All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
The Maratha reservation demand is likely to snowball into a major law and order issue for the Maharashtra government since lakhs of supporters of the agitation leader, Manoj Jarange Patil, have been asked to reach Mumbai in a walking march which is to begin from Saturday, 20 January. Patil has declared that an indefinite fast will start from 26 January if the demand is not met by then. Chief minister Eknath Shinde’s appeal to Patil in particular and the Maratha community in general not to agitate has not evoked much response so far. While Patil is firm on staging the protest march and fasting, the government has continued its efforts to avert any alarming situation in Mumbai or anywhere else in the state. Shinde has repeatedly assured Patil that the government is positive towards the demand and would adopt an enactment accordingly in February in the legislature. He has reiterated his promise that the reservations for other sections of society would not be affected while granting a reservation for the Maratha caste, the most influential group in Maharashtra’s politics. In response, Patil has challenged the government to present the data about delivering the caste certificates to the Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi community. If the government claims that 54 lakh such entries have been found, let it come with the statistics of actual grant of certification, he has challenged.
The CPI(M) in West Bengal has largely voted in favour of an alliance with the Congress but with a rider. The heavyweights at Bengal headquarters in Alimuddin Street have made it categorical that the Congress will have to make its position clear on alliance for 2024 general election since the Congress high command seems to be in favour of alliance with Trinamool Congress. According to sources, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim has explained to the party’s rank and file that it will keep fighting BJP and Trinamool in the state. Significantly, Salim has also made it categorical that if Congress manages an alliance with the Trinamool and at the same time look for holding hands with CPI(M), the Left will come out of such a tripartite alliance. The state secretary of CPI(M) has made it clear that there will be no ‘reconciliation’ with the Trinamool. According to political analysts, CPI(M) decision of going alone in Bengal is mainly because of the results of panchayat elections and last year’s civic polls which shows that the combined vote share of the Left, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front – which stood at a meagre 10% in the 2021 assembly election – has crossed the 20% mark in the panchayat election. Interestingly, CPI(M)’s share of vote percentage has gone up from 6% to 14% in comparison to 2018’s panchayat elections.
It’s only the third week of January, yet PM Narendra Modi has already visited South three times — with one visit to Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka thrown in, and twice over to Tamil Nadu, including this time to inaugurate the Khelo India on January 19. His visit to Chennai was quite packed with political buzz. No, it isn’t just the idea of the PM’s brief road show in Chennai that is being talked about. It is the rush among leaders of regional parties to have an audience with him, in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Everyone wants to make the best use of the couple of hours that the PM will be spending at the Raj Bhawan. He is going to be spending the night there, before he leaves for Trichy to visit the holy city of Srirangam as part of his 11-day anushthan before consecration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. At least 3 leaders– Premalatha Vijayakanth, widow and heir apparent of late actor Vijayakanth, who is heading the DMDK will be meeting him. TTV Dinakaran of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and nephew of VK Sasikala, and former CM O Paneerselvam have also sought time. Meanwhile, it is learnt that former CM and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has made it clear that he may not be attending the mandir consecration because of “pain” in his leg.
So what is driving out leaders like Milind Deora out of the Congress in Maharashtra? Lack of popular mandate? Or short shrift from Rahul Gandhi and his team? Possibly loss of access to Rahul Gandhi. In fact many of Rahul’s close aides were surprised that when Deora exited there were reports that he had no access to Rahul and was actually seeking to reach him through an appointment via Jairam Ramesh. But then, Milind is not alone. It is being said senior Maharashtra leaders like former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, former CM Prithviraj Chavan have also been getting a raw deal from the former Congress President. Neither Shinde nor Chavan have been able to meet Rahul in the past few years. Reportedly, BJP had reached out to Shinde to switch sides and are also tapping his daughter Praniti Shinde, Maharashtra PCC working president. When the Congress came to know of the BJP’s overtures to the father-daughter duo, it got into damage control mode. While efforts were made to molly-coddle senior Shinde, the AICC ensured Praniti was aboard the special aircraft that carried leaders from Delhi to Imphal to launch Nyay Yatra. Though BJP leaders have denied reaching out to Shinde, Congress sources feel Praniti is being eyed as a fresh face for Solapur Lok Sabha seat. If Shinde joins BJP it would bring closure to controversy over his remarks on Hindu terror that he had made at Congress’ Chintan Shivir in Jaipur in 2013 that RSS and BJP were running terror camps.
Odisha-based public sector giant the National Aluminium Company (NALCO) is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium-Power Complex in Asia. This 44-year old Navratna is getting into Lithium exploration and mining, the much sought after minerals globally. It is learnt that NALCO is making lead investment in Lithium exploration covering five Lithium blocks in Argentina supporting India’s ‘Atmanirbhar’ strategy. NALCO’s CMD Sridhar Patra was in Argentina recently to finalise the investment plans. NALCO’s move to get into lithium exploration, popularly known as white gold, comes at the back of India’s whopping lithium import bill of Rs 23,171 crore for FY 2023. NALCO in its exchange filing said that these five lithium blocks in Argentina will cover an area of 15,703 hectare will entail an investment of Rs 200 crore. The Indian government-owned Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has signed an Exploration and Development Agreement with CAMYEN, a state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina, for exploration & mining of five Lithium blocks in Argentina.. Sources say, India’s entry into Argentina is the first strategic move. The larger strategy is to get into the Lithium Triangle through tie-ups, acquisitions, partnerships and long term leasing of lithium reserves spread across Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.
