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Discussion
forum
— tell us what you think about issues relating to
media, women in media and journalism |
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| The
Network of Women in Media, India, is an association
which aims to provide a forum for women in media professions
to share information and resources, exchange ideas,
promote media awareness and ethics, and work for gender
equality and justice within the media and society. Local
groups linked to the NWMI are currently functioning
in 16 centres across the country. |
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NWMI
CONDEMNS THE PHENOMENON OF 'PAID NEWS'
AT KOZHIKODE MEETING
Nearly
120 women journalists from across India met in
Kozhikode from 5 to 7 February 2010 for the eighth
annual conference of the Network of Women in Media,
India (NWMI). At panel discussion on media and
democracy, which was open to the public, eminent
journalists Mrinal Pande, the new Chairperson
of Prasar Bharati and T.N. Ninan, Chairman and
Editorial Director of Business Standard,
as well as editors of several leading Malayalam
newspapers, spoke about the phenomenon of "paid
news" within the context of the ongoing deterioration
of ethics and standards in the media and suggested
several steps that could be taken to curb this
trend.
Well-known
social and political activist Aruna Roy, who inaugurated
the conference, also spoke about the need for
a more constructive intervention from the Fourth
Estate on several key issues confronting the country
today, including attacks on tribals and minorities.
Read
full text of statement issued at the end of the
NWMI conference
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Global
Media Monitoring Project
2009-2010
 The
fourth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP)
2009-2010 got under way on Tuesday, 10 November
2009. The Network of Women in Media, India, coordinated
the project in India.
22 volunteers from different walks of life, located
in different parts of the country, monitored 26
newspapers in 10 languages, 13 TV channels in
6 languages, and 6 radio stations in 5 languages.
Seven of them were professors / teachers who involved
their students in the monitoring. In addition,
students in 19 colleges scattered across the country
(many outside the large metropolises) participated
in the monitoring.
Click
here for more details on the GMMP
For updates on the monitoring process in different
parts of the world, visit the GMMP website, Who
Makes the News
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Assembly
of South Asian Women in Media
 Nearly
200 women working in media in eight countries
across South Asia recently met and interacted
at the first regional conference of the newly
established South Asian Women in Media (SAWM).
The conference on the theme, "Women in Media:
Challenges, Opportunities and Partnership,"
was held in Lahore, Pakistan.
Read
more
Perspectives
on South Asian women and media
Pakistan:
crossing borders, sharing words, joining the dots
By Pamela Philipose
Women
in the media
By Zubeida Mustafa
Women
in the newsroom
By Ammu Joseph
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Gender
Sensitization Workshops with Local Media: An Initiative
of NWM-Mumbai
By Kalpana Sharma and Sameera Khan
(April-May 2009)
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The
Seventh Annual Meeting of the Network of Women in
Media, India
 About
60 women journalists from different parts of the
country (Mumbai to Kolkata, Kerala to Assam) gathered
in Imphal, Manipur, from 5 to 7 March 2009, for
the 7th annual NWMI meeting. The first gathering
of such a large number of Indian women journalists
in the Northeast, representing a variety of media
in several languages, was also the first exposure
for many of the difficult and complex realities
of life in Manipur and the first opportunity to
see for themselves how events and issues in Manipur
and other states in the region are so inadequately
covered by the media in the rest of the country.
Mainland
media women in marginalised Manipur: Report of the
seventh annual meeting of the NWMI
Also read
We need to learn from the Northeast: Statement by
the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI)
issued at the end of the NWMI
meeting held in Imphal (Manipur) in March 2009
Articles
on the situation in Manipur by NWMI members |
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Anupama
Jayaraman Memorial Award presented
 The
Network of Women in Media, India has pleasure
in announcing Alifiya Khan of Mumbai as the winner
of the third Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award
for young women journalists. Alifiya is a senior
correspondent at The Hindustan Times, Mumbai.
Her articles on public health services in particular
drew the attention of the jury. The theme for
2008 was `Human Rights and Social Justice.’
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How
the Telugu media sold its soul for cash
The
Network of Women in Media, Hyderabad, writes to
the chief electoral officer of Andhra Pradesh
calling attention to the trend of selling news
space to political parties and candidates during
elections which, as they point out, is not only
a gross dereliction of duty by the Fourth Estate
but actually endangers democracy.
