ITV

Tag: CNN

  • CNN to air docs on the US presidential candidates Obama, McCain

    CNN to air docs on the US presidential candidates Obama, McCain

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN will examine the lives of the two men contending to be the 44th president of the US in two upcoming documentaries, launching CNN’s extensive political convention coverage. Both hour-long documentaries premiere the weekend before the candidates’ respective convention kicks off.

    Obama Revealed airs on 23 August at 11:30 am and 7:30 pm and on 24 August at 11:30 am. McCain – Beneath the Armor airs on 30 August at 11:30 am and 7:30 pm and on 31 August at 11:30 am.

    CNN International senior VP Katherine Green says, “The public rarely gets an opportunity to see presidential candidates away from the glare of the cameras, the crowds and the structured events. These documentaries offer a real insight into the lives of the candidates and those around them.”

    White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux looks at Senator Barack Obama in an hour-long report that premieres on CNN International on Saturday, 23 August . Malveaux has been covering extensively the Obama presidential campaign, including traveling to Hawaii, where she’ll report on the senator’s early years. She has interviewed the candidate, his wife and his sister.

    CNN’s chief national correspondent John King’s report on Senator John McCain premieres on 30 August. Reporting from Arizona, Washington, DC and Vietnam, King reveals McCain’s complexities and analyses the political challenges that lay before him in the most important campaign of his life.

  • ‘We are not a business model-oriented channel’ : Suneet Tandon – Lok Sabha TV CEO

    ‘We are not a business model-oriented channel’ : Suneet Tandon – Lok Sabha TV CEO

     ‘The no-confidence motion against the UPA government last month gave Lok Sabha TV’s ratings the much required boost as well as an opportunity to rake in money by sharing its feed with privately run satellite news channels.

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Anushree Bhattacharyya caught up with Lok Sabha TV CEO Suneet Tandon to find out more on his plans for the channel. Interestingly, Tandon was elevated as CEO less than a week before the crucial vote. He was earlier the channel’s executive director-marketing.

     

    Excerpts:

    How has the channel fared in the two years of its existence? What are major changes that have taken place?
    The first year was devoted at consolidating the position of the channel. And in its second year, we established the channel’s presence. People now know who we are.

     

    There are channels that spend large amounts on advertising and marketing. We have not gone that route, yet we have carved out our very own position. All this has happened primarily due to the coverage of Lok Sabha sessions as well as other programmes like debates, discussion and documentaries.

    What is the composition of Lok Sabha TV? Apart from Somnath Chatterjee (whose brainchild the channel is), who are members of its governing body?
    The channel owes everything to the Speaker. But the channel is institutionalised under the overall power of the Lok Sabha. Under the Speaker, we are headed by the secretary general. In addition, there is also an advisory council to guide the functioning of the channel and is chaired by the Speaker. The vice chairman of the council is the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha. The council also consists of leaders from all the major parties in Parliament. So there is also that structure which has been set up to help offer the balance.

    How much investment has been made into Lok Sabha TV?
    Well, at this point of time, it is difficult to speak about the figures as I don’t have them with me right now.

    The channel has to depend on the audio-visual unit of the Lok Sabha secretariat for its expenses and infrastructure. Do you face any constraints in funding since you do not have a business model as such?
    We are not a business model-oriented channel. We are a public service channel for which funds are made available by the Parliament from Parliament’s own funds. Though there have been no constraints on our funds, it is our desire that we don’t want to become a burden on anyone. We need to do it in an economical and careful manner and are very conscious of that. We do not try to spend liberally just for the sake of spending.

    How many hours of feed were sold by Lok Sabha TV for the two days (during the Trust Vote)? How was the business on these two days for the channel?
    We did not sell any number of hours of feed as such. News channels picked up largely the important segments. We had earlier informed all the news channels about the rates. We had adopted Doordarshan’s practice of sharing feeds for important events in Parliament.

     

    We are using the same rates used by DD. Apart from charging Rs 1 mn beyond every five minutes of feed, there is also a provision for a one-time payment. For the one-time payment, a news channel has to pay Rs 3 mn in advance and can use the feed for any three important events, which makes it Rs 1 mn for every event.
    ‘We also try to spread cultural awareness not in terms of entertainment but by spreading awareness for our classical heritage and folk heritage. We also air awardwinning films on our channel‘

    Since it’s all about garnering TRPs, how does a channel like Lok Sabha TV manage to catch the attention of viewers?
    By being a credible, sensible and balanced channel. We are not trying to attract the attention of viewers and TRPs by showing any sensational news. We like to deal with our viewers intelligently and try to reflect their concerns because this channel is meant for the thinking citizens of this country. We are very conscious that Lok Sabha TV has to reflect and balance all shades of political opinion. And I must say that there is a lot of feedback that we have got saying that people like watching our channel because we don’t sensationalise anything.

