*** The hollowing out of Indian news media—from being serious, agenda-setting, conscience-keepers, to frothy, gutless, market-driven beasts without a soul—is all too obvious, but it was never more apparent than during the recent India-Pakistan kerfuffle. As the two nuclear powers peered into the abyss, there was a barely a commentary in any part of the…
Tag Archives: Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Karan Thapar says ‘sorry’ to L.K. Advani (twice)
It isn’t often that journalists, especially the bold-faced names, descend from their ivory towers to admit they may have hurt a politician’s feelings. It’s even rarer to hear them say ‘sorry’ for having done so. But twice in the past week, the interviewer Karan Thapar has found the inner reserves to publicly do so, and…
How a newspaper welcomed the new republic
The front page of the Bangalore newspaper Deccan Herald 60 years ago, on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic. Launched in 1948, the paper was then edited by the legendary Pothan Joseph, who, besides editing The Dawn when it was started in Delhi by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, also had a role to…
Sure, but would he like to receive them today?
Watching TV used to be simple in the age of terrestrial broadcasting. The advent of satellite, cable and dish have made viewing a more pleasurable experience, of course, but there are also some unintended consequences. This afternoon, after news emerged that India’s principal opposition party, the BJP, had sacked its leading light Jaswant Singh against…
IJR 