By
B.Venkateswarlu

The popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace is driving unusually strong growth in public relations business, as companies tap into the power of recommendation, according to Sir Martin Sorrell, head of advertising group WPP.

Sir Martin's group today reported a weaker-than-expected third quarter, knocking its shares. But it revealed that revenues from PR work were growing strongly.

"It is unusual for it to be so strong at this stage in the cycle and the reasoning behind it is to do with social networking and the web," said Sir Martin. "Social networking seems to underline the importance of editorial publicity."

"Social networking is really recommendation between people about the things that they are interested in and they like... this has stimulated people's attention in terms of the importance of PR."

WPP's third quarter trading update showed an 11% jump in revenues from public relations and public affairs to £157.3m, making it one of the group's strongest drivers.

Sir Martin said that companies' increasing focus on getting into news stories reflected an appetite among web users for "ideas and knowledge" from apparently "independent" sources. Using a PR company to generate more press coverage also helps brands get around social networkers' typical aversion to adverts, he added.

"The people who are going on these sites didn't want to be monetised, they didn't want to be advertised to, so again editorial communication is so powerful, they would rather be communities that can exchange views that are untarnished," he said.

PR still has a price advantage over other forms of marketing, according to Sir Martin. "It looks cheaper in terms of absolute levels of spending so it makes people happier."

WPP, the world's second largest advertising group, said that overall like-for-like revenues were up 5% to £1.48bn in the third quarter. The growth was described as disappointing by some analysts. According to a Reuters poll, they had been expecting growth of 5.5% after the company flagged strong growth in July.

WPP's shares dropped 27.5p, or 4%, to 667p. It put much of the blow to revenues down to a weak dollar against the pound.

Sir Martin said that, as far as television advertising was concerned, the latest revelations about the extent of ITV's phone-ins scandal were unlikely to have a tangible effect.

"I think in the long-run (ITV chairman) Michael Grade is making the right moves, so I don't see it being fatal but obliously it's not helpful," he said.

For the advertising industry overall, WPP painted an upbeat outlook. It flagged up likely boosts from the US presidential election, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and, "on a relatively more modest basis", of the European football championships.

At the same time it played down the effects of the recent credit market turmoil on clients' spending.

"There has, as yet, been little if any effect on spending levels across the board, both functionally and geographically," it said in the trading statement. "Any possible impact is unlikely to be reflected anyway, until the group's budgets for 2008 are finalised at the beginning of next year. In any event, we continue to believe that 2008 will be a good year for the industry, better than 2007."

The group, whose offices are spread across more than 100 countries, said a bigger concern than the credit crunch was the economic impact any new US administration will have on 2009.

"Whilst the new rapidly-growing parts of the world are no longer as dependent on the US for growth, as they used to be, it is still true that when the US sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold," WPP said.

Source:Guardian

By
B.Venkateswarlu

MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- Some time between 2008 and 2010, annual export revenues from India's information technology (IT) sector are predicted to hit $50 billion, up from $16.3 billion this year.

That is the spectacular growth curve projected by the IT industry's peak body, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), which sees at least 25 percent annual growth for the next five years.

Given that India's total exports this year will be around $70 billion, Nasscom's view amounts to a phenomenal performance for an industry that barely existed until the 1990s.

Now, the world knows names like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Satyam, HCL and NIIT, and global clients beat a path to their door for work that meets the three magic criteria of speed, quality and price.

The champions of this industry are men such as NR Naryana Murthy of Infosys and Azim Premji of Wipro, whose headline-grabbing financial success has flowed through to thousands of staff shareholders and investors.

That pool of lucky shareholders widened even further late last month with the listing of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which immediately confirmed its status as India's most valuable IT company with a market worth of $10.2 billion.

TCS became India's first billion-dollar software company in revenues last year. TCS managing director S. Ramadorai told CNN last week that "substantial growth" since then had pushed revenue for the year to March 2004 to a record $1.6 billion.

Ramadorai sees growth continuing at a healthy rate and "in multiple ways" for TCS because of what he says is its competency in delivering a globally competitive service.

But Ramadorai is alert to the competition. "China wants to play in the IT space too," he observes.

Still, he believes that the "value addition" that Indian professionals bring is the key to the industry's success. "It is a creative exercise".

That theme is echoed by Ramadorai's industry peers. In a recent interview with CNN television, Wipro chairman Azim Premji said the Indian IT industry initially won customers because of its low costs. But he said customers had stayed because "we deliver better than the best quality in the world, consistently".