Read
more
Also
read
Fighting
paid election coverage
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 NWMI
co-hosts launch of "Affirming Life & Diversity"
Local networks affiliated to the NWMI in four cities
-- Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai -- were
associated with the launch of a multi-media publication
produced by non-literate, Dalit women film-makers
from Andhra Pradesh that brings together rural images
and voices on food sovereignty. |
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Media
& women's empowerment in the Northeast
Report
on a workshop on "Empowerment of Women through
Media" in Tezpur University, Assam, organised
in collaboration with the NWMI through its new chapter
in Assam.
Also read: Connecting to the Northeast |
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The
Sixth National Meeting of the Network of Women
in Media, India
 125
media women from all over India, besides other
guests, media students and enthusiasts, gathered
for the three day long national meet of the Network
of Media, India, at Pune, on 8-10 February to
discuss important social and media related issues,
exchange ideas, views, work and strategies, felicitate
women achievers in the media and attend workshops.
Mallika Sarabhai was the chief guest and the keynote
speaker at the event.
For details click
here
Discussion
on media, security forces and democracy
Beyond
vice and victimhood: Towards a balanced media
representation of sex workers
Panel
discussion on media ethics and sting operation
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NWMI
resolution on discrimination against media based
on language
The sixth conference of the Network of Women
in Media, India (NWMI) that concluded today expresses
deep concern over the Hindi media being barred from
a press conference addressed by Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray. |
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Report
on NWMI's 5th Annual Meeting
click
here...(.pdf,
3.1MB) — includes a short
history of the NWMI and brief descriptions of previous
network meetings. |
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NWMI
statement on racist portrayal of women from the
Northeast by Mail Today
Read more |
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NWMI
letter to West Bengal CM condemning Taslima Nasreen's
ouster from the state
Read more |
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| NWMI
statement on the Taslima attack |
The
Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) strongly
condemns the recent violent attack on Bangladeshi
writer, Taslima Nasreen, in Hyderabad. The attack
highlights the security concerns that writers in
general and women writers in particular face from
fundamentalist forces of all hues.
Read more |
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Women
journalists call for public debate on broadcast
bill and content code
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The Network
of Women in Media, India, registers its concern
about the Broadcast Bill (Broadcasting Services
Regulation Bill, 2007 and Content Code (Self-Regulation
Guidelines for the Broadcasting Sector). As media
professionals aware of the important role of media
in society, we welcome the long-delayed effort
towards media regulation, which is a feature of
all mature democracies that respect the fundamental
human right to freedom of expression, of which
freedom of the press/media is a crucial part.
The Supreme Court of India has also clearly stated
that the airwaves belong to the public and that
their use is to be regulated by a public authority
in the interests of the public.
Read more
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| Bills,
Codes and Women |
| Excerpts
from an article posted by Ammu Joseph on WIMN: The
draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2007
(a.k.a. Broadcast Bill) and the Self-Regulation
Guidelines for the Broadcasting Sector (a.k.a. Content
Code) unveiled by the Ministry in the third week
of July have raised quite a bit of heat and dust
within the Indian media community.
Much of the discussion has focused
on the Code, particularly the section relating
to news and current affairs programming, and its
likely effects on freedom of expression. Although
initial reactions from the media industry reflected
some unhappiness with the Bill’s provisions
relating to media ownership, that issue has subsequently
(ominously?) slipped out of sight.
Read more
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| Calling
all media women… |
We
need regular contributions to our various sections
to keep the site vibrant and dynamic. News, experiences,
articles, interviews, links, everything is welcome
-- as long as it fits in with the focus and format
of the website.
Send your contributions to NWMI
editor |
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What's
new
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Opportunities |
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Summer
development fellowships in the U.S. seeks
applicants: Journalists from developing
countries are encouraged to apply for a three-week
summer fellowship at Stanford University,
called the Draper Hills Summer Fellowship
on Democracy and Development Program. Deadline:
8 January 2010 |
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Community
Journalism programme: Video Volunteers
is launching VIVIDH, a Community Journalism
programme that will provide fellowships to
60 local activists from across the country
and train them in video journalism. The long
term goal of the CJ programme is to create
a video news agency from the poorest parts
of the world, a sort of Reuters for the slums
and villages, that will enable news agencies
to access fascinating personal stories of
social change and human rights from the most
rural and remote parts of the country. Nominations
are solicited. |
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6th
Asian Women’s Film Festival: The
IAWRT-INDIA, in partnership with the IIC Project,
is organizing the 6th Asian Women’s Film
Festival in New Delhi on 7- 8 March 2010.
