ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • Terrorism can destroy democracy: BBC survey

    MUMBAI: People across the world believe that terrorism can destroy democracy. This is one of the core findings of a survey commissioned by BBC World to international market research company Synovate.

    The survey was carried on 12,000 people across 15 countries on five continents. The survey was commissioned as part of a wider exploration of global attitudes to democracy to be aired during BBC World’s Why Democracy?.

    58 per cent of the respondents believe that terrorism can destroy democracy. The country with the highest seeming concern is France with 76 per cent agreeing, closely followed by Denmark with 75 per cent, Dubai with 72 per cent and the United States with 70 per cent. 37 per cent in Italy and 31 per cent in India strongly oppose that terrorism can destroy democracy.

    USA with 57 per cent votes is the best equipped country to combat climate change, while China could manage 22 per cent votes. But only 40 per cent of India’s respondents believe that United States’ ability to combat climate change.

    On the other hand, 84 per cent of the total respondents feel that it is important to vote. France with 82 per cent is the most convinced country on the importance of voting. Other countries sharing similar strength of opinion include Denmark, South Africa, the USA and India. In Russia, however, just 34 per cent believe that voting is important.

    BBC World editorial director Sian Kevill said, “There are many fascinating national variations to come out of this survey, but I was particularly struck by how people in some of the world’s longest established democracies, seem to have an element of fear over how fragile that could prove in the face of terrorism.”

    Synovate global head of media research Steve Garton said, “We set out to reflect people’s feelings across the world about how important role democratic process played in their lives. The answers may surprise some, showing a diversity of opinion. Interestingly, it is precisely this diversity of opinion that underpins democratic principles.”

  • Raj TV plans to launch Tamil news channel on 14 November

    MUMBAI: Chennai-based Raj Television Network (RTN) has said that it plans to launch a Tamil news channel on 14 November.

    The company has received approval from the information and broadcasting ministry for the news channel.

    The proposed channel will have a mix of general and business news, the company said.

    Raj Television is expanding its bouquet of channels as it strives to increase audience share in a Tamil market which is dominated by Sun TV Ltd.

    Raj TV shares dropped 4.82 per cent on Monday to close at Rs 218.25 at the BSE.

  • BBC expanding channels presence across Europe

    MUMBAI: BBC Global Channels – one of six BBC Worldwide businesses – has chosen Poland as the first European territory to launch its new suite of BBC-branded thematic channels. Its partner is Polish satellite platform Cyfrowy Polsat.

    Poland was identified by the business as a priority market for channel expansion and, teaming up with Cyfrowy Polsat, represents the first time that all four new channels – BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies – have rolled out in one market at the same time.

    The channels will debut in Poland on 2 December and will be available on satellite exclusively for subscribers of Cyfrowy Polsat as part of the platform’s Family package.

    BBC Global Channels senior VP Europe, Miiddle East and Africa Dean Possenniskie says, “I am delighted with the long term carriage agreement we now have in place with Poland’s most successful DTH platform, Cyfrowy Polsat. With this partnership in place I’m very confident we will quickly demonstrate the positive impact our channels can make in a highly competitive market through strong localised brands and programming of the highest quality across all four channel genres.”

  • Alan Johnston to tell story of kidnap ordeal on BBC

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that its former Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston is to tell the story of his kidnap ordeal in a two-part special BBC programme on 25 October.

    An hour-long Panorama special on BBC One will feature an extended Jeremy Vine interview and in From Our Own Correspondent, on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, Johnston will tell his story in his own words.

    He spent 114 days in captivity after being abducted at gunpoint by militants on 12 March in Gaza City earlier this year. Panorama will feature reports from the Middle East, the US and the UK as well as interviews with those involved in the efforts to free Alan.

    In From Our Own Correspondent, listeners will hear him make a return to the programme to tell his story in detail.

  • Content code draft submitted to NBA

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has received the draft code of conduct from the member who had been entrusted with the job, and are going to take legal counsel on the issue soon, sources said.

    Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami sent the draft code to the NBA yesterday, and after the process of legal opinion taking is over, the draft would be sent to all the members of the association for their study and a discussion to finalise the Code some time later, and there has been no deadline fixed for that so far.

    Sources however said that the NBA would not push the deadline too far, as it is keen to submit the code to the I&B ministry.

    The real problem is getting most of the other channels not based in Delhi or Mumbai to give their inputs, as the NBA leadership would like to broaden the base of the organisation as well as support for the draft code of content, so that the government is not able to dismiss it as the will of a handful of journalists.

    “There is need to make this a national consensus, and hopefully we shall be able to do that, as we are keen on this,” a source in the news TV industry told Indiantelevision.com.

    The code is a response to the ministry wanting to foist a code of conduct on the news channels, which the latter have slammed as an infringement of the right to freedom of speech and expression.

    In fact, the government had promised to redraft the original code it had issued for consultation, and said it would keep a minimalist approach.

    Despite that, in a meeting with the minister last month, the news broadcasters had refused to have anything to do with a government created code.

    The key aspects of the code drafted by the NBA – though no details are being divulged about the actual content – are sting operations, privacy, decency and measures to be taken against an errant channel.

    Issues as to how far is too far, and what to do with a situation like the one in which a news channel repeatedly aired the footage of a former film starlet bathing in the nude inside a jail bathroom, will be central to the concerns of the NBA code, as it had told the government that the industry was mature enough, just a few days before this scene was aired on TV.

    “We have the concerns of the government relating to cultural values in mind, as the government is as Indian as we are and share the same values, but we want only self-governance, not government gagging of the media,” a senior editor told Indiantelevision.com.

    Meanwhile the entire issue of Broadcast Bill and hence the government drafted code has been put on the back burner, seemingly for an indefinite time, as the PMO does not want the media upset to the extent it had become, especially with some critical elections coming round the corner.

  • BBC World launches ‘The Internationalists’

    MUMBAI: BBC World has launched ‘The Internationalists‘ marketing campaign. ‘The Internationalists‘ is a specially created virtual BBC island.


    Guests to the virtual BBC Island can explore and interact with the island‘s multimedia displays, download BBC World information, collect gifts, chat with BBC World‘s global network of guests, and enter a competition to win a round-the-world ticket.


    BBC World head of marketing global Leanne Mackee said, “We chose second life in order to embrace the virtual multimedia world, and to create a truly global arena within which we can not only present our ‘Internationalist‘ audience, but interact with our global media trade. We are hugely excited about the vast opportunities within second life and are looking forward to exploring other events and editorial initiatives within the virtual world in the future.”


    ‘The Internationalist‘ campaign is a global advertising and direct marketing campaign, created to introduce the international news channel‘s unique audience to the media trade.


    ‘The Internationalists‘ as defined by BBC World are conscientious consumers, big spenders and opinion leaders populating the world, who are committed to global issues and life-long learning. BBC World says the consumers have a unique appeal to a broad range of advertisers because of their interests and pursuits.


    ‘The Internationalists‘ campaign has been created in partnership with Ogilvy Red Card. It features a range of exclusive portraits of the Internationalists by photographer Marco Grob. The second life virtual world is available is available at www.bbcworldinternationalist.com.

  • BBC World launches ‘The Internationalists’

    MUMBAI: BBC World has launched ‘The Internationalists’ marketing campaign. ‘The Internationalists’ is a specially created virtual BBC island.

    Guests to the virtual BBC Island can explore and interact with the island’s multimedia displays, download BBC World information, collect gifts, chat with BBC World’s global network of guests, and enter a competition to win a round-the-world ticket.

    BBC World head of marketing global Leanne Mackee said, “We chose second life in order to embrace the virtual multimedia world, and to create a truly global arena within which we can not only present our ‘Internationalist’ audience, but interact with our global media trade. We are hugely excited about the vast opportunities within second life and are looking forward to exploring other events and editorial initiatives within the virtual world in the future.”

    ‘The Internationalist’ campaign is a global advertising and direct marketing campaign, created to introduce the international news channel’s unique audience to the media trade.

    ‘The Internationalists’ as defined by BBC World are conscientious consumers, big spenders and opinion leaders populating the world, who are committed to global issues and life-long learning. BBC World says the consumers have a unique appeal to a broad range of advertisers because of their interests and pursuits.

    ‘The Internationalists’ campaign has been created in partnership with Ogilvy Red Card. It features a range of exclusive portraits of the Internationalists by photographer Marco Grob. The second life virtual world is available is available at www.bbcworldinternationalist.com.

  • Language media has shown greater resilience than English newspapers: PM

    NEW DELHI: Noting that ‘we are living through a golden era of Indian media’, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said there had been an unprecedented growth both in readership and viewership in India and language newspapers managed to show growth in a scenario of ‘concern all over the world over that the growth of television and internet threatens the survival of print media.’


    However, Singh said that the quantitative growth in Indian media had outpaced qualitative growth. “This is understandable partly because demand has been outstripping the supply of well trained journalists,” he added.


    Inaugurating the 66th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Language Newspapers Association, Singh expressed the hope that greater attention will be paid to the challenge of improving the quality of journalism in our country. He also gave away awards to the regional language/publications for their outstanding contribution in the field of language journalism.


    Singh added: ‘You are the medium through which the message of modernisation, the message of development, the message of national integration and the message of social justice must go to the far corners of our country. You have to promote communal harmony and secular values, which are the bedrock of our nation. You have a vital role to play in the transformation of our society and our polity’.


    He said rising literacy rates, growing political awareness and rising levels of incomes, along with processes of urbanisation, had contributed to the growth in the media. But this growth had also widened the choice available to readers and viewers. Such diversity is always good in a democracy.


    Noting that language newspapers had shown greater resilience in the face of competition from the electronic media as compared to English journalism, he said “the challenge before is to help take India forward by changing the mindsets of the population, since the vast majority of our people see the world through your eyes. Modernisation is not just about better infrastructure, not about mere more creative comforts or the way we dress and live. Modernisation in the final analysis is an attitude of the state of the mind of our people.”


    The media had to play a watchdog role in a democracy and the government benefited enormously from the criticism and the corrective advice of the media. Whenever there are leakages or administrative inadequacy, it is the duty of the media and other civil society agents to highlight these weaknesses. “However, criticism should not promote cynicism or negativism. It should encourage positive change and give hope to our people. I hope our media will continue to play a positive developmental role and strengthen our country and empower our people and strengthen the bonds of communion and community feeling, fellow feeling among various citizens of our great country,” the Prime Minister concluded.

  • Language media has shown greater resilience than English newspapers: PM

    NEW DELHI: Noting that ‘we are living through a golden era of Indian media’, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said there had been an unprecedented growth both in readership and viewership in India and language newspapers managed to show growth in a scenario of ‘concern all over the world over that the growth of television and internet threatens the survival of print media.’

    However, Singh said that the quantitative growth in Indian media had outpaced qualitative growth. “This is understandable partly because demand has been outstripping the supply of well trained journalists,” he added.

    Inaugurating the 66th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Language Newspapers Association, Singh expressed the hope that greater attention will be paid to the challenge of improving the quality of journalism in our country. He also gave away awards to the regional language/publications for their outstanding contribution in the field of language journalism.

    Singh added: ‘You are the medium through which the message of modernisation, the message of development, the message of national integration and the message of social justice must go to the far corners of our country. You have to promote communal harmony and secular values, which are the bedrock of our nation. You have a vital role to play in the transformation of our society and our polity’.

    He said rising literacy rates, growing political awareness and rising levels of incomes, along with processes of urbanisation, had contributed to the growth in the media. But this growth had also widened the choice available to readers and viewers. Such diversity is always good in a democracy.

    Noting that language newspapers had shown greater resilience in the face of competition from the electronic media as compared to English journalism, he said “the challenge before is to help take India forward by changing the mindsets of the population, since the vast majority of our people see the world through your eyes. Modernisation is not just about better infrastructure, not about mere more creative comforts or the way we dress and live. Modernisation in the final analysis is an attitude of the state of the mind of our people.”

    The media had to play a watchdog role in a democracy and the government benefited enormously from the criticism and the corrective advice of the media. Whenever there are leakages or administrative inadequacy, it is the duty of the media and other civil society agents to highlight these weaknesses. “However, criticism should not promote cynicism or negativism. It should encourage positive change and give hope to our people. I hope our media will continue to play a positive developmental role and strengthen our country and empower our people and strengthen the bonds of communion and community feeling, fellow feeling among various citizens of our great country,” the Prime Minister concluded.

  • BBC Worldwide acquires travel information group Lonely Planet

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC has acquired travel information group Lonely Planet in a deal that will build the Lonely Planet franchise around the world.

    The privately owned business is being sold by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who founded the company in 1972, and John Singleton who became a shareholder in 1999.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, “We are delighted to be announcing this acquisition today. Lonely Planet is a highly respected international brand and a global leader in the provision of travel information. This deal fits well with our strategy to create one of the world’s leading content businesses, to grow our portfolio of content brands online and to increase our operations in Australia and America.”

    Lonely Planet, which has operations in the UK, California and Australia, is led by the CEO Judy Slatyer and her management team, who will be staying with the business. Lonely Planet’s global headquarters will remain in Melbourne.

    Maureen and Tony Wheeler, joint founders, who will retain a 25 per cent shareholding in the company said, “Joining BBC Worldwide allows us to secure the long-term future of our company within a globally recognised media group. In our discussions with John and his team, we felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level.”

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “Closing this prestigious deal is a great feather in the cap for BBC Worldwide, its management and the BBC overall. It is further evidence of BBC Worldwide’s ability to become a major international media player. It is testimony to BBC Worldwide’s reputation that the Wheelers believe we are the right partner to take the business forward, given the many organisations that have approached them over the years. We are all convinced that the association will strengthen Lonely Planet’s visibility and growth potential, particularly in the digital arena, as well as providing their users access to the wide range of BBC content which connects with their interests – from Michael Palin’s New Europe to Planet Earth.”

    Lonely Planet publishes around 500 titles including specialist activity guides, shoestring guides and phrasebooks. It publishes in various languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. The company also produces and develops factual programming for international broadcasters (Lonely Planet Television).

    Its flagship TV series, Lonely Planet Six Degrees, produced for Discovery is now in its third season, and screens in over 100 countries. Meanwhile, Lonely Planet’s website receives 4.3 million unique visitors a month and Lonely Planet’s travel video site, lonelyplanet.tv, is establishing a valuable online community of independent travellers, allowing travellers to upload and watch their own video as well as view videos created by Lonely Planet.

    Maureen and Tony Wheeler adds, “We will remain completely focused on the delivery of unique content to our travellers around the world. We are very optimistic about the prospects for the Lonely Planet brand under the BBC Worldwide umbrella.”