Todays News Today
30-year prison for criticising Kurdish regional president in Internet articles
Family says cyber-dissident has been on hunger strike for more than a week Reporters Without Borders wrote today to the president of the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, asking him to intervene in the case of an Austrian citizen of Kurdish origin, Kamal Sayid Qadir, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison on 19 December for libelling him in articles posted on the Internet. "This incident bodes ill for freedom of expression in Iraq's Kurdish region," the press freedom organisation wrote. "We condemn the use of prison sentences to punish press offences and we are especially shocked by the length of this sentence, even if Qadir really did libel you. We therefore hope you will intervene to obtain his release and thereby show you intend to establish a fair judicial system in your region that complies with international standards." Qadir was arrested on 26 October by members of the Parastin, a security service operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the region's two ruling parties. He is currently held in a prison in Erbil, one of the region's main cities. A lawyer normally based in Vienna, Qadir, 48, is accused of libelling and insulting Barzani in web articles. He has written dozens of articles for websites such as Kurdishmedia.com and Kurdistanpost.com in which he has been very critical of Barzani's policies. He was reportedly convicted on the basis of Kurdish customary law and not the law approved by the regional parliament. According to his sister, who lives in Germany, he has been on hunger strike for more than a week in protest against his conviction.
The Post Versus the Rest....
DUBAI - Does the Post matter anything to the UAE English newspaper industry? The one- year old maiden afternoon daily from the Middle East has appeared in a compact but attractive form, with a Bombay-Dubai underworld story on the front page by Daniel P.George. Appearing in a new tabloid size and shape with a balanced display of content and visuals, the newspaper edited by a young lady journalist from Mumbai, is promising to offer something different and unique in the saturated UAE English newspaper market.
Even though the new Post is yet to make any sensation among the UAE readers, it has already forced other newspaper editors to rethink about their daily story schedules. Reporters in most of the daily newspapers are finalising their story plans after 5 PM, when the Post hits the stand. The first breaking story about the Indian Government asking the UAE Government to freeze bank accounts and other properties owned by Abu Salem, the underworld don was an interesting item which was immediately followed up by other newspapers. Daniel P.George, the Chief Reporter has already got annonymous calls, which may be from the underworld.
Editors Pause for the Post (click Image for the first issue)
One definite impact of the Emirates Evening Post is that many English Newspaper editors have to wait for the Post to reach their office, before scheduling the final story list. Be it a labour strike like the latest taxi strike, an earthquake or even the death of a UAE Sheikh, the Post is the first to report it - an advantage of time enjoyed by many evening papers in the world. The latest joke running around among journalists in Dubai is that a few smart scribes working in well established English dailies hide the Evening Post from reaching their editors office. Their intention is that the stories that they are working from the morning are not cancelled at the last minute, because the Post has already published some of them!
Even when Bikram Vohra, founder editor of the Emirates Evening Post left the new born baby in the hands of K.S.R.Menon the News editor with a limited number of staff, the paper has been running smoothly. Majority of the journalists and technical staff recruited initially by Bikram Vohra have already left the paper to join rival newspapers that offered hefty pay packets. . Notwithstanding the starting troubles and a cool attitude of the advertising lobby who remained skeptical about the first afternoon paper, the Post is doing many things to awaken the reluctant readers of Dubai...who prefer to buy everything that comes free... (There is a striking difference between a broadsheet and tabloid...)
David Versus Goliath
Is it going to be a David versus Goliath story in the Middle East print media market? ..When the radio stations were fully closed following the death of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Makthoum, the ruler of Dubai in Australia, the Post which came out with the detailed report about the unexpected death of the UAE Prime Minister was sold like hot cake. The Front Page Story "Sheikh Maktmoum Passes Away" on January 4, 2005 with a four column picture of the great leader on the cover page became a reference point for many journalists and the common folks..The nine news briefs on the front page provided all the information that an average city reader is looking for. However, the poor advertising support in the pages is self revealing. For Saira Menezes, the Sunday Mid-Day Editor who has taken over the male dominated editor's seat in the English newspaper in the Middle East, the challenges are many.
