ITV

Tag: India TV

  • ‘Breaking News’ rescues innocent girl from Pune Brothel

    ‘Breaking News’ rescues innocent girl from Pune Brothel

    New Delhi, December 22, 2005: A distressed letter from Daamu (Name reconstructed) stating her pathetic condition in a Pune brothel and asking India TV to help her escape and return home, was immediately acted upon by India TV’s team. This undercover operation by the India TV Team on Tuesday, December 20 has finally helped release Daamu from the brothel along with 21 other girls.

    India TV’s Breaking News telecast at 9 p.m. tonight showcased the entire rescue operation where the undercover team put their own lives at risk by exposing this brothel which led to a police raid and finally the rescue of an innocent girl.

    India TV received a letter written in broken language from Daamu stating that she had traveled to Pune as a tourist with a friend and was sold to a brothel. Sold by her friend’s acquaintance, Daamu was forced to sell her body to anybody who could pay for it – be it a beggar or a rickshaw puller.
    Her letter along with her photograph to India TV stated that she had tried to escape several times, but was severly beaten and tortured by the brothel owner. During police raids, Daamu and the other girls were locked in hidden almirahs where they could hardly breathe. Daamu said “raid hone se pehle aunty ko pata chal jaata hai aur wo hamme chuppa deti hai”.

    India TV’s undercover reporter posing as a customer discovered Daamu in one of the brothels. In her telephone call to “Breaking News”, Daamu, confessed saying that she would be beaten on the thought of escape. Daamu further said that she is ill-treated, beaten and was kept in captivity. In this phone call Daamu confessed her pitiable state and pleaded repeatedly for freedom “Mujhe ghar jana hai….mujhe bacha lo”.

    Dammu’s poor parents had been desperately trying to trace her, but had given up after not finding any clues on her whereabouts. They hardly had a chance as Daamu was held in such captivity, where she had not seen sunlight for the whole of last year.

    India TV reporters realized that Daamus’ life would be in danger incase they tried to rescue her themselves, so they approached for help from the Pune Police. They contacted the Joint Commissioner Police, Pune – Mr. Prabhat Ranjan, who directed the team to Addl. Commissioner of Crime – Mr. Ashok Ghebra. After a process of prolonged formalities, the police finally agreed to conduct a raid. In this raid conducted along with India TV team, a total of 21 distressed girls were rescued and brought to the police station.

    A visibly relieved Daamu, who was ware of the raid, had been waiting in anticipation for the raid team with her packed suitcase. Immediately after her rescue, India TV helped her contact her family members in Darjeeling. Daamu was retained in police custody for the night and will be released after certain formalities, to finally be united with her family.

    During this entire operation, the India TV team found out that Pune, a city known for its education system, has become an open center for flesh trade and over 10,000 girls are caught in this notorious racket.

    Dammu’s story is evident of the faith and trust India TV’s viewers have put forward in the channel. Viewers have entrusted the channel to responsibly take up issues pertaining to day-to-day lives.

  • Media offices turn tricolour for Independence Day 2014

    Media offices turn tricolour for Independence Day 2014

    MUMBAI: The country is gearing up to celebrate India’s 68th Independence Day. The patriotic fervor is in the air. Everything from channels to radio stations, newspapers, magazines and even the digital space have donned the colours of the tricolor.

     

    With every individual busy with their hectic lives, Independence Day is the only day where people across the country come together to celebrate regardless of their caste, creed or religion. As the I-Day nears, Indiantelevision.com takes a look at how different media organisations are celebrating this day at their offices.

     

    Doordarshan Mumbai

     

    * The pubcaster Doordarshan’s Mumbai Kenra led by its head Mukesh Sharma  has decided to throw a special Independence Day  eve dinner for a select group of invitees from the cities glitterati and bring in Independence Day, reminding Indians of another generation of what happened when India attained independence on 15 August 1947. A flag hoisting ceremony will follow in the morning on 15 August followed by breakfast.

     

    Zee News

     

    * Coming up with an innovative exercise for the I-day, Zee News is launching a campaign ‘My Earth My Duty’, under which symbolic plantation will be done at its office and also at locations like Wagah Border, Lucknow, Udhampur and Delhi. The organisation will also have a ‘Best Tiranga Girl and Boy Contest’, awarding the best dressed employees. Meanwhile, the Zee TV office will be accessorised with Tri Colour balloons and all the employees will be treated with sweets for the occasion.

     

    SureWaves, Bengaluru

     

    * With patriotism in the air, employees at SureWaves, Bengaluru have decided to wear attire that in some ways reflects the Indian flag’s tri-colour on 14 August followed by a get-together in the office where quiz and some impromptu games are planned. The company is also toying with the idea of flag hoisting and is thinking of initiating a drive towards waste management at home. If it can, it plans to bring in an expert who will speak to the company team and their families about waste composting and waste conversion to manure depending on the expert’s availability. They are also trying to distribute small Bundi packets to remind the employees about childhood days in the school.