    Do you keep an eye on the ratings of Lok Sabha TV? Are the ratings satisfying enough?
    Yes, we do. We have subscribed to Tam (television audience measurement) every week. Considering the niche nature of the channel, it is very satisfying. Lok Sabha TV is neither a news channel and nor is it a GEC, yet our ratings have been consistently more than CNN and BBC. Also in metros like Delhi and Mumbai, our ratings have been better than many of the established news channels. It’s actually a good reason to be happy for a young channel which does not offer any traditional sensation to its viewers.

    The channel’s viewership soared on 21 and 22 July. Do you feel that Lok Sabha would have been able to garner more ratings if you had not shared the feeds?
    Of course. Those two days were extremely important for Indian democracy. And had we not shared the feed, we would have got as much viewership as that of all the channels put together… all those who took our feed and our viewership.

    Apart from covering the Lok Sabha, what else does the channel concentrate on?
    People have begun to look at us as in terms of quality discussions, debates and documentaries on socio-economic, constitutional and government issues. Moreover, we also try to spread cultural awareness not in terms of entertainment but by spreading awareness for our classical heritage and folk heritage. We also air awardwinning films on our channel.

    At any point of time, have any member of the Advisory Council or the Speaker shown an apprehension on maintaining balance while covering any session?
    No within the Parliament the balance is maintained by the Speaker himself or whosoever is in the chair at that time. And our duty is simply to cover what has happened. And as far as rest of the programmes are concerned, we have not yet faced any significant criticism. But if there are any observations, we take corrective actions.

    In terms of programming, what are the changes that you would like to bring about?
    Every television channel has constantly tweak its programming and look for new ideas to develop interesting programmes. I think we need to give a little more emphasis on fresh programming. And I would also like to see if we could have some more involvement from other states and cities. We also have phone-in programmes where we have toll-free numbers and people can call from anywhere in the country.

    Though there is a website dedicated to Lok Sabha, there is no online property for the channel. Any plans to develop a dedicated web portal for Lok Sabha TV?
    Well, that is something that we can certainly consider taking up. During the time of the debate, many people who had logged on to watch a simultaneous webcast had found that our server had reached its maximum capacity as people from all over the world had logged on it. The servers for loksabha.nic.in got jammed. So, yes, may be there is a need to set up a separate website and increase the bandwith.
    What lies ahead for Lok Sabha TV?
    Technically, we are already at power with any other channel. Our visual quality is as good as any other channel. Yes, we would definitely like to have more interesting programmes and would also like to increase our scope of operation.
  • Al Jazeera English expects to launch in India by 2009

    Al Jazeera English expects to launch in India by 2009

    NEW DELHI: Al Jazeera is awaiting downlink clearance from the government and expects to enter the Indian market by early 2009.

    “We had a meeting yesterday with the information and broadcasting ministry and cleared out certain apprehensions they had about the association of Al Jazeera Arabic with the English Channel. We had applied for clearance some time back and are now hopeful that we would be able to start operations in India by early 2009,” says Al Jazeera English managing director Tony Burman.

    The Middle East-based news channel has a picture sharing arrangement with India TV news, adds Burman.

    After getting the clearance, Al Jazeera will consider partnering with an Indian broadcaster. “Since India is a huge country and we have just one member team here, we may partner with a few local broadcasters or even the public broadcaster,” says Burman.

    The channel gained popularity when it aired popular terrorist Osama Bin Laden’s tapes.

    Clearing the air, Burman explains: “It would be unfair to say that Al Jazeera is the easily accessible channel for terrorist groups. Osama Bin Laden’s tapes were aired by CBC, BBC and CNN as well. The fact is that in Middle East Al Jazzera has earned a reputation and Laden wanted to reach out to people through our popular medium. So the tapes were sent to us. In fact, there are many tapes that we have not aired. However, at the same time Al Jazeera English is not responsible for Al Jazeera Arabic’s content. We have a separate team and operate on our own.”