The new lady editor may turn out to be a David who will take on the giant Goliaths in the newspaper industry. Remember the time when the Outlook magazine edited by the veteran editor Vinod Mehta took on the well established India Today magazine and cut it to size within no time. No one can rule out the possibility that she may repeat in Dubai what Mehta of Outlook did to India Today in New Delhi! Already many readers are complaining about the bulky supplements and classifieds dumped by well established English newspapers. Some people think twice before buying a bulky newspaper, which they cannot dispose off easily. As long as the newspaper waste remains an avoidable burden for many space starved residences and offices of Dubai, there is enough scope for a compact and crispy tabloid.
Designed by Ron Reason Associates, who have also had a role in the design of Boston Herald, among other tabloids, the Post announced that it will cover stories of local interest and stories that are particularly relevant to the large number of South Asian residents in the UAE, and those in other parts of the GCC. Indirectly admitting the initial fault in targeting the elite western readers, especially the European and American expatriates, the paper seems to have realized the ground reality in the UAE newspaper industry. It is generally accepted that the newspapers are subscribed mainly by the Asian expatriate readers, read Indians and Pakistanis.
According to one source, the new newspapers, except the crisply edited 7-Days could not cheer the objective news hungry western expatriates. As many tabloids are chasing too few readers, readers prefer to get freebies even to read free newspapers. A recently launched tabloid is thinking of converting to a broadsheet. According to many, it is not the form, but content that matters to the busy readers. Without readers there is no advertisers, say the experienced media gurus. Journalists from many newspapers are hunting for jobs that fetch them better salary.
The Post promises to carry more themed and regionally relevant content - from sports to politics. However, it is yet to be seen how an afternoon daily will be different from the other English dailies in the region. Will an afternoon daily compete with the Internet, SMS news message systems and four other newspapers with the latest news is a mute point. The paper features some celebrity columnists including the former Miss World and actor - Zeenat Aman, Vir Sanghvi one of Indias best-known journalists and the Editorial Director, Hindustan Times, noted author and columnist -Shobhaa De, culinary expert Sanjeev Kapoor and renowned astrologer Sunita Menon. Paradoxically enough, the paper carried a story about a suicide in Sharjah following a doomsday prediction by another astrologer from Kerala. While most of the labour related stories relate to the Keralite community, the apartheid followed by the market leaders towards the Indian, read Kerala community, is something that the Post can en cash. When the Post came out with interesting stories about the taxi strike, even illiterate drivers were talking about Evening Post!
While several pages are devoted for the night club photos in the glossy pages, some editors are reluctant to put many Malabari story for unknown reasons... Be it the fortunate Malayali girl who earned a whopping 100 kgs of gold in the tenth Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) gold raffle, or a Keralite girl who sings in 12 different languages, some editors do not find space in their newspapers due to an unwritten cultural or ethnic bias. In plain language the racism followed by some newspapers against the Keralite community is something that the new paper may utilise to flourish in the expat market. The Post is also following the market trend. (Above - Vinod Mehta)
Readers Vs Advertisers
Keeping a reasonable balance between the commercial and reader interest is a difficult option for the new editor Saira who is new to the UAE newspaper terrain. Unlike the Mumbai masala tabloid market which flourished in a different terrain, the situation in Dubai is different, warns her well wishers. Qassim Mohammed Yousuf, Chairman, Press Centre & Art Production LLC, the main investor in the newspaper is not a stranger to the media industry. Having worked as the head of Khaleej Times, a major newspaper in the region, he need not take any new lessons about the UAE newspaper industry. However, the maiden venture of Qassim could not attract the media buyers of Dubai, the main hub of regional advertisement industry. The revamped The Emirates Evening Post combines convenience of use and information - to offer news that matters to our target audience, the Chairman said during the inaugural session. In a market where big businessmen act like business editors, a balancing act will be very difficult. A moustache story that created a lot of discussion in the media sector was first filed for the Evening Post, but due to obvious reasons it was killed . The original Post launch was postponed, but the final outcome is encouraging.
Different Marketing Concept
According to Aldrin Fernandes, CEO, Concept Group, the "choice of the tabloid format is in keeping with the worldwide trend of compact newspapers. The size of the newspaper has also been determined keeping in mind the long-term vision of a broad commuter network. He added that the paper also recognised the strong emotional ties that the people from South Asia have with their homes. The Emirates Evening Post hopes to bridge that gap and help them maintain connections to their home. It will also address concerns and interests of the citizens of the UAE, he said during the inaugural function. However, the presence of Salman Khan, the chocolate hero of Bollywood received enough negative publicity as a rival newspaper run a front page story about his involvement in a tragic road accident in Mumbai. Even though it is stylishly produced and crisply edited, the first four issue in its fresh tabloid form were claimed to be an edition to treasure. The maiden collector's edition took readers through the year that was, capturing the triumphs, the losses, the breakthroughs, the stalemates, the hope and despair that marked every month of 2005.
