Tag: News broadcasters

  • News broadcasters seek advertising support to manage increased Covid-19 coverage

    News broadcasters seek advertising support to manage increased Covid-19 coverage

    MUMBAI: News broadcasters are leading the battle against COVID-19 and have emerged as the most essential source of news and information during the lockdown. Now, they are seeking support from the media fraternity in terms of advertising.

    News Broadcasters Federation president Arnab Goswami said, “At a time when other media can scale down resources and expenses, news broadcasters are scaling up their effort, and going all out to scale up their resources on the ground. We, the news broadcasters of India, consider ourselves as a public and emergency and essential service at a time of national crisis, and are absolutely committed to playing our role in ensuring that by reaching out to the largest part of India's 1.3 billion people, we stall the spread of this dangerous virus.

    "I appeal at this time to all my friends in the media industry, and our partners in all sectors to contribute to the efforts of the news broadcasters by supporting news channels in terms of advertising in this period as a preferred partner in this difficult time.”

    Across India, broadcasters in all languages are doing non-stop programming with almost 100 per cent focus on battling the coronavirus and ensuring the success of the nationwide lockdown. Besides the news on the latest figures and the degree of spread of the pandemic, news channels have put hundreds of experts, doctors, public health experts, civil and police personnel, and government officials on air in a massive effort to disemminate the right information and counter the barrage of fake news.

    The NBF would also like to point out that viewership trends in news channels have significantly risen, as per the latest report on trends put out jointly by BARC and Nielsen on Friday. As per the report, the viewing of news channels had gone up in last week by 57 per cent and Hindi news channels by 67 per cent.

    Regional language news channels are also seeing a major spike in viewership and the increase in viewership has been across segments. Interestingly, BARC CEO Sunil Lulla had pointed out during the press conference that even the kids category saw viewership jump in news channel consumption by a whopping 87 per cent. The statement from the NBF says, "[It] is a clear indicator that the nature of informative and contextual news programming on battling Covid 19 among news channels is being received favourably across all segments of the TV audiences."

    The NBF also added that it would like to place on record the genuine support that news channels and its member channels have received so far, and would like to assure the media industry and the industry stakeholders that the news broadcasters of India will work hard to bring factual news to the people of India to strengthen the fight against Covid-19. 

  • News Broadcasting Standards Authority issues advisory on coverage of Ayodhya dispute verdict

    News Broadcasting Standards Authority issues advisory on coverage of Ayodhya dispute verdict

    MUMBAI: While the Supreme Court ended the daily hearings of the Ayodhya dispute case on Wednesday, the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) has issued a special advisory for reporting of the sensitive issue. News broadcasters have been advised to conform strictly to  subserving the public interest of maintaining communal harmony and preservation of the secular ethos of the country while telecasting news related to the matter.

    “You will appreciate that the reporting of the Ayodhya issue being heard by the Hon’ble Supreme Court is one such matter in which extra care and caution needs to be exercised to ensure that the telecast of any news relating to it should not be sensational, inflammatory or provocative,” the organisation said in the advisory.

    The advisory also added that in view of the sensitive nature of the Ayodhya issue, reporting requires adherence to the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and certain specific guidelines issued from time to time in this regard.

    “It is, therefore, necessary that all news broadcasters should not only ensure strict compliance of the guidelines but should also ensure that no occasion arises for any speculation about the accuracy, neutrality and impartiality of the content,” it added.

    Additional specific guidelines:

    1.   No broadcast should be made in any speculative manner in respect of the present proceedings before the Hon’ble Supreme Court nor of the judgement before it is pronounced; and of its likely consequence thereafter which may be sensational, inflammatory or provocative.

    2.  No news in relation to the present proceedings pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court shall be broadcast unless the reporter and/or editor have adequately ascertained the accuracy, authenticity and correctness of what is reported,  preferably  from  Court  records,  or  at  the  very  least,  by  being personally present during such proceedings.

    3.  For clarity and adherence it is emphasized that programmes/telecast should not speculate on issues relating to the Ayodhya judgement or its repercussions.

    4. No footage of the demolition of the Babri Masjid is to be shown in any news item relating to the Ayodhya matter.

    5. No visuals need be shown depicting celebration or protest by persons in respect of the Ayodhya matter.

    6. In view of the sensitivity of news reporting on this issue, extra care should be taken to ensure accuracy by vetting and clearance at the highest editorial level.

