ITV

Tag: Prannoy Roy

  • MIB puts NDTV India ban on hold until further notice

    MIB puts NDTV India ban on hold until further notice

    MUMBAI: The twists and turns in l’affaire NDTV continue.  The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) late in the evening today issued another order stated that its earlier diktat banning Hindi TV news channel NDTV India for a day on 9 November 2016 is to be held in “abeyance until further orders.”  What this means is that NDTV need not pull the plug on its Hindi news channel for a day for violations during its coverage of  the Pathankot terrorist attack earlier this year.

    The reason the MIB has stated is that NDTV has made a representation to it , which it is currently examining. And until it does so fully, the earlier order prohibiting transmission or retransmission of NDTV India under the Cable TV Networks Regulation Act is on hold.

    Earlier today, the NDTV management approached the Supreme Court challenging the MIB’s directive.

    And NDTV co-founder and executive chairperson Prannoy Roy met with I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu later in the day exhorting him that his channel’s views on it had perhaps not been fully and adequately appreciated.  Roy also wanted the decision to be reviewed. Following this, a new order was issued by the MIB putting its earlier order on hold.

     “Clearly the Modi government and the MIB have both faced a lot of political heat on account of the ban. It probably had not idea how much of verbal artillery fire it would face from the fourth estate when it took its step to ban NDTV India,” says a media observer. “It’s good that the MIB is taking it as it comes and has retracted its order temporarily until it examines NDTV’s stand. At least it will be able to say it gave the network a chance to make its representation and redeem itself in the public’s eyes which is stating that harsh days are ahead for the media. That the era of the Indira Gandhi emergency is upon us.”

    Earlier today Zee group chairman and BJP MP  Subhash Chandra had said that the actions against NDTV were in order and that instead of a day long ban, a lifelong ban against it should be issued. He also added that even the Indian courts would not overrule the MIB verdict as it had threatened Indian security with its reportage.

    Also Read:

    NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    NDTV India has been singled out: NBA

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

  • MIB puts NDTV India ban on hold until further notice

    MIB puts NDTV India ban on hold until further notice

    MUMBAI: The twists and turns in l’affaire NDTV continue.  The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) late in the evening today issued another order stated that its earlier diktat banning Hindi TV news channel NDTV India for a day on 9 November 2016 is to be held in “abeyance until further orders.”  What this means is that NDTV need not pull the plug on its Hindi news channel for a day for violations during its coverage of  the Pathankot terrorist attack earlier this year.

    The reason the MIB has stated is that NDTV has made a representation to it , which it is currently examining. And until it does so fully, the earlier order prohibiting transmission or retransmission of NDTV India under the Cable TV Networks Regulation Act is on hold.

    Earlier today, the NDTV management approached the Supreme Court challenging the MIB’s directive.

    And NDTV co-founder and executive chairperson Prannoy Roy met with I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu later in the day exhorting him that his channel’s views on it had perhaps not been fully and adequately appreciated.  Roy also wanted the decision to be reviewed. Following this, a new order was issued by the MIB putting its earlier order on hold.

     “Clearly the Modi government and the MIB have both faced a lot of political heat on account of the ban. It probably had not idea how much of verbal artillery fire it would face from the fourth estate when it took its step to ban NDTV India,” says a media observer. “It’s good that the MIB is taking it as it comes and has retracted its order temporarily until it examines NDTV’s stand. At least it will be able to say it gave the network a chance to make its representation and redeem itself in the public’s eyes which is stating that harsh days are ahead for the media. That the era of the Indira Gandhi emergency is upon us.”

    Earlier today Zee group chairman and BJP MP  Subhash Chandra had said that the actions against NDTV were in order and that instead of a day long ban, a lifelong ban against it should be issued. He also added that even the Indian courts would not overrule the MIB verdict as it had threatened Indian security with its reportage.

    Also Read:

    NDTV challenges I&B Ministry order in Supreme Court

    NDTV India has been singled out: NBA

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

  • Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    MUMBAI: In what is being viewed in certain quarters as an assault on media freedom reminiscent of Rajiv Gandhi government’s bid to gag media in late 1980s, the Prannoy Roy and family-controlled NDTV India, has been directed by the government to go off air for 24 hours from 9 November 2016 as a penalty for breaching telecast norms related to security issues.