Recently, Netflix disclosed its first ever entertainment audit with most details ever for any streaming service. It just didn’t happen because the service suddenly felt it had to share its eyeballs count and trail with viewers and other stakeholders. The trigger was the conflict that erupted between Hollywood labour unions and content originators who demanded more compensation. Netflix decided to go public with what its viewers watched and wanted, which succeeded most and which global entertainment industry could shore up Netflix growth. 55%accounted for original shows and 45% for other producers who used the platform. The Night Manager was voted the most watched show. No desi show made the list. Sure enough Netflix has now spiced up its act in more ways– the line-up of new Tamil and Telugu movies has made its Indian viewers gasp. Imagine the feverish anticipation for Magizh Thirumeni’s Vidaa Muyarchi with Ajith in your sitting room, Director S Shankar unravelling Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2, Director Pa. Ranjith called the thrill shots for Vikram’s spectacular gold rush saga Thangalan, Sivakarthikeyan SK 21, and that Johnny come lately Vijay Sethupathi in Maharaja. The female showstoppers were not far behind. Keerti Suresh is slated to come into your homes as Dream Warrior and Revolver. Even as Bollywood tanked, Tamil and Telugu films were on a roll. Now with 2023 a comeback year for Bollywood, Tamil and Telugu story writers and producers are all set to cater to more esoteric choices.
The optics seemed to suggest that he had changed. Shah Rukh Khan who won the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 award was at his charming best, regaling the audience with his gig and humour. In his speech, Khan said that he is not just the Indian of the Year, but of all years. “I am the Indian of all ages.” His demeanour gave indications that from now all is going to be well between him, film scribes and paparazzi. But, it did not. Recently, the actor stepped out of a building in Bandra covering his face with a hoodie and seemed to be in a bad mood. When a paparazzi tried to click his photo, the Superstar for no reason snapped at him; he hit the phone of the pap and walked away, and surprisingly, even his long standing manager Pooja Dadlani did likewise. A pap said, “He behaves well with the media when he wants to or when he is at a big event like an award night, wedding or Eid function.” King Khan was one of most media friendly superstars. He set the trend of celebrating birthdays and festivals with scribes and paparazzi. What changed him? Some say, the media went overboard while reporting on his son Aryan Khan’s drug case. Plus many had written him off for not giving good hits. In 2023 he proved his detractors wrong with a series of hits like Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki.
Start-up regional carrier FLY91 has just signed its first agreement with an international operator, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, to induct its first two ATR 72-600 aircraft. The Dubai-headquartered company is a global aviation services provider with over 35 years of experience, whose leasing and engineering divisions serve over 170 customers around the world. With this deal, signed between FLY91 founder Manoj Chacko — former vice-president of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines – and Dubai Aerospace chief executive officer Firoz Tarapore, takes the Indian company a step farther in its aspiration to make air travel accessible to every Indian. The professionally-funded airline’s vision is to enable the next 100 million Indians to take flight, with its focus on regional towns reflected in the selection of the ATR 72-600. These aeroplanes have been specifically chosen to enable efficient and sustainable operations from most regional airports in the country, serving tier-2 and tier-3 towns all over India. This also follows the flight path of the Indian government’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) regional connectivity scheme, which aims to develop smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services. The commercial operations are expected to begin in February. The airline, headquartered in Goa, was originally scheduled to take off in October 2023, with a plan to go national gradually in only about five years. It has obviously redrawn this plan. Fasten your seat belts!
The poll alliances in Tamil Nadu seem far from settled. Asked about the sealing of seat-sharing arrangements in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, all that the senior DMK minister Duraimurugan would say was that things were moving smoothly. But there are tugs and pulls, with at least one major party in AIADMK trying to change the scenario by offering more seats (12) to the Congress than the DMK (6 or 7) is ready to offer. Also, voices are being heard in I.N.D.I.A bloc from the likes of the AAP that the bloc may be better off without the DMK as the party’s stand on Sanatana Dharma has spoilt the Hindu vote bank for the alliance. But given MK Stalin’s loyalty to members of the Congress first family, it is unlikely that the matter of a few seats would see the alliance come unhinged. Stalin might convince the DMK to allot nine seats to the Congress to keep the front intact. His son has also been told to tone down the anti-Hindu rhetoric till the elections and not to sully the pitch to the electorate, which already has reason to ditch the DMK because of the corruption clouds that are gathering over a few major figures. The Muslim also have reasons to feel cut up as they see the DNK as not having done enough for them, including in the non-release of prisoners.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.