Do the media waste too much time trying to be kind to the dead? If you go by the way in which Indira Gandhi has been treated by the mainstream English press and TV channels, then probably not.

By and large, the treatment accorded to the 25th anniversary of Mrs Gandhi’s death was fair and largely free from mawkish tributes. Read more

Those who say that the media no longer have the power to make or break a cause or to decide how a story is perceived should consider the example of the protests called by India’s private airlines. Read more

People often ask me why the media seem to be in recession while movies and the IPL appear to be going strong. After all, they say, it is not as though there are fewer producers lining up outside Shah Rukh Khan’s door. And the IPL auctions show that people have lots of money to spend.

It’s a good question and I think I have only partial answers. Read more

I am currently grappling with what we in the trade call a long `think piece’ on terrorism. One aspect of this piece has to do with the definition of a terrorist.

Almost all of us in India were outraged when the BBC refused to call the Bombay attackers terrorists. We saw this as an example of the West’s insensitivity to India’s plight. Read more

Two questions for this, the first of a new series of blogs. One: how much freedom should an editor give a columnist? And two: how much criticism of itself should a newspaper be prepared to publish. Read more