Two years after Amarnath erupted and caused a lasting schism between Jammu and Kashmir, The Hoot looks at the role played by the media in the state. Did they rise above the strife or did they opt to cater to their home constituencies? Did they try to douse flames or did they feed them? Part I, Stoking Fires. 

A report that has no quotes on behalf of the accused and names, although as an alias, a rape victim, violates basic journalistic ethic. SANKAR RAY comments on the police-ed reporting that some sections of the media indulge in.

The real tragedy of the media's surrender to the state is that journalists have stopped reading books, especially history books. Speaking at the Fifth Al Jazeera annual forum ROBERT FISK laments the state driven semantics that take over and alter grave debates

The language used to describe those who protest in Kashmir is not just a matter of semantics. It is important because it places what is happening within a context, says KALPANA SHARMA. Pix courtesy: worldsikhnews.com

Starting with this account you find that those reporting tend to settle into one of two focuses: dying youth or stoning youth. Which one they pick certainly shapes a reader's response to what is happening in Kashmir, says SEVANTI NINAN

Barring editors and office bearers of the journalists' union, not a single reporter has been spared the threat calls by unidentified persons in Manipur. NINGLUN HANGHAL wonders who will tell the story of the story teller

Infringing the media's 'right to question' is a common phenomenon in a politically divided West Bengal. But without that right, objectivity and truth are seriously compromised. SAADIA AZIM reports on a disturbing trend. Pix: Mamata Banerjee with her intellectual supporters.

The picture of a dead woman, hands and legs tied to a pole carried by security personnel, appeared in several newspapers. Why was the body of the woman depicted in that manner? What purpose did it serve, asks SIDDHARTHA MITRA

Have the local journalists too succumbed to the inherent sentiments of 'us' and 'them'? Or are they still unsullied and stand firm on the values of objectivity? TERESA REHMAN reports on the allegations being levelled on the media in Imphal.