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Tag: NT Awards

  • Eighth NT Awards judging ends

    Eighth NT Awards judging ends

    NEW DELHI: A stellar jury – consisting of senior print and television news professionals – completed the judging of indiantelevision.com’s Eighth News Television Awards in Delhi last weekend. They spent more than two and a half days judging 600 Hindi and English news TV entries from 15 news channels.

    Earlier this year, other juries had adjudicated on the Telugu and Marathi entries in Hyderabad and Mumbai respectively. The Eighth NT Awards received 300 submissions from 13 Telugu channels and 180 entries from Three Marathi News channels.

    Top domestic mobile handset maker Gionee has come on board as title sponsorof indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards.

    Gionee presents indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards are to be held on 29 June 2016 in New Delhi’s Hotel Lalit.

    Price Waterhouse Coopers is the tabulator for the awards process.
    An exciting and fun-filled evening is planned for 29 June with stand up comedians hosting the awards. Entry will be by invitation only.

  • 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

     

  • Sixth NT Awards celebrate the best in news business

    Sixth NT Awards celebrate the best in news business

    New Delhi: The news television industry came out in droves to celebrate success on 25 March evening at New Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel. Representative of TV news channels reporting in Marathi, Hindi, English and Telugu all came together under one roof, forgetting rivalries, news breaks and to hold themselves under the spotlight at the Indiantelevision.com’s Sixth News Television Awards.

     

    Presented by LR Active Oil, with the support of many other industry partners, the NT Awards had a packed house as 116 awards in various categories were given away by dignitaries from politics, sport, society and culture.

     

    The chief guest for the evening was Information and Broadcasting Minister of State (independent charge) Manish Tewari. “While the government is all for taking self regulation forward, there is need to decide where freedom of press ends and reasonable restrictions begin,” he said.

     

    He also congratulated the winners and the organisers for celebrating the vibrancy and robustness of the television industry and presented a host of awards to winners.

     

    “We received more than 1000 entries from the various news channels and had lots of help from those in public life and from journalists in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad to short list the winners. Ernst and Young helped us in tabulating the peer judging process,” says Anil Wanvari, CEO and Founder of Indiantelevision.com, “The awards are growing in strength and I thank the industry for all the support it has been giving our initiative.”

        
    The event was anchored by Cyrus Broacha and dashing Kavita Kaushik whose quips had news professionals in splits throughout the evening.

     

    Awards were given for the best in categories like crime shows, sports shows, technology, documentaries with limited episode, TV news presenter, TV news anchor, investigative feature, investigative news report, entertainment news show et al.

     

    Special awards were given to Contribution to News Television, Innovation and Leadership in App Development, Most Extensive Social Media TV News Brand, Best News Channel Website, and for News Cinematographer.

     

    Aroon Purie, founder-publisher and Editor-in-Chief of India Today and the Chief Executive of the India Today Group stated that contrary to the general view, self regulation has made great strides in Indian television. He added that the News Broadcasters’ Association is taking a pro-active stance to raise standards of content. “The verdicts are being accepted by the channels and apologies made whenever required,” he pointed out.

     

    Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network, praised the strides by regional channels and expressed the hope that Hindi news channels would mend their “moral compass” by taking up serious issues.

     

    The awards function came at the end of a news summit on “Getting out of the Squeeze – Learning to live in a digitising India” which saw I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma, I&B joint secretary Supriya Sahu and representatives of leading news channels, MSOs, technology providers and others in the television news industry taking part in different sessions.

  • Stage set for News TV Summit and NT Awards on 25 March

    Stage set for News TV Summit and NT Awards on 25 March

    MUMBAI: A large part of the Indian news television fraternity is expected to be huddled in New Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel come 25 March. The occasion: the sixth Indiantelevision.com News Television Summit which is expected to commence at 11 am and which will be followed by Indiantelevision.com’s NT Awards in the evening.

     

    “Getting out of the Squeeze – Learning to live in a digitised India” is the theme of this year’s summit. A keynote opening address by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Secretary Uday Kumar Varma has been lined up and will be followed by three panel discussions covering the business and regulatory framework in a digitising India, innovative use of technology in the news broadcast space and the emerging trends in prime time news and the importance of TV news anchors.