    7. Telecast of any news/programme must not give any impression of bias or prejudice in  favour of, or against any community.

    8. Care should be taken to ensure that no opportunity is given to anyone to express any extreme view, including in debates in order to influence the viewers.

    9. Debates which are provocative and inflammatory and likely to create tension in the public should be avoided.

  • Regional & national news broadcasters form News Broadcasters Federation

    Regional & national news broadcasters form News Broadcasters Federation

    MUMBAI: News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), a new association of more than 50 news channels representing broadcasters from all languages and parts of the country will form the largest-ever federation of news channels.

    Both national and regional news broadcasters have come together with an aim to contribute their combined interests and perspectives on matters related to the news broadcasting industry.

    Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, said, “I am very happy today that more than 50 news channels have come together to form the News Broadcasters Federation. These members of the NBF are from various regions and broadcasting in various states of India. India has more than 700 channels and if more associations are formed in genres like news, then it is a very positive development. We don’t believe in censorship but believe in self-regulation. I am very sure and confident that the News Broadcasters Federation will be a platform to discuss matters relevant to the TV News Industry. I also hope NBF gives its recommendations and ensures discipline in broadcasting where truth does not become a casualty. I wish the NBF all the very best.”

    Among the founder members of the NBF are: Republic Media Network (Republic TV and Republic Bharat), Puthiyathalaimurai and V6 News (Tamil Nadu), Orissa TV (Orissa), IBC24 (MP and Chattisgarh), Asianet News Network (Asianet News and Suvarna News, Kerala and Karnataka), TV9 Bharatvarsh, Newslive and Northeast Live (Assam and Northeast), First India News (Rajasthan), Kolkata TV (West Bengal), CVR News (AP & Telangana), Polimer News (Tamil Nadu), Khabar Fast (Haryana), Living India News (Punjab), Prag News (Assam), NTV (AP & Telangana), Maha News (AP & Telangana), TV5 News (AP & Telangana), MKTV (Tamil Nadu),  Vanitha TV (AP & Telangana), DNN and IND24 (MP), Shri Sankara TV  & Ayush TV (Karnataka), A1 TV (Jaipur), Power TV (Karnataka),Raj News (Tamil Nadu), Flowers TV (Kerala), CVR News Network (AP&Telangana), National Voice (Uttar Pradesh), Nirman News (Gujarat), Anaadi TV (MP&Chattisgarh), VRL Media (Karnataka), Calcutta News (West Bengal),News 7 (Tamil Nadu), DNN & News World ( MP & Chattisgarh), M H One ( Haryana), Mantavya News (Gujarat), Gujarat Television ( Gujarat), S News ( West Bengal) Bansal TV ( MP) and Onkat TV (West Bengal).

    “This is the first time in the history of Indian broadcasting that a group of regional and national broadcasters have come together to form a body that represents their combined interests and perspective on matters related to the news broadcasting industry. The NBF is welcoming new members and looks forward to interacting with relevant industry and regulatory bodies. The NBF secretariat has informed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting about the formation of the body. Further announcements on the governing board and membership will be made soon,” said the NBF statement.

  • Media houses warned against publicising exit polls

    MUMBAI: The Election Commission, noting violation by media houses of its fiat, has recommended them to keep away from publicising exit polls till a particular period during assembly elections in five states. EC asked the media not to air or publish such programmes in future so as to ensure fair polls.

    The strongly-worded advisory stated that “such attempts merely to score brownie points against the competitors for merely commercial reasons do not behove well.”

    In a letter to the News Broadcasters Association secretary-general and the Press Council of India secretary, the EC asked the print and electronic media to keep away from publicising exit polls or predictions about future poll triumphs.

    In the crucial advisory, the Commission has stated that use of astrology to bypass the ban on exit polls is not permitted. The advisory states that forecasts by political analysts or astrologers or tarot card readers is banned during the poll process. The media cannot publish or telecast any programme that predicts the poll outcome, the EC advisory read.

    The poll watchdog pointed to Section 126 A of the Representation of the People Act which states that “no person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicise by means of the print and electronic media or disseminate in any other manner, whatsoever, the result of any exit poll during such period as may be notified by the Election Commission…”

    It pointed out that in one of the channels, the panellists on the show, who were persons from different fields, had put forward the projected number of seats likely to be won by different parties in Uttar Pradesh.

