A Murdochian gamble
By Editor on December 17, 2009 1:02 pm / Permalink
Rupert Murdoch’s decision to charge users to access online news across his publications is his answer to the steep decline in advertising revenue this year. While it is appealing to try to turn millions of news surfers into paying customers, how realistic is that move? Angelica Jopson takes stock.
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An Indian under the Crown
By Editor on November 8, 2009 7:19 am / Permalink
An unfairly neglected figure, Dosebai Cowasjee Jessawalla has left a rich legacy in the form of an autobiography entitled The Story of My Life. Excavating this remarkable personal history from the Jessawalla family archives, Roshan G. Shahani illuminates the many dimensions of the text: as autobiography; as a history of the Parsi-British encounter during the Raj; as a fascinating travelogue; and as a recreation of nineteenth-century Bombay.
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“If you bake cookies for us, late fees magically disappear…”
By Editor on October 15, 2009 2:21 am / Permalink
Adam Pfahler in conversation with Rohit Chopra. The founder of Lost Weekend, a one-of-a-kind independent video rental store in San Francisco, talks about its history, the challenges of running an independent video rental store, and the store’s unique system of categorizing film.
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What women shouldn’t read
By Editor on September 14, 2009 8:04 pm / Permalink
Avoid the suggestions in most women’s magazines. Avoid books that promise to ‘empower’. Avoid writings that will help you ‘understand’ men. Mita Kapur argues a case for reading for your pleasure — not for that of the society.
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A Perfect Storm
By Editor on September 2, 2009 8:21 am / Permalink
Why is our news today a mile wide and an inch deep, on the face of it a huge offering but actually very shallow? Stephen Jukes, former global Head of News at Reuters, examines the shrinkage in traditional news in Britain and beyond.
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Fighting for the soul of Rama
By Editor on July 20, 2009 4:41 pm / Permalink
The Hindu nationalist insistence on a single, authoritative version of the Ramayana contravenes the central tenet of Hinduism. In this edited extract from his new book, Offence: the Hindu Case, about vigilante censorship by Hindu nationalists, Salil Tripathi argues the historical and political case for defending the plurality of Hinduism.
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A masterpiece in miniature
By Editor on July 3, 2009 7:12 pm / Permalink
A poignant, compellingly rendered tale about a little man ajar with the world, Arzee the Dwarf is also a love letter to Bombay, to its alleys that, despite their filth, hold in them a quiet silence and beauty, to its decrepit buildings like the Noor, to its dusty suburbs. Rohit Chopra reviews Chandrahas Choudhury’s brilliant debut novel.
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Designing the digital tale
By Editor on June 9, 2009 8:26 am / Permalink
Narrative development is the key concern for readers, and should drive all design decisions, whether of visual or multimedia effects, screen layout, availability of menus, placement of links on text, or use of images as hotspots. Dr James Pope concludes his two-part series on digital storytelling.
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