Dasu Krishnamoorty examines reporting in the aftermath of Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gujarat.

Frederick Noronha reports on the success of World Comics India, which has created successful material, especially for the regional press.

Dasu Krishnamoorty cautions against equating the media with democracy itself.

In the immediate aftermath of the 26 December tsunamis, many bloggers visited the affected areas. Their eyewitness accounts brought the horrors of the devastation to distant audiences and were instrumental in garnering widespread relief support, writes Rasika Dhavse.

Local problems in India are compounding faster than solutions are being found. But the extent of national and regional coverage in our print and broadcast media is over-proportionately more than local news. More local journalism is the need, and will improve prospects for our local self-governance. The India Together editorial.

A homely looking woman in her late fifties has for years run a small-scale business doing what is widely seen as a man's job -- providing computer hardware to companies. But she does not make the local news. A culture of community journalism in the English newspapers is missing and is much needed, says Nabina Das.

Conceived as an anti-poverty effort, the Navodayam project in Andhra Pradesh has grown with government support into a full-fledged media entity taking up coverage of serious local issues. Its members see themselves playing a vital role, and making a difference to the lives of lakhs of women in their districts. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Over the past couple of years or so, it appears that Indian television media are recklessly using and exhibiting children in breaking news and other stories, with the willing participation of parents. Does this constitute child abuse? Shoma Chatterji has more.

How relevant is the argument of a threat to freedom of the press in cases where the financial interests of a media baron could ostensibly conflict with that of the public? The question resurfaced recently in Andhra Pradesh over the Eenadu-Margadarsi controversy, writes B P Sanjay.

The terror attacks have raised numerous questions of media ethics, values and news-gathering methods. While the government and politicians faced the wrath of the public, the media too was under the lens. Ramesh Menon reports.

Can technology restore the balance between people in their conversations about public issues? And can this help foster a better and more inclusive democracy, asks Shubhranshu Choudhary.

Seventeen years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot restrict content on radio, it remains impossible for independent news to be aired on radio channels. Navya P K reports.

In 50 percent of the killings of Indian journalists since 2010 there have been no arrests so far. We need to come together to protect our tribe, urge Geeta Seshu and Sevanti Ninan.

Nandita Das's Firaaq is like a celluloid anthology that will carve a niche in the minds of the audience for capturing moving images of the personal anger and anguish at the Gujarat catastrophe, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Loha Garam Hai is a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred comment on lop-sided strategies of development. It is focused more on information and education than on the aesthetics of cinema, writes Shoma Chatterji.

If there are differences between a documentary and a feature film, Faiza Khan's Supermen of Malegaon dispels them all. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Bhor is a psycho-social journey into the minds and lives of inmates of a rehab centre, trying to build a world away from the mainstream. Shoma Chatterji reviews the play.

A cinematographer remembers his own journey of documentary film-making, offering insights into the technical and emotional challenges of his work. Shoma Chatterji reviews In Camera - Diaries of a Documentary Cameraman.

Sanjay Kak's latest film Red Ant Dream weaves together disparate stories of people's movements and transports the viewer to hidden pockets of resistance to paint a picture of conflict and revolutionary potential in India today. Freny Manecksha reviews the film.

The tremendous rage against Pahlaj Nihalani around the Udta Punjab (2016) issue finally resolved by the High Court gives a reason to revisit some memorable deletions and suggestions made by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over the years, says Shoma Chatterji.

Manhole is a scathing celluloid indictment on the state of manual sewer cleaners in India, writes Shoma A. Chatterji.

Shunyota, a feature film in Bengali, has an all-India resonance that will echo across the country if and when it’s subtitled version will be screened, writes Shoma Chatterji.

The hypocrisy with which the Government of West Bengal acted at Nandigram this March is a serious cause of disillusionment and has opened the door to further radicalisation of the dispossessed. Tanveer Kazi presents the dalit perspective, even as the High Court continues to pass strictures on the state government.

Free Bird Productions, a Kolkata-based documentary unit that makes cultural, ethnographic and documentary films, has made two of the more noteworthy films about the recent events in Singur and Nandigram. Shoma Chatterji notes the unanswered questions the films raise.

