Magazine and Media Watch/Review

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Philip
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by Philip »

Just ckd into the thread after aeons and saw the comments.My views on the issue are in the IA thread,so will restrain comments within the context of the thread.

There is so much of undercurrent in the DOB issue that one feels that only the tip of the iceberg has been seen.When Gen.Singh was asked earlier to accept the revised DOB in order that he could be elevated to the post of chief,and that the discrepancy would be sorted out later,he could not possibly know that he would be short-changed later on.This therefore brings into Q his views on many matters of policy,etc.,unpalatable/uncomfortable to babudom/ruling politicos.By the time army generals reach the rank of Lt.Gen. and Corps Commanders decided,given the seniority list,it would not be too difficult to spot a future chief/contenders a few years before they get their fourth star.During his term his attitude will determine/influence key decisions of acquisition and policy.So if there was a conspiracy,the plot to curtail the general's term was laid a long time ago.Talk about vultures!

The lost of media entities which are in cahoots or support the GOI/Opposition/foreign entities is apparent from their leanings and sympathies.For babudom to find a sympathetic entity which will publish an "exclusive",fed with selected info,is not that difficult.Babudom shoots from the media's shoulder,thrives upon this tactic which insulates it from direct criticism,supplying it with info that is "leading" and some mags today want scoops and circulation over content behaving like tabloids of the Murdoch empire.Thus we see cover stories that harp upon scandal,sex and sleaze,as they sell well. Sadly,IT has become a shadow of itself.When Raj C left,or was eased out (?),a lot of the mag's character left with him too.SU reminds me of Oswald,the patsy, who supposedly shot JFK from his perch,when expert sharpshooters expended much ammo in a futile attempt to repeat his alleged feat,while the assassins by the grassy knoll calmly melted away.

It would be most interesting to list the views of the leading mags on the issue.The TV channels bring together opposite viewpoints to ensure a fracas takes place adding to viewers,bu the anchorman/woman's general slant can be discerned..
shiv
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by shiv »

Folks please indulge me for a bit. We on BRF have spent years being misled, confused, irritated and sometimes amused by atrocious media reporting on defence issues. On an impulse I decided to use this thread to collect up news items that are either uninformed, misleading, plain lies, misinformation, ignorance or just "catchy" sensational headlines that give a colour to a story that may be undeserved.

I am hoping that we can learn something from this. The expressions "jaundiced eyes" and "rose tinted glases" or "tinted glasses" are very appropriate here. Light from an object is supposed to reach your eyes unmodified. But if that light is distorted by coloured glass or something else then what you see is different from what is actually being reported. A case in point was the media portrayal of a spat between VKS and Antony - which VKS specifically denied. In fact that would have amounted to insubordination or mutiny and VKS can hardly be accused with any of those words. But the media don't give a damn when they write and then defend their right to say such things in Paki like fashion - asking for concessions after doing a Mumbai.

The media always insert their own perspective into news. That perspective could be as simple as ignorance, or attention grabbing as a headline designed to sound clever. More sinister interpretations are also there. Each and every time we on BRF read that and our minds are instantly coloured by that news item and days are spent discussing that and for a lurker who appears on here once a month a news item that he catches at that particular time is stored away in his mind as "truth"

One purpose that could be served by merely noting and archiving news items on this thread is that we can revisit the news after 2-3 years and see it it was true.

I start with the following news item that I would classify as nothing more than a "catchy headline". It's "clever, public school English"

Jet deal hits air pocket
shiv
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by shiv »

Cross post
Agni-V is a success
NDTV Live
Sadly the NDTV anchor in this video typifies the Indian sense of inadequacy and anxieties about Indians and Indian tech when he says "You must have been very worried last light and maybe you did not sleep" That is painting an assumed picture which typically illustrates one's own anxieties about the possibility of failure.

After a successful commando raid you can ask the commando "How did it feel. Were you scared?" and let the man speak his mind. You do not say "You must have been shitting brix and wet your pants" The development of a national sense of confidence depends on the media in not putting their own anxieties in their words

"China issues a demarche. India worried"
"India anxiously asks the Chinese what they are doing"
China roars. Pakistan gives and angry retort. India cheeps. India chrips.

This is how our media talk and they reflect Indians in India talking about India
member_20317
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by member_20317 »

Headline Today, an Indian news only channel was reporting the kilotonnage at '1 kiloton' for Agni V.

What can i say.
kapilrdave
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by kapilrdave »

shiv wrote:Cross post
Agni-V is a success
NDTV Live
........