After its listing on Wednesday August 25, TCS stands as the world's third-largest IT services company. Its market capitalization of $10.2 billion makes it substantially larger than rivals Infosys ($8.84 billion) and Wipro ($8.52 billion).

The TCS also listing means that the Tata Group -- which holds 85 percent of TCS through its Tata Sons -- has clearly overtaken the Ambani family's Reliance Group as India's biggest private business conglomerate.

"The veil has been lifted," Tata Sons executive director R. Gopalakrishnan told CNN. "This group (Tata) has been perceived as No. 1 in India. Now the market shows we really are No. 1".

Come of age

Wipro's Azim Premji is one of the IT industry's leaders.
In the view of Morgan Stanley's India chief economist Chetan Ahya in Mumbai, the Indian IT industry has really come of age in the past five years, primarily because of the liberalization of the telecommunications sector and the resultant sharp fall in prices.

He said the drop of almost 85 percent in the price of telecom services between 1998 and 2001 acted as a "catalyst to growth in external demand for IT and IT enabled services".

"In the last five years we have seen a sea change in IT and telecoms infrastructure," Ahya told CNN.

"There is still work to be done in general physical infrastructure, but India's business process outsourcing (BPO) success would not have been possible without this IT infrastructure," he said.

Ahya believes India's successful software model is a good reflection of the skills available in the country. "It is true to us," he says.

Plus, he says, IT has changed India's growth story. He nominates the most important aspect as the contribution it has made to India's savings rate.

Morgan Stanley believes that with increased competition from the private sector, telecom costs in India will be the most competitive in the region.

Similarly, it expects the sector to be a key driver of economic growth in India over the next 10 years.

Underlying this trend is India's competitive advantage -- the average salary of a fresh IT sector employee is just 15 percent of that in the United States.

Though India lags in primary education, it puts a heavy emphasis on higher education, particularly in its Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). This leads to the availability of a large number of English-speaking graduates who can take part in IT opportunities.

While education is hugely important, so too is PC and Internet access, and the related issue of the affordability of computers in India.

Ramadorai of TCS believes that from a current price level of around 35-40,000 rupees ($760-$870), the price of a basic computer must come down to 10,000 rupees (about $217) to increase penetration levels in Indian society.

There is another issue that is a cause for concern in the city of Bangalore -- the Indian technology hub that is followed closely by Hyderabad, Chennai and more recently, Pune.

Bangalore is becoming a victim of its own success -- its rapid transformation into India's Silicon City has not been matched by an upgrade of public infrastructure. In roads, power, transport, water and pollution, it struggles to meet the needs of its high-earning and demanding citizens.

One result is that companies such as Infosys and Wipro -- the very names whose lush campuses epitomise Bangalore's IT success -- are looking elsewhere for expansion.

By
B.Venkateswarlu

Toronto, October 10: Canada and India are optimistic about reaching a deal that could open the door for the Canadian industry to export nuclear reactors to New Delhi for the first time in over three decades, media reports said in Toronto on Wednesday.

Canada severed its nuclear ties with India in 1974 after New Delhi detonated a weapon using material from a Canadian reactor. But Canada renewed its civilian nuclear trade with India two years ago.

The move comes on the heels of a nuclear agreement signed between India and the United States, the Montreal Gazette reported.

The deal with Washington, if implemented, will allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possessing nuclear weapons despite not having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"Canada started nuclear co-operation with India. This is now more than 50 years, so Canada is a very special country for us," Indian High Commissioner R L Narayan said.

"There have been blips, and those have essentially been occasioned by the nuclear issue and when we tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998 and so forth. But hopefully we have gotten over those blips now," Narayan said.

Approximately three per cent of India's power now comes from nuclear reactors, but it is hoping to increase that percentage to at least 20 per cent, Narayan said, adding that nuclear technology was the best solution to support economic growth with the potential of wiping out poverty in the nation within 25 years.

"It's very clear that we won't slow down our growth, because we need this energy somehow," said Narayan.

Industry representatives say that it is clear that the Canadian government is waiting for the ratification of the Indo-US agreement before moving forward with a new deal.

Source:Expressindia

By
B.Venkateswarlu

Melbourne, October 10: Speedster Brett Lee plans to record and release his first studio album in India during breaks in his playing schedule over the next 12 months and is also looking forward to charity work and movie offers in the country in future.
Lee has returned to India with the Australian one-day side for a seven-match series and, to his amazement, the game's popularity has only grown in the country.