  • Govt adapting new communication strategies, says I & B minister

    Govt adapting new communication strategies, says I & B minister

    NEW DELHI: Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore today said that the Government has been redefining and adapting the content and information dissemination strategy in accordance with the changing paradigm in communication space, especially in the social media.

    Rathore said, due to technology change, information generation pattern and information consumption has changed today. The minister said this after releasing the book “India Connected: Mapping the Impact of New Media” here today. The book has been jointly authored by Dr Shalini Narayanan and Dr. Sunetra Sen Narayanan.

    Elaborating, the minister said news broadcasters today were following social media trends for designing debates and discussions on their channels.

    Rathore said the Government has been conducting seminars and workshops to train officers in social media with the latest tools and techniques to effectively communicate with citizens.

    The book outlines the impact of social media while comparing it with the traditional media. The book flags challenges and opportunities that social media offers in the Indian setting.

  • Govt adapting new communication strategies, says I & B minister

    Govt adapting new communication strategies, says I & B minister

    NEW DELHI: Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore today said that the Government has been redefining and adapting the content and information dissemination strategy in accordance with the changing paradigm in communication space, especially in the social media.

    Rathore said, due to technology change, information generation pattern and information consumption has changed today. The minister said this after releasing the book “India Connected: Mapping the Impact of New Media” here today. The book has been jointly authored by Dr Shalini Narayanan and Dr. Sunetra Sen Narayanan.

    Elaborating, the minister said news broadcasters today were following social media trends for designing debates and discussions on their channels.

    Rathore said the Government has been conducting seminars and workshops to train officers in social media with the latest tools and techniques to effectively communicate with citizens.

    The book outlines the impact of social media while comparing it with the traditional media. The book flags challenges and opportunities that social media offers in the Indian setting.

  • News broadcasters are all revved up for Union Budget 2016

    News broadcasters are all revved up for Union Budget 2016

    MUMBAI: The Railway Budget was successfully announced by the railway minister Suresh Prabhu, and the fourth pillar of democracy i.e. the press, made justice by covering the entire highlights in detail of the allotment to its viewers. The people are anticipating the same coverage by the media with the announcement of the Union Budget which is right around the corner. The finance minister Arun Jaitley will announce the budget on 29 February 2016.

    With the increase in the number of the channels and the growing competition, the news channels need to focus on various factors to have an upper hand over the others. While, some channels take up on-ground activities to interact with the lehman, some get an esteemed panellist on board to discuss the budget while a few resort to get analysts with a special programming line-up.

    In this brawl, the viewers are left baffled with which channel to be watched and followed for a better insight on the budget. Taking a hint from this, Indiantelevision.com did a quick round-about of how the channels are going to cover the Union Budget 2016.

    Read on:

    Abp news will air a budget special show titledDesh Ka Budget anchored by Kishore Ajwani. ABP News will analyse the budget with FICCI and CII representatives along with political and economy critique.

    Culminating with the Budget announcement, CNBC-TV18 will present a host of special shows, led by India’s most experienced business editorial team that will focus on key aspects of the Government’s fiscal policy. The Channel will speak to the most influential names of Markets & India Inc., to understand their expectations from the Budget. The channel will present a number of special shows to understand the country’s expectations from the Budget.

    The channel will air Budget Caravan traversing the length and breadth of the country and will travel to the growth centres of India, to get a sense of the big expectations, straight from the shop floor and give viewers an economic health check of the nation, with this special series.

    What’s Ailing Rural India will see reporters travelling to the smallest pockets of the nation to understand the rural nerve of the country. With the aim to find an answer to how will the budget impact the rural population of the country and what are their key needs?

    The other show that will be broadcasted on the channel  is Budget Hangout which will feature the young business community and professionals of India; we speak to the young CMOs and CEOs of leading corporate names in India. In a refreshingly new format, team CNBC-TV18 chats with these young icons on their expectations from the budget.

        

    CNN-IBN and IBN7 will bring rolling coverage on union budget on 29 February 2016 under the umbrella of the special shows The Booster Budget on CNN-IBN and Budget Waale Babu Meri Income Bada Do! on IBN7.

    The shows will be a culmination of a series of pre-budget shows through which both the channels have been capturing the mood, expectations and suggestions of different sections of the society. The network has lined up an extensive live programming to cater to the viewers with all they need to know about the upcoming budget.

