Ethics and Freedom

July 14, 2006 | While Melanie Morgan debates with Ann Coulter about whether the executive editor of the New York Times should be killed by gas chamber or firing squad, the institutional forces behind the San Francisco radio host deserve to share in the national spotlight now focused on her. Morgan's brand of authoritarian extremism is brought to her radio listeners every day courtesy of the Disney...

SEATTLE -- A journalist listed as a potential Army witness in the case of an officer refusing to go to Iraq is concerned the military is threatening free speech and free press rights as it builds its case against the soldier. Sarah Olson, a radio producer and freelance journalist in Oakland, Calif., is one of two reporters listed as potential witnesses in the government's case against 1st Lt...

The controversial Broadcast Bill, that could give sweeping powers to authorities to control media, is likely to be introduced in the coming monsoon session of Parliament with government insisting it will be "most media-friendly legislation". "When introduced in the Parliament, it will be the most media-friendly legislation in the world," Information and Broadcasting Minister PR Dasmunsi told...

NEW DELHI: You can kiss the Broadcast Services Regulation Bill 2006 - a draft of which is doing the rounds of various ministries and industry stakeholders these days - goodbye, Well, almost. "Whenever I bring a Bill to Parliament, it'd be the most media-friendly legislation in the whole world," information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi today said, hinting that the draft is likely...

NEW DELHI: The broadcasting bill, which triggered angry reactions from the media industry over stringent clauses contained in the draft proposal, appears to be in a limbo now. Replying to a query on the sidelines of the cabinet briefing here on Thursday, information and broadcasting minister P R Dasmunsi said the government would consult the electronic and print media before finalising the bill...

Reporters Without Borders voiced dismay at the sentence of two years in prison and two years loss of civil rights handed down today by a court in Bijie in the southwestern province of Guizhou on journalist Li Yuanlong of the Bijie Ribao daily newspaper for “inciting subversion of the state” in articles he posted on the Internet. The organisation also condemned the way the authorities took Li’s...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Police seized more than 100 unpublished Anchorage Daily News photos taken at a shooting scene, then returned them a few hours later after learning the action violated federal law. A similar warrant was served at KTVA-TV, and police also later returned a video of aired footage that was taken. Police officials said they might seek court-ordered subpoenas for the photographs and...

NEW DELHI, JULY 11: The government is likely to re-visit some of the contentious clauses of the proposed broadcast bill and is keen to take the media industry into confidence before getting on with the process of formulating laws for governing them. The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) secretary met the management of some of the leading private television channels and print...

At a rally outside the New York Times's office last night, protesters called on the government to "prosecute" the newspaper for its recent publication of government security secrets. Led by a radio talk show host and Caucus for America president, Rabbi Aryeh Spero, almost 100 people gathered on 43rd Street to voice their outrage at the Times's decision to publish "national security secrets...

As politicians go, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi is an affable man. His ego is not enormous; he doesn't bristle at criticism; he's the sort of chap you can share a joke or two with, and sometimes he will even laugh at himself. He's fired by football as much as he's driven by politics and his geniality is germane to his dexterity as Parliamentary Affairs Minister. So what is he doing defending what could...