Film makers can send in their entries by 20
December 2009. |
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Knight
International Journalism Fellowships in
India and Bangladesh: A
program of the International Center for
Journalists is seeking experienced journalists
to lead projects that involve mentoring
and training journalists.
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Journalism
fellowship in the US - Deadline: Varies by
country, but usually June to September for
the following year (Now for 2009-2010) |
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Daniel
Pearl Awards to honor world's best cross-border
investigative journalism: The 2010 Daniel
Pearl Awards competition has begun accepting
entries. The contest is open to any journalist
or team of journalists of any nationality
working in any medium. Entries must involve
reporting in at least two countries on a topic
of world significance. Deadline: 15 January
2010 |
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Newsmakers
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Teresa
Rehman receives the Sanskriti Award for Journalism
(2009): Currently
Principal Correspondent of Tehelka, based
in Guwahati, she has been recognised for her
exceptional coverage of the entire Northeast
region of India. |
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Supriya
Khandekar has been awarded the Young Development
Journalist of the Year Award at the Developing
Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA)
organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute
(ADBI) on Friday, 23 October
2009.
She was chosen among 22 finalists from all
over Asia and the Pacific region for the award. |
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News and views
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| National |
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NWMI
condemns the phenomenon of "Paid News"
at Kozhikode meeting: Nearly 60 women
journalists from across India and an equal
number from different parts of Kerala met
in Kozhikode from 5 to 7 February 2010 for
the eighth annual conference of the Network
of Women in Media, India (NWMI). |
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11th
Madurai International Documentary and Short
Film Festival 2009 -10: Organised by MARUPAKKAM
& Media Research Centre, Department of
Philosophy, The Madura College, the festival
will take place from 15 to 19 December 2009
at The Madura College, Madurai. |
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Misogyny
in Telugu serials: Gone are the days of
mother-in-law taunting the daughter-in-law
to irritate. She now gets her kin knifed on
a highway by henchmen. Padmaja Shaw says Telugu
serials are empowering women by making them
evil. |
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How
the media helped ‘out’ LGBT issues:
The media’s positive reaction to the
overturning of Section 377, and the debates
it initiated across the public spectrum, gave
the LGBT issue a much needed airing and buttressed
the enlightened ruling of the Delhi High Court,
says Siddharth Narrain. |
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New
voices of the Valley: With changing times
and the burgeoning media landscape, women
journalists in Kashmir are finally coming
into their own. AFSANA RASHID gives an insider’s
view to the challenges women reporters in
the valley have to contend with. |
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Muslims
and the Indian media: Book review by Yoginder
Sikand. |
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Journalists
take the brunt of violence in Assam by Nava
Thakuria: An already violent culture area
goes after the messengers. |
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Indefatigable
diva:
She combined the reviewer’s instinct
for recognising a dud, the story getter’s
natural aggression and the TV anchor’s
easy confidence. Sevanti Ninan describes the
Amita Malik she knew. |
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Women's
coalition to defend cultural freedom:
On 9 February 2009 various women's groups
in Hyderabad came together to oppose the
Ram Sene activists. Seven women's organisations
decided to form a group called 'Women for
Cultural Freedom' to oppose all illegal
and unconstitutional activities and assert
the freedom of speech and expression.
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Statement
against attacks on women in Mangalore: The
physical and verbal assault on women in a
pub in Mangalore on Sat, 24 Jan, has generated
outrage among those who believe that India
is a democracy. This statement, signed by
citizens across the country, including journalists,
includes a comment on media's role in the
episode. The statement is open for endorsement
online. |
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The mayhem in Mumbai — readers react:
Was it necessary
to provide 24-hour coverage of the hostage
crisis? Did it do anything for the viewers,
the security forces, the helpless hostages,
Mumbai city or the nation?
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Watching the Watchdog: The
electronic media did not live up to its
own self-imposed code, notes media analyst
Ammu Joseph.
