Who decides what is paid news?
An expose by the Indian Express has brought the spotlight firmly back on what constitutes paid news - a sales proposal presented by Sahara Samay to the Chhattisgarh government promising a whole range of news coverage from two-minute news capsules aired 15 times a day, to live telecasts of the chief minister's public meetings, even the use of the ticker to create awareness of government schemes. Channels including Sahara Samay and Zee 24 among others argue that this is not paid news but legitimate ways of generating revenue. In this increasingly slippery slope, is anyone thinking of the viewer?