     

    The News Television Summit 2013 is endorsed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and is supported by ABP News and ABP Majha. The NT Awards are presented by LR Active Oil while Saakshi TV, TV9, CNBC TV18, CNBC Awaaz, and Aaj Tak have also pitched in as partners.

     

    “The news TV industry has been grappling with an uber-competitive environment with limited revenue streams in almost every language segment,” says Indiantelevision.com Group CEO and Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari. “DAS and DTH can potentially help specific segments of the news TV industry generate new revenue streams in terms of subscription and premium niche news channels in the medium to long term. Of course the transition will throw up its own challenges.”

        
    Amongst those slated to attend and speak include: MIB Joint-Secretary Supriya Sahu, ABP News India CEO Ashok Venkatramani, BAG Media Network chairperson Anuradha Prasad, DEN CEO S.N. Sharma, Puthiya Thalaimurai TV news director S. Srinivasan, Legal expert Anish Dayal, India TV advisor Paritosh Joshi, Castle Media Director Vynsley Fernandes, Ericsson content and media head Supriyo Mookherjee, Quantel Q-Tube expert Chrisophe Messe, NDTV CTO Dinesh Singh, Cellcast Asia founder & CEO Pankaj Thakar, BBC Global News COO India Preet Dhupar, NDTV Group Editor Barkha Dutt, CNN-IBN host and veteran newscaster and analyst Karan Thapar, Bloomberg India Editor Vivek Law, Headlines Today Managing Editor Rahul Kanwal, DD’s Sanjeev Srivastava and finally India News Editor-in-Chief Deepak Chaurasia.

     

    The conference is to be followed by Indiantelevision.com’s The NT Awards, which received more than 1,000 entries for 43 categories from 45 TV news channels operating in English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. More than 110 jury members from news TV practitioners to print and magazine journalists to costume designers to marketers to agency professionals to former police officials to entrepreneurs helped judge the entries over two weeks of judging in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Ernst & Young had the responsibility of being the official tabulator of the jury results.

     

    Information & Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari has consented to be the chief guest for The NT Awards. CEOs of media companies and TV channels, Editors, Reporters, Technicians, Celebrities and Sportsmen are expected to attend the function, which is being anchored by TV anchor and political satirist Cyrus Broacha and TV actor Kavita Kaushik.

     

    The print partners include Cable Quest, Satellite@Internet India, and Aavishkar Dish Antenna while Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are online partners. The event has been executed and produced by Indiantelevision.com’s ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • NT awards recognise the best in TV news

    NT awards recognise the best in TV news

    NEW DELHI: In a fitting finale to a year that saw some very tumultuous coverage for television news channels highlighted among others by the Indian victory of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare, the best in the world of the electronic media were felicitated at the gala event of the 5th News Television Awards here this evening.

    Over 135 awards in different categories in four languages – English, Hindi, Marathi and Telugu – were presented amidst huge cheers by a large number of high profile dignitaries from the world of television, performing arts, sports, fashion, bureaucracy, and politics.

    While presenting the awards, Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said ethics and credibility will be the key to news coverage with the changeover to digital technology. He therefore advised media persons to find the right model for news according to their viewership.

    There were three cases where the awards were shared amongst two channels, but there were several individual programmes or individual newspersons and anchors who received more than one award.

    The awards gala was hosted by television actress Manini Dey Mishra and TV presenter Denzil O’Connell, who made some interesting comments on the way news is presented or about politics and personalities in general, leaving the audience in splits.

    Indiantelevision.com general manager Anoop Wanvari referred in his opening remarks that the awards were aimed at encouraging young people in doing better, and echoed the sentiments of Anil Wanvari, when he called for more channels to send entries for these awards – which were the first to be instituted especially for news TV channels.

    Awards were given for the best in categories like crime shows, sports shows, gadget and auto programmes, documentaries with limited duration, news presentation, anchors and news readers, business news programmes, investigative reporting, current affairs, prime time news cast, popular news show, use of graphics, set design (actual and virtual), cameraperson, promos, show packaging, news reporters and presenters, entertainment critics and news anchors, business programmes, public debates, and lifestyle and fashion.

    Special awards were given for coverage of two major events of 2011 – the World Cup win for India, and the agitation for a Lok Pal by Anna Hazare. There was also a special award for the best news person under 24 years of age.