Staff Discontent and Work Pressure
However, staff discontent has been severely affecting the newspaper function. Many journalists and non journalist staff have left the organisation within a short span of one year. In the newspaper industry Emirates Evening Post has been dubbed as the training ground for budding journalists to be lured with better salary and perks by other rival newspapers. With the former editor Bikram Vohra still hunting for more heads from the Post to work in Bahrain Tribune, the newspaper that he is currently editing and a new broadsheet that is planned in Dubai, some journalists are still keeping their options open. The first notable exit was by Bikram Vohra, the founder editor of many newspapers in Dubai, over a minor issue with the management.
Three journalists have already resigned their job after the recent changes introduced by the new editor. If the pay packet is not improved more heads may roll. Doing one scoop about Abu Salam may not be repeated in Dubai where several journalists and newspapers are hunting for the red hot news. Due to the shortage of news, the evening paper is coming late to the market. Contrary to its name Evening Post, sometimes the paper is not visible on news stands even at 6 P.M. Every editor is putting pressure on reporters to bring the latest scoops. But many of the scoops cannot be published in the UAE. Perhaps the number of stories killed exceed the number of stories that appear in many newspapers. Journalists have been hearing about high tech facilities like swimming pools and gyms. However, what they get at the end of the month is more important than what is yet to come.
Advertisers Not Yet Happy
According to advertising gurus who are familiar with the UAE market, major advertisers still have a fascination for broadsheet newspapers. The leading English broadsheets have several pages of advertisements, but the new tabloids including the Post failed to cheer the ad spenders. As its marketing right is exclusive to one agency, rival agents may skip the evening newspaper, while deciding their media plans. The development of a metro railway project in Dubai may change the newspaper reading habit among commuters and the success of Mid Day in Mumbai may be repeated in the Middle East. It is a long way ahead and the managmenet and marketing team are firmly determined to keep the show going.
The young editor from Mumbai has a challenging time ahead to make it a reader friendly tabloid acceptable to the advertisers. Some advertisers are happy for getting their free accounts that appeared in the pr- re-elaunch edititions. A major reshuffle of the advertising rates offering steep discounts could not be ruled out. It is too early to make any predictions about the viability of a one year old newspaper, that has been given a second birth, to survive in the fiercely competitive market. KM wishes the first afternoon daily in the Middle East, all sucess in luring genuine readers.
Send your comments to editor@keralamonitor.com muscatdubai@yahoo.com
October 4, 2005
2005: Worst Year of the Decade for Media Freedom
.In 2005 - 63 journalists and 5 media assistants were killed - at least 807 journalists were arrested
- 1,308 physically attacked or threatened - and 1,006 media outlets censoredIn 2004
? 53 journalists and 15 media assistants were killed ? at least 907 journalists were arrested
? at least 1,146 physically attacked or threatened ? and 622 media outlets censored -On 1 January 2006 126 journalists and 70 cyber-dissidents were in jail around the world. - The deadliest year for a decade
At last 63 journalists were killed in 2005 while doing their job or for expressing their opinions, the highest annual toll since 1995 (when 64 were killed, 22 of them in Algeria). Five media assistants (fixers, drivers, translators, technicians, security staff and others) were also killed. For the third year running, Iraq was the world's most dangerous country for the media, with 24 journalists and 5 media assistants killed. 76 journalists and media assistants have been killed there since the start of fighting in March 2003, more than in the 1955-75 Vietnam War. Terrorist strikes and Iraqi guerrilla attacks were the main cause but the US army killed three of them. Iraqi TV producer Wael al-Bakri, 30, was shot dead by US troops on 28 June. A US Third Infantry Division spokesman admitted the next day in Baghdad that a US unit was involved in his death and said an enquiry had been opened. No result has been announced, nor in the other investigated killings.
