OMG! Women drink

Activists slam Kannada media’s coverage of women buying liquor On May 4, when the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus was eased after over a month, liquor shops were among the business establishments that reopened. As pictures and videos appeared of people queuing up to buy alcohol in several parts of the country, […]

Journalists under siege

Uttar Pradesh has booked, arrested and assaulted eight media persons during the lockdown. Around the country, 18 others are facing legal trouble Journalists are being booked under IPC Section 188, which criminalises disobeying a public servant’s order, and Section 505(1)(b), which punishes causing fear and alarm to the public “whereby any person may be induced […]

‘We’ve stopped going there’

Muslim fruits suppliers in Noida speak of discrimination, hostility and being driven away from residential societies as well as cramped urban villages In the aftermath of the Tablighi Jamaat cluster case, Muslims in India have been earmarked as vectors of the novel coronavirus. One specific form this prejudice takes is the coronavirus-positive Muslim fruit vendor. WhatsApp forwards, […]

Big screen, blockbuster challenges

Nearly two months into the lockdown, the multiplex cinema faces an existential crisis. The biggest fear is of a change in viewers’ habits, as they get addicted to online content One of the three worst affected industries because of the lockdown due to Covid-19 is the film industry and the multiplex; the civil aviation and […]

India has tested less than one percent of its population. Why?

Constrained by inadequate testing strategies, kits and facilities, the authorities may be seeking infection only where it is ‘likely’, muddying the pandemic picture On March 16, the World Health Organisation said it was imperative for all countries to take a “comprehensive approach” to contain the rapid spread of the novel Coronavirus. One of the most […]

Coaching centres derailed

The robust business of preparing students for competitive exams is reeling under the effects of the pandemic “This entire road used to be buzzing with students throughout the day. Students would be walking in and out of the coaching centres and the private libraries from 8 am till 11 at night. But now, since the […]

Free news is piracy: media barons

The Indian Newspaper Society is threatening to take legal action against any person who circulates an epaper for free Even as the home delivery of newspapers continues to be in disarray across India in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, free digital distribution of epapers has met with stiff resistance from media companies. The owners, […]

Tensile strength

Journalist Ritu Bhatia’s fight against cancer is exemplary and inspirational and demonstrates that public health infrastructure does save lives Ritu Bhatia, a journalist who has reported extensively on health and wellness for more than two decades, was diagnosed with breast cancer eight months ago. The way she dealt with this serious ailment is exemplary. This […]