Internet, has blocked the web site of Pakistan's leading English language daily newspaper, "Dawn". According to "The Times of India", Internet users in India have been unable to connect to the "Dawn" website for more than a week. A VSNL official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told "The Times of India" that the...

On 13 August 1997, Indian immigration authorities refused to allow Martin Sugarman, an independent United States (US) photographer and filmmaker, to enter India for the purpose of reporting in the Kashmir Valley. Sugarman arrived in New Delhi on a flight from London, United Kingdom shortly before midnight on 12 August. He had been issued a visa on 16 July by the Indian Consulate in San Francisco...

On 28 February 1997, senior journalists from Pakistan were detained for over three hours upon arriving at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport. Among them were prominent journalists Mahmud Sham, editor of Pakistan's largest circulated daily "Jang", and Rehana Hakim (f), editor of the monthly "Newsline". According to Sham, for three hours, immigration authorities would not allow the journalists to...