Journalists killed in 2005Afghanistan 2
Azerbaijan 2
Bangladesh 2
Belarus 1
Brazil 1
Colombia 1
Dem. Rep. of Congo 2
Ecuador 1
Haiti 2
Iraq 24
Kazakhstan 1
Kosovo 1
Lebanon 2
Libya 1
Mexico 2
Nepal 2
Pakistan 2
Philippines 7
Russia 2
Sierra Leone 1
Somalia 2
Sri Lanka 2In the Philippines too, journalists were killed while trying to inform the public. Their enemies were no longer armed groups but politicians, businessmen and drug-traffickers ready to silence journalists who exposed their crimes. Despite the conviction during the year of the killer of journalist Edgar Damalerio, murdered in 2002 on the island of Mindanao, impunity remained the rule. Journalists in other Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) were also killed because of their work.
Physical attacks on politicians and journalists rocked Lebanon during the year and two leading journalists were killed - Samir Kassir (in June) and Gebran Tueni (December). Kassir was a columnist for the daily An-Nahar and Tueni was the paper's publisher. May Chidiac, a well-known TV presenter with the station LBC, survived a bomb attack on her car in September but lost a hand and a leg. Violence against journalists also increased in Africa, with journalists murdered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Somalia and their killers (some of them known) going unpunished. The investigation of the December 2004 murder of Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara, the local correspondent of Agence France-Presse and Reporters Without Borders, made no progress because the authorities did all they could to prevent those responsible from being identified and to ensure they escaped punishment.
In the Americas, two journalists were killed in Mexico for investigating drug smuggling and petrol racketeering. Several journalists were murdered in Russia and Belarus in shady circumstances and some apparently because of their work. Official investigations there, often biased and politically-influenced, hardly ever produce results.
Physical attacks and threats keep on growing
More than 1,300 physical attacks and threats were recorded by Reporters Without Borders during the year - more than in the previous one. These occurred almost daily in Bangladesh and Nepal and came from all sides - police, government or opposition party activists and members of armed groups. The attackers are very rarely punished and can thus continue to target journalists undeterred.Journalist Manjur Morshed was seriously injured when he was badly beaten with a bamboo stick in the southern Bangladeshi town of Baufal in August by a pro-government MP he had accused of corruption. Local journalists demonstrated in protest against the attack.
Election campaigns often bring violence against the media and national votes in Egypt and Azerbaijan saw dozens of physical attacks on journalists reporting on demonstrations and the actual voting. About 50 journalists were beaten up by police, soldiers or henchmen of local politicians in Nigeria and Peru and accused of not minding their own business. Such violence was worse in the provinces and the journalists were mostly punched or hit with sticks.
Other people attack journalists too and the Peruvian ambassador to Spain, during a trip home to Lima in April, physically attacked a radio journalist who wanted to interview him. The right arm of the reporter, Bettina Mendoza, of the station CPN, was injured. The diplomat later apologised.
Prisons still full of journalists
JOURNALISTS IN JAILCHINA: 32
CUBA: 24
ETHIOPIA: 17
ERITREA: 13
BURMA: 5The same countries are still the world's biggest prisons for journalists, whose detention there gets ver longer. On 1 January 2006, 126 journalists and 3 media assistants were being held in 23 countries (for the complete list, see www.rsf.org).
In China, journalist and art critic Yu Dongyue has been in prison since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, serving an 18-year sentence for "counter-revolutionary propaganda." He has gone mad as a result of torture.
Cuba is still the world's second-biggest prison for journalists and 20 of the 27 journalists arrested in the spring 2003 crackdown are serving sentences of between 14 and 27 years. Four others were jailed in summer 2005 and two of them have still to be tried. In Burma, the country's best-known journalist/democrat, Win Tin, entered his 17th year in prison. The ruling generals stubbornly refused to release the 75-year-old former editor of the newspaper Hanthawathi.
Libyan writer Abdullah Ali al-Sanussi al-Darrat is the journalist who has been in prison the longest of anyone He was arrested in 1973, very little is known about him and Libyan officials have never answered repeated requests for information by Reporters Without Borders. It is not known whether he is still alive.
The privately-owned press was abolished in Eritrea in autumn 2001 and its former editors and publishers are still in prison. A hunger strike by them in 2002 had no effect. Their place of detention remains unknown and their families are still not allowed to visit them.
The only figure that has fallen in the past year is the number of journalists arrested (807 compared with 907 in 2004). But this is not good enough, because every day an average of two journalists are arrested somewhere in the world just for trying to do their job.
Cases of censorship up by more than half
At least 1,006 cases of censorship were recording in 2005 (622 the previous year). The big rise was mostly due to the much worse situation in Nepal, where more than half (567) of all cases worldwide were recorded. Since the state of emergency declared by King Gyanendra on 1 February, the media has receiving a battering which is getting harsher. This has included a ban on FM radio stations broadcasting news, blocking of websites, seizure of equipment and politically-inspired distribution of government advertising.
