Swapan Dasgupta, the RSS stooge?

Swapan Dasgupta's column that has caused a furore in the parliament has nothing extraordinary about it. One has to agree that it's not a piece of good journalism.

Rightly the Speaker has rubbished it with 'the same contempt it deserves' (that's what Somnath Chatterjee said). Most of the readers and journalists would share the same feeling.

The politicians are bound by their party's ideology. In the past the role of Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi and Kesri Nath Tripathi (Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Assembly) raised many an eyebrows.

But a journalist should not be biased to such an extent that his columns begin propaganda for a party. Swapan Dasgupta seems to be amongst those opportunists for whom journalism is just a tool to promote themselves.

There are a few examples of journalists taking to party ideologies and propogating them for personal gains. Even Chandan Mitra had a sudden change of heart but that was understandable as he saved his newspaper. But writers like Udayan Namboodiri and Swapan Dasgupta wear the Khaki shorts openly. This is trash journalism that needs no comment.

Hindustan's expansion plans

Hindi daily Hindustan is now on an expansion drive and is all set to start its edition from Bhopal, which already has an edition of Hindustan Times. The move is to counter the growth of Dainik Bhaskar group, which has launched DNA in Mumbai and is going for edition in North India soon.
Hindustan now plans to move into the territory of Dainik Bhaskar viz. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Both these states have a great potential for Hindi newspapers but was never exploited. The Lokmat is also soon to launch a Hindi paper from Bhopal and the war will surely hot up.

Sudoku craze

All the newspapers have suddenly seemed to discover Sudoku as a way to catch the attention of readers. Most of the English newspapers have followed the trend as if it is a sure shot way to make the readers addicted and Sudoku is prominently featured every day. The poor cross word has been further reduced in space. It is to be seen if this Sudoku craze will spread or is just a passing fad.

Deccan Chronicle

The Deccan Chronicle is undoubtedly an immensely readable newspaper in Hyderabad. The Times of India is simply taking the readers for granted and The Hindu is like always the same (no disrespect intended). As far as Editorial content is concerned The Hindu is way ahead but as far as local edition is concerned the Deccan Chronicle offers most diverse coverage. Its supplement is colourful and appeals to the youth. Also, its international coverage is much better. In comparison the ToI, Hyderabad is a poor paper. Often, the stories of Delhi and Mumbai are printed with the Hyderabad dateline. Hyderabad has a good tradition of Urdu newspaper and both Munsif and Siasat continue to rule the old City. The Rehnuma-e-Deccan is now a spent force.