Motivated by the media attention in Nandigram, six volunteers of Child Rights and You decided to examine how the urban poor are faring against State-sponsored eviction. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Moved by a personal tragedy, young Bengali engineer-turned-actor Bobby Chakraborty has launched a singular campaign to educate schoolchildren about the impact of alcohol and other addiction and deter them from the path. Shoma A Chatterji brings us his story.

The death of 14 women in Chhattisgarh following botched sterilisation procedures has rightfully led to furore across the country. But a detailed, historical analysis of family planning as it has evolved, by Shoma A Chatterji, exposes an inherent and sustained gender bias in policy as well as practice.

Removal of agricultural subsidies should be a pre-requisite to further movement on the WTO agricultural negotiations, says Devinder Sharma.

Eight months before the upcoming WTO ministerial of December 2005, prominent economists are closing ranks to dwarf sustained criticism of agricultural subsidies in developed nations. Devinder Sharma asserts that the continued undermining of food self-sufficiency in developing nations is economic lunacy.

President Kalam's vision for rural development is at odds with Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades where Shah Rukh Khan charts a simple location-specific path to village development. The two different routes to the same objective bring out the conflict in our understanding of the rural crisis, says Devinder Sharma.

For 40 years, nearly 17 million cotton growers have been subsidising the textile industry. If only these farmers had got the right price for the cotton they produced, the number of their suicides would have been far less. Instead, cotton prices have been on a steady decline thereby acerbating the farm crisis, writes Devinder Sharma.

In clear disregard for the ongoing multilateral negotiations, the United States is attempting to protect its already heavily fortified agriculture further. The House of Representatives passed the US Farm Bill 2007 in July, proposing 286 billion dollars of support for American farmers over the next five years. Devinder Sharma on the implications.

The television cameras and news reports tell us how dramatic the India Against Corruption campaign's rise to national consciousness has been. The story of how it unfolded is even more interesting, writes Devinder Sharma.

The real reason behind the Congress' performance in the recently concluded Assembly Elections may not be the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party per se, but more the economic concerns of the real aam aadmi. Devinder Sharma analyses.

The depressing sameness of the days for those locked-in as the epidemic rages, is relieved only by the 24X7 flow of electricity – the juice that keeps us all connected, informed, entertained and as summer...

Amidst this anomalous global pandemic, as the whole world wars against a sinuously strong, mutating virus what has metamorphosed is the human spirit. Whether it is a housewife who files her first writ petition to...

India’s lockdown has been eased by dividing the country into red, orange and green zones, with high, medium and minimal infections so far, and correspondingly tough curbs on economic activity. This can at best be...

One of the unprepared-for aspects of the continuing lockdown was the 40-day prohibition of over-the-counter sale of alcohol. To complain about its unavailability while people are fighting for lives and livelihoods would be, at best,...

Pakistan has decided to lift lockdown to kick-start its tottering economy. The growth engine of Pakistan’s economic revival is powered by CPEC, flagship project of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI). It is tempting to conjure...

Coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions have forced people around the world to delay their nuptials or adapt to the unusual times by celebrating via web link. But in China -- where livestreaming is extremely popular -- some young couples are allowing anyone to watch their big day and even send them gifts.

President Trump congratulated UFC for restarting the sports world Saturday night after a nearly two-month hiatus. Trump's taped message was played during ESPN's broadcast of the UFC 249 undercard from a fan-free arena in Jacksonville.

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.

Virat Kohli is in a good frame of mind which gives him confidence of being able to pick up from where he left as and when cricket resumes in the post-Covid world. "... once I am in a good frame of mind and I am keeping myself positive and happy, whenever I return to the game, I know I will be in a good position to start again from where we left," Kohli said.

The absence of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen took many by surprise. To clear the air, website promoters chess.com released a statement but ended up hurting none other than Carlsen.

Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

A pandemic-forced lockdown may not be the ideal way to get families together, but it's not something that's under human control. What's in your control is to stay safe at home, hug your mom and say 'Happy Mother's Day'.

Though there is no avian flu outbreak in Tamil Nadu, poultry farmers across the state have taken precautionary measures.

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Scientists are developing a predictive model to help Nasa anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the US space agency's future manned mission to Mars. Nasa has formalised plans to send a crewed spacecraft to Mars, a journey that could involve 250 million miles of travel.