     

    Group M

     

    * While India’s leading media agency’s GroupM’s  office has already been decorated with balloons in tri-colour, chocolates will be distributed to the employees.

     

    NDTV Good Times

     

    * For a special Independence Day celebration, the whole of NDTV Good Times’ office will be seen in ethnic, wearing a mix of saffron, white and green.

     

    Tata Sky

     

    * The DTH operator has also decided to deck up its office with saffron, white and green balloons, suiting the occasion along with snacks and songs. Knowledge will be tested with a special Independence day quiz.

     

    While a number of media offices have something special planned for the day, a few of them like India TV, Times Now, NDTV, Sony, Atria, Star Network’s Kannada GEC – Suvarna have nothing special planned for Independence Day.

     

    As different offices celebrate Independence Day in their own special way, we at Indiantelevision.com wish you a Happy 68th Independence Day. We will be donning ethnic wear, sing patriotic songs, ending with the national anthem. Jai Hind!

  • India TV appoints Ajit Anjum as managing editor

    India TV appoints Ajit Anjum as managing editor

    MUMBAI: In a development that could further impact the equations in the Hindi news genre, Ajit Anjum, a veteran of 25 years, has joined India TV’s newsroom as Managing Editor.

     

    Anjum, who’s last stint was with BAG network as the Managing Editor of News 24 is best known for experimenting & ideating many path-breaking programs and shows like Sansani, Poll Khol & Red Alert to name a few.  At India TV, he will be reporting to Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-chief.

     

    Welcoming him, Sharma said, “Ajit is a man of ideas, a professional with tremendous energy levels. At this juncture when India TV has successfully established itself as one of the most respected news brands in the country, his entry will definitely help us consolidate our position further.”

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Anjum said, “I am thankful to India TV’s management for an opportunity as this one. All my endeavours will be to further India TV’s leadership in the Hindi News space.”

     

    A Ramnath Goenka Awardee for Political reporting in 2010, Anjum’s first major break with media was with newspaper Amar Ujala in 1990. His career has been punctuated with a couple of smaller stints with Chauthi Duniya & Aaj Tak, however, he has spent the major part of his career, almost 19 years with BAG network.

     

    Anjum has also been quite successful with his socio-political debates on News 24’s Sabse Bada Sawal, those have been almost a regular over the last one year.

     

  • Ajit Anjum set to join India TV as managing editor

    Ajit Anjum set to join India TV as managing editor

    MUMBAI: Ajit Anjum, current managing editor of News 24 is set to take up the same position with one of the leading Hindi news channels- India TV.

     

    Anjum is currently serving his notice period with News 24 and according to sources, will be joining India TV from 1 August. This place has been vacant since former managing editor Vinod Kapri left the channel after a long stint of six years.

     

    Meanwhile, News 24 deputy director for news Deep Upadhyay will oversee operations.

     

    With an experience spanning more than two decades, Anjum has had stints with Aaj Tak, Chauthi Duniya and Amar Ujala.

  • Hindi News channels see massive viewership spike on 16 May

    Hindi News channels see massive viewership spike on 16 May

    MUMBAI: The last two months have been a festival for news channels as elections took place across the country. It all boiled down to the orgasmic climax of counting day, 16 May. Let’s have a look at how Hindi News channels fared in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM).

    As per TAM data provided by a news channel, ABP News led in the HSM market but overall India was led by Aaj Tak. India TV on the other hand was third in both but India TV showed highest viewership from the five HSM metros as well as Delhi and Mumbai.

    Let’s have a look at the data for HSM markets, all India market and the five HSM metros(Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune).

    Source: TAM 16 May 2014, 24 hours CS ABC 15+

    A channel source says that on an average day, the viewership tends to be 30 per cent to 40 per cent less than what it was on the counting day.

    In the five HSM metros, India TV had 10489 GVTs, Aaj Tak had 8253 GVTs and ABP News 8344 GVTs.

    As most channels began their election coverage, prime time news began at 6:00 am and went till midnight. What usually is the bastion of business news channels was taken by general news channels for the crucial day.

  • Delhi HC directs India News over copyright case

    Delhi HC directs India News over copyright case

    MUMBAI: India TV and India News- two News channels with glaringly similar names. That is what India TV appealed to the Delhi HC way back in 2008 when India News was launched. The case on identity usage of the umbrella brand ‘India’ was contended by the Rajat Sharma led channel.

     

    An order was passed last year directing India News to run communication either as a tickr or scroll stating that it is not associated with India TV. The latter states that recently it noticed the channel not complying with the order and filed a contempt petition in the HC.