"This has probably been the series with the most interest since I've been coming here," Lee said adding "I've been on a few tours now with the Australian side, and it's always been massive, but the last couple of weeks have been huge.

"I think the Twenty20 has had a lot to do with it, which is great for world cricket and great for India. This is where cricket is, this is the home of cricket. There would have been a couple of thousand people waiting for us at the hotel," he told The Age newspaper.

Following the success of his debut single with Asha Bhosle last year, Lee will record and release his first studio album in India during breaks in his cricketing schedule.

Also, having fielded and rejected several approaches from movie producers due to time constraints, Lee hopes to grace India's silver screens after his cricketing career.

He is also in the process of forming a charitable fund in India.

"Steve Waugh is loved over here because he has done so much charity work, and that's how I would like to be remembered as well: someone who enjoyed his cricket, but also put a fair bit back in," Lee said.

"Hopefully, I've only scratched the surface. There's heaps of other things as well I want to do over here, like may be a movie."

The fast bowler was effusive in his praise for the cricket-crazy public of India and said they gave him a feeling, which he never encountered while playing anywhere else.

"Even though there are so many people, never once have we felt threatened. We're never worried about going anywhere.

"It's different when we tour England, South Africa or New Zealand because they love the home side, and that's not a bad thing. But here they just cheer you, and you get goose bumps when you walk onto the field. It's just 'Wow'. You don't see that in Australia," Lee added.

Source:Expressindia

By
B.Venkateswarlu

Bangalore, October 9: The Centre decided to impose President's rule in Karnataka, accepting Governor Rameshwar Thakur's recommendation after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy resigned lacking the required number to prove his majority in the state Assembly.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said.

Thakur had on Monday recommended imposition of Central rule and dissolution of the state assembly soon after Kumaraswamy resigned on being told by the Governor that he did not have the required numbers to win a trial of strength on the floor of the House following withdrawal of support by BJP to his government.

The ruling JD(S)-BJP alliance broke up after Kumaraswamy refused to transfer Chief Ministership to BJP under a power-sharing accord reached 20 months ago.

Sections in the two parties had made last-minute attempts to revive their alliance and give Chief Ministership to BJP but the plan did not work.

Kumaraswamy had wanted an opportunity for a floor test but the Governor bluntly told him that he did not have the legislative arithmetic in his favour and he better step down

Source:Express News

By
B.Venkateswarlu

Los Angeles (E! Online) - The fold returned to Britney Spears. For a little while, at least.
On Monday, the beleaguered pop star had her first visit with sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, since turning custody over to ex-husband Kevin Federline, sources confirmed to E! Online.

A nanny who has also been spotted at K-Fed's house accompanied the boys to their mom's Malibu manse and stayed the afternoon, per the court's order. It's unclear whether the fourth wheel was a parenting coach or other preapproved supervisor.

A family court commissioner ruled that Spears could have monitored visits with her children every other day—again, so long as she complies with a number of court orders, including a previous directive to undergo drug testing twice a week.

At times like these, one might think that the sort of TLC only a mother can give would be in order. And Spears apparently felt the same way.

The "Gimme More" chanteuse's reunion with her little ones comes right after her first meeting with mom Lynne Spears since June. At the time, the 25-year-old entertainer told her mom to back off as Lynne publicly expressed her concern over Britney's seemingly reckless behavior.

Sources told E! Online that the mother-daughter reunion was originally scheduled to take place in Kentwood, Louisiana, this weekend, but that Spears didn't feel comfortable traveling while the court is "watching like a hawk." Someone from the court was going to be "all over" her and the kids this week, she said.

Instead, mom and younger sister Jamie Lynn flew into Los Angeles Friday evening, briefly stopping off at Spears' Beverly Hills pad at around 3 a.m. before heading out to her Malibu digs.

A source said that Britney is, in fact, being kept on a very short leash for now and that if she behaves until her next court hearing, on Oct. 26, the commissioner's supervised visitation order could be relaxed.

The court-ordered monitor also has the authority to "terminate visitation immediately if any conduct or action by [Spears] endangers the minor children."

Meanwhile, Blackout, Spears' first studio album in four years, is on target for a Nov. 13 debut. "Gimme More" topped the digital song charts last week and its video had its broadcast premiere Monday on MTV's TRL.