    NDTV is exploring all options against this 24-hour ban with opinion split on the issue. While a section of views on social media supported the government action, many who part of the Indian media criticised it saying it reminded them of Indira Gandhi-imposed Emergency in India in 1977.

    Confirming the recent development, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) sources said that Hindi news channel NDTV India has been accused of airing images and revealing information regarding defence locations while covering the Pathankot terrorist attack a few months back. The sources added that NDTV India was given a chance by an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) of the government to put forth its viewpoint on the allegations and was found wanting.

    Indiantelevision.com made futile attempts to get in touch with NDTV for independent reactions, including newly-anointed group CEO KVL Narayan Rao and his predecessor Vikram Chandra.
    However, in a statement put out by NDTV on its website (http://www.ndtv.com/communication/ndtv-statement-on-order-against-our-hindi-channel-ndtv-india-1621155), the company said, “The order of the MIB has been received. It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out in this manner. Every channel and newspaper had similar coverage. In fact NDTV’s coverage was particularly balanced. After the dark days of the Emergency when the press was fettered, it is extraordinary that NDTV is being proceeded against in this manner. NDTV is examining all options in this matter.”

    The IMC, the government sources said, was earlier in favour of handing out a one-month ban, which was diluted to 24 hours later.
    The matter pertains to the coverage of Pathankot defence areas after a terrorist attack in January this year. The IMC has blamed NDTV India of providing on-air information about ammunition stockpiled in the airbase, fighter-planes, rocket-launchers, fuel-tanks, etc. The committee felt that such crucial information could have been readily picked by up by hostile nations and could have compromised lives of civilians and defence personnel.

    The committee has also mentioned that the channel appeared to give out the exact locations of terrorists on air, thus compromising counter offensives by India.
    In its reply, the channel said that it was a case of subjective interpretation and most of the information they had put out was already in public domain in print, electronic and social media.

    A section of Indian media reacted strongly against such a government move.

    “Govt pulling TV news channels off air is a dangerous trend. Don’t want sarkari babus deciding what content they like and what they don’t,” India Today (TV) and Aaj Tak Managing Editor Rahul Kanwal tweeted.

    A former NDTV star and presently with India Today group, Rajdeep Sardesai, said in a series of tweets, “One of India’s most sober and responsible channels NDTV India to be banned for a day by I and B ministry. NDTV today, who tomorrow? Media should be accountable, scrutinised, but with transparency and not selectively.”



    Shekhar Gupta, former editor of the Indian Express Group and presently anchoring a digital news venture, said in a tweet, “What’s shocking is lack of protest/outrage. Reprehensible, somebody in Ind(ia) having power to ban news channels as in Pak(istan). Tom(orrow), it’ll be print.”



    Meanwhile in an another development, the NBSA (News Broadcasting Standards Authority), the self-regulatory body of news channels under the News Broadcasters’ Association ( NBA) late last month asked NDTV, the English news channel,  to air an apology covering for showing an incorrect map of India

    The letter from NBA to NDTV stated the complaint was studied and the channel was directed to run an apology (full screen) prior to 9 pm on 5 November.

    While  NBA refused to comment on this matter, it is learnt that MIB had forwarded to NBSA complaints received by it from people, especially by one person who had taken up this issue on social media in a big way.

  • Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    MUMBAI: In what is being viewed in certain quarters as an assault on media freedom reminiscent of Rajiv Gandhi government’s bid to gag media in late 1980s, the Prannoy Roy and family-controlled NDTV India, has been directed by the government to go off air for 24 hours from 9 November 2016 as a penalty for breaching telecast norms related to security issues.

    NDTV is exploring all options against this 24-hour ban with opinion split on the issue. While a section of views on social media supported the government action, many who part of the Indian media criticised it saying it reminded them of Indira Gandhi-imposed Emergency in India in 1977.

    Confirming the recent development, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) sources said that Hindi news channel NDTV India has been accused of airing images and revealing information regarding defence locations while covering the Pathankot terrorist attack a few months back. The sources added that NDTV India was given a chance by an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) of the government to put forth its viewpoint on the allegations and was found wanting.