In China, the "broadcasting Great Wall" had new victims, with Voice of Tibet, the BBC, Sound of Hope and Radio Free Asia among the radio stations jammed by the regime with equipment from the French firm Thalès. Media and website editors and publishers get an almost daily list from the government's propaganda department of topics to avoid.
Censorship continues to rule in Belarus, Kazakhstan and most of Central Asia and newspapers there are still shut down just for criticising the government. Printers and distributors are often used to exert pressure on independent or opposition publications.
The Internet under surveillance
CYBER-DISSIDENTS IN PRISONCHINA: 62
VIETNAM: 3
IRAN: 1
SYRIA: 1The Internet is still tightly controlled by some repressive governments and Reporters Without Borders has drawn up a list of 15 "enemies of the Internet" (Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, Libya, the Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam).
These are the harshest towards online freedom of expression and censor independent news websites and opposition publications, spy on Internet traffic to silence dissident voices and harass, threaten and sometimes throw in prison Internet users and bloggers who deviate from the government line.
In Tunisia, for example, the family of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali controls national access to the Internet and he has built up very effective censorship, with the websites of all opposition publications and many news sites blocked. The regime also dissuades people from using webmail, which is harder to monitor than standard e-mail such as Outlook. The Reporters Without Borders website also cannot be seen inside Tunisia. The authorities imprison Internet users who defy them and pro-democracy lawyer Mohammed Abbou was given a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence in April 2005 for criticising the president online.
The information ministry in Iran boasts that it blocks access to hundreds of thousands of websites. The ruling ayatollahs target any kind of sexual content and also independent news sites. Iran has the grim distinction of having arrested and jailed the most bloggers - a score of them were thrown in prison between autumn 2004 and summer 2005. Mojtaba Saminejad, a 23-year-old blogger, has been in jail since February 2005. He was given a two-year sentence in June for insulting the country's Supreme Guide.
The Post Exclusive ...
India asks UAE to freeze Abu Salem? bank account
Daniel P. George (the Post)
Dubai The Government of India has requested the UAE authorities to freeze the Dubai bank account of deported underworld don Abu Salem.``He is a dangerous criminal who has various accounts in the UAE and even recently after his arrest there was an attempt to withdraw money from his account in Sharjah using an ATM card by his associates.'' ``Tracking and monitoring of these mentioned accounts is necessary to pin evidence on the accused'' India's letter to the UAE authorities said.The request comes in the wake of Abu Salem confessing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials during a brain mapping done on him at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bangalore recently.
Indian diplomatic sources said that Salem also confessed that he had transferred Dhs 178 million (Rs 178 million) to his Dubai bank account just before his arrest at Lisbon in Portugal. Earlier, Salem had also remitted some money to his former wife Samira? account in the United States.
A fifteen page request from the CBI to the UAE security agencies indicate his crimes and how he had used Dubai and Sharjah as a hub for his nefarious activities during his stay here in the UAE before making the United States his base.The CBI it is learnt has listed all his associates and business partners in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and even provided the contact numbers and the nature of transactions carried out by Salem here in the UAE.
``We have a great rapport and support from the UAE authorities and we have been successful in exchange of intelligence'' said G. Mohanty, spokesman of India? premier investigating agency the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Salem was in Bangalore for polygraph brain mapping and narco analysis on the request of the ATS officials. In the last of the three tests that doctors from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) performed on Salem, the gangster reportedly spoke continuously for over three hours. According to sources, Salem revealed that at the time of Mumbai bomb blast he was involved with smuggling silver. He reportedly said that on February 19, 1993, Anis Ibrahim called Salem and asked him to collect the consignment of silver from a port in Bhiwandi. Salem received the consignment and took it to Sanjay Dutt? Pali Hill residence in Bandra.
Salem has said that he was completely unaware that the consignment contained fire arms and grenades till he delivered it to Dutt? residence,·said an officer from the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS). Salem has also allegedly told investigators that when he inquired about the consignment with Dawood, he was asked to mind his own business and follow instructions.
Salem? replies indicate that he had knowledge about the crime but was not a willing party to it. He committed all those crimes under coercion,·said his advocate, Ashok Sarogi.As many as 68 questions were fired at him in two days. Abu Salem underwent lie detector and brain mapping tests in Bangalore on December 29 and 30 2005.
