An editor in Bangladesh faces 175 years in prison after an unusual confession

Mar 29 2016 : The Times of India (Pune)

Maher Sattar

Dhaka, (NYT NEWS SERVICE)

The math alone is a bewildering exercise for Mahfuz Anam, the editor of Bangladesh's most popular Englishlanguage newspaper. Since February , the number of legal claims against him has climbed to 79 cases: 62 for defamation and 17 for sedition.

If convicted in all of the cases, Anam faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years. In the meantime, he is obliged to crisscross the country for hearings in 50 of the country's 64 judicial districts, and is petitioning the high court to consolidate them. In some instances, he said, “I might have to physically appear in more than one place on the same day.“

Officials say the government is not behind the barrage of litigation though many of the cases were filed by activists with the ruling Awami League, and at least one by an assistant public prosecutor.They were filed after Anam made an unusual public confession, expressing regret over articles that his newspaper, The Daily Star, published years ago on uncorroborated allegations of corruption against the current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.Hasina's control over Bangladesh's political system has tightened since 2014, when the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted parliamentary elections and the Awami League swept the polls, virtually unopposed.

With political opposition dwindling, it has become increasingly risky to publish material critical of the government. Twenty-five defamation cases are underway against Matiur Rahman, the editor of Prothom Alo, The Daily Star's sister paper and the country's second most popular Bengali newspaper.

Asif Nazrul, a law professor at the University of Dhaka, said, “These cases are a strong signal to not just Anam but to all media that if you go beyond the limits that have been set, then you too can be prosecuted for sedition.“ Pressure on the two newspapers began to build last fall after Prothom Alo and The Daily Star published a report in August on the killing of five men by army troops in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a former conflict area where the military has a large presence.





National Conference on Media Ethics and Responsibility in Jaipur

Following from Prof. Sanjeev Bhanawat 

Jaipur, March 25, 2016

A three day National Conference of Media Educators on” Media Ethics and Responsibility: Need for Introspection” will be organized in Jaipur from April 22-24.The event has been jointly organized by the Centre for Mass Communication, University of Rajasthan, Amity University,Jaipur,Society for Media initiative for values, Indore and Media advocacy base NGO Lok Samvad Sansthan,Jaipur.

The conference brochure was released here by eminent media personalities in two days conference on “way to developmental Journalism”. They included Senior TV Journalist and General Secretary : NK Singh,Senior Journalist and former Editor –Jansatta_ Om Thanvi, Rajya Sabha TV Executive Director- Dr Rajesh Badal, Prof. Kamal Dixit-National Convener- Society for Media Initiative for Values,Ms Suchorita Bardhan-Communication and Advocacy Specialist-UNICEF-Ms Suchorita Bardhan,Prof Sanjeev Bhnawat-Head Centre for Mass  Communication, University of Rajasthan,Ms Jayati M Sharma-Ass.Prof Amity University, kalyan Singh Kothari-Secretary lok Samvad sansthan.and Smiti Padhi of IIS University,Jaipur.

This conference would be essentially a platform for academia, media educators and various stakeholders interested in the field of media to exchange views, share ideas and to look for possible collaborative efforts. Renowned dignitaries will be present during the inaugural session and several other eminent academicians from all over India will visit Jaipur to participate in the conference.

Kalyan Singh Kothari,organizing Secretary of the Conference said that huge participation is expected from all over India including Media and Communication departments of various Universities  and Institutions.the sessions include several lectures with different themes based on media education and role of media in values followed by presentation of theme papers from participants.

Kalyan singh Kothari

Conference on Media and Communication: Prospects and Challenges in Symbiosis

Following from Prof. Ruchi Jaggi: 

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC)

(A Constituent of Symbiosis International University -- SIU)

International Conference on Media and Communication 

Prospects and Challenges

Symbiosis Knowledge Village, Lavale, Pune (September 29-30, 2016)

Call for Papers

Over the years, communication domain has undergone a tremendous change. It is an era where the overwhelming presence of digital media in multifarious aspects has questioned the existence of traditional media. This conference aims to question the epistemological understanding of the global dichotomy and debates prevalent in media consumption and the challenges to future sustainability therefore. The conference seeks to interrogate and answer the dominant challenges in contemporary communication and media mosaic.