    Indiantelevision.com made futile attempts to get in touch with NDTV for independent reactions, including newly-anointed group CEO KVL Narayan Rao and his predecessor Vikram Chandra.
    However, in a statement put out by NDTV on its website (http://www.ndtv.com/communication/ndtv-statement-on-order-against-our-hindi-channel-ndtv-india-1621155), the company said, “The order of the MIB has been received. It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out in this manner. Every channel and newspaper had similar coverage. In fact NDTV’s coverage was particularly balanced. After the dark days of the Emergency when the press was fettered, it is extraordinary that NDTV is being proceeded against in this manner. NDTV is examining all options in this matter.”

    The IMC, the government sources said, was earlier in favour of handing out a one-month ban, which was diluted to 24 hours later.
    The matter pertains to the coverage of Pathankot defence areas after a terrorist attack in January this year. The IMC has blamed NDTV India of providing on-air information about ammunition stockpiled in the airbase, fighter-planes, rocket-launchers, fuel-tanks, etc. The committee felt that such crucial information could have been readily picked by up by hostile nations and could have compromised lives of civilians and defence personnel.

    The committee has also mentioned that the channel appeared to give out the exact locations of terrorists on air, thus compromising counter offensives by India.
    In its reply, the channel said that it was a case of subjective interpretation and most of the information they had put out was already in public domain in print, electronic and social media.

    A section of Indian media reacted strongly against such a government move.

    “Govt pulling TV news channels off air is a dangerous trend. Don’t want sarkari babus deciding what content they like and what they don’t,” India Today (TV) and Aaj Tak Managing Editor Rahul Kanwal tweeted.

    A former NDTV star and presently with India Today group, Rajdeep Sardesai, said in a series of tweets, “One of India’s most sober and responsible channels NDTV India to be banned for a day by I and B ministry. NDTV today, who tomorrow? Media should be accountable, scrutinised, but with transparency and not selectively.”



    Shekhar Gupta, former editor of the Indian Express Group and presently anchoring a digital news venture, said in a tweet, “What’s shocking is lack of protest/outrage. Reprehensible, somebody in Ind(ia) having power to ban news channels as in Pak(istan). Tom(orrow), it’ll be print.”



    Meanwhile in an another development, the NBSA (News Broadcasting Standards Authority), the self-regulatory body of news channels under the News Broadcasters’ Association ( NBA) late last month asked NDTV, the English news channel,  to air an apology covering for showing an incorrect map of India

    The letter from NBA to NDTV stated the complaint was studied and the channel was directed to run an apology (full screen) prior to 9 pm on 5 November.

    While  NBA refused to comment on this matter, it is learnt that MIB had forwarded to NBSA complaints received by it from people, especially by one person who had taken up this issue on social media in a big way.

  • From reporting news to becoming news

    From reporting news to becoming news

    The journey from reporting news (as an anchor) to becoming news (if Twitter India trends are to be believed) could be many a journalist’s dream. But Arnab Goswami has traversed the path and reached that point in a short period of time. A decade to be precise. And, it’s certainly an achievement for which Arnab definitely needs a pat on the back — if not for anything else, though that list too is long.

    The very fact his resignation — announced by him on Tuesday at an editorial meeting, but the act was actually done over a week back — whipped up media frenzy with social media going on the boil is an indicator that Arnab is a true student of the Steve Jobs school of thinking: damn the status quo. In other words be a disruptor.

    If people say that Arnab changed the rules of the news game in India by resorting to in-your-face and being over the top (OTT), it won’t be wrong. If critics opine that he dumbed down viewers and made tabloid journalism mainstream, then they too won’t be off the mark. Simply because, he did both and in an unapologetic fashion. And, Times NOW and the owners of the news venture, who also control India’s biggest unlisted media company spanning print, radio, music and television, gained much in terms of eyeballs, if not revenue. But then how many electronic news ventures in India are profitable business entities?