Source: Reuters

Chairman Justice
G N Ray

The Press Council of India was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India. The present Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978. It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.

The Press Council is headed by a Chairman, who has by convention, been a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Council consists of 28 other members of whom 20 represent the press and are nominated by the press organisations/news agencies recognised and notified by the Council as all India bodies of categories such as editors, working journalists and owners and managers of newspaper , 5 members are nominated from the two houses of Parliament and 3 represent cultural, literary and legal fields as nominees of the Sahitya Academy, University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India. The members serve on the Council for a term of three years . The Council was last reconstituted on May 22, 2001.

The Council is funded by revenue collected by it as fee levied on the registered newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers with circulation less than 5000 copies. The deficit is made good by way of grant by the Central Government, through Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ( http://mib.nic.in )

Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint against a newspaper, for any publication which you find objectionable and effects you personally, or non-publication of a material, you should first take it up with the editor or other representative of the publication concerned.

If the complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may refer it to the Press Council of India. The complaint must be specific and in writing and should be filed/lodged within two months of the publication of impugned news item in case of dailies and weeklies and four months in all other cases, along with the original/photostat copy of the impugned clipping ( English translation if the matter is in vernacular ). You must state in what manner the publication/non publication of the matter is objectionable within the meaning of the Press Council Act, 1978 and enclose a copy of your letter to the editor, pointing out why you consider the matter objectionable. His reply thereto or published rejoinder, if any, may also be attached to it. Declaration stating that the matter is not pending in any court of law is also required to be filed.

If a newspaper or journalist is aggrieved by any action of any authority that may impinge on the freedom of the press, he can also file a complaint with the Council. The aggrieved newspaper or journalist may inform the Council about the possible reason for the action of the authorities against him i.e. if it is as a reprisal measure taken by the authorities due to critical writings or as a result of the policy that may effect the freedom of the press ( supporting documents, with English translation if they are in vernacular, should be filed ). Declaration regarding the non pendency of the matter in any court of law is also necessary.

On receipt of a complaint made to it or otherwise, if the Council is prima facie satisfied that the matter discloses sufficient ground for inquiry, it issues show cause notice to the respondents and then considers the matter through its Inquiry Committee on the basis of written and oral evidence tendered before it. If on inquiry, the Council has reason to believe that the respondent newspaper has violated journalistic norms, the Council keeping in view the gravity of the misconduct committed by the newspaper, warns, admonishes or censures the newspaper or disapproves the conduct of the editor or the journalist as the case may be. It may also direct the respondent newspaper to publish the contradiction of the complainant or a gist of the Council’s decision in its forthcoming issue.

Similarly, when the Council upholds the complaint of the aggrieved newspaper/journalist the Council directs the concerned government to take appropriate steps to redress the grievance of the complainant. The Council may, if it considers necessary , make such observations, as it may think fit, in any of its decisions or reports, respecting the conduct of any authority, including Government.

Address your complaints or inquiries to :

The Secretary,
Press Council of India,
Soochna Bhavan, 8-C.G.O. Complex,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Email : pci@alpha.nic.in, pcids@vsnl.net

By B.Venkateswarlu

Source:Press Council of India
--------------------------------------------------
Procedure for filing the complaint

1. Complaints against the Press

It is open to any person to lodge a complaint with the Press Council against a newspaper for a breach of the recognized ethical canons of journalistic propriety and taste. The complainant need not necessarily be the person aggrieved or directly involved. The alleged breach may be in the publication or non-publication of a news-item or statement, or other material, like cartoons, pictures, photographs, strips or advertisement which are published in a newspaper. Cases can also be initiated by any member of the public against any professional misconduct by an editor, working journalist, staff of a newspaper or engaged in freelance work. There can also be a complaint against any matter transmitted by a news agency by any means whatsoever.

By virtue of the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979, limitation of time is 4 months from the date of publication of the material.

Write to the editor first
It is a requirement of the Inquiry Regulations that the complainant should initially write to the editor of the newspaper drawing his attention to what the complainant considers to be a breach of journalistic ethics or an offence against public taste. Such prior reference to the editor affords him an opportunity to deal with the matter in the first instance and thus allows the respondent to take such remedial action as he might consider appropriate before the complaint is lodged with the Council. This rule is necessary because it acquaints the editor with the identity of his accuser and the details of the complaint. It is conceivable that in some instance the complainant has been wrongly informed or has misinterpreted the facts. In others, it may be a case of inadvertent error which the editor is only too ready to admit and correct. If the would-be-complainant is satisfied, that would be the end of the matter.

