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This week, veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai takes an indepth look at the increasingly becoming murky NELP round 8. And the Director General Hydrocarbons’ recent comments to the media have not helped things further.
Sandeep Bamzai Oct 14, 2009 8:48 AM
Anyone who has been a parent will abhor watching the distasteful antics of Rakhi Sawant and Co in ‘Pati, Patni aur Woh’. It is truly inhuman to see toddlers being maltreated in the manner that they are. No parent will allow the kind of nonsense that these small ‘bezuban’ children are being subjected to, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Oct 7, 2009 8:06 AM
This week, veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai takes a look at the scourge of piracy and how the industry and lawmakers are taking affirmative action to curb it. However, piracy is not just simply selling illegal audio and video products, but a more deep-rooted conspiracy, and the involvement of officials from big companies further complicates things.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 30, 2009 6:57 AM
With top Government machinery in overdrive and in camera briefings to top editors almost daily in the Rajdhani over the weekend, the media community in the Capital is abuzz. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai analyses the media coverage and Government handling of the Chinese incursions into Indian territory.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 23, 2009 7:44 AM
Media runs on trust. The reader or viewer believes what he sees or reads and treats it like gospel. Media has to be responsible at all times in what it puts out. The increasing clutter in media and its resultant competitive edge is proving a damper, for it means that people take short cuts, observes veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 16, 2009 8:16 AM
Cerebral and erudite, Amitabh Bachchan is considered by many as the greatest living actor to come out of India. In an industry dominated by the Khans, the name Bachchan represents a mystique and charisma that is enduring. In an exclusive conversation with veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai, Bachchan speaks about his journey in films, Hindi Cinema, and return to the small screen in Color’s ‘Bigg Boss 3’.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 15, 2009 8:07 AM
With an overdose of so many new Bollywood releases all bunched up, the earnings potential of many of these releases will be impacted. On several Fridays going forward, there are two and even three big releases slated for simulcast. The audience will obviously sift the wheat from the chaff, it will give a thumbs up to what it thinks connotes the best entertainment, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 10, 2009 9:09 AM
There is need a broadcast regulator to create a system of checks and balances for what is still a nascent industry. Self regulation will not work. But let us do this systematically and in a cogent manner. The onus is on Ambika Soni to bring about this transformation. Delink broadcasting from TRAI and create a separate authority, a sensible authority aware of the industry’s needs and moves, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Sep 2, 2009 8:37 AM
While several of the Hindi news channels try desperately to out do one another with the strangest and weirdest stories, new vistas are now being explored by English news telly as well. Not exactly the ‘Ichadari Saanp’ variety, but close, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Aug 27, 2009 8:27 AM
How is the Ambani sequel different from its 2005 avatar? The biggest difference this time is the virtual paralysis that has gripped the Mukesh Ambani camp. While the Anil Ambani camp is busy ratcheting up the volume to very high levels, Reliance Industries is keeping mum, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Aug 19, 2009 9:11 AM
Ever so slowly, American studios and networks are grabbing larger swathes of Indian media and entertainment space. While it is still difficult to get a large toehold in the news business due to FDI restrictions and caps, it has been relatively smooth sailing for the big boys to establish a rock solid presence in the entertainment space, analyses veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Aug 12, 2009 8:49 AM
This week, veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai catches up with Siddhartha Basu of Big Synergy to know more about the non-fiction shows and fiction projects from Big Synergy. There are no less than five big-ticket non-fiction shows from its stable currently on air on various channels – ‘Sach Ka Saamna’, ‘Dus Ka Dum’, ‘India’s Got Talent’, ‘Aap ki Kachehri’, and ‘Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo’.
Sandeep Bamzai Aug 5, 2009 7:56 AM
The last few days have seen non-stop media blitz on the Ambani gas row. This time, the battle is different because it is not a straight fight between the two brothers over their family inheritance. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai analyses the latest Ambani versus Ambani saga.
Sandeep Bamzai Jul 29, 2009 8:05 AM
What is it about newspaper and magazine editors and owners that makes them go in for endless redesigns and relaunches? Why do we want to contemporarise and bring up to speed the design quotient without addressing the content side? Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai ponders on this in light of the recent design changes in Hindustan Times.
Sandeep Bamzai Jul 22, 2009 9:12 AM
The general entertainment space finally has a sense of competition. It is a competitive set with some element of creativity these days. Spanking new shows across the spectrum – fiction, pulp and reality – from all the competitors give viewers more options. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai gives a run down on the new shows across Hindi GECs and how they might impact the channels’ prospects.