    On the general budget day, the channels will have leading economists and industry leaders including the former finance secretary CM Vasudev, executive director India foundation and MD Zeus Caps Shaurya Doval, BIMTECH director Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, LocalCircles.com chief strategy officer K Yatish Rajawat and Gaursons MD Manoj Gaur for IBN7 and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy professor Dr. Ila Patnaik (Professor, Swarajya economist, journalist and editorial director R Jaganathan, author and historian Patrick French, Mercury Travels executive VP Ashwini Kakkar, Government of India former chief economic advisor Dr. Arvind Virmani and Shell India executive chairman and Brookings India former chairman Vikram Mehta for CNN-IBN.

    Media experts from around the country will also be seen with the CNBC¬TV18 budget editors. Traders will be guided by technical analysts lead by Ashwani Gujral, Sudarshan Sukhani, Prakash Gaba and Rajat Bose. While the fundamental impact of the budget on individual stocks will be analysed by S P Tulsian, Prakash Diwan and Ambareesh Baleega.

    The channel has dedicated the entire day to cover the Union Budget 2016. Starting from 7 am, the channel will air Time Is Now stretching up till 11 pm followed by the finance minister’s speech going on till 1:30 pm. A second part of the show Time Is Now will begin from 1:30 to 4:30.

    Going further, the viewers can tune into ET NOW Budget Trades till 5 pm followed by a third segment of Time Is Now till 6:30.

    The channel will then broadcast a 30 minute exclusive Tax Effect from 6:30 to 7 pm. Investors Guide Budget Special will be aired from 7:30 pm to 8 pm followed by Markets & Macros will begin from 8 pm extending to 9 pm.

    The channel will be seen debating on the budget with esteemed panelists in The Budget Debate from 9 pm to 10 pm. ET NOW Budget Trades’ will follow till 10:30 pm. Thye Budget Debate will air from 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm. The channel will air its last for the day with Markets & Macros till 12 am.

    To get a clear picture about the budget this year, IBN-Lokmat is already airing Apeksha Budgetcha for exclusive coverage and discussion on the past promises & future expectations of the Union budget.

    The channel will also air budget special show titled Lokmanch, deciphering last year’s budget fulfilment, fund allocation to the state, its utilization and more. The channel will have interviews and discussion special shows talking about the developmental need in agro industries, infrastructure & cooperative sectors. IBN Lokmat will also have an exclusive show with renowned economist Dr. Narendra Jadhav on 27 February at 8  pm.

    On the budget day, the channel will have a dedicated budget special telecast starting from 9 am covering the finance minister’s live speech and an expert panel with eminent personalities from various industries & social segments, discussing the budget and its effect on the Indian economy.

    The channel will decode the budget with Rajat Sharma in the show Namo Budget 2016 from 10 am.

    Budget Buzz will begin on the channel at 8 am with Shweta Rajpal Kohli and Vikram Chandra as they ask  what does the highly anticipated budget mean for industry and the people of India?

    Following that will be a live budget speech with Prannoy Roy with CEOs, analysts and the aam aadmi for their reactions to the Budget at 11 am. At 7 pm Manisha Natarajan will look at the tax implications with a panel of tax experts. Budget Buzz 2016 ends with a full analysis of the budget with Prannoy Roy and a panel of expert analysts from 8- 10 pm

    NDTV Profit’s Budget Buzz has a full day of programming starting at 8 am with Prashant Nair and Manvi Sinha Dhillon with guest experts. Watch full in-depth discussions of highlights post the live Budget speech with market and expert analysts.

    India Ka Budget will begin at 10 am with Ravish Kumar and Aunindyo Chakratvarty with guests as they anticipate what changes the Budget will bring and give us analyses of highlights following the live budget presentation by the finance minister.

    The evening programming will highlight what the budget means as Ravish discusses significant budget points with his guests on primetime at 9 pm.

    The channel will air Budget Debate with Arnab Goswami with a panel of experts debating if the government has delivered on its reform promise. The panelists include Sanjeev Sanyal, Sandeep Gurumurthi, Omkar Goswami, Nalin Kohli, Pavan Varma, Rashesh Shah and Dr. Rajeev Kumar. The debate will happen on 28 February 2016 at 1 pm and a repeat at 9 pm.