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Unpacking the Pixel: Kalpana
Sharma assesses 60 hours of continuous media
coverage of the Mumbai crisis and notes the
significant gaps. |
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Current global financial crisis and the Indian
media: Some months
ago, India's media and entertainment sector
was the darling of most investors. Today,
with the ad market looking ready to settle
into a deep slumber and the global financial
meltdown adding to the gloom, things don't
look rosy anymore. |
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National
Commission for Women: NCW
has recommended amendments to the Indecent
Representation of Women Act, broadening the
definition of "indecent representation"
and introducing more stringent punishment
under the law. Is the NCW taking the debate
on representation of women in the media forward
in a meaningful way? |
| South
Asia |
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Al
Jazeera’s path-breaking The Listening
Post programme looks at enduring challenges
facing media freedom in Sri Lanka |
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Asia's
other eclipse: By Nalaka Gunawardene,
Colombo, Sri Lanka. |
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New
Sri Lankan media monitoring website: The
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is pleased
to announce the immediate availability of
its mainstream media monitoring site. |
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Blow
to free media once again |
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Statement
by Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge on World
Press Freedom Day |
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IFJ
and SAMSN release seventh annual report: The
report on press freedom in South Asia, produced
by the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) for the South Asia Media Solidarity
Network (SAMSN), documents alarming trends
in working conditions for journalists. |
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Is
the foreign media portraying a skewed image
of Pakistan or are they simply reporting the
reality? This article was published in
The Herald, Pakistan. |
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Paradise
Lost? Ammu Joseph's post on the recent flogging
incident in Pakistan |
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‘By
our lady correspondents’ — Nirupama
Subramanian: A new initiative in Pakistan
focuses on the famous and not-so famous women
in journalism, their profiles and contribution
to the growth of media in the country. |
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South
Asia worst region for capturing journalists'
killers, says CPJ's impunity index |
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Pakistan:
Senior reporter gunned down |
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Writers
Under Siege: Groundviews invited
renowned Sri Lankan poets, novelists and other
writers to respond to the violence, impunity
and the vicious clampdown on the freedom of
expression in Sri Lanka through prose or verse.
Two award winning poets — Indran Amirthanayagam
and Sivamohan Sumathy were the first to write
in. |
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Sri
Lanka: 'Govt Targets Media Under Civil War
Cover' by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta |
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Information
to entertainment: A
new study reveals significant changes in the
way the people of Bhutan view the media. According
to a draft report of the Media Impact Study
2008, Bhutanese now see media as source of
entertainment whereas, just five years ago,
they viewed media as source of information. |
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In the Balance: Press Freedom in South Asia
2007-2008. An IFJ Asia Pacific report.
The report, released ahead of World Press
Freedom Day on May 3, highlights the serious
challenges that continue to confront the media
in a region that is home to more than one-fifth
of humanity. |
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REAL
NEWS — 'The promise' unfolds |
| International
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Gender Links, South
Africa, is launching "Glass Ceilings:
Women and Men in Southern African Media,"
the most comprehensive audit ever undertaken
of women and men in Southern African media
houses. The following articles are based on
the research:
Women
still hitting glass ceilings in media
Women
make a difference in media
Sexual
harassment still rampant in newsrooms
Women
still missing from top media posts |
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Twitter
is not for teens, Morgan Stanley told by 15-year-old
expert: A report on young people's media
habits written for an investment bank by teenage
intern causes huge interest among media executives
and investors. |
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Ethics
and Gender: Equality in the Newsroom, Brussels
Declaration |
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World
Press Freedom Day 2009: World Press Freedom
Day serves as an occasion to celebrate the
fundamental principles of press freedom; to
evaluate the benefits of a free and independent
press; and to defend the media from attacks
on their independence. Message
of UN Secretary — General Ban Ki-moon |
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A
Sanctuary of Dissent: Pacifica Radio,
born on 15 April 1949, is the oldest independent
media network in the United States, and its
sixtieth birthday comes as a deepening crisis
engulfs mainstream media. Column by Amy Goodman
of Democracy Now! |
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Documentary
on the first Pacifica Radio station: KPFA
on the Air by filmmakers Veronica Selver
and Sharon Wood, narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning
author Alice Walker. |
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RSF Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2008 |
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Bad Days for Newsrooms—and Democracy:
The decline of newspapers
is about the rise of the corporate state,
the loss of civic and public responsibility
and the intellectual poverty of our post-literate
world. Now information is conveyed mainly
through rapidly moving images rather than
print. |
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Why so few women in media?
This qualitative study seeks to explain why
so few women enter and stay in the media.