Where, after reference to the newspaper, the person desires to proceed with the complaint, he should enclose with his complaint copies of correspondence with the editor, if no reply has been received from the editor, the fact should be mentioned in the complaint.

The complainant has, in his complaint, to give the name and address of the newspaper, editor or journalist against whom the complaint is directed. A clipping of the matter or news-items complained of, in original or self attested copy (English translation, if the news item(s) is in vernacular) should accompany the complaint. The complainant has to state in what manner the passage or news-items or the material complained of is objectionable. He should also supply other relevant particulars, if any.

In the case of a complaint against non-publication of material the complainant will, of course, say how that constitutes a breach of journalistic ethics.

The Council cannot deal with any matter which is sub-judice in the law court. The complainant has to declare that “to the best of his knowledge and belief he has placed all the relevant facts before the Council and that no proceedings are pending in any court of law in respect of any matter alleged in the complaint.” A declaration that “ he shall notify the Council forthwith if during the pendency of the inquiry before the Council any matter alleged in the complaint becomes the subject matter of any proceedings in a court of law" is also necessary.

2. Complaints regarding oppression to Press freedom

A newspaper, a journalist or any institution or individual can complain against Central or State Government or any organization or person for interference with free functioning of the press or encroachment on the freedom of the press. Such complaints should contain full particulars of the alleged infringement whereupon the Council shall follow the procedure of inquiry set out herein above so far as may be.

The opinion expressed by the Council sub serves two useful purposes, namely (i) that any abuse of press freedom does not pass without anybody noticing it or raising a finger of protest, and (ii) that the press should not in its own interest indulge in scurrilous or other objectionable writings-writings such as have been considered below the level of recognized standards of journalistic ethics by a fair minded jury like the Council constituted of the press itself, for it would lead to the very loss of the much prized freedom of the press.
By
B.Venkateswarlu

THE RECENT flip-flops of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over the draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2006, suggest the proposed legislation may ultimately be stillborn, as were two earlier attempts to regulate the burgeoning broadcast media in India, in 1997 and 2001. If it does become late, as Mma Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency would put it, it will be largely unlamented. Few would mourn, let alone defend, such a mishmash of a law. Drafted in unnecessary isolation and unwise secrecy, it deals inadequately and ineptly with a wide range of disparate issues, and includes several provisions that can be — indeed have been — readily and justifiably dubbed draconian and inimical to freedom of expression.

However, freedom of expression will also be adversely affected if the baby of media regulation is thrown out with the bathwater of defective legislation. Regulation — as opposed to control — of the media is a well-established feature of modern democratic societies. The purpose of such regulation is not to serve the interests of the state, not to shield the government or other influential sections of society from scrutiny, or to prevent the dissemination of news and views that could be embarrassing or damaging to the powers-that-be.

The primary objective of media regulation in a democracy is, in fact, to preserve and protect citizens' fundamental rights to information and freedom of expression. As the Supreme Court of India noted in its landmark judgment of 1995 pertaining to the broadcast media, "The airwaves or frequencies are a public property. Their use has to be controlled and regulated by a public authority in the interests of the public and to prevent the invasion of their rights." Clearly the only legitimate role for the state in this regard is as trustees for the public. On the flip side, broadcasters are allotted use of airwaves on the assumption that they will be used to serve the public interest.

In fact, the apex court had also stated that the central government must take immediate steps to establish an independent, autonomous public authority — representative of all classes and interests in society — to control and regulate the use of airwaves. That was over a decade ago. The drafters of the present Bill cite the Supreme Court judgment, pointing out that it provides the guiding principles for regulating the broadcast sector in the country. But instead of first setting up the regulatory body mandated by the court, they seem to have opted to enable the State to take over the legitimate function of the proposed public institution.

Unfortunately, the debate sparked off by the controversial broadcast Bill and the equally problematic draft code and guidelines to regulate television content, which is also on the anvil, has so far barely focussed on the public interest issues involved in the matter. Instead, the controversy has been framed primarily as a tussle between the government and the media, as if it has no relevance or role for citizens. At the same time, civil society appears content to stay out of what is essentially a struggle over who is to determine what news and entertainment is available to the public through the airwaves, and on what basis. Yet citizens have a major stake in this question, especially in today's world, where the mass media, in general, and the electronic media, in particular, are not only omnipresent but apparently omnipotent.