    Those who had come to give away the awards included Central Information Commission chief Wajahat Habbibullah, Birju Maharaj, Aman Ali Khan, HK Dua, politicians Dr Subramaniam Swamy and Jaya Jaitley, Kiran Bedi, fashion designer Ritu Beri, danseuse Shovana Narayan, former cricket player Bishen Singh Bedi, former RBI chief Bimal Jalan, Doordarshan deputy director general Raj Shekhar Vyas, Rashmi Rizhwani, Babbal Sabharwal, Shaswati Sen, industrialist Mohit Burman, Francis Wacziarg of Neemrana Hotels, and veteran media person Kuldip Nayyar.

    The awards function came at the end of a news summit on ‘Seeking a growth injection: Is digitisation the answer for the news television business’ which saw representatives of leading news channels, direct-to-home platforms and others in the television news industry taking part in four different sessions on ‘Tech Trends’, ‘A look at the Genre’, ‘Content’, and ‘The Leader Panel’.

  • NT Awards honours TV news industry

    NT Awards honours TV news industry

     NEW DELHI: It was certainly a night of nights, particularly for those who make news about others. For a change, news was being made about them, and another page in the history of Indian news television was being written.

    The Convention Hall of Ashoka Hotel, the venue of the Third Indiantelevision.com News Television Awards, was filled with capacity. And as each name was called out to receive an award, the large ovation and whistling showed the representation of each news channel at the show.

    Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN IBN) took home the best TV news anchor of the year (English) award while Deepak Chaurasia (Star News) won the best TV news reporter of the year (Hindi) prize. The award for the business news anchor of the year went to Udayan Mukherjee (CNBC TV18), while Punya Prasoon Bajpai (Zee News) was the best TV news presenter.

    Some of the shows that won awards include NDTV 24×7’s The Buck Stops Here (Current Affairs Programme), The Big Fight (Public Debate Show of the Year) and We the People (News Talk Show); Headlines Today’s Ground Zero (Best Presented Popular News Show); CNN IBN’s Devil’s Advocate (News Talk Show); IBN7’s Zindagi Live (News Talk Show); CNBC Awaaz’s Tax Guru (Business Talk Show of the Year) and Tech Guru (Technology Based Show); and NDTV India’s Jai Jawan (Entertainment News Show).  
    Awards were presented in 26 categories to Hindi, Telugu and English news channels and it was clear from the ovation that the jury had chosen wisely. Incidentally, for the first time, a regional language – Telugu – had been chosen to receive the awards in different categories, apart from Hindi and English, particularly keeping in view the phenomenal growth in the number of Telugu news channels over the last two years.

    The Telugu news channel TV 9 was also awarded the indiantelevision.com’s ‘Hall of Fame’ recognition.

    Explaining the process of selection, Indiantelevision.com founder and Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari said that over 700 entries had been received and juries had sat in Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi to finalise the awards. This year’s jury included senior persons from the news channels and peers were involved in the selection process. Ernst and Young tabulated the awards.

    A galaxy of personalities presented the awards, including Dr Karan Singh, Uganda High Commissioner Nimisha Madhvani, former IPS officer Maxwell Pereira and former cricket personalities Surinder Khanna, Kirti Azad, and Atul Wasan.

    The show was telecast live on P7 News.

    The detailed list of awards is appended herewith:

