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The number of newspapers endorsing a candidate for president has dwindled with the industry's financial troubles the past two decades, in part because owners reason that it makes no sense to alienate some subscribers by taking a clear stand in a politically polarising time. Yet in the past week, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have angered readers for precisely the opposite reason: by choosing not to select a favoured candidate. The fallout from both decisions continued on Monday, with Post owner Jeff Bezos taking the unusual step of publicly defending the move in the columns of his own paper. Three members of the Post's editorial board resigned their positions and some journalists pleaded with readers to not express their disapproval by cancelling subscriptions. Many thousands have already done so. Bezos, in a note to readers, said it was a principled stand to ditch endorsements. People essentially don't care and see it as a sign of bias, he said. His comments appeared ..
Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to replace a British-era law governing publishing industry and simplify the process of registration of periodicals. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, which was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha, will make the registration of periodicals a one-step process as against the eight-step process in the archaic law. The bill replaces the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867. "This bill is simple, smart and has a simultaneous process for registration of newspapers and periodicals. Earlier newspapers or magazines had to pass through an eight-step registration process. This can now be done at the click of a button," he said. The Rajya Sabha had passed the bill on August 3.