The PR industry in Asia

Public relations "is coming of age" in India, writes Ramesh Narayan, the founder of an advertising agency in Mumbai. Its emergence has been accompanied by some shady practices, such as press conferences where reporters receive a "press kit which contained relevant material and a gift. ... Considerable time was spent in deciding what gift should be purchased. Journalists were tired of receiving pen sets and calculators. Textile companies would dole out suit lengths and saris. Others took the unimaginative route of handing out envelopes stuffed with money." And Narayan worries that an even worse trend is corrupting the news media: "operations where editorial space is officially sold to anyone who wants to buy it."