     

    The order that was passed last week has directed the channel to run a continuous scroll on their channel till the judgement on the case is passed. Another hearing on the case is to happen in the coming few months.

     

    India TV had also stated in its petition that its revenues were being impacted due to the similarity of name. The court has also ordered India News to submit its revenue accounts with the court.

  • QW Naqvi quits as India TV editorial director

    QW Naqvi quits as India TV editorial director

    MUMBAI: Just six months after he took office with India TV as the editorial director after a year long sabbatical, well known journalist Qamar Waheed Naqvi has resigned from the company.

     

    Through an official statement, India TV confirmed that he had indeed taken the decision to leave the channel. Said India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan, “We have accepted his resignation and asked Naqvi to serve his notice period.”

     

    “We are surprised at the reasons being attributed to it in the social media. Any such reasons are baseless, and we condemn the effort being made to use it for political gains,” said Dhawan.

     

    Sharma said, “There is a continuous attempt by some people to defame electronic media which has been officially condemned by broadcasters. We in the news media have covered several elections in the past and will cover many more, we cannot allow our industry to become a tool in the hands of interested parties during elections.”

     

    Naqvi joined India TV in October last year prior to which he was a known name at Aaj Tak.

  • Seventh News Television Awards gets a full house

    Seventh News Television Awards gets a full house

    NEW DELHI: The bright shining chandeliers that towered over the audience could not match the delight on the faces of the winners as they cheered for their team mates and channels at the seventh edition of indiantelevision.com’s News Television Awards. The gala evening held at The Lalit in New Delhi saw the who’s who of the News TV fraternity and the best of them took away the coveted trophy.

     

    Awards being presented by noted personalities that included Communication advisor to the prime minister Pankaj Pachauri, national commission for minorities chairperson Wajahat Habibullah, fashion designer Ritu Kumar, former cricketer Ajay Jadeja,  actor Parvin Dabbas, Padma Shri dancers Raja  Reddy and Radha Reddy, Dabur chairman VC Burman, politician Subramanian Swamy,  former Comptroller & Auditor General of India Vinod Rai, NDTV head honcho KVL Narayan Rao, cricketer Surinder Khanna, among many others.

     

    Some of the big take aways for the gala night were NDTV 24X7 editor  Barkha Dutt and NDTV India editor Ravish Kumar for best TV news anchors in English and Hindi respectively, Bloomberg TV editor Vivek Law as best business news anchor in English and CNN-IBN’s Suhasini Haidar as best TV news presenter in English.

     

    Shows that won accolades included CNN-IBN’s India at 9 for best daily news bulletin in English and Dastak by Aaj Tak for the same in Hindi. CNBC TV 18’s India Business Hour was given the award of best business news programme in English while NDTV 24X7’s We the People won for best talk show in English.

     

    Not to forget were the awards given away in the two regional categories as well- Telugu and Marathi. K Nagendar Sai from CVR news won best business news anchor in Telugu while K Padmini from TV9 was awarded for best entertainment news anchor in Telugu. Alka Dhupkar from IBN-Lokmat was recognized as the best TV news anchor in Marathi. V6 news from Andhra Pradesh won best channel packaging of the year and Zee 24 Taas’ show Rokhthok- Shradhecha Bhandwalachi Mujori won for best news debate in Marathi.

     

    Apart from this, for the first time, recognitions were given to the ‘game changers’ of 2013 by indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, that included NDTV, Zee Media Corporation, Network 18 and India TV.

     

    The evening saw around 500 guests – consisting of professionals from the TV news ecosystem –  attend and cheer for the winners as they took away galores of prizes.

     

    The ceremony was possible thanks to partners such as Jia News, News Nation, Akamai Technologies, India News, News X, Sakshi TV, TV9, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC TV18.

     

    Click here for the complete list of winners

     

  • India TV eyes 35 per cent revenue increase in this election year

    India TV eyes 35 per cent revenue increase in this election year

    MUMBAI: With the Election Commission having announced the election schedule, the unfolding political drama has certainly picked up momentum. News channels were already in the fray but will now devote even more air time to election programming in the coming weeks.

      

    On its part, India TV – which recently underwent a makeover to be hailed as a more serious news channel – will start its election programming today, using this as an opportunity to showcase its change in focus. “The commitment was to set new benchmarks in the news presentation. We have already taken leaps in that direction and elections are a direct opportunity for us to showcase the differentiation,” says India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan.

     

    The channel will kick-off its full-fledged version of electioneering next week under the title, ‘Faisla Kursi Ka’. A special election series called Aap Ki Adalat mein Faisla Kursi Ka will feature as part of India TV’s most popular show Aap Ki Adalat with India TV chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma. The regular series will continue alongside.

