Have switched over to Sify Broadbandfrom today, which should (hopefully) solve all the connectivity problems that I have been having over the past month. Which, obviously, means that I should be able to update my blog more often!

Picked up the inaugural edition of Tarun Tejpal's Tehelka newspaper today. Looks good...after so long its wonderful to come across news articles that actually have something to say, and are not just dependent on gimmicks and pretty pictures to hold the reader's attention. Read the lead article -- "George Bush has a big conversion agenda for India", which talks about how missionary-run operations have put in place a system which enables the US government to access any ethnographic information on any location virtually at the click of the mouse, and then use it to their own ends.

Still have to go through the rest of the newspaper, so will get back on that later. If its vintage Tejpal, then the claims of being "The People's Paper" will surely be well justified. Tehelka would be an interesting newspaper to work for, except as one journo friend put it, "When you are writing for Tarun Tejpal, you never know when you might have to spend a few days in prison!"

Still, I really admire the man -- if anyone can change Indian journalism and free it from corruption and bureaucratic tangles, it is Tejpal!! Sort of makes one want to start re-believing in all the romantic ideals we once had of changing the world, before the cynicism set in. All the best to the Tehelka team!!

Another newspaper that is changing the nature of Indian journalism is The Times of India, but that's not really a good kind of change. Unfortunately, because the TOI continues to be one of India's most powerful newspapers, and we all sort of look upto it in a way. That's why its all the more disappointing to see the main lead on the venerated Edit Page being a Shobhaa De society-ish column, and the debate centerpiece being something as superficial as Sony TV's Jassi. This is not to say that Shobhaa De is not a good writer -- in her genre she is one of the best -- its just that the Edit page is really for something more substantive and important.

Another thing is this Medianet business of TOI -- selling editorial content so blatantly somehow just does not seem ethical. How are readers supposed to distinguish between what is tried-and-tested good and what is just a plug??? And what about companies and organizations who cannot afford the hefty asking fees for Medianet...does this mean that their events, news and launches will be totally ignored? This somehow reeks of editorial blackmail to me!