ITV

Tag: Jehangir S Pocha

  • Self-regulation has to come from within

    Self-regulation has to come from within

    NEW DELHI: The government should restrict itself to penalising inaccuracies in reportage while allowing the television news industry to regulate itself, senior journalists said here today.

    India’s news channels, which had faltered in the Mumbai terror coverage, have worked out stronger internal checks and that seems to be working.

    Speaking at the fourth Indian News Television (NT) Summit here today, MCCS editor Shazi Zaman said that the only way to protect the freedom of the media is self-regulation and that has to come from within. “Neither an organisation nor an editor can impose self-regulation; it is something that everyone has to practice.”

    Commercial considerations, however, have forced news channels to have a high-quotient of entertainment and trivial content.  
         
      “In primetime, news channels have an equal proportion of entertainment and political content. Sports takes up 15 per cent of the primetime space, while issues related to agriculture and development stories get less than a five per cent share,” said CMS director PN Vasanti, who was moderating the session on “Making an Impression”.

    Even staying objective is an arduous task. TV Today Network news director QW Naqvi quoted examples of how all the news channels aired stories on “Delhi getting drowned with floods” which was far beyond the scope of objectivity.

    Naqvi said that with the mushrooming of news channels, quality has taken a hit.
    “With the increase in quantity, the quality has gone down,” he rued.

    NewsX co-promoter and Editor-in-Chief Jehangir S Pocha, however, disagreed. “The Indian media industry needs enough media so that viewers have options and there is no cartelisation. What is needed on the other hand, is stringent laws that can penalise those who disseminate inaccurate information.”

    CNN IBN managing editor Vinay Tewari emphasized on the need to rigorously train the new crop of reporters and journalists.

    The time has arrived for the industry to go back to the basics. “While dealing with serious issues, there is sometimes fear and mistrust, even in legitimate cases,” said Tewari.
     

  • NewsX ropes in Vishnu Shankar as news director

    NewsX ropes in Vishnu Shankar as news director

    MUMBAI: NewsX, the Indi Media-owned English news channel, has announced the appointment of Vishnu Shankar as news director for heading the channel’s news output.

    Prior to this, Shankar was with Zee News where he held a range of responsibilities including leading output, online news, sports and special projects. He comes with over 17 years of experience in electronic news media.

    NewsX co-promoter Jehangir S Pocha said, “Vishnu is a stellar professional who has worked across all news mediums – print, TV, radio and online. His diverse experience in both international and domestic news organisations will greatly help us create more of the quality news content viewers have come to expect from us.”

    Shankar started his career with The Times of India and moved on to the BBC in London in editorial positions doing TV, radio and online news targeted at South Asian audiences. In his 12-year career with the BBC, he participated in the coverage of 9/11, major elections in India and international sporting events in cricket and football.

    Shankar said, “I am looking forward to working with our young and enthusiastic team to create really special on-air experiences for our viewers.”

    NewsX is busy in building its editorial and management team gradually. Last month, the company had announced various appointments in its ad sales, technical operations and editorial and strategy and planning.

  • NewsX ropes in Seema Mustafa

    NewsX ropes in Seema Mustafa

    MUMBAI: Indi Media-owned English news channel NewsX has appointed senior journalist Seema Mustafa as the national affairs editor and head of the national bureau.

    The channel has launched a weekly interview programme, Straight Talk With Seema Mustafa.

    Prior to NewsX, she was working with The Asian Age as resident editor. In her career spanning over three decades, Mustafa has worked with The Telegraph, Indian Express, The Economic Times and The Patriot. Her weekly columns have been syndicated to several newspapers including The Deccan Chronicle and The Dawn of Pakistan.

    NewsX co-promoter Jehangir S Pocha said, “Seema’s joining the NewsX team is another step in our re-building and strengthening the channel. Her experience and calibre will further allow us to give viewers the quality news and journalism they have come to expect from NewsX.”

    Mustafa is one of the few women journalists to have reported extensively on armed conflicts. She has covered the Beirut war in 1982 between Israel and the PLO and more recently, the Lebanon-Israel war. She received “Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis” in 1999 for her coverage of the Kargil war.

    “NewsX’s approach of bringing the depth and coverage of print journalism to electronic medium makes for an excellent television. It’s a vibrant and fresh news channel with a fine balance of young journalists and seasoned voices. It’ll be exciting experience working with a progressive and engaging news channel such as this,” Mustafa added.

    Mustafa’s areas of interest are Kashmir, West Asia and Pakistan. She also writes on atomic energy and nuclear issues.