At the other end of the spectrum, the media and advertising industry has always made huge bets on content creation, brand advertising and campaigns with little to no empirical data to support their spending. Big data and predictive analytics technologies represent the opportunity to turn the table on the house. Furthermore, unstructured data such as digital photos, videos and social media are growing at an even faster rate than structured data. As a result, an entire new industry has formed around storing, sorting, viewing and gleaning business insights.

The conference aims to provide a platform to media professionals, academics, social scientists, research scholars, industry professionals and students to exchange ideas in various fields of media and communication. Both national and international participants are expected to attend the conference. It will be beneficial to media and communication researchers, academics, students, journalists, professionals in communication business and policy makers. It is aimed at bringing together intellectual minds and facilitating scholarly exchange of ideas and contributing to knowledge.

Objectives

·        To facilitate multifaceted discussion with professionals in media and communication and to demonstrate and exemplify their work and skills.

·        To evaluate the effectiveness of global socio-cultural discourses in the debate of media dichotomy.

·        To understand how the traditional media will sustain in this digital age.

·        To provide a forum for diverse interdisciplinary research perspectives.

·        To develop and encourage media and communication research interest for social and technological development.

Tracks

In all, the conference will have five tracks which will delve into diverse contemporary issues related to media and communication and highlight issues that are of global concern. They will broadly cover areas such as Media, Culture and Society; Media Ethics, Laws and Policies; Focus on New Media; Business and Marketing Communications; and The Epistemological Shift in Marketing and Media Analytics.

Track 1: Media, Culture and Society

This track aims to discuss and argue on one of the most critical facets of media studies – culture. This track invites conceptual, theoretical and empirical papers that investigate media discourses on different dimensions of the social, political and cultural framework of society. The papers can be based on the broad sub-themes mentioned below. However, this is an indicative list and researchers are welcome to contribute on any subject that can be included in the context of media and culture studies:

·        Media and Popular Culture

·        Media Representations and Identity Construction – Discourses on Gender, Sexuality, Class, Religion, Caste

·        Media and the Concept of Ideology

·        Feminism and Feminist Theories

·        Media Audiences – Audience as Outcome, Audience as Agent, New Audiences

·        Media and Globalisation, Contemporary Global Issues

·        Media and Communication Theories

·        De-westernisation of Media Theories (Emerging Thoughts and Theorists)

·        Media and the Concept of Power

·        Media Literacy, e-learning, ICT, Instructional Media

·        Visual Communication

·        Political Communication

·        Research Paradigms in Media and Communication Studies

·        Development Communication and Development Journalism

·        Community Communication

·        Diaspora and Media

·        Health and Communications

·        Film and Television Studies

Track 2: Media Laws, Ethics and Policies

The importance of media laws and ethics has been increasing day by day. There has been a perennial conflict between a citizen’s civil liberties and societal expectations and goals. In defining the limits of the citizen’s protection, one faces at every stage difficult questions arising from conflict of values. Where does a citizen’s right to free speech begin and end? Of late, the law of sedition, for instance, has become the most controversial piece of legislation as questions have been raised over its legitimate application and enforcement. What constitutes incitement to violence and whether the government can book anyone under this law merely for hate speech (which can be tried under other laws) even if there is no explicit incitement to violence as ruled by the Supreme Court of India? Though the freedom of speech is the sheet anchor of democracy, it is circumscribed by reasonable restrictions. The media – print, electronic and digital -- is free in India and many other countries. However, it does not enjoy a special status vis-à-vis the citizens with respect to laws such as the freedom of speech and expression, law of sedition and law of defamation. Papers are invited for the following sub-themes:

·        Freedom of Speech and Expression

·        Law of Sedition

·        Law of Defamation – Civil and Criminal

·        Contempt of Court

·        Cyber laws with special reference to the Information Technology Act

·        Right to Privacy

·        Right to Information

·        Film Censorship

·        Media Ethics

·        Policy Intervention and Governance

Track 3: Focus on New Media

McLuhan’s adage, the medium is the message, could not be truer than it is today. While one may argue that technological determinism does not drive the society alone, it would not be an exaggeration to state that new media technologies shape the structure and agency of the society. This track aims to discuss the changing face of media and focuses on new media from the perspectives of emerging technologies and the possibilities created by them. The papers can be based on the broad topics mentioned below. However, this is an indicative list and researchers are welcome to contribute on any subject that can be included in the context of new media.

·        Social Media

·        New Media and Activism

·        Blogosphere

·        Mutualisation of News

·        Citizen Journalism

·        Mobile Journalism

·        The Changing Nature of New Media Audiences

·        New Media Identities

·        Digital Literacies

·        Emerging Communication Technologies

·        Gaming, Designing and Graphics

·        Digital Media vs Traditional Media

·        Research Paradigms in New Media Studies

·        E-Governance and Policy-Making

Track 4: Business and Marketing Communications

This track aims to discuss and understand the growing consumer complexities and the effective utilization of innovative business models and marketing communications. Today’s branding world has shifted from branding 2.0 to branding 3.0 where co-created brands are gaining prominence in the complexity of the challenging marketplace. The consumers have become demanding and choosy with the emergence of the Millennial. No longer are one communication strategies working but mixtures of multiple strategies, both in traditional and digital formats are being implemented. Public Relations have gained prominence and corporate organizations are adopting appropriate proportion of Public Relation strategies along with the branding strategies. The papers can be based on the broad sub-themes mentioned below. However, this is an indicative list and researchers are welcome to contribute on any subject that can be included in the context of Business and Marketing Communications:

·        Branding and the Digital World

·        Consumer Behaviour

·        Marketing to the Millennial

·        Branding in Augmented Reality

·        Innovative Business Model for the Future

·        Public Relations – Researches and Strategies

·        Co-creation

·        Branded Content

·        Media and Sports

·        B2B Marketing

·        Tourism Branding

·        Advertising to Cosmopolitan Culture and Ethnic Groups

·        Branding and Culture

·        Corporate Social Responsibility

·        Green Marketing and Sustainability

·        Branding and Psychology

·        Employee Branding

·        The Agency Business

·        Crisis Communication

Track 5: The Epistemological Shift in Marketing and Media Analytics

The era of "Analytics" is clearly upon us as media and marketing professionals. It is becoming a catchall phrase and definitely one of the more hyped terms of the past couple of years. It is estimated that big data and its analysis is the most transcending paradigm shift to hit media and marketing since the invention of the telephone. Simply put, big data refers to a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process them using traditional data processing applications. Although estimates vary widely, research conducted by CSC estimates a 4,300 percent increase in annual data generation by 2020.

This ever-increasing quantity of data not only generates enormous challenges but also presents an opportunity for new business models. This track aims to create a platform for industry and academia to make the most of this growing phenomenon and the way it is affecting the way we do business and create content in the communications space. Sub-themes of this track listed below are meant to be guidelines, yet not restrictive:

·        Big Data and Consumer Marketing

·        Communication Policies and Technology

·        Analytics and new paradigms

·        Data and the evolving media business

·        Fusion of Media and Tech- the new face of Marketing

·        The Communication Process: Data Decoding

·        Marketing 3.0

·        Analyzing Cultural codes

·        Emerging Marketing and Media Business Models in  an Analytical world

·        Participatory Communication Research

***

Convener : Prof Prasanna Hulikavi, Director, SIMC, Lavale, Pune

Organising Committee : Prof Anupam Siddhartha, Prof Vinay Mundada, Prof Vikram Sampath, Prof Vishal Bhende

Organising Secretaries : Dr V. Eshwar Anand, Dr Payel Das

Conference Venue: Symbiosis Institute for Media and Communication, Symbiosis Knowledge Village, Lavale, Pune, India

Contact: connect@icmac.in: Phs: 8308827639; 9435735751