Interviews with editors, women and male journalists,
and members of other institutions suggest
that what is on paper, i.e. legislation to
bring about more gender equality, has in reality
not brought about any dramatic progress in
the media and in its coverage of gender. |
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Gender equality most important struggle on
the planet: Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of
AIDS-Free World |
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Internet
clogged by 2010? Consumer
and corporate Internet usage could outstrip
network capacity both in North America and
worldwide in a little more than two years,
says a new study.
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Research
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Who
makes the news? In
November 2009, the world news media will once
again come under scrutiny during the 4th Global
Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). Volunteers
from women's rights organisations, media associations,
academia, etc., across the world will collaborate
in a one-day global research on gender in
their local news media. The GMMP is the largest
and longest longitudinal study on gender in
the world’s news media. |
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Written-off — How the Indian news media
deals with its freelance journalists: In
late February last year, an informal survey
of freelance journalists in India was carried
out. The questionnaire itself was ad hoc,
but the trends that emerged were clear —
most freelance journalists are perceived as
the stepchildren of the Indian news media.
The entire survey was carried out online over
a 15-day period in March-April 2008. Read
More... |
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Global Report on Status of Women in News Media:
The International Women's Media Foundation
is launching a research project to examine
the news media industry structure worldwide
from a gender perspective. It will document
the levels of involvement by women in the
news media at professional, decision-making
and governance levels.
Read
More... |
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Reading list |
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Muslims
and the Indian media: Book review by Yoginder
Sikand. |
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Mirror
to media: Paranjoy Guha Thakurta's Media
Ethics: Truth, Fairness and Objectivity,
and Ather Farouqui’s Muslim and Media
Images: New versus Views are books that
look at ethical issues in journalism and the
depiction of Muslims in the media. |
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Getting
the Balance Right: Gender Equality in Journalism
— The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) recently unveiled a publication on gender
equality designed to engage journalists in
the fight against gender discrimination. Read
more... |
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How
To Become A Good Journalist
— a book on journalism by Raza Elahi |
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A tale of how television changed India: 'India
on Television' by Nalin Mehta discusses how
television has changed the contours of the
Indian psyche. Satellite television has engendered
a transformation in Indian political culture
and expressions of Indian nationhood.
Read
More... |
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Headlines
from the Heartland |
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Communicating Disasters: Asia Pacific Resource
Book (.pdf,
156 KB) |
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Whose
News? and Making News |
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Resources |
| >
Handbook
on covering HIV/AIDS on TV: "Getting
the Story and Telling it Right: HIV on TV",
a handbook for television producers and trainers
by K.P. Madhu et al, UNESCO Series on Journalism
Education. |
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Reuters'
stylebook and code of ethics: The international
news service, Reuters, has published their
style guide for the first time. The handbook
contains sections on standards and values,
the 10 absolutes of Reuters journalism, a
general style guide and sports style guide,
a guide to Reuters' operations, specialised
guidance dealing with sourcing, legal dangers,
Internet-based reporting, dealing with threats
and complaints etc. |
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Multilingual
manual on investigative reporting launched:
Investigative journalists who speak English,
Arabic and French can now access a free manual
that focuses on the basics of finding, structuring
and composing an investigation. |
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Extensive
online 'toolbox' of resources available for
journalists: Journalists looking to increase
their skills and knowledge and to find relevant
resources can check out the Society of Professional
Journalists' (SPJ) recently updated "Journalists'
Toolbox." |
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Tips
help photojournalists cover conflict effectively
and safely: Photojournalist Michael Kamber
of the New York Times recently published a
blog post about conflict photojournalism for
Lens, the photojournalism blog of the Times. |
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New
multilingual tool tracks food prices in poor
countries |
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Civil
society initiative on media policy: This
set of documents has been put together in
the hope that they will help inform the ongoing
(if sporadic) public debate on media regulation
in India, with particular reference to the
broadcast sector. |
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The
Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for
Journalists |
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New guidelines for HIV/AIDS reporting |
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Violence against women: A fact sheet |
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Gender and Media Diversity Centre |
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Virtual
Resource Centre (including Online Clippings
Library) |
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Interjunction: Media meets academia |
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AlertNet video outlines tools for journalists
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Monthly
features service on HIV and AIDS launched
by Panos' Global AIDS Programme |
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Online
resource for reporters worldwide covering
issues related to HIV and AIDS |
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