The media have traditionally played a central role in the working of democracies, contributing to the creation of the "public sphere," where events and issues of importance to a political community are discussed and debated, and where information and ideas are exchanged that are essential to citizen participation in community life at the local, national and, increasingly, international levels. As historian K.N. Panikkar wrote in this newspaper in 2004, "Among the institutions that contribute to the make-up of a public sphere in society, the media perhaps perform the most critical function."

According to American media scholar Robert McChesney, since the public sphere works most effectively when it is institutionally independent of both the State and dominant economic forces in society, the point of democratic policy-making in the area of media and communication is to strive towards the challenging but necessary goal of autonomy.

Contrary to what one might expect in a world where the media occupy such commanding heights, and especially during a period that has witnessed incredible, fast-paced developments in new media and communications technologies and forms, the public sphere has been shrinking rather than expanding over the past couple of decades. Various trends in the media are believed to have contributed to this erosion of the public sphere — a worldwide phenomenon. One of these is the movement towards greater concentration of media ownership that is evident in many parts of the world.

The minority opinion in the Supreme Court's 1995 ruling was quite explicit in its opposition to media concentration. Pointing out that diversity of opinions, views, ideas, and ideologies was essential for citizens to develop informed opinions on issues of public importance, it stated that such plurality could not be provided by any medium controlled by a monopoly — whether of the state or any other individual, group or organisation. The court as a whole endorsed the notion that the broadcast media should be under the control of the public, as distinct from the government.

There is, at present, little to prevent media concentration in India other than the linguistic and socio-cultural heterogeneity of Indian society, which has so far ensured some diversity in both ownership patterns and organisational forms. There is evidence that the process of consolidation is well under way. As South Asia and media scholar Robin Jeffrey has pointed out, the 2001 figures of the Audit Bureau of Circulation indicated trends towards market domination, if not monopolies, within the press. And several media houses already have stakes in print, radio, television, and the Internet, as well as cable operations.

Curbs on ownership

The draft Bill aims to prevent media monopolies through what it calls "restrictions on accumulation of interest." Although the relevant section mentions the need to prevent monopolies across different segments of the media, the present provisions are confined to the broadcast sector, with some of the restrictions relating to equity and others to the reach or subscriber base of television channels.

Not surprisingly, these clauses have been strongly condemned by several groups representing the media industry, which have variously described such measures as anti-consumer, anti-choice and anti-market, not to mention "against the spirit of free enterprise." Organisations representing "India Inc." have also registered their disapproval of such restrictions, suggesting that they would result in fragmentation. At the same time, the proposed restrictions on ownership patterns have been welcomed by several serious and disinterested commentators who oppose other provisions of the Bill as anti-democratic.

Restrictions on ownership have been important features of media regulation in most mature democracies, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, and Australia. In the experience of several countries, every move towards deregulation has intensified concentration of ownership. Many media-watchers, as well as informed sections of the public, in many parts of the world are concerned about this growing trend, which is understood to be a central aspect of the ongoing process of media globalisation. Over the past two decades the number of major corporations that dominate television, movies, music, radio, cable, publishing, and the Internet across the globe has dwindled from 50 to less than two dozen, with much of the control concentrated in fewer than ten massive conglomerates.

According to German media economist Manfred Kops, the disadvantages of economic concentration are especially high in the media industry: "Concentration in the media sector ... not only impairs economic competition, but also journalistic competition" (or competition between alternative ideas and opinions). He suggests that such a situation affects the public both directly and indirectly: it curtails freedom of opinion, reduces political and cultural diversity in media content, and impairs the media's ability to promote political competition and balance of power, as well as social integration.

Referring to the increasing concentration of media ownership in the United States, American journalist Bill Moyers said not long ago, "The very soul of democracy is at stake." That message obviously got across to a substantial section of the American public. In 2003, when the Federal Communications Commission sought to further deregulate the U.S. media, at least three million Americans protested against the possibility of even more concentrated ownership. With the FCC now revisiting its stand on the issue, a broad-based coalition of public interest groups has again launched a campaign to urge it to put public service before the self-interest of large media corporations.

According to Mr. McChesney, the democratic solution to "the problem of the media" is to increase informed public participation in media policy making. The flawed broadcast Bill may still serve some purpose if it awakens public consciousness here about citizens' stake in the media.