India

Magazines have registered a 12 per cent drop in readership – from 75 million in 2005 to 68 million this year, according to the just-released findings of the National Readership Survey (NRS) 2006. NOT ENTICING ANYMORE: There have been a number of changes in the Top 10 bracket bracket though the top two – Saras Salil and India Today (English) – remain the same. The readership of Saras Salil dipped...

The reach of the print media in India continues to grow at least in terms of numbers – it has increased from 206 million to 222 million in the last one year. This media sector is being driven largely by newspapers with magazines seeing a sharp decline of 12 per cent, acording to the National Readership Survey (NRS) 2006. SPREADING IT WIDER: Dailies continue to grow, adding 12.6 million readers...

In a country widely referred to as the world’s largest democracy, the Indian government has succumbed to mounting Israeli pressure and ordered a nationwide ban on the broadcast of Arab television channels. The Indian government’s ban on Arab television stations is in complete contrast to the friendship that Arab countries imagine exists with their neighbor across the Arabian Sea. It seems the ban...

MUMBAI, AUGUST 4: Media firms face proposed changes to broadcasting rules that could limit cross-holdings and crimp consolidation in the world's third-largest cable TV market. The bill, likely to be delayed as broadcasters lobby the government for changes, would set limits on scale and expansion and bring the $3.6 billion television industry under one regulator responsible for controlling content...

NEW DELHI: The Government would hold a meeting with stakeholders on the proposed legislation to regulate the broadcasting media before going to the Cabinet, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told the Lok Sabha here on Monday. Terming as "uncalled for" the apprehensions that the fundamental rights of the media would be encroached upon, he said the legislation was...

The controversial Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2006 will not be tabled in the ongoing Parliament session after all. The Union ministry of parliamentary affairs has listed ten Bills for introduction during the sesion; the Broadcast Bill is not among them. The government's decision to pull the Bill off the list comes in the wake of the representations made by media owners to the information...

The print media in India is a long way from being dead if the official report on the state of the print publications is anything to go by. The Press in India 2004-5, the annual report of the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), says the print media claimed a substantial share in the information space in the country registering 1,948 new newspapers and over a two crore increase in circulation...

After a week of keeping critics on tenterhooks, the Indian government now seems determined to push through the draconian Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2006. Once made into an Act, it would be something that would even made Russian President Vladimir Putin blush. WHO'S TALKING? The Union minister for information and broadcasting Priyaranjan Dasmunshi attempted to lob the ball into the court...

New Delhi: The government on Saturday dismissed as “baseless” and “out of context” the attack on the draft Broadcast Bill and ruled out “dilution” of the provisions of the measure that has been severely criticised as “draconian” by the media. “I can say with responsibility that the bill will be a media friendly, progressive legislation not seen anywhere in the world,” Information and Broadcasting...

NEW DELHI: Information & broadcasting minister P R Dasmunsi indicated on Saturday that there will be no discussion with the media industry on the controversial broadcast Bill. He said, the Bill would neither be ‘‘diluted’’ nor ‘‘polluted’’ and would be brought to Parliament in the coming Monsoon session. The minister dismissed as ‘‘baseless’’ and ‘‘out of context’’ the attack on the draft...