After a successful commando raid you can ask the commando "How did it feel. Were you scared?" and let the man speak his mind. You do not say "You must have been shitting brix and wet your pants" The development of a national sense of confidence depends on the media in not putting their own anxieties in their words

"China issues a demarche. India worried"
"India anxiously asks the Chinese what they are doing"
China roars. Pakistan gives and angry retort. India cheeps. India chrips.

This is how our media talk and they reflect Indians in India talking about India
:rotfl: :rotfl:

Shiv saab you rock. Why do you post so less these days?
member_20317
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by member_20317 »

Shivji thats already done. Did a search for 'Chinese reaction to Agni V' at 10:40 pm today and look what I got. See the release times and the complete disconnect in the first 5-6 latest reports and the reportage earlier in the day. Thats free media of India. What a joke



News for chinese reaction to Agni V

Hindustan TimesAgni V test: China reacts cautiously; says India not rival
Hindustan Times‎ - 3 hours ago

Economic Times‎ - 7 hours ago
Reacting cautiously to India's test of Agni-V missile, China today said the two ... Agni V test: China reacts cautiously; says India not rival. Close ...Chinese media slams India on Agni-V, govt talks soft

The Hindu : News / National : Agni-V test: China reacts cautiously ...www.thehindu.com › News › NationalYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
3 hours ago – Reacting cautiously to India's test of Agni-V missile, China on Thursday said the two countries are not rivals and enjoy “sound” relations though ...

Agni-V launch: China reacts cautiously, says India not its rival : Asia ... indiatoday.intoday.in/story/agni-v-test-china-says.../185151.htmlYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
5 hours ago – Agni-V launch: China reacts cautiously, says India not its rival ... Reacting cautiously to India's test of Agni-V missile, China on Thursday said ...

Agni-V test: China reacts cautiously; says India not rivalwww. dailypioneer.com/.../58876-agni-v-test-china-reacts-cautiously-...You +1'd this publicly. Undo
6 hours ago – Reacting cautiously to India's test of Agni-V missile, China today said the two countries are not rivals and enjoy "sound" relations though the ...

Agni-V launch: India demonstrates ICBM capability; China reacts ... timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../Agni-V...reacts.../12730827.cmsYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
6 hours ago – China reacts cautiously, says India not rival. BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Reacting cautiously to India's test of Agni-V missile, China on Thursday said ...

Poor, deluded India stands no chance in arms race: China's reaction ...www.dnaindia.com › WORLDYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
Poor, deluded India stands no chance in arms race: China's reaction to Agni-V. Published: Thursday, Apr 19, 2012, 14:38 IST | Updated: Thursday, Apr 19, 2012, ...


China's bitter response to Agni V, says India stands nowhere in arms ...post.jagran.com › World NewsYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
8 hours ago – New Delhi: With India celebrating the historic moment of successfully launching its first inter-continental balastic missile (ICBM) Agni V, Chinese ...


China's Bitter Response To Agni V - Page 6www.defence.pk/.../174077-china-s-bitter-response-agni-v-6.htmlYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
13 posts - 12 authors - 1 hour ago
I call it deterrence. Just look around how many other countries in the world have the same weapon. The goal of humanity should be to disarm in ...

China's media disapproved India's Agni-V missile success - Page 2‎ - 19 Apr 2012
China's media disapproved India's Agni-V missile success‎ - 18 Apr 2012
China's Bitter Response To Agni V‎ - 13 Apr 2012
Possible Reaction of Pakistan after India's AGNI V 5500KM - Page 6‎ - 13 Feb 2012

More results from defence.pk »


Deluded India stands no chance in arms race: China's reaction to ...newsr.in/n/Front.../Deluded-India-stands-no-chance-in-arms-race.htmYou +1'd this publicly. Undo
7 hours ago – Deluded India stands no chance in arms race: China's reaction to Agni-V: India on Thursday test-fired the Agni-V missile that can accurately hit ...



Pakistan, China clash on India's Agni-V missile launch newsnews.oneindia.in/.../pakistan-china-clash-on-india-s-agni-v-missile-la...You +1'd this publicly. Undo
6 hours ago – Pakistan, Chinese media reacted differently to the news of India's launching of Agni-V missile on Apr 19. Dawn, The News International flooded ...




http://www.google.co.in/search?sourceid ... +to+Agni+V

[added the link]
ramana
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by ramana »

The Indian papers/media reports could be rehash of PTI report. PTI is the single most contributor to DDMItis in India. Their reports are published verbatim or slightly modified by rest of Indian media.
svinayak
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by svinayak »

Not many american news wire carrying this story.
Reaction of China is missing in western reports. but this could be that they both could be chuckling behind

Truly only the SSBN is the real deterrence for China stationed near the beijing
ramana
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by ramana »

Time to revive this old thread started in 2004.
ramana
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by ramana »

X-post....
Karan M wrote:
SSridhar, many simply don't know the background of Fair, or that other anti-Indian dude Stephen Cohen (whose claims were taken down in blistering rebuttals by you, JEM and KGoan) and several of these gora analysts who are anything but neutral. They continue to think these people are somehow objective, when their bias has become ludicrously laughable.