    ENGLISH:    
    Category Name of the Winner Channel
    PROGRAMMING    
    Best Investigative News Report  Centre Stage – Dal Scam Headlines Today
    Crime Show 30 Minutes On Honor Killings CNN IBN
    Current Affairs Programme The Buck Stops Here NDTV 24×7
    Best Presented Popular News Show India Decides @ 9 NDTV 24×7
    Best Presented Popular News Show (Joint Winner) Ground Zero Headlines Today
    News Talk Show We The People NDTV 24×7
    News Talk Show (Joint Winner) Devil‘s Advocate CNN IBN
    Daily Prime Time News Cast India Business Hour CNBC – TV 18
    Business News Programme of the Year 30 minutes on Diamonds not Forever CNN IBN
    Business Talk Show of the Year The Game Changers NDTV 24 X 7
    Live Telecast Show (Stock Market) Budget 2009 NDTV Profit
    Sports News Show of the Year 30 Minutes Boys In The Bubble CNN IBN
    Show on Environment Awareness / Social Development Campaign Beginning of the End Headlines Today
    Public Debate Show of the Year The Big Fight NDTV 24 X 7
    News Documentry Programme 30 Minutes on Encounter Killings in Manipur CNN IBN
    Technology Based Show Tech Toyz CNBC TV 18
    Entertainment News Show Jai Jawan NDTV 24 X 7
    Lifestyle & Fashion News Show Living It Up CNN IBN
    Auto Show Overdrive CNBC – TV18
    PROMO    
    Promo for a Channel   NDTV 24 x 7
    Promo for a Channel (Joint Winner)   Headlines Today
    Promo Campaign by a News Channel   NDTV 24 X 7
    PERSONALITY    
    TV News Presenter Suhasini Haidar CNN IBN
    TV News Reporter of the Year Karma Paljor CNN IBN
    TV News Anchor of the Year Rajdeep Sardesai CNN IBN
    Young TV Journalist of the Year Arunoday Mukherjee CNN IBN
    Business News Anchor of the Year Udayan Mukherjee CNBC TV – 18
    Sports News Presenter of the Year Gaurav Kalra CNN IBN
    Entertainment Critic of the Year Rajeev Masand CNN IBN

     

    HINDI:    
    Category Name of the Winner Channel
    PROGRAMMING    
    Best Investigative News Report  Narega IBN 7
    Crime Show FIR – Real Slumdog NDTV India
    Current Affairs Programme Special Report – NDTV In Taliban (Umashankar Singh) NDTV India
    Best Presented Popular News Show Star Khabar Star News
    News Talk Show Zindagi Live – Victims Of 84 Riots IBN 7
    Daily Prime Time News Cast Prime 9 Sahara Samay
    Daily Prime Time News Cast (Joint Winner) Aaj ki Baat Star News
    Business News Programme of the Year Budget Ka Reality show Aaj Tak
    Business Talk Show of the Year Tax Guru CNBC Awaaz
    Live Telecast Show (Stock Market) Commodity Call CNBC Awaaz
    Sports News Show of the Year Prann – Documentary on sachin Star News
    Show on Environment Awareness / Social Development Campaign Hunger In India NDTV India
    Public Debate Show of the Year Suno Aur Chuno Zee News
    News Documentry Programme Tank No 610 – Bhopal Gas Tragedy Star News
    Technology Based Show Tech Guru CNBC Awaaz
    Entertainment News Show Jai Jawan NDTV India
    Entertainment News Show (Joint Winner) Visual Effect in Bollywood – Yeh Jdoo Filmy Hai Star News
    Lifestyle & Fashion News Show Zaika India Ka NDTV India
    Auto Show Nano launch Aaj Tak
    PROMO    
    Promo for a Channel   Aaj Tak
    Promo Campaign by a News Channel   Aaj Tak
    PERSONALITY    
    TV News Presenter Punya Prasoon Bajpai Zee News
    TV News Reporter of the Year Deepak Chaurasia Star News
    TV News Anchor of the Year Nidhi Kulpati NDTV India
    Young TV Journalist of the Year Parimal Kumar NDTV India
    Business News Anchor of the Year Pradeep Pandya CNBC Awaaz
    Sports News Presenter of the Year Afshan Anjum NDTV India
    Entertainment Critic of the Year Vijay Dinesh Vashishtha NDTV India

     

     