    *The channels are arranged in an ascending order

  • News broadcasters are all revved up for Union Budget 2016

    News broadcasters are all revved up for Union Budget 2016

    MUMBAI: The Railway Budget was successfully announced by the railway minister Suresh Prabhu, and the fourth pillar of democracy i.e. the press, made justice by covering the entire highlights in detail of the allotment to its viewers. The people are anticipating the same coverage by the media with the announcement of the Union Budget which is right around the corner. The finance minister Arun Jaitley will announce the budget on 29 February 2016.

    With the increase in the number of the channels and the growing competition, the news channels need to focus on various factors to have an upper hand over the others. While, some channels take up on-ground activities to interact with the lehman, some get an esteemed panellist on board to discuss the budget while a few resort to get analysts with a special programming line-up.

    In this brawl, the viewers are left baffled with which channel to be watched and followed for a better insight on the budget. Taking a hint from this, Indiantelevision.com did a quick round-about of how the channels are going to cover the Union Budget 2016.

    Read on:

    Abp news will air a budget special show titledDesh Ka Budget anchored by Kishore Ajwani. ABP News will analyse the budget with FICCI and CII representatives along with political and economy critique.

    Culminating with the Budget announcement, CNBC-TV18 will present a host of special shows, led by India’s most experienced business editorial team that will focus on key aspects of the Government’s fiscal policy. The Channel will speak to the most influential names of Markets & India Inc., to understand their expectations from the Budget. The channel will present a number of special shows to understand the country’s expectations from the Budget.

    The channel will air Budget Caravan traversing the length and breadth of the country and will travel to the growth centres of India, to get a sense of the big expectations, straight from the shop floor and give viewers an economic health check of the nation, with this special series.

    What’s Ailing Rural India will see reporters travelling to the smallest pockets of the nation to understand the rural nerve of the country. With the aim to find an answer to how will the budget impact the rural population of the country and what are their key needs?

    The other show that will be broadcasted on the channel  is Budget Hangout which will feature the young business community and professionals of India; we speak to the young CMOs and CEOs of leading corporate names in India. In a refreshingly new format, team CNBC-TV18 chats with these young icons on their expectations from the budget.

        

    CNN-IBN and IBN7 will bring rolling coverage on union budget on 29 February 2016 under the umbrella of the special shows The Booster Budget on CNN-IBN and Budget Waale Babu Meri Income Bada Do! on IBN7.

    The shows will be a culmination of a series of pre-budget shows through which both the channels have been capturing the mood, expectations and suggestions of different sections of the society. The network has lined up an extensive live programming to cater to the viewers with all they need to know about the upcoming budget.

    On the general budget day, the channels will have leading economists and industry leaders including the former finance secretary CM Vasudev, executive director India foundation and MD Zeus Caps Shaurya Doval, BIMTECH director Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, LocalCircles.com chief strategy officer K Yatish Rajawat and Gaursons MD Manoj Gaur for IBN7 and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy professor Dr. Ila Patnaik (Professor, Swarajya economist, journalist and editorial director R Jaganathan, author and historian Patrick French, Mercury Travels executive VP Ashwini Kakkar, Government of India former chief economic advisor Dr. Arvind Virmani and Shell India executive chairman and Brookings India former chairman Vikram Mehta for CNN-IBN.

    Media experts from around the country will also be seen with the CNBC¬TV18 budget editors. Traders will be guided by technical analysts lead by Ashwani Gujral, Sudarshan Sukhani, Prakash Gaba and Rajat Bose. While the fundamental impact of the budget on individual stocks will be analysed by S P Tulsian, Prakash Diwan and Ambareesh Baleega.

    The channel has dedicated the entire day to cover the Union Budget 2016. Starting from 7 am, the channel will air Time Is Now stretching up till 11 pm followed by the finance minister’s speech going on till 1:30 pm. A second part of the show Time Is Now will begin from 1:30 to 4:30.

    Going further, the viewers can tune into ET NOW Budget Trades till 5 pm followed by a third segment of Time Is Now till 6:30.

    The channel will then broadcast a 30 minute exclusive Tax Effect from 6:30 to 7 pm. Investors Guide Budget Special will be aired from 7:30 pm to 8 pm followed by Markets & Macros will begin from 8 pm extending to 9 pm.

    The channel will be seen debating on the budget with esteemed panelists in The Budget Debate from 9 pm to 10 pm. ET NOW Budget Trades’ will follow till 10:30 pm. Thye Budget Debate will air from 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm. The channel will air its last for the day with Markets & Macros till 12 am.