There is one chap called Chris Clary who on Feb 27th, openly noted he'd believe anything from the US side over India's claims because obviously the former was more credible. At least he was honest. He and many others are linked to Cohen above. The network and thought process is widespread.

Tellis is pro-India to the extent we could serve His Master's Voice. He was given unfettered access to the desi-establishment pre/post MRCA, quickly figured out the LCA was shaping up to be the future of the IAF (way before most of the cynics in BRF had access to that) and hence spent a ton of time running down the program in his article on the MRCA, and arguing that IAF being "fighter jocks" had no idea of making a geo-strategic choice and hence chose the Euro-canards, which "only" offered better aero-performance.

The rest of the pack includes chaps like Paul Staniland, Economist's Joshi, and many others who spend all their time re-circulating articles and claims which often represent a rather nasty streak of Hinduphobia. Which in turn is widely re-circulated by Dhume and his better half, Alyssa Ayres (who prior to Trump was even angling for an ambassadorial post to India). Their bias, loathing for the current GOI is open.

WaPo's Annie Gowan was so blatantly bigoted she openly asked for all those with "angry Hanuman" images to be banned from interacting with her, ran a fake news factory on India including one accusing Gujarati "Upper caste" families of practicising eugenics (and never published a retraction when it was clear it was fake). Apparently a Jesuit who ran a campaign against Fair accusing latter of not being X'ian enough.

NYT, we all know, it has long jumped the shark with regards to anything regarding India. They too have posted people with deep evangelical links, to India, and of course we know what happened to NPR's "Kashmiri intern", but nothing happened to her boss who recruited her and cleared her stories.

Expecting any of these folks to be objective with regards to a strong "Hindu nationalist" Govt is to expect the impossible. They literally believe in west's manifest destiny and look down on any culture which doesn't breathe, behave exactly as they wish it to do. Most of the Indian's at these orgs have drunk even more deeply of the kool-aid and act more loyal than the king.

A handful of objective analysts exist but of course, they too will have to do monkey-balancing if all their peers are so rabid.
Shameek
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by Shameek »

Let’s look at the consumers of media today. Here I refer mainly to urban areas across India and also NRIs.

There is a section of the population that gets all their news through social media. They are quickly influenced by WhatsApp forwards and Twitter 1 liners but also quickly move on to other items. They will seldom try to delve deeper into any of these topics or bother to read rebuttals of claims. They are ignorant of a lot of things which also makes them susceptible to fear mongering. However, they will then proceed to propagate their fears further to their groups.

Another subset of the population prefers to follow the so called ‘established’ news sources which in their mind is BBC, CNN, NYT etc. the Indian sounding hacks that write/report for these also helps convince them about their authenticity. As with that recent article about the BBC and BHU, of the people who read the initial article on BBC, how many actually would bother to read the rebuttal? These are sometimes the same people who will side with a gora against India to win a quick point. I try to ask them these questions, “When something happens in a European country, how many people there tune in to an Indian news channel to get their information?” or “When you need to take a decision at home, do you consult your household or the neighbors?”

The third set are hopefully people like us that choose where to get their news and even better, use their brains to evaluate that news and take the points on their merits.

It is the first two groups that create a lot of challenges for creating a uniform informed public opinion on matters critical to our country.
ArjunPandit
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by ArjunPandit »

Ramana guru, I would like to hear your thoughts on identifying the political leanings of journalists on various issues for a better understanding of what they are writing.
ramana
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by ramana »

If you can Google for Gautam Sen op-ed on Trouble with 3 rd world liberals written in 1996(?) Would be good
Thakur_B
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by Thakur_B »

India Today is launching a new weekly show named Battle Cry featuring Sandeep Unnithan, Gaurav C Sawant and Shiv Aroor. The focus will be on soldiers and weapon systems. Show debuts Jan 25th 1930 Hrs IST.
VinodTK
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Re: Magazine and Media Watch/Review

Post by VinodTK »

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