    TELUGU:      
    Category Code Category Name of the Winner Channel
    PROGRAMMING      
    PR 1 T Investigative News Report Investigative News Report ABN Andhra Jyothy
    PR 2 T Daily Prime Time Newscast News At 10 PM TV 9
    PR 3 T News Documentary Programme – Limited episodes  1947 – The Story of Partition Mahaa TV
    PR 4 T Current Affairs Programme (Home & International)  Zee Special – Tappevaridhi Zee 24 Gantalu
    PR 5 T News Talk Show Big Story – Youth Participation In Congress Party Zee 24 Gantalu
    PR 6 T Lifestyle & Fashion News Show Be A Star Show TV 9
    PR 7 T Crime Show Life & Death – Kappatralla Mahaa TV
    PR 8 T Auto Show Ride Mahaa TV
    PR 9 T Entertainment News Show Panchavtaram TV 9
    PR 10 T Business News Programme 420 Companies Mahaa TV
    PR 11 T Business Talk Show of the year    
    PR 12 T Sports News Show of the year Sports News TV 9
    PR 13 T Best-Presented Popular News Show Encounter TV 9
    PR 14 T Show on Environment Awareness I Social Development Campaign Mahanadi Sakshi T.V.
    PR 15 T Public Debate Show Naveena TV 9
    PR 16 T Technology based show Gadget Guru TV 9
    PR 17 T Live Telecast Show (Stock Market) Money Business – Mood of the Murath Mahaa TV
    PROMO      
    PE 1 T TV News Presenter of the year  Devi Nagavalli TV 9 News
    PE 2 T TV News Reporter of the year  M.N.V. Prasad TV 9 News
    PE 3 T TV News Anchor of the year V. Rajnikanth TV 9 News
    PE 4 T Business News Anchor of the year    
    PE 5 T Sport News Show Presenter of the year    
    PE 6 T Entertainment Critic of the year    
    PE 7 T Young TV Journalist of the year (Below 28 years of age) A. Ramya TV 9 News
    PERSONALITY      
    PO 1 T Promo Campaign by a News Channel Mahaa TV Mahaa TV
    PO 2 T Promo for Channel Mahaa TV Mahaa TV

     

  • UTVi is ‘Business News Channel to Watch Out For’ at NT Awards

    UTVi is ‘Business News Channel to Watch Out For’ at NT Awards

    MUMBAI: UTVi, the latest entrant in the English business news space from the UTV group, was conferred the ‘Movico Technology Award for Business News Channel To Watch Out for in the Coming Year’ at Indiantelevision.com’s News Television (NT) Awards held in Delhi on 9 August.

    UTVi boasts of achievements like exclusive interviews of finance minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, home minister Shivraj Patil as well as international thought leaders like Adrian Mowat and commodities guru Jim Rogers amongst others. All of this within a few months of its launch.

    Speaking on the success of the channel, CEO Shantonu Aditya said, “UTVi’s explosive growth in such a short span of time is a result of its insightful, intelligent and inspiring content which is backed by the best in class research support and an appeal that is designed to meet the business acumen of the progressive India.”

    “The ever-growing base of unique viewers who don’t tune in to any of the much older competing brands and the fast adoption from the SEC A 6-metro segments have added to our confidence,” says Sumit Gupta, COO, UTVi.

  • NT Awards to confer Lifetime Achievement Award to Aroon Purie

    NT Awards to confer Lifetime Achievement Award to Aroon Purie

    MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com is all set to confer India Today Group editor-in-chief and chairman Aroon Purie with News Television’s (NT) Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the TV news industry.

    Purie is among the select few who have been instrumental in redefining journalism in India. In 1975, he founded the India Today Group, which is now acknowledged as one of India’s most diversified media conglomerates.

    Purie’s understanding of the Indian media space is reflected in the number of media properties he has successfully started. The TV Today Group has launched a pack of four news channels with Aaj Tak as a leader in the Hindi space.

    The NT awards will be held on 9 August in New Delhi at the second Indian News Television Summit 2008, which will see well known faces of the TV News fraternity discussing “commercialisation” and “regionalisation” of news.

    The event will kick off with a welcome address by Indiantelevision Dot Com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, followed by an industry report. Ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Sushma Singh will deliver an industry keynote during the occasion.

    Different news channels will present their perspectives in a panel discussion, titled The Commercial Imperative. The summit schedule also includes an interactive sesion with Al Jazeera English managing editor Tony Burman and a post lunch session on “Regionalisation seeking pockets of success.”

  • News channels get set for Summit, NT Awards

    News channels get set for Summit, NT Awards

    MUMBAI: The television news industry is gearing up for the Indian News Television (NT) Awards 2008 conducted by Indiantelevision Dot Com. Instituted last year, the awards recognises and honours news channels and professionals in the country.

