On Wed, 20 Jun 2001, Vaibhav Arya wrote:
Is being a newspaper any different from being a magazine, a tv show, or for that matter a website? We would not expect the rest to carry stories about their competition. Why be mortified if a newspaper says that they don't want to print your story because they don't like your face?
Newspapers have traditionally been considered more reliable than rest of the media. Further, within the newspapers themselves, some may be considered more reliable than others. TOI, it appears, is more interested in sensationalism than accurate reporting of facts. Nobody is asking TOI to carry an article on say Everbuddy or Jabber. But is it too much too expect them to abstain from making false claims such as the ones they have made in the article?
I believe that being a private enterprise they should have all the right to what they like. (ALSO, the GOVT should abolish all subsidies to them, just because they are newspapers, or alternatively extend this to all kinds of media. (the internet especially ;-))
I believe in freedom of the press too, but that should be counterbalanced by accountability. The press is too powerful a weapon to go unchecked in a country like India where the press is subject to extreme political pressures.
The idea behind susidising newspapers is to ensure that everyone has access to information cheaply and efficiently. As far as subsidies go, they are truly required in an underdeveloped country like India. While major players like TOI may be able to survive even without subsidies, smaller (regional) newspapers cannot. Hence the subsidies on newsprint, sales tax, etc...
-YoGeSh
[p.s: No, i'm _not_ a commie :-) ]