     

    The channel’s flagship show Aaj Ki Baat Rajat Sharma Ke Saath has already tilted towards elections while newer shows like Yeh Public Sab Janti Hai, Delhi-Darbar, Sitare Zameen Par and Vansh are in the pipeline. “With a firm belief that content which is unlike our competition, not only have we made substantial investment for the same but we have also ensured that our content does not suffer from predictability,” says Dhawan.

     

    Actor Om Puri will host Vansh while the other shows will be anchored by celebrities including Dalip Tahil, Piyush Mishra and Meghna Malik.

     

    According to Dhawan, the aam aadmi’s desire for a change in governance has resulted in a nearly 17 per cent increase in viewership in the news genre, with India TV experiencing an almost 20 per cent increase.

     

    With Hero Motorcorp as presenting sponsor, Shakti Pumps as powered-by sponsor, and many more advertisers and sponsors the likes of Tata Motors, Birla Cement, Ranbaxy, Rupa Hosiery and Emami already on board the channel during election time, India TV is expecting 20 to 35 per cent of additional revenues in this election year, as compared to the earlier non-election one.

     

    “In total, we expect 20 to 35 per cent of additional revenues on a fairly high year-on-year base of a non-election year. That also qualifies as we have made reasonable investments in the content part,” says Dhawan. Sources estimate that the channel is looking at making nearly Rs 180 crore this year.

     

    Coming to the what and how, India TV’s news gathering team will pan across the country’s key constituencies on polling days, complemented by a team of experts in the studio.

     

    “It would not be an exaggeration to say that we will most definitely be omnipresent through our wide network of reporters, stringers and other strategic partners. We have made large investments to further strengthen our news gathering,” signs off Dhawan.

  • India TV getting serious about news?

    India TV getting serious about news?

    MUMBAI: Frequent allegations of sensationalist journalism notwithstanding, India TV has managed to stay at the top of its game, what with veterans like Rajat Sharma associated with the Hindi news channel.

     

    And now when the channel is in the middle of a refresh to let people know it has become serious about the news business, what better than ‘Brand Sharma’ to lend credibility to the exercise.

     

    As India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan puts it: “Till recently, audiences were more interested in non-political and ‘popular’ content, so we were catering to that. Now with elections and various other news events, the flavour of hard news is back, so we have refreshed our programming completely. Today, the number of news stories on India TV is more than that on any other news channel. With Rajat Sharma leading the pack and Q W Naqvi at the helm of affairs, our viewers can be assured of the most accurate and responsible news reporting, which will further cement our leadership position in the Hindi news genre.”

     

    In fact, the channel’s reliance on Sharma’s popularity emanates from a position of knowledge wherein it actually commissioned research to find out how best it could highlight its repositioning. “One thing that came out very clearly is that ‘Brand Rajat Sharma’ riding on the credibility it brings in, will have a towering effect on ‘Brand India TV’. It further suggested that people may like to see that connect personified both in terms of communication and programming. And so, not only is the editor-in-chief back on prime time news with his daily analysis show, Aaj Ki Baat Rajat Sharma ke saath, he is also the face of the brand campaign,” reveals Dhawan.

     

    Indeed, as part of the revamp, India TV has embarked on an ambitious, six-week-long marketing campaign which leverages Sharma’s popularity with the audience. The first leg of the campaign will run for 21 days across Hindi speaking markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Allahabad and Gorakhpur. Life-size images of Sharma will adorn hoardings and billboards across these cities as well as digital ports at arrival and departure terminals in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

     

    The banners focus on Sharma’s pensive expression along with the words, ‘You, me and India TV – let’s change the face of the nation’ and have been designed by Saints & Warriors, one of the three creative agencies that were short-listed for the job.

     

    “Three agencies made it to the final short-list for the job, basis what they had presented in response to the brief given. Eventually, Saints & Warriors was chosen for the assignment, basis further discussions with them. Their credentials, clarity of thought, and extended execution sampling helped us clearly decide in their favour,” informs Dhawan.

     

    Working on ad placement on news websites by geographically targeting them to suit audiences is Agency Ecosystem by Amar Ujala, which has a target to reach 35 million impressions through websites like Dainik Bhaskar and Amar Ujala. “We have tried to keep a close leash on expenditures. The first leg of 21 days of the campaign is to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore,” reveals Dhawan.

     

    It is learnt that the revamp is not only to tone down sensational news but also because of the increase in the number of news channels which has led to severe fragmentation of viewership. While India TV was launched at a time when its competitors could be counted on one’s fingers, it now has several competing channels swimming in the same pond. “With so many new and small channels taking up a large percentage of the market, it has become a highly competitive space so the brand refresh was done to mainly maintain our viewership,” a source from India TV tells this website.

     

    Whatever the reasons for the refresh, it’s just two days since the campaign has kicked off and people are getting used to the posters of Sharma in his signature pose with folded hands. What remains to be seen however is to what extent Sharma will help change people’s hitherto perception of India TV.