It was during these tests that he confessed to having accounts in Dubai. He also revealed that he was known as Mohammed Usman Khan and had Rs.178 crore in that name.
Excerpts from Salem's conversation with his interrogator on his bank accounts
Do you hold bank accounts in different countries?
yes
Do you have a bank account in the US?
yes
Do you have an account in Dubai?
yes
Do you hold one in Portugal?
yes
Are you also known as Mohammed Usman Khan?
yes
Do you have Rs178 crore in the name of Mohammed?
yes
Have you transferred money in the name of your first wife Sameera Jumani?
yes
Was advocate Ahmed the person who was handling the cash transactions from Mumbai and managing the judges?
No.
Lady Editor for Evening Post!!!
First Lady to edit a UAE English Daily
Saira Menezes, the Sunday Mid-Day Editor, who has been with the Mumbai afternoon paper for over four years, will now be taking over as Editor of Emirates Evening Post. She moves to Dubai later this October. Confirming the news, Menezes said, Emirates Evening Post is all set to re-launch itself and I have been given the esponsibility to see through this change. Currently, the paper targets the general public, but that is set to change. In fact, we will start from scratch and the new look paper will have no resemblance to the existing one. Read More
Breaking News...Amritha TV Scores Over the Rest...
The Keralite community in the Middle East heard the sad news from Amritha TV. As all the local radio stations and TV stations have stopped airing regular programmes and switched over to Quarn recitation to honour the great leader, it was Amritha TV reporter Joy Mathew who broke the sad story at 9.15 for the Malayali community followed by E.M.Ashraf of Kairali and the Peoples Channel. As the official confirmation came much later, other channels including the market leader Asianet followed a wait and watch policy to announce the news. The news came from Australia and it was a calculated risk. The story was confirmed by the Palace sources in Dubai too. Despite the intense competition among the Keralite channels and radio stations to be the first to report important developments in the region, all of them waited for sometime to air the sad news. All the channels had a recent experience to remember - the story of K.R.Narayanan, the Indian President, wrongly reported in a hurry by the visual media. Joy Mathew is not new to the visual media and he accurately reported the story. The terrain is different and journalists have to be careful.. After nobody is happy about announcing a sad news. The news was there on the Internet sites from Australia..and the UAE English dailies updated their readers with the death news.
Who is biased - KM or IMF ?
A few members of the Indian Media Forum including the General Secretary Joy Mathew have raised a big question mark about KM not naming a prominent channel that is alleged to have telecast the astrological prediction that caused the suicide of a Malayali in Sharjah. While Joy Mathew, the IMF General Secretary has openly criticised KM for not naming the channel, E.M.Ashraf, the Middle East Chief of Kairali Channel has said the KM report without mentioning the channel name proved that the portal is partial and biased in reporting about other media, especially TV channels. Their argument is that KM has been liberally naming some other channels, especially Aritha TV, Kairali or People TV, and some Malayalam newspapers in its reports, their allegation is that KM has favoured Asianet News Channel by hiding its name from the report.
While Khaleej Times, Gulf Madhyamam and all other news papers that reported the story did not mention the name of the channel or the astrologer, KM reported the name of the astrologer Attukal Radhakrishnan who made the doomdsday prediction. While the contention of Joy Mathew, E.M.Ashraf and others is that KM has mentioned their channel names in many reports, the same liberty was not showin in naming Asianet, which is accused in the Jyothishm suicide story. Whenver KM was sure of the case, the channels or other parties were mentioned without any fear or favour. Asianet was not spared in this respect. In this particular case, we contacted Attukal Radhakrishnan, the doomsday predictor for to verify in which channel he made the prediction. However, he disconnected the telephone line without giving anay answers
. Without accurately knowing the channe that is responsible for the particular suicide, KM did not and will not name it. That does not mean there was any unholy reason behind it. There are many channels having astrology programmes. Surya, Amritha, ...So which channel is to be blamed and which should not be? "If a channel gives report about you, it is treated as the best. If others dont give, then they are branded as the worst," says one channel representative. "You are claiming to be different from other media and impartially reporting about various other media. Why is this partiality in this case?" contends Joy Mathew. Those who have been following KM reports will know what has been our stand on many issues. Those who have been following the killing of stories know well the inbuilt bias of the media.....
