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Carrie Gracie has accused the BBC's Head of News of lying to her over equal pay, promising to give her the same wage as her male counterparts and backtracking when it was found out she was being paid far less. The former China Editor told MPs that the BBC offered her around £100,000 in backpay, and that the broadcaster justified her lower pay for her first three years in the role as because she was "in development." Ms Gracie said this was not the case, and that she would never have agreed to go to China if she was to be in "development" in three years, claiming  James Harding, the then Head of News, told her she was "in charge" and that he "had her back", and that he got down on "bended knee" to beg her to take the role. She said: "I’m not an employment lawyer but it sounds to me like a tacit admission that it is pay discrimination in that they want to pay me now nearly £100,000 in back pay. "The thing that is very unacceptable to me is they have … [Read more...] about BBC News chief accused of lying to Carrie Gracie over equal pay as it emerges she has been offered £100k after ‘inadvertent underpayment’

Google has introduced a new service called "Your News Update" that will let Google Assistant stream short news stories based on your interests, location, history and preferences, as well as the top news stories. "Your News Update" is now available in English in the US, and will expand internationally next year, the company said in a statement. You can find "Your News Update" in Google Assistant settings -- under the You tab, navigate to News and switch your News playlist format. Then say "Hey Google, play me the news" or add news to one of your "Assistant Routines". In 2016, the company launched initial "News on Assistant" product, with news briefings from top publishers. "Collaborations with publishers from around the world over nearly two years have helped us imagine the future of audio news, and have reinforced the importance of building a healthy ecosystem for both listeners and publishers," said Liz Gannes, Product Manager, News. Google has licensed audio from a variety of … [Read more...] about Google Assistant to stream personalised news

The Singaporean parliament voted to give the government special powers to combat fake news on Wednesday, despite complaints from activists and journalists. Under the new law, ministers would be able to give orders to platforms like Facebook and Twitter to put up warnings next to disputed posts. In extreme cases, the networks could be ordered to take the content down. The law also allows for fines of up to SG$1 million ($734,000; €656,000) for companies that fail to comply. Individual offenders could face up to 10 years in prison. Reporters' associations and activist groups slammed the bill as an attempt at censorship. Read more: Top 10 'most urgent' attacks on press freedom for May 2019 The law "gives the Singapore authorities unchecked powers to clamp down on online views of which it disapproves," said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International's regional director for East and Southeast Asia. "It criminalizes free speech and allows the government almost unfettered power to … [Read more...] about Singapore clamps down on fake news with new law

In the November 15 episode of In The News podcast, Moneycontrol's Jerome Anthony talks to Siddhesh Raut and Shraddha Sharma to catch up on the top news developments in India.Raut talks about the INX media case, where Congress leader P Chidambaram has been denied bail by the Delhi High Court. He also discusses the latest developments in Delhi, where air pollution remains a burgeoning problem.Close Sharma, speaks about the achievements of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, who is set to retire on November 17.For more, tune in to In The News podcast.Get access to India's fastest growing financial subscriptions service Moneycontrol Pro for as little as Rs 599 for first year. Use the code "GETPRO". Moneycontrol Pro offers you all the information you need for wealth creation including actionable investment ideas, independent research and insights & analysis For more information, check out the Moneycontrol website or mobile app. … [Read more...] about In The News | P Chidambaram denied bail; CJI Ranjan Gogoi retires; and Delhi’s battle with pollution

President Donald Trump loves Fox News, but fans of the conservative-leaning network are starting to like him a lot less.In June, 90 percent of respondents in a Suffolk University poll who said they trust Fox over other news networks viewed Trump favorably, but by October, approval had fallen to 74 percent, The Washington Post reported Thursday. It then plummeted to 58 percent in December. That's a 32-point drop in six months. Accordingly, the percentage of Fox watchers who viewed Trump unfavorably grew in the December poll to more than a third, which was double the unfavorability percentage recorded among Republicans.Also, Fox viewers who strongly approved of Trump's job performance dropped from 55 percent in March to 32 percent in October. The Post notes that "what's interesting" is that the president's favorability dropped even though Fox viewers from October to November were slightly more inclined to say the U.S. was going in the right direction.Trump loses support from Fox viewers … [Read more...] about Trump’s Popularity Is Plummeting—Even Among Fox News Viewers