    To get a clear picture about the budget this year, IBN-Lokmat is already airing Apeksha Budgetcha for exclusive coverage and discussion on the past promises & future expectations of the Union budget.

    The channel will also air budget special show titled Lokmanch, deciphering last year’s budget fulfilment, fund allocation to the state, its utilization and more. The channel will have interviews and discussion special shows talking about the developmental need in agro industries, infrastructure & cooperative sectors. IBN Lokmat will also have an exclusive show with renowned economist Dr. Narendra Jadhav on 27 February at 8  pm.

    On the budget day, the channel will have a dedicated budget special telecast starting from 9 am covering the finance minister’s live speech and an expert panel with eminent personalities from various industries & social segments, discussing the budget and its effect on the Indian economy.

    The channel will decode the budget with Rajat Sharma in the show Namo Budget 2016 from 10 am.

    Budget Buzz will begin on the channel at 8 am with Shweta Rajpal Kohli and Vikram Chandra as they ask  what does the highly anticipated budget mean for industry and the people of India?

    Following that will be a live budget speech with Prannoy Roy with CEOs, analysts and the aam aadmi for their reactions to the Budget at 11 am. At 7 pm Manisha Natarajan will look at the tax implications with a panel of tax experts. Budget Buzz 2016 ends with a full analysis of the budget with Prannoy Roy and a panel of expert analysts from 8- 10 pm

    NDTV Profit’s Budget Buzz has a full day of programming starting at 8 am with Prashant Nair and Manvi Sinha Dhillon with guest experts. Watch full in-depth discussions of highlights post the live Budget speech with market and expert analysts.

    India Ka Budget will begin at 10 am with Ravish Kumar and Aunindyo Chakratvarty with guests as they anticipate what changes the Budget will bring and give us analyses of highlights following the live budget presentation by the finance minister.

    The evening programming will highlight what the budget means as Ravish discusses significant budget points with his guests on primetime at 9 pm.

    The channel will air Budget Debate with Arnab Goswami with a panel of experts debating if the government has delivered on its reform promise. The panelists include Sanjeev Sanyal, Sandeep Gurumurthi, Omkar Goswami, Nalin Kohli, Pavan Varma, Rashesh Shah and Dr. Rajeev Kumar. The debate will happen on 28 February 2016 at 1 pm and a repeat at 9 pm.

    *The channels are arranged in an ascending order

  • News broadcasters finally surf the wave as Chennai drowns

    News broadcasters finally surf the wave as Chennai drowns

    MUMBAI: A natural disaster in Mumbai or Delhi even if not too severe in nature immediately gets the Indian broadcast news media in overdrive mode. “Breaking News” updates are pushed to the viewers every hour if not every few minutes. Everything else takes a backseat as television journalists and cameramen scamper through water or rubble… whatever the case may be.

     

    But sadly, only the Indian metros of Mumbai and Delhi command that kind of a clout from the Indian news channels, specially the English ones.

     

    As one of the most senior Indian journalists Rajdeep Sardesai recently said in a blog post, Indian news channels need to know that there is an India that exists beyond the Vindhyas.

     

    With incessant rains in Chennai over the last few weeks, the situation there is glum to say the least. However, English news channels have only just woken up to this natural disaster. It was only when news poured in of the Chennai airport shutting down due to water logging on the runway, did many realise the gravity of the situation down south.

     

    The natural calamity has left more than 250 people dead and thousands have been rendered homeless. 

     

    After waiting for some kind of push, news channels are now also participating in aiding the victims who have been stranded in the most inundated areas across the rain-battered Tamil Nadu. News channels are attempting to provide the nation with timely updates about the torrential rains of Chennai… albeit a tad too late in the day.

     

    In his blog, Sardesai discussed the issue and blamed the lack of coverage by national news channels on the tyranny of distance.” Since most national bureaus are located in Delhi, news around the national capital gains prominence than those in other parts of the country. According to him, the only solution behind this ignorance by the national media towards such a serious incident was by combining local and national content i.e by giving space to local news in the national news channels. “Maybe we need to have two national bureaus, one in Delhi and one south of the Vindhyas,” he suggested.

    News channels have evidently shown the divide between the coverage of news from the north to south of India. Indiantelevision.com tried to get hold of a few news channels that have invested some efforts in reporting the incident.

     

    Take a look…

     

    CNN-IBN

     

    CNN-IBN has sent two of their senior editors Karma Paljor and Shreya Dhoundial to cover the Chennai rains. The channel has also dispatched a group of five reporters who are there at the ground zero in Chennai. The other journalists on ground are Anna Isaac, Deepa Balakrishnan and Jude Sannith who are continuously bringing the latest update of the rains, the damage caused and the difficulties that the people of Chennai are facing.

     

    Speaking on the Chennai rains, CNN-IBN managing editor Radhakrishnan Nair said that the entire emphasis of the channel right now is on helping Chennai and connecting the needy and the good samaritans. He added that till normalcy is restored, CNN-IBN will keep the focus on ‘Help Chennai.’

     

    The channel has been flashing helpline numbers and email ids where people can contact for any kind of assistance. CNN-IBN has tied up with Twitter for people to reach out to their loved ones in Chennai and those who are looking for help. Their social media handles are also posting regular updates about the rains and regarding all the help that can be provided to the people stranded in the city.

     

    India TV

     

    The news channel has deployed three senior reporters covering the floods extensively in Tamil Nadu, which includes the bureau chiefs from Hyderabad and Bangalore and a senior defence correspondent from Delhi. Apart from this, the channel is continuously getting information and news from their local stringer network.

     

    India TV is also carrying out continuous coverage with regular updates on rescue operations, updates from the MET Department, Indian Army, NDRF and from government officials. The channel is covering the floods by way of regular and special programmes in a bid to inform viewers about the situation in Tamil Nadu. The channel’s correspondents, along with the rescue teams are going on aerial surveys to show the extent of devastation and the ground realities.

     

    NDTV 24×7

     

    The channel has its resident editor – South Uma Sudhir in Chennai from the day Tamil Nadu was hit by the torrential rains. The channel has also deployed five reporters to cover the entire incident.

     

    “The Chennai Floods have been NDTV’s main focus since the time the state was hit by the natural calamity and still remains the focus of all our bulletins, including prime time programming, both Left, Right and Centre and The Buck Stops Here have done Chennai related stories. We are also passing on all requests for help to relief officials,” informs NDTV 24×7 managing editor Manika Ahirwal Raikwar.

     

    Times Now

     

    Times Now has its senior editor Vivek Narayan spearheading the coverage in Chennai. The channel has also sent a team of eight reporters covering and reporting minute details about the situation in Chennai. The reporters are spread across the city, reporting from districts like Thiruvallur and Cuddalore.

     

    Additionally, the reporters are also trying to get messages of distress across to the relief teams in a bid to salvage the situation. The channel has also tied up with Twitter and leading news portal of south India News Minute to ensure that these messages reach officials as quickly as possible. “Times Now has been broadcasting non-stop coverage of the situation and has dedicated several hours of programming to the floods in Tamil Nadu,” adds a senior spokesperson from Times Network.

     

    As Sardesai rightly points out, hopefully such situations wouldn’t take a flood for national media channels to discover the India that exists beyond the Vindhyas. The entire nation hopes that this geographical division would not affect our motherland in the future.

  • Esha Media Research to launch stock monitoring system

    Esha Media Research to launch stock monitoring system

    MUMBAI: Media monitoring company – Esha Media Research is all set to launch its stock vigilance monitoring system in April this year.

     

    The company has completed the trial run for its new product, which will measure media impact and stock behaviour of any scrip mentioned in broadcast media.

     

    During the trail runs, the system captured references or comments made about a particular scrip by anchors, journalists, analysts, spokespersons or government officials and aided in understanding the trend and the stock market impact made by the anyone’s comment with utmost accuracy.

     

    “The pricing of the product will start from Rs 6 lakh onwards per scrip and it will be of great benefit to the stakeholders including the FIIs, domestic institutions like mutual funds, stockbrokerage houses, corporate and high net-worth individuals among others. Content for the sector like sugar or power or any sector can be customised depending upon the client’s requirement,” said Esha Media Research managing director RS Iyer.

     

    “Keeping in mind the full market capitalisation of over Rs 96,00,000 crore and free float market capitalisation of close to Rs 44,00,000 crore for the top 500 companies on the two premier stock exchanges, it will make more sense for the stakeholders to have this system under their belt at an extremely value added proposition,” Iyer informed.

     

    The output from the new system will be tracking all business channels in India during market hours. The relevant clips can be viewed at click of the button.