    When people say Arnab and Times NOW changed colours to be popular after the present BJP-led government in New Delhi came to power in 2014, they are wrong. Arnab’s style, which began reflecting in how news was served up for viewers on Times NOW and later on ET NOW (he was made in-charge of both the news channels as President-News and Editor-in-Chief ), started gaining popularity much before the present government came to power.Simply because an increasing number of people wanted some spice. No wonder, Arnab declared with aplomb at a recent media conference in Delhi that the “era of polite (TV) anchors was over” and journalism of reporting news as it is without an opinion was “rubbish” as “facts are sacred but opinion is supreme.”

    The US experienced this news-views mish-mash when Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News decided to differentiate itself from legacies like CNN and BBC a few decades back and openly mixed news with views and opinion and even took political sides during elections. Arnab, however, says he’s on the side of the common man — if not on the side of a political thought or belief.

    If the likes of Prannoy Roys, Raghav Bahls, Vinod Duas and later the Rajdeep Sardesais, Vikram Chandras, Zaka Jacobs, Barkha Dutts, Sonia Singhs, Ravishs, etc followed the old school of traditional journalism in India, for good or bad, Arnab realised quickly the new age viewer has little understanding of such traditions as they consume video on the go more often than not where attention time span is short. So, in a way, Arnab also quickly learnt that Fox-isation is the way forward to be heard and be popular. Again, to quote, the man himself, one has to shout to be heard in this country.

    So, the popular quiz show KBC’s jackpot-winning question today could be: What will be the new venture of Arnab Goswami, if the Jains, owners of Times of India group of which Times NOW is a part, let him go ultimately?If Arnab specialises in understanding the new age viewer-consumer and his style is foxy (the pun is intended), then that’s the type of a product he’d like to be associated with in an entrepreneurial avatar — a product that addresses the digital savvy consumer, is world class, slick and, of course, spicy, sensational and very unlike the legacies.

    There would be many funders who would be ready to bet on Arnab at present. And, why not? He’s not only the darling of the masses (at least the English speaking ones), but also the present government.

    So if media gossip says, a certain tech-savvy South Indian businessman-turned-Member of Parliament of the Indian Parliament’s Upper House is putting in money in a fresh news venture with Arnab, it’s worthwhileto lend an ear. If you mix Rupert Murdoch and another Delhi-based TV journalist-turned-entrepreneur, then you have a recipe for an exciting dish. Remember, the government liberalised foreign investment norms in TV news ventures and upped the level to 49 per cent from the earlier 26 per cent earlier this year.

    Whatever Arnab does in the coming days, the nation would want to know (including a rumoured meeting with a media czar-turned-politician) and therein lies his success formula; his on-screen patronising attitude, love for the two S (spice and sensation) and jingoism notwithstanding.

  • From reporting news to becoming news

    From reporting news to becoming news

    The journey from reporting news (as an anchor) to becoming news (if Twitter India trends are to be believed) could be many a journalist’s dream. But Arnab Goswami has traversed the path and reached that point in a short period of time. A decade to be precise. And, it’s certainly an achievement for which Arnab definitely needs a pat on the back — if not for anything else, though that list too is long.

    The very fact his resignation — announced by him on Tuesday at an editorial meeting, but the act was actually done over a week back — whipped up media frenzy with social media going on the boil is an indicator that Arnab is a true student of the Steve Jobs school of thinking: damn the status quo. In other words be a disruptor.

    If people say that Arnab changed the rules of the news game in India by resorting to in-your-face and being over the top (OTT), it won’t be wrong. If critics opine that he dumbed down viewers and made tabloid journalism mainstream, then they too won’t be off the mark. Simply because, he did both and in an unapologetic fashion. And, Times NOW and the owners of the news venture, who also control India’s biggest unlisted media company spanning print, radio, music and television, gained much in terms of eyeballs, if not revenue. But then how many electronic news ventures in India are profitable business entities?

    When people say Arnab and Times NOW changed colours to be popular after the present BJP-led government in New Delhi came to power in 2014, they are wrong. Arnab’s style, which began reflecting in how news was served up for viewers on Times NOW and later on ET NOW (he was made in-charge of both the news channels as President-News and Editor-in-Chief ), started gaining popularity much before the present government came to power.Simply because an increasing number of people wanted some spice. No wonder, Arnab declared with aplomb at a recent media conference in Delhi that the “era of polite (TV) anchors was over” and journalism of reporting news as it is without an opinion was “rubbish” as “facts are sacred but opinion is supreme.”