  • CNN unveils plans for Olympics coverage

    CNN unveils plans for Olympics coverage

    MUMBAI: With the Beijing Olympics kicking off in less than a month’s time, news broadcaster CNN is to feature live coverage from the Chinese capital over more than three and a half weeks on air, online and on mobile. Led by the network’s bureau in Beijing since 1986, correspondents including John Vause, Anjali Rao, Jaime FlorCruz, Larry Smith and Mark McKay bring the world’s biggest sporting event from every angle to more than 220 million households around the world.

    Countdown Beijing is CNN’s week of special programming airing in the run-up to the opening ceremony that takes the daily pulse of the city’s excitement and expectation. Every weekday from 4 August John Vause and Anjali Rao anchor parts of live shows from the iconic capital while extensive special reports also feature.

    They focus on aspects including the 500,000 people working on security during the games, the huge enthusiasm amongst the Chinese population as the games approach, concerns over pollution for athletes and visitors alike, getting tough on doping athletes or how Beijingers are opening up their homes to tourists for ‘homestays’. Packages are viewable online at www.cnn.com/olympics and come from across China, including Hong Kong on equestrian facilities and anti-doping measures and from Sichuan Province on feelings among the quake survivors as the Olympic Torch passes through.

    As part of Countdown Beijing, the Hong-Kong produced show Talk Asia also features in-depth interviews with Olympic giants. Literally, on the one hand with Houston Rockets and China basketball superstar Yao Ming. British athletics great Sebastian Coe and internationally-acclaimed artist (and director of the Olympic fireworks) Cai Guo-Qiang also figure amongst the stellar line-up. CNN hears too from some of the not so famous people involved, from taxi drivers to tourists, souvenir vendors to tourism greeters.

    From 8 August onwards when the Games officially open, correspondents Mark Mckay and Larry Smith are to bring the latest developments in the quest for gold in more than 300 events, in dedicated live editions of the network’s signature sport program ‘World Sport’.

    Online, www.cnn.com/Olympics boasts a wide range of exclusive videos and written reports featuring stories from across China and beyond. Olympics dispatches from around the world and journals from local citizens and overseas athletes alike bring to life the Olympic dream as thousands prepare for the biggest day of their sporting lives.

    The new ‘Fanzone’ section, www.cnn.com/fanzone brings video, quizzes, interactive games, polls, in-depth reports and more, while no matter where you are in the world, through the iReport function sport fans can send in their photos and videos of experiences in and around the XXIX Olympiad. Additionally, www.cnnsi.com delivers more than 150 original new sports stories to users every week and boasts one of the most comprehensive archives of any sport website. Finally, CNNmobile will be launching soon a free new service to catch the latest Olympics action.

  • CNN goes green in hunt for environmental solutions

    CNN goes green in hunt for environmental solutions

    MUMBAI: The G8 Summit will take place next month in Hokkaido, Japan where global warming and climate change are high on the agenda. In the run up to this, news broadcaster CNN International will air the programming initiative Going Green: Search for Solutions from 30 June – 6 July

    The world’s first ‘ecopolis’ in the UAE, ‘vertical farms’ in rundown NYC buildings, Italian ‘smog-eating cement’ and British ‘carbon neutral beer’ are some of the initiatives highlighted.

    The channel says that this initiative represents its most comprehensive assessment to date of environmental threats and solutions in five distinct areas: Energy (30 June), Green Living (1 July), Food and Water production (2 July), Business/Innovation (3 July) and Transportation (4 July).

    CNN orrespondents will report live from five continents, harnessing resources from the network’s 30 international bureaus.

    A component of Going Green: Search for Solutions engages viewers and users to share their own ideas and personal accounts of how they make the world a ‘greener’ place to live. Contributors of videos, photos, audio or text to www.iReport.com may see the material they submit appear on a CNN network or at CNN.com.

    An online special at www.cnn.com/goinggreen features exclusive video and in-depth coverage tracking the environmental footprint left behind by citizens of the world. There will be exclusive online daily reports from CNN International correspondent Hugh Riminton.

    To further promote CNN’s green message, the network will implement a marketing campaign, Recycling is a Beautiful Thing. Sending an emphatic message that the world today needs creative solutions to environment problems that can no longer be ignored, CNN will exhibit an art piece, the Tiger, created entirely with waste material in Mumbai at Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, and will be open for public viewing from June 30 to July 10. Created by contemporary artist Suryakant Lokhande, this art piece juxtaposes two key environment issues and translates them into an art form: one, an endangered species (the Tiger) and the other is the ever growing ‘giant’ named trash produced everyday, a serious environmental hazard that requires immediate control and management.

    The art piece will be integrated into a marketing campaign and launched via print and online and through partner hotels and affiliates across Asia Pacific. The campaign will also be available on video sharing site youtube.com.

  • CNN to focus on racism in sport

    CNN to focus on racism in sport

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN International turns its attention to the global issue of Racism In Sport for a week-long series of programmes examining how some sports players from all colours and creeds are having to face hostility and violent behaviour. The series of reports and interviews, running throughout the week, concludes with a half-hour special, Playing Against Prejudice. This airs on 21 June at noon, 8 pm and on 22 June at noon.

    Football is still prone to spectators’ racist taunting and harassment. Paul Canoville was the very first black player at Chelsea Football Club in the UK more than 20 years ago. He was subjected to serious and sustained racial abuse throughout his career which scarred him for life. He tells CNN’s Don Riddell: “It was an experience that I’ll never forget and nobody else would let me forget. It was unbelievable…words that were said, you can’t forget them, I can’t forget them. I don’t think anybody who has been racially abused would forget what it’s like.”

    While things have moved on since Canoville’s era – in last month’s Champions League final, Chelsea fielded eight black players – racism is still prevalent in certain quarters.

    Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, who currently plays football for FC Barcelona, is interviewed in Playing Against Prejudice. He says, “It’s a sad situation in football. In my opinion the problem is getting bigger and the people that should come up with a solution are not doing it…racism in football exists, not only in Spain, but in many countries.” Eto’o has faced ongoing issues with monkey chants and bananas being thrown on the pitch.

    But this is not an issue unique to football. Racism in Sport takes a global perspective, looking into incidents of prejudice in cricket with an in-depth look from India; a look into rugby and race in the rainbow nation (South Africa) and also in the US, which has perhaps more successfully than any other nation managed to integrate race into sports like baseball, American Football and golf.

    However, the problems of racism in sport run far deeper than the colour of people’s skin, as demonstrated by the spate of new attacks being made on religious and ethnic grounds. CNN’s World Sport anchor Don Riddell says, “In some top-level, win-at-all-costs professional sports, it seems as though racism has almost become an acceptable barb with which to jibe your opponent. Increasingly, there are examples of racism within international cricket; India and Australia have been the latest to clash. Sledging has always been cutting and personal, but it seems in some cases that a mark is being overstepped. Or is it all just a big misunderstanding?”

    Riddell adds: “We sent our reporter to the heartland of the game, India, to see if racism really is a problem and if so, to find out what is being done. How are children being raised in the game, and are insults – of whatever nature – considered acceptable to those who will one day represent their country on the international stage?”

  • CNN to launch global weekly show Fareed Zakaria – GPS

    CNN to launch global weekly show Fareed Zakaria – GPS

    MUMBAI: CNN is launching a global weekly show Fareed Zakaria – GPS (stands for Global Public Square). The international news and discussion programme with author and foreign affairs analyst Fareed Zakaria will be aired every Sundays at 5.30 pm and 10.30 pm.

    The show will take an in-depth look at foreign affairs and the policies shaping the world. Each week, it will feature an in-depth interview with a world leader, as well as a panel of international analysts who will examine the major global developments of the week.

    The new Sunday programme is a weekly global get-together focusing on international topics. The programme will boil down complex international issues from key positions around the world. Its centre-piece will be in-depth interviews and roundtable conversation with the world’s great thinkers, which will provide invaluable information to viewers about how their everyday lives are impacted by what is going on in the world.

    “This is a unique opportunity to do a program that brings the world to America and America to the world, and only CNN has the global platform to make this possible,” Zakaria said.

  • CNN to launch new show ‘My City My Life’

    CNN to launch new show ‘My City My Life’

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN will launch the show My City My Life on 3 May at 6:45 pm and 10:45 pm and on 4 May at 1:45 pm.

    Each month the show takes viewers on a unique journey into the heart and soul of one of the world’s greatest cities. Icons from the world of film, music and fashion reveal the hidden treasures within their chosen city.

    With celebrities as CNN’s tour guides, each programme will offer viewers an exclusive and personal insight into both their personality and the destination. Viewers will discover the locations that inspire them, where they like to go and what they love to do.

    The show gives the personalities creative input on how their city is portrayed as CNN cameras follow them for at least a day.

    Opening the series, the programme ventures to the heart of Florence in Italy, exploring the wonderful city through the eyes of Roberto Cavalli, world-renowned fashion designer. Cavalli, grandson of impressionist painter Giuseppe Rossi, grew up surrounded by art and fashion and Florence has always been of great significance to him, being the place he unveiled his first collection in 1972. Cavalli reveals the places in Florence he loves most and shares his inspirations.

    In June’s episode, French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz, guides viewers through ‘his’ Paris, including the place where he was born; the differences between the north and south of the city and some of the locations that inspired his film, ‘La Haine’. The series will air on 7 June at 6.45 pm and 10.45 pm and 8 June at 1.45 pm.

    Each intimate portrayal will provide CNN viewers with the opportunity to travel across continents, off the beaten tourist track and under the skin of the world’s most cutting-edge destinations, which include Paris, London, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and Las Vegas among others.

    CNN’s comprehensive website will allow access to all past episodes and special features via www.cnn.com/mycitymylife.

    Samsonite will sponsor the show. The sponsorship takes effect from 3 May 2008 and signals the premium travel brand’s first television advertising campaign in four years and is a significant evolution of Samsonite’s traditionally spot-driven association with CNN International.

    For Samsonite, its sponsorship of My City_My Life marks the next phase in its long term global communications campaign Life’s a Journey. The campaign is a compelling mix of brand and product advertising and will extend Samsonite’s brand footprint to connect with CNN International’s upscale audiences across Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It will also reach audiences globally via CNN.com.

    CNN International senior VP ad sales Rani R. Raad comments, “CNN International delivers the upscale business traveller audience that Samsonite wants to reach with their luxury high end travel products. We are excited Samsonite has chosen to cement its advertising relationship with us on this bespoke, cross-platform initiative and we look forward to delivering a powerful brand solution for them.”

    Samsonite president and CEO Marcello Bottoli says, “We launched the ‘Life’s a Journey’ campaign in 2005 to add a much richer, more emotional depth to our communication; to showcase the new direction for Samsonite. Being associated with a travel feature like My City My Life is an exciting next step and brings our brand philosophy to life in front of a key audience.”

    In addition to branded billboards attached to ‘My City_My Life’ television and web programming, Samsonite will also exclusively sponsor the series’ online destination. The My City_My Life microsite will stream the programme on demand and include written profiles and image galleries of the personalities and guides to the cities in the show. A user-generated content component will invite users to submit their own hot tips for the cities visited in the show and cast ‘Quick Votes’ for each of the cities. A branded promotional campaign across TV and web will drive viewer tune-in to the show.

    Samsonite joins CNN’s roster of luxury goods clients including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Omega and Breitling.

  • Former Fox News host Tony Snow joins CNN

    Former Fox News host Tony Snow joins CNN

    MUMBAI: Tony Snow, a former Fox News host and White House press secretary, has joined CNN as a conservative political commentator.

    Snow has spent around ten years with Fox News television channel and Fox News Radio. He has also represented Fox News Sunday until 2006, when he took the role with the George W Bush administration.

    Less than a year after becoming White House press secretary, Snow was diagnosed with a recurrence of colon cancer, which is speculated to be the reason for his move.

    He previously worked as a host for CNN before joining Fox in the 1990s.

    Snow will first appear on Larry King Live.

  • Is Bollywood taking over TV news?

    Is Bollywood taking over TV news?

     As the world’s largest television news bazaar – with over 40 dedicated news channels, unrivalled by any other country – India offers exciting possibilities for broadcast journalism. At the same time, just as elsewhere in the world, television news in India shows a clear trend towards infotainment – soft news, lifestyle and celebrities – and a decline in journalism for the public interest.

    While news outlets have proliferated globally, the growing competition for audiences and, crucially, advertising revenue, has intensified at a time when interest in news is waning. Audiences for network television peak-time news bulletins have declined in the US from 85 per cent in1969 to 29 per cent in 2005 (though in India news audience has grown).

    With the growing commercialisation of television news, the need to make it entertaining has therefore become a priority for broadcasters. They borrow and adapt ideas from entertainment and adopt an informal style with an emphasis on personalities, storytelling and spectacle.