    The NT Awards 2008 will be preceded by the Second Indian News Television Summit, which will be held at the Taj Palace hotel in Delhi on Saturday, 9 August. With the theme being “Finding the Right Balance”, the summit is endorsed by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry. The keynote will be delivered by I&B Secretary Sushma Singh and the panel discussions will see participation from a host of practitioners from the news television fraternity. The two sessions of the NT Summit are titled ‘Commercialisation Imperative’ and ‘Regionalisation- Niche Seeking Pockets of Success.’

    In its second year, the NT Awards 2008 will have categories that will cover programming, personality, channel and special awards. The NT Awards will be presented to channel programmers, anchors, presenters, technicians, producers, editors, reporters and management.

    Indiantelevision Dot Com CEO and founder Anil Wanvari says, “The industry responded very enthusiastically when we introduced the News Television Awards last year. In fact, in the second year we have been swamped with entries from the news channels.

    “Our vision is to make these awards truly the news industry’s awards with participation from all the players like The Indian Telly Awards are the GEC genre’s awards. The News Television Awards are judged by veterans in the news space to really allow us to honour excellence in the TV Fourth Estate. We look forward to support and participation from one and all and a very successful News Television Awards.”

    The NT Awards is an annual event and this year’s edition will cover the period between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008.

    In most of the categories, a panel of jurors who are from within and outside broadcast journalism will view all the entries and shortlist them to decide the nominees and the winners. The nominees and winners will be based on a point scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest.

  • “The best thing that has happened is the wake up call on content”

    “The best thing that has happened is the wake up call on content”

    And you will find that regionalisation will finally give the media greater depth. There is tremendous energy in the media in regions and they need a platform and I am sure you will see that a lot in 2008. For us it is the quality that matters, and we take enormous pride in the fact that both CNBC and CNN IBN were the winners of the Indian Telly Awards and NT Awards this year. For us, recognition as a quality network matters more than anything else at the moment.

    There could be a perception that since people watch some irresponsible channels that the people in general are crass in their tastes, but looking at what has happened in the Hindi news space, I think TAM also has a need to take a second look at itself, and I don’t want the ministry to be doing it, as it seems to be suggesting. That would be terrible. I have a lot of faith in the people who do our ratinsg and I think they are people of great credibility. And just as we as content makers are looking inwards, they also need to do the same thing.

    I don’t think the Hindi news viewer is so drastically different from any other, or that this crudeness is what he wants, because what everybody is now wanting is quality. If you do chaddi-banyan (panty) journalism, you will get chaddi-banyan advertisements. I am not going to mention any specific channel but that revenue model cannot work. In the long run you have to do credible, thought provoking, inclusive journalism.

    There are too many short-term players in the market at the moment. It is a box-office-rating journalism for them. But Hindi TV news has done a lot of intelligent masala journalism and there is scope for a lot of that, without doing chaddi-banyan journalism. That is not the point. What worries me is the dumbing down of content.

    There is tremendous energy in the media in regions and they need a platform and I am sure you will see that a lot in 2008
    _____****_____

    There is need to take stock of the societal changes taking place. On the day of the Gurgaon school shootout, I think that was the real story, and not Gujarat elections. On the day of actual elections, or results coming out, Gujarat polls will be the real news story, but one important thing is that we have moved away from the journalism centred around politicians. And the Hindi channels are sometimes very good at that.

    And in our case, we have given our Hindi channel, IBN 7 the space to create an identity of its own. It is not a copy channel of the English CNN IBN, it has its own reportage, analysis and plan of action. If for the shootout story they headline it as “Gurgaon shootout” and not some Hindi word, I think they are entirely entitled to their own sensibility and this shows their growing self-confidence. Similarly for the Gujarat polls we in the English channel have used the word Gujarat Yatra, and why not? We are into breaking barriers. We have the Gujarat elections special programme titled “Kaun Banega CM”, and why not? Why do we have to see Kaun Banega Crorepati as a programme title only in a Hindi channel?

    But these are in any case the frills, and I feel that sometimes too much is inspected of the frills, but making the cake is the real challenge. That is my biggest worry: how do you relentlessly make quality news without getting into the ratings war.

    What have been the best and the worst things this year? Well, the best thing that has happened is the wake up call on content, the worst thing is that we have not been able to break the barrier between quantity and quality! We have talked a lot about it, but we have to do much more than just talk.