Sandeep Bamzai Jul 15, 2009 9:07 AM
Good old fashioned puff jobs have been around for as long as the newspaper business has been around. The malaise may be deep, but just about everyone disregards it or simply turns a blind eye. Quid pro quo goes on endlessly. Is it time for such things to be reined in, wonders veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Jul 9, 2009 8:03 AM
In an extremely smart and savvy positioning play, ET Now is redefining the tenets of business television in India. Using the jagged edge of reportage, a la BBC, ET Now is going after CNBC-TV18. This week, veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai takes an indepth look at business channel ET Now and how it is set to give other business channels a run for their money.
Sandeep Bamzai Jul 1, 2009 8:32 AM
On Tuesday morning I saw the most incongruous story plastered on page 1 of the tabloid Mail Today. And what a news call it was. On a day when the entire country and media was seized by the failing monsoon and its import on India's struggling economy, Mail Today went with World Bank says global economy will shrink but not China and India's - India to grow faster than China by 2010.
Sandeep Bamzai Jun 24, 2009 7:49 AM
“Call it propaganda or plain wishful thinking. Or maybe it is a pie in the sky. Purportedly an investigation. The other day I stumbled upon a very lengthy, but strange story in Pakistan’s Daily Mail that highlighted the role of India’s external intel agency RAW in propping up Indian media...” writes veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai as he questions an international report that, amongst other allegations, called Zee TV a RAW-funded operation.
Sandeep Bamzai Jun 17, 2009 7:29 AM
A change in assigning Ministry portfolios can change the course not just for the nation, but for the world. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai takes a closer look at what could happen at world trade talks, as Kamal Nath, whom he describes as PM Manmohan Singh’s go-to man, was replaced as India’s Commerce and Industry Minister in the recently completed Cabinet reshuffle.
Sandeep Bamzai Jun 10, 2009 7:32 AM
FM radio has to establish connect with the mind space of the listener. It has to have spark, for it has go beyond the apparent playing of music on the station. There has to be an identity, an individualistic identity that sets you apart from the rest of the clutter, observes veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai Jun 4, 2009 8:57 AM
Over the last fortnight or so, two big media entities and barons have entered India and a third one is reportedly on the verge of tying up with an Indian outfit and arriving in India shortly. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai takes a look at the implications of the launch of WSJ’s facsimile edition, Forbes magazine and the proposed Bloomberg entry in India.
Sandeep Bamzai May 27, 2009 9:06 AM
The exit polls were a fiasco. The pollsters, pundits, psephologists and analysts had no clue, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai, as he analyses the exit poll predictions on various channels and the real numbers that came forth post the counting.
Sandeep Bamzai May 20, 2009 8:32 AM
Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai is all praise for Arnab Goswami and his ‘Newshour’. The Times Now Editor-in-Chief has been able to bring to life the political debates over the finally tally for the major parties, and as per various projections, it is going to be a very close call, any which way one sees it.
Sandeep Bamzai May 13, 2009 9:34 AM
May 16 is around the corner. By the afternoon of May 16 a clearer picture on who is going to govern us for the next five years might not emerge. It might take a week. But a week, as they say, is too long in politics. If the BJP/NDA is in a position to form the government, then it remains to be seen whether it can pursue the agenda that Advani laid down at the Assocham AGM in 2008, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
Sandeep Bamzai May 8, 2009 8:22 AM
Intelligence agency stenography is a very dangerous game to play, particularly if you are in the media business, more so in print. Veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai cites two separate news articles – Salman Khan’s alleged telephonic conversations with an underworld gangster (in 2005) and arrest of a Pak Lashkar operative (in 2009) – that had appeared in Hindustan Times, to highlight this point.
Sandeep Bamzai Apr 22, 2009 8:15 AM
India’s biggest media entity is all set to declare a loss for the first time in its long and illustrious history. It was unthinkable till even a year ago that the group which had established the media multiplier theorem could be on skid row. So, why have things come to such a sorry pass? Veteran journalist <b>Sandeep Bamzai</b> analyses.
Sandeep Bamzai Apr 16, 2009 8:18 AM
One begins the new financial year with great trepidation. I know of many people who are still to get jobs after the Sakal debacle. Remember that the paper shut down abruptly on November 30 last year. It is a great pity for many solid careers that have gone into a tailspin due to ‘provincial town mindset meets big city reality’. Veteran journalist <b>Sandeep Bamzai </b>finds out why things came to such a sorry pass.
Sandeep Bamzai Apr 8, 2009 7:58 AM
Making a case for an efficient nodal agency and system to fight white collar crime in India, veteran journalist <b>Sandeep Bamzai</b> brings out the different treatment meted out to major Dalal Street player Nimesh Kampani and the disgraced Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computers.
Sandeep Bamzai Apr 1, 2009 8:08 AM
Media has to play a responsible role. Yes, that is how media is viewed. Its very credibility revolves around its role as a responsible facilitator and disseminator of news and current affairs. No, this is not a sermon from the mount. This responsibility, which weighs down media, is also like a double-edged sword, warns <b>Sandeep Bamzai.</b>
Sandeep Bamzai Mar 25, 2009 8:08 AM
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