    This has been reinforced by the take-over of news networks by huge media corporations whose primary interest is in the entertainment business: Viacom-Paramount (CBS News); Disney (ABC News); AOL-Time-Warner (CNN) and News Corporation (Fox News/Sky News and Star News Asia). This shift in ownership is reflected in the type of stories – about celebrities from the world of entertainment, for example – that get prominence on news, thus strengthening corporate synergies.

    In the process, symbiotic relationships between the news and new forms of current affairs and factual entertainment genres, such as reality TV have developed, blurring the boundaries between news, documentary and entertainment. Such hybrid programming feeds into and benefits from the 24/7 news cycle: providing a feast of visually arresting, emotionally charged infotainment which sustains ratings and keeps production costs low. The growing global popularity of such infotainment-driven programming indicates the success of this formula.

    Infotainment – a term that emerged in the late 1980s to become a buzzword – refers to an explicit genre-mix of ‘information’ and ‘entertainment’ in news and current affairs programming. This new news cannibalises visual forms and styles borrowed from TV commercials and a MTV-style visual aesthetics, including fast-paced action, in a post-modern studio, computer-animated logos, eye-catching visuals and rhetorical headlines from an, often glamorous, anchor person. This style of presentation, with its origins in the ratings-driven commercial television news culture of the US, is becoming increasingly global, as news channels attempt to reach more viewers and keep their target audiences from switching over.

    As I demonstrate in my new book News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment, such type of journalism has been very successful: in Italy, infotainment-driven private television catapulted Silvio Berlusconi from a businessman to the office of the Prime Minister. A study of journalism in post-Soviet Russia found that the media were ‘paying huge attention to the entertainment genre’, while in the Chinese news world, Phoenix channel regularly runs such soft news programmes as ‘Easy Time, Easy News.’

    In the world’s largest democracy, what I have described as – the three Cs – cinema, crime and cricket – encapsulate most of the content on television news. Here global influences are important: As in many other countries, the greatest contributor to infotainment in India has been Rupert Murdoch, whose pan-Asian network Star, launched in 1991, pioneered satellite television in Asia, transforming TV news and entertainment. Murdoch was responsible, among other things, for introducing the first music channel in India (Channel V); the first 24/7 news network (Star News) and the first adaptation of an international game show (Who Wants to be a Millionaire).

    Murdoch was also the first transnational operator to recognise the selling power of Bollywood, its glamour and glitz. The obsession of almost all news channels with Bollywood-centred celebrity culture today dominates coverage. Crime is big too: as the ratings battle has intensified, news networks have moved towards reporting sensational stories, which are becoming progressively gruesome: murder, gore and rape are recurring themes. The paradox is stark: although crime coverage has spiralled, especially on more populist Hindi channels, in the real India the crime rate has in fact fallen dramatically in the last decade.

    A third obsession is to be seen in the coverage of cricket: cricket-related stories appear almost daily on all networks – and not just on sports news. And as Bollywood stars start bidding for cricketers, the ‘Bollywoodisation‘ of news is likely to continue.

    These three Cs are indicative of a television news culture that is increasingly becoming hostage to infotainment. The lack of coverage of rural India, of regular suicides by peasants (more than 170,000, in the last 15 years, according to government figures), and the negligible reporting of health and hygiene, educational and employment equality (India has the world’s largest population of child labour at the same time as having vast pool of unemployed young people), demonstrates that such stories do not translate into ratings for urban, Westernized viewers and are displaced by the diversion of infotainment.

    The lack of concern among television news networks for India’s majority population is ironic in a country that was the first in the world to use satellite television for educational and developmental purposes, through its 1975 SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment) programme. The interest in broader questions of global equality and social justice appear to have been replaced among many journalists by an admiration for charismatic and smooth-talking CEOs and American or Americanized celebrities.

    Should we worry about this perceived dilution and debasing of news? In the early 1980s, years before media globalization and rampant commercialization of the airwaves, Neil Postman, in his influential book Amusing Ourselves to Death, argued that television militated against deeper knowledge and understanding since it promoted ‘incoherence and triviality,’ and spoke in only one persistent voice – ‘the voice of entertainment.’

    A quarter century later, looking at the Bollywoodization of news in India, Postman’s words ring truer than ever.

    (Daya Kishan Thussu is Professor of International Communication at the University of Westminster in London. His latest book is News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment – the first book-length study of this phenomenon, published by Sage.)