ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • BBC takes issue with criticism from Afghan govt

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has strongly taken issue with criticism from the Afghan Ministry of Defence of its news coverage in Afghanistan.

    In a statement issued on 9 January 2008, the ministry had claimed that the coverage of the assault on Musa Qala in Helmand province was untrue and showed evidence of prejudiced reporting.

    The ministry criticised a report that said civilians had been killed in the assault in the town, and two other reports in which the BBC was alleged to have said that members of the Afghan National Army had been looting in the town.

    A BBC report did quote local people in Musa Qala, interviewed in the aftermath of the military operation to expel the Taleban, who said they had seen civilian casualties.

    The BBC report stated, “This is denied by the government and the Ministry of Defence, and [the civilian casualties] were impossible to verify in the time we had on the ground.”

    The pubcaster says that no report alleging looting appeared on the BBC output. The BBC notes that the ministry in Kabul has been unable to produce any evidence to support its allegations.

  • India Today publishing director Pavan Varshnei quits

    NEW DELHI: Pavan Varshnei, the prime mover behind the India Today group’s launching of a slew of magazines, has quit the group.

    Two senior managers, Raktim Das and Bidhu Sagar, who were working under him, have also quit the group, sources told Indiantelevision.com.

    Varshnei, who left as publishing director-business division, is weighing options in the advertising world and says he decided to move after four years with Living Media because of major opportunities outside.

    Varshnei was with Lintas for more than a decade before he joined the Living Media group.

    Asked about the resignations of Das and Sagar, Varsgnei said: “Sorry, I cannot comment on that.”

    Varshnei took over the division in 2004, with Business Today and Golf Digest as its only two products, but rapidly expanded the portfolio of magazines.

    He identified new segments and, during the past three years, successfully launched four new publications – Scientific American, Harvard Business Review, Men’s Health and BT More, which are leading brands in their respective segments.

    Varshnei also negotiated a joint venture with Germany’s Axel Springer Group, to launch Auto Bild India.

    Prior to the India Today Group, he was Executive Vice President at Lintas India, where he spent 14 years working across the brands of Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Electrolux, Joyco, Wills Lifestyle and Sony Ericsson, among others.

    During his tenure with Lintas, he also served as the Head of Insight and oversaw the AOR media business for Bajaj Auto, Idea Cellular, UTI, Pantaloon and Parley Agro.

  • Rajesh Jathar joins News 24 as regional ad sales head

    MUMBAI: B.A.G Films and Media Limited has announced the appointment of Rajesh Jathar as regional head (corporate advertising sales, West and South) of its broadcasting arm News 24.

    On the new appointment, B.A.G. MD Anurradha Prasad said, “We are confident that Jathar vast and varied experience in the field of media and entertainment would add to the growth of the company.”

    Jathar has more than 14 years of experience in both print and television advertising sales. Prior to B.A.G., he was working with NDTV Media. He has also worked with Zee, the TV Today group and Hindustan Times, at various positions.

  • Hyundai i10 declared ‘Car of the Year’ at CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards 2008

    MUMBAI: Hyundai i10 drove away with the Car of the Year award at the 7th edition of the CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards in New Delhi. In the glittering awards ceremony, the ‘Bike of the Year’ award went to Bajaj – XCD DTS-Si.

    The finalists were chosen based on the following criteria: fitness for purpose, relevance to the Indian market, value for money, design and styling, interiors, engine, gearbox, performance, ride, handling, brakes, driving pleasure, fuel efficiency and ownership experience. Brands launched in the calendar year 2007 were part of the contenders line-up in these awards.

    The agenda of the ceremony was set around a special theme – “A Green Future,” which also comprised a special pledge from manufacturers and industry doyens.

    Speaking on the occasion, TV 18 business media director Ajay Chacko said, “The CNBC-TV18 Autocar Autoawards is one of our premier properties, widely recognised as a benchmark for auto excellence in India. This year, through the Green Future theme, we intend to make these awards a catalyst for a cleaner and greener progress of the industry by raising awareness and eliciting a commitment from manufacturers.”

    Autocar India editor Hormazd Sorabjee added, “Since the inception of these awards, we have strived to ensure that the CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards truly reflect the choices and sentiments of all stakeholders including consumers, manufacturers and auto experts. We have always maintained the most stringent standards to ensure only the best win this accolade.”

    The CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards was ratified and validated by Ernst & Young.

  • Intl broadcasters condemn rising threats to media freedom

    MUMBAI: The heads of BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the Voice of America have called upon governments to honour the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and “end any and all practices that hamper the rights of people everywhere to receive and impart information.”

    At their annual meeting in Hilversum, the Netherlands, the directors of the BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the Voice of America issued a joint resolution denouncing what they termed growing trends towards media restrictions and attacks on journalists in many of the countries to which they broadcast.

    While acknowledging that each broadcaster has had different experiences, they spoke with one voice about a common concern – the “grave and rising threats to the right to gather information and communicate it across national borders.”

    Radio Netherlands Worldwide DG Jan Hoek said, “Our most important objective is to inform people without access to diverse media sources and viewpoints, who lack reliable and independent information.

    “In a progressively polarised environment where the media in many countries are encountering fierce curbs on their freedom to publish, we need to stand together to meet the needs of those millions of audiences worldwide who have come to depend on us as a vital source of trustworthy information.”

    According to several press monitoring organisations, press freedom has been on the decline in many countries in recent years. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has tracked an increase in the number of journalists killed at work each year since 2002.

    The five international broadcasters reach hundreds of millions weekly by radio, television and the Internet. Programmes are produced in 60 languages and broadcast worldwide through thousands of affiliate radio stations, television channels and cable systems.

    The joint statement reads, “In recent years, international broadcasters have seen grave and rising threats to the right to gather information and communicate it across national borders.

    “A growing number of countries – in Eurasia, Africa, South and East Asia, and Latin America – have restricted or blocked coverage of events of significant public interest. Journalists – including many working for our organisations – have been detained, arrested, expelled, kidnapped or killed.

    “Particularly disturbing are new efforts by some governments, through the licensing and regulatory process, to restrict or forbid local rebroadcasts of our programmes on radio and television through local partnerships. And more states are deliberately interfering with broadcast signals or are attempting to block or censor the internet.

    “As international broadcasters, we deplore such efforts – and call upon governments to end any and all practices that hamper the right of people everywhere to ‘receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’” [United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights]

    “Each of us has a different history, a different mission, different resources and different experiences, but we all share a common goal – to present accurate and comprehensive news and information to audiences around the world. Accordingly, we oppose efforts to restrict this important work, and call upon governments worldwide to halt such practices.”

  • Attenborough concludes his look at life on earth on BBC One with cold-blooded animals

    MUMBAI: Sir David Attenborough concludes his epic overview of life on earth with new perceptions of cold-blooded animals in the show Life In Cold Blood. The show is a co-production between BBC and Animal Planet and will air in the UK on BBC One.

    Attenborough says, “Reptiles and amphibians are sometimes thought of as slow, dim-witted and primitive. In fact, they can be lethally fast, spectacularly beautiful, surprisingly affectionate and extremely sophisticated.”

    He first brought viewers Life on Earth, then The Private Life Of Plants, followed by The Life Of Birds, The Life Of Mammals and Life In The Undergrowth.

    Now, using the latest in filming technology from the BBC’s Natural History Unit – including ultra-high-speed, thermal, miniature and on-board cameras – Attenborough reveals the surprising and intimate lives of the cold-blooded reptiles and amphibians, discovering the secret of their survival. After all, they have ruled the earth for nearly 200 million years and, today, there are well over 14,000 species.

    From the largest and most dangerous reptiles on earth demonstrating tender and sensual courtship, to tortoises and horned chameleons jousting dramatically, flashing anolis lizards and waving jacky dragons, the Life In Cold Blood team capture previously unseen behaviour bringing their unknown lives to the screen as never before.

    Tiny scarlet frogs engage in sumo wrestling, baby worm-like caecilians feast on their mother’s skin, mother salamanders viciously defend their broods against marauders and spectacled caiman are filmed taking care of crèches of up to 100 young.

    After each main programme, there is a 10-minute feature, “Under The Skin,” produced in collaboration with the Open University in the UK. It follows Attenborough as he examines the technology used by scientists that enable the team to bring this incredible animal behaviour to the small screen.

  • South Asia 2007: bloodiest and most difficult for journalists; 25 journalists and media workers killed

    NEW DELHI:The year just ended, 2007, was the bloodiest and most difficult year for the journalists in South Asia, according to the South Asia Media Commission.

    The journalists and media outlets suffered from horrendous conditions in the conflcit-ridden regions and faced unprecedented restrictions and forced closures in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Twenty journalists and four media workers were killed in South Asia in 2007. Pakistan topped the table with seven deaths followed by Sri Lanka with six and Afghanistan with five killings in the line of duty. Three journalists were killed in Nepal. One media worker in Afghanistan and three media workers lost their lives in India.

    Amid debate on sting operations and foreign investment in Indian media, attacks on media freedom from official agencies and non-state actors made the news. The media situation showed disturbing trends — arrogance by the authorities, especially in the states, misplaced enthusiasm to “reform” the media, and intolerance of militant groups, evident in disproportionate, violent reaction to publication of the accounts of their activities, not to their liking.

    Three media workers died when protesters set fire to the daily Dinakaran’s office in the town of Madurai. The protesters were angry at a survey in the paper which found their leader MK Azhagiri to be less popular than his brother and political rival MK Stalin. The two are sons of veteran politician and state Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. In Hyderabad, the activists of MIM, Majlis Itthadul Muslimen, attacked the chief editor and owner of an Urdu daily, Siasat, which had carried material, critical of a legislator of their party. In Guwahati, ULFA threatened a city-based satellite news channel with closure, in case a report against the organization was not substantiated within a specified period. In Mumbai members of a little known Hindu Rashtrya Sena attacked the Star News headquarters, because the channel had “glorified” the elopement of a Hindu girl with a Muslim boy.

    The government announced its plan to regulate broadcast services through an official agency causing a big uproar by media organizations and forcing it to defer it. The media representatives favoured formulation of a code by the profession itself. Self-regulation will be in the interest of the profession and prevent the government from moving against the media on one pretext or the other.

    Anti-media moves and threats by non-state players were equally disturbing with both the electronic and the print media being at the receiving end.

    In Pakistan, where free media flourished with the vibrant induction of private TV channels, the private electronic media faced worst times with successive draconian amendments made to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance and, later, imposition of an arbitrary media code that took life out of the private TV channels. As the Pervez Musharraf government that took pride in allowing private TV channels panicked over massive public outrage against the suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, it clamped down on private electronic media that sympathized with the cause of independence of the judiciary. Faced with the constitutional and judicial hurdles to legitimize sitting army chief’s controversial election as president, the military regime not only once again put the constitution into abeyance and suspended the fundamental rights by imposing a sate of emergency, but also took off the air all news channels and imposed blanket restrictions on free debate and live coverage of events, the Commission report says. The restrictions continue to keep the election campaign of most popular parties at low key. Under the new amendments made to PEMRA and the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance (PNNABRO), the TV owners and journalists can be imprisoned for three years and a fine up to Rs. one million and a publication can be suspended for a month without notice.

    A report issued by Commission Chairman N Ram says the journalists suffered immensely in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. In Afghanistan – especially in the Pakhtun belt across the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan – the journalists had to pay heavily amid the cross-fires of adversaries. They became victim to the guns of not only Taliban-Qaeda extremists, but also of various other forces, including the warlords and IASF. The Afghan authorities also showed short temper in tolerating criticism. Most worrisome was the introduction of illegal FM radio stations promoting hate and violence in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    In Sri Lanka, as the internecine ethnic conflict grew out of proportion, media persons and outlets became more vulnerable to conflicting pressures. The Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam competed in enforcing restrictions on the media.

    However, Nepal and Bangladesh presented a mixed picture due to a difficult and tenuous transition. If the Maldives remained, as usual, a difficult country for journalists since many decades, Bhutan presented a case of healthy but careful opening for media with the advent of constitutional monarchy and introduction of democracy.

    The most encouraging feature of 2007 was the valiant resistance put up by the media and the civil society against the curbs on freedom of expression and the right to know in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The bodies of working journalists, in particular, deserve our praise for putting up protracted resistance to the curbs imposed on media. The solidarity expressed by the media community across South Asia and world-wide was worth noting.

    The other signatories to the report are Secretary General Najam Sethi, and Regional Coordinator Husain Naqi.

  • NDTV Convergence to organise India Financial Summit

    MUMBAI: NDTV Convergence’s financial news website ndtvprofit.com is organising ‘The India Financial Summit – 2008’. The first round of summit will be held in Mumbai on 9 January and in Bangalore on 11 January. The summit will highlight the growth for the Indian financial sector and the steps required to meet the challenges of evolving global financial markets.

    The summit will focus on the role of regulators in protecting the interest of retail investors from the repercussions of any major international financial crisis. It will also throw light on the current trends within the Indian, International markets and their impact on the corporate and investor community as well as the changing face of banking and financial services industry respectively.

    NDTV Convergence CEO Sanjay Trehan said, “Though we have been enjoying very high growth rates for the past few years, there is an increasing concern that a significant slowdown could occur in the developed countries. As the Indian economy integrates with global markets, there is a need to address these challenges for the regulatory authorities.

    Acquiring new customers, shifting client expectations, finding new areas of growth, managing liquidity and designing safeguards are a few of the concerns for the Indian financial sector in this competitive financial environment.”

  • News Channels: Sensation-fatigue, government’s attitude and regional channels will decide future content

    Why has phenomenon of unrestrained inputs developed is one question that if answered well, will rid us of taking moralistic positions. In this the points made by QW Naqvi, News Director at TV Today are pertinent.

    Naqvi says that first there was none, and then there was clutter of private news channels and the clutter will increase as days go by. To cut the clutter, channels did what has been seen in Bollywood in terms of genres of films. Some channel did something, which clicked and all channels started doing the same thing, which became a wave.

    Successive waves of formulae came and went, first family tension-based stories, then crime, then violence and sex and then bhoot-pret and the seemingly ridiculous, as this year the channels bent over backwards to snatch the ephemeral eyeballs from each other.

    Part of the phenomenon is because Indian news channels spend relatively much less money and try to break even fast and run the shortest course, cutting at the corners, but that is only part of the story.

    The other part is that over the past year, lifestyles have vastly changed and worries have shifted in the urban middle class areas from roti-kapda-makaan to a restless quest about how to best entertain themselves. The news channels have been trying to answer that quest for the viewers by experimenting with their own formulae, from serious to sensatonal.

    In this process Aaj Tak itself became a victim, in the sense that it did go over to the sensational, though it did not banish serious news or socially relevant stings that shook the country.

    And here comes the third point: Aaj Tak is – despite the veering away from serious news – doing the best in terms of turnover. What does that show? That advertisers are flocking for the raw hide?

    Quite contrarily, Narayan Rao says that despite sticking to the hard news path, they are today not number three in ratings, but firmly sticking to the number two position in terms of revenue, so what does that show?

    Perhaps the picture will become clearer if we see that despite drawbacks, IBN 7 did reach a point where it had a 14 per cent market share this year, from a lowly six a year ago, and though it could not retain that share that for too long, according to Ashutosh, “this shows that there is scope for serious news”.

    Also, according to industry sources, India TV is far more disadvantaged in revenue terms than its ideological opponent IBN 7, which though it has not broken even is doing better business.

    But the ethical debate in 2007 was really being driven by the fact that there has been a consistent fear in the minds of the CEOs that the vanilla channels with soaring and consistent ratings, would sooner or later bag the big brands, who could shift greater proportions of their spendings to higher rated channels.

    Rating itself has been debated widely this year, especially in the captains in the news channel space, and barring India TV, which says that only those gripe about rating who get the wrong end of the stick, all major channels are today questioning various aspects of rating system of TAM, even while agreeing that it is as of date the industry standard.

    The sample size has been questioned, so has been the possibility of tampering with people metre homes, and also the issue that it is a Western system that does not take into consideration the plurality of Indian society, and even the highest rated channel’s news head, Naqvi too feels that there is need for vast improvements in the system.

    This year, TAM has ruled the market, creating what Sardesai has termed the ‘tyranny of the eyeball-driven marketplace’.

    But then going by the above discussion, where we saw Aaj Tak stay at No. 1 with its mix of the sensational and serious in equal measure, and yet NDTV stay at No. 2 with its insistent on serious journalism, it seems that TRP is not driving revenue flows: it is after all, perceptions, and here is why.

    Let us not forget that Aaj Tak had started out a decade ago as the private sector’s perfect answer to sterilised government reporting on Doordarshan and had been marked by three specific attractions: accuracy and speed and courage. The perception of Aaj Tak as a credible channel that talked a lot more things than the PMs and the CMs had made it a darling of the masses as well as the classes.

    When advertisers today decide on apportioning monies from their budget, their perception of NDTV and Aaj Tak have remained the same, though one changed and the other did not.

  • NDTV promoters pay Rs 1.9 billion to buy 7.7% from GA Global Investments

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Television Ltd‘s founder-promoters Dr Prannoy and Radhika Roy have paid around Rs 1.92 billion to buy 7.73 per cent stake from GA (General Atlantic) Global Investments, increasing their stake in the company to 61 per cent.


    Meanwhile, 7.67 per cent of NDTV shares were pledged with Indiabulls Financial Services. “It seems NDTV promoters have pledged their shares while also making a 7.73 per cent (4.8 million equity shares) market purchase from GA Global Investments,” says a source.


    The foreign holding in NDTV has dropped to around three per cent after the purchase of GA Global Investments by the promoters. The government regulation stipulates that news channels uplinking from India can have a maximum of 26 per cent foreign holding.


    “The promoters wanted to increase their stake as it would provide them some space to dilute when they want to. After doling out ESOPs, the promoter holding would have fallen from 53.2 to 51 per cent. The government regulation asks promoters to hold at least 51 per cent in the news venture,” says the source.


    The purchase also allows foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and NRIs to acquire that many shares more in NDTV till the ceiling of 26 per cent is reached.


    The promoters had announced in late 2005 their intent to transfer 15 per cent of their stake to daughter Tara Roy who is a non-resident Indian. But the proposal has still not received regulatory approval.


    “If the proposal to gift 15 per cent still stands, it will limit NDTV‘s opportunity to get in a foreign strategic investor. But if that is dropped, then the equations change,” says an analyst with a global broking firm.


    The analyst also points out that NDTV‘s general and business news channels are held in the same company. “In case of TV18 Group, it is housed in two separate entities with Global Broadcast News (GBN) holding the general news space,” he adds.


    Following the market purchase, the promoters of NDTV have made an open offer to acquire 20 per cent equity in the company at a price of Rs 438.98 per share. “This is part of the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) regulation for promoters who increase their stake by over 5 per cent in a financial year. The pricing fixed by the promoters is not aggressive for shareholders to offload. But if they manage to mop up more shares at that price, it will be good,” says the analyst.


    NDTV shares closed on Monday at Rs 462.60 on the BSE, up 0.6 per cent from the previous close.