Whether it’s news of a new government or a political scandal, Times of India brings you the latest in all that’s happening in the country. We offer in-depth analysis on the biggest stories of the day. We also cover topics such as private treaties, the conflict of interest, paid news and more.
Payed news
During the recent parliamentary elections, the Times of India newspaper has been accused of peddling paid news. A subcommittee of the Press Council of India found that a number of media houses were selling political news to politicians during the election period. The Times of India also faced accusations that it misrepresented an article.
The e-commerce site Rediff is also accused of peddling paid news. Vineet Jain, the chief executive officer of Rediff, has defended the site, saying that it does not provide favorable coverage to business partners. He has also argued that the site does not have private treaties with news houses.
The Hindustan Times is the most widely read English broadsheet daily in India. The paper offers commentary on current events and culture, as well as sports and entertainment. It has a daily circulation of 3 million copies. It also provides commentary on business and lifestyle. It is a part of the The Times Group.
The group also publishes the Mumbai Mirror, the Ahmedabad Mirror, and the Bangalore Mirror. It also owns the radio network and 18 magazines. The group has contracts with a wide variety of companies in diverse sectors.
In February, the Times of India launched an edition in Kolhapur. Its masthead was changed to reflect the Toyota ad campaign.
Private treaties
‘Private treaties’ are an ad-for-equity business model that has emerged in the Indian media industry. Newspapers, magazines and other publishing companies promise advertisers that they will receive advertising space in exchange for equity in the company.
BCCL, the company that publishes The Times of India, pioneered the private treaties model in 2004. In 2008, following the market crash, the business incurred losses of over Rs1500 crore. It has a portfolio of over 119 companies.
These treaties require companies to allocate their equity to BCCL. In return, BCCL accepts real-estate ownership in lieu of equity.BCCL also owns two satellite news channels, eleven newspapers and several magazines. It generates annual revenues of around 1.5 billion. The firm is a competitor of HT Media Ltd. It is also one of the largest private investors in India.
While the private treaties business was initially popular, it lost its luster during the 2008 financial crisis. The firm’s website was shut down after media scrutiny.
The PCI has drafted a report focusing on the issue of ‘paid news’ and the introduction of opaque private treaties in the news business. The report also points out that there are a number of problems with the legal regulatory framework.
It is also suggested that mandatory disclosures about a company’s stake in a media firm may be required in editorials and news reports. The report highlights the widening gap in the legal regulatory framework.
Conflict of interests
Whether it is a private business or public official, conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization seeks to benefit from or take advantage of public resources, yet in doing so, disadvantages others. Some of the common examples are when a legislator, officer or employee attempts to influence a governmental decision or use public resources to help oneself or family members in a financial transaction.
The definition of a conflict of interest varies widely from state to state. Most states and territories have some sort of rule of thumb to determine if a specific type of situation constitutes a conflict of interest. In Illinois, a four-factor test is prescribed to determine the aforementioned.
According to the FDA, a citation is a “short and sweet statement of fact, citing a relevant event, fact, or action that a regulated officeholder is involved in.” The FDA has its own proprietary system to evaluate such a situation. The most notable feature of the FDA’s system is that it is not open to the public.
There are no exact replicas of the FDA’s system in the other states and territories. In addition, it is not well suited for the task of determining a specific conflict of interest. The most common form of conflict of interest is when a public officer has a direct financial interest in a contract or is attached to a state agency for oversight.