    The US experienced this news-views mish-mash when Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News decided to differentiate itself from legacies like CNN and BBC a few decades back and openly mixed news with views and opinion and even took political sides during elections. Arnab, however, says he’s on the side of the common man — if not on the side of a political thought or belief.

    If the likes of Prannoy Roys, Raghav Bahls, Vinod Duas and later the Rajdeep Sardesais, Vikram Chandras, Zaka Jacobs, Barkha Dutts, Sonia Singhs, Ravishs, etc followed the old school of traditional journalism in India, for good or bad, Arnab realised quickly the new age viewer has little understanding of such traditions as they consume video on the go more often than not where attention time span is short. So, in a way, Arnab also quickly learnt that Fox-isation is the way forward to be heard and be popular. Again, to quote, the man himself, one has to shout to be heard in this country.

    So, the popular quiz show KBC’s jackpot-winning question today could be: What will be the new venture of Arnab Goswami, if the Jains, owners of Times of India group of which Times NOW is a part, let him go ultimately?If Arnab specialises in understanding the new age viewer-consumer and his style is foxy (the pun is intended), then that’s the type of a product he’d like to be associated with in an entrepreneurial avatar — a product that addresses the digital savvy consumer, is world class, slick and, of course, spicy, sensational and very unlike the legacies.

    There would be many funders who would be ready to bet on Arnab at present. And, why not? He’s not only the darling of the masses (at least the English speaking ones), but also the present government.

    So if media gossip says, a certain tech-savvy South Indian businessman-turned-Member of Parliament of the Indian Parliament’s Upper House is putting in money in a fresh news venture with Arnab, it’s worthwhileto lend an ear. If you mix Rupert Murdoch and another Delhi-based TV journalist-turned-entrepreneur, then you have a recipe for an exciting dish. Remember, the government liberalised foreign investment norms in TV news ventures and upped the level to 49 per cent from the earlier 26 per cent earlier this year.

    Whatever Arnab does in the coming days, the nation would want to know (including a rumoured meeting with a media czar-turned-politician) and therein lies his success formula; his on-screen patronising attitude, love for the two S (spice and sensation) and jingoism notwithstanding.

  • NDTV wins 2007-2008 tax appeals case

    NDTV wins 2007-2008 tax appeals case

    MUMBAI: Delhi-based news broadcaster the Prannoy Roy-headed NDTV has been caught up in a legal tangle with the income tax (IT) department for sometime. Last week, the income tax appellate tribunal (ITAT) ruled in its favour on tax matters related to assessment years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

    The ITAT said that NDTV need not pay tax on additional amount of Rs 22.09 crore which the department wanted to add to its taxable income. The ITAT rejected this claim entire amount, with the exception of Rs 12 lakh.

    The ITAT also allowed directed the IT department to allow it higher ESOP expenses of Rs 43.55 crore, against the earlier claim of Rs 21 crore. This has reduced the tax liability for NDTV for that period even further.

    NDTV won the ITAT’s nod on another ground too: it agreed that the company had correctly disclosed its international transactions with its associated enterprises including the provision for shareholder services on which no markup is required to be charged under transfer pricing regulation and negated the claim of the IT department of charging a notional markup on such services. Consequently, NDTV has got a tax relief to the tune of Rs 82.35 lakh in this regard.

    NDTV has other cases from IT department pending for other assessment years.

    The company notched up a loss of Rs 38 crore in its latest financial filings for Q1 2017 on a topline of Rs 115 crore.

    Its share was trading at Rs 78 odd at the close of trading last week.

  • NDTV wins 2007-2008 tax appeals case

    NDTV wins 2007-2008 tax appeals case

    MUMBAI: Delhi-based news broadcaster the Prannoy Roy-headed NDTV has been caught up in a legal tangle with the income tax (IT) department for sometime. Last week, the income tax appellate tribunal (ITAT) ruled in its favour on tax matters related to assessment years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

    The ITAT said that NDTV need not pay tax on additional amount of Rs 22.09 crore which the department wanted to add to its taxable income. The ITAT rejected this claim entