Tidbits of the regions media
The new government in Pakistan had raised hopes of more press freedom, but at the moment this is remaining a pipedream. The privately owned television station Geo, one of the hardest hit by media restrictions during the previous regime, was hounded by the Supreme Court in May. Supreme Court Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi accused Geo of having irresponsibly reported on a meeting that was alleged to have taken place between Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Interior Secretary Kamal Shah and other judges – including himself. Justice Abbasi claims such a meeting never took place. Absar Alam, Geo's Islamabad bureau chief, marvelling at the situation's resemblance to Alice's Wonderland, asked how the honourable judge could decide a case in which he was himself a party. With all of the blows that continue to rain down on the media, no wonder the Pakistan Daily published a doomsday article on 12 May, arguing that another "crackdown on the media is around the corner".
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With the media increasingly emerging as an influential platform in which to air conflicting political views in Southasia, the following news does not make Chhetria Patrakar bat an eyelid. Four channels – PTV World, Geo, Aaj and ARY – were banned on cable TV in Srinagar District in late April. The ban probably had to do with the Pakistani media highlighting human-rights violations in Kashmir, particularly the recent discovery of 1000 unmarked graves. This led to calls for investigations in the weeks leading up to the ban. But foreign channels were not the only ones to be targeted; several local channels have also been yanked off the air, reportedly for "inciting separatist sentiments". The Indian babus took refuge in bureaucratese, however, claiming that these channels failed to adhere to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's rules. All remain blacked out except for PTV News, the Pakistani state-owned news channel, which is back on air for reasons unknown. A cable operator's retaliatory refusal to air Indian channels subsequently fell flat, with subscribers, especially cricket aficionados, demanding reconnection in order to see the Indian Premier League matches.
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What's with Google ads, that higher ratings leave blogs and websites increasingly vulnerable to hacking? One of the most thought-provoking blogs run out of Delhi, kafila.org, was recently hacked. Those who tried to access it were instead redirected to a porn site. Those who set up Kafila speculate that this might just be related to its growing popularity in cyberspace.
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On a related note, YouTube, thinking that it has smartly seized onto an emerging, revenue-generating niche market, recently launched a site geared specifically towards Indians, a plan originally conjured up by Google in 2007. The new initiative was to allow users to create and share videos, discover the most popular and relevant videos in India, and connect with other Indian and global users. For the moment, however, the site is anything but India-specific. CP is pleased to find that Nepali hip-hop, Pakistani ghazals and gangster rap, Maldivian artists, Afghan Idol, B-grade videos of diasporan college kids dancing in bhangra competitions, and a Sri Lankan remake of 'Saawan ka Mahina' are all available on the new 'Indian' site.
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Chopsticks are the ultimate symbol of 'Asian-ness' – at least according to both Time and The Economist. Hands clutching sticks could be found simultaneously on the covers of both in late April, when they carried recent special reports on Asia. Enquiring minds want to know why chopsticks have come to symbolise Asia, when in Southasia, fingers are the first choice for a hearty chow-down. Perhaps more incongruent was the cartoon-like dragon gracing The Economist the following week, and yet another dragon on the May edition of National Geographic, both trumpeting their China coverage. CP is amused to note that a dynastic symbol has come to represent communist and capitalist China.
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CP never shirks from giving credit where it is due. The early days of May were witness to some of the most open media coverage of the earthquake in China on the state-run CCTV, where journalists defied an initial government order to not report from the scene of the disaster. For the first time ever, heartrending images of death and destruction were beamed from China all over the world. Furthermore, unlike the Burmese junta, Beijing authorities did not hesitate to allow relief and international aid workers in. Older readers will remember that the regime remained completely tight-lipped for years following the last devastating earthquake in China, in 1976. This time around, the international press too was allowed access – unlike the restrictions, bordering on paranoia, that have surrounded recent media coverage of the unrest in Tibet. Indeed, investigative stories probing the inordinately high number of children killed in the more than 7000 school buildings that collapsed, possibly due to shoddy construction and substandard material, are also on air. There may be hope yet for press freedom in China.
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On the subject of editorial independence, all Southasian readers can be happy to note that M J Akbar, recently unceremoniously removed as the editor of the Asian Age, has hit the ground running. Besides writing a prominent series in the Times of India, in mid-May he launched his new fortnightly magazine, Covert, "aimed at decision makers". With reputed columnists and an impressive lineup on the masthead, Akbar obviously does not need to resort to sleazy ad campaigns like that of the infamous Deccan Chronicle girlie hoardings, which make up the skyline in Hyderabad and other cities of Andhra Pradesh. Hard-hitting political analyses apart, everyone loves a racy whodunit. Khushwant Singh's "Who killed Urdu?" is an apt teaser for Covert's inaugural issue. "Urdu kya hai? Ik kothay ki tawaaif hai; Maza sab koyee leta hai, mohabbat koi nahin karta," Singh wrote. "What is Urdu? She is a whore in a whorehouse; everyone has fun with her, no one loves her." Wah-wah!
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Cricket, even the IPL version, is certainly soothing balm (despite the antics of the now fully clothed cheerleaders) in even the most tense of political situations. Early May saw Sri Lanka gearing up for the contentious Eastern Provincial elections, but fans could not be dislodged from the cricket fest that was on offer every evening. The loyalties engendered by the mixed teams, with assorted international players, might just offer a better model for regional cooperation than the moribund SAARC. So, even as the Sinhalas and Tamils were at odds with each other in the Eastern Province, Sri Lankans were united in cheering ace bowler Muthiah Muralitharan, playing for the Chennai Superkings IPL team.
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Speaking of new media, pirated videos of unedited raw footage of the destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis are currently selling like hotcakes in the Burmese black market. The heavily censored media in the country has quickly pulled itself up by its bootstraps, but the videos show the real side of the Nargis story from which many Burmese have been shielded: bloated corpses bobbing in flooded rivers, and hungry and injured survivors. The videos, priced at a half-dollar each, have apparently sold at the rate of 100 copies a day. While on the topic many have been wondering how the cyclone got named after the queen of Bollywood. The answer is: Pakistan. And, it has nothing to do the beauteous Nargis, but rather all to do with the daffodil – nargis, in Urdu. The name was proposed by Pakistan to the India Meteorological Department, which is charged with giving weather advisories to seven countries – Bangladesh, the Maldives, Burma, Oman, Pakistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka – and also asks them to name cyclones. These names are then put into alphabetical order, by the country that named them. The previous six were Ogni (Bangladesh), Akash (India), Gonu (the Maldives), Yemyin (Burma), Sidr (Oman) and Nargis (Pakistan). Watch out for the upcoming cyclones, which have already been named Abe (Sri Lanka) and Khai-Muk (Thailand).
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Finally, CP certainly hopes that the media fraternity will rally round when Bal Thackeray goes hammer and tongs at Himal for resolutely sticking to 'Bombay'. In mid-May, the Shiv Sena chief declared as "anti-national" all those "in love with Bombay", and refusing to make the switch to Mumbai. The Bombay Stock Exchange, Bombay Dyeing, Bombay High, Bombay duck and Bombay halwa are now all on the hit list of young testosterone-pumping Sainiks on the rampage, determined to wipe out every single mention of the B-word. When the smoke billows over the swanky Shiv Sena headquarters in Dadar, Bombaywallahs will know that copies of Himal are being burnt. Yeh hai Bumbai meri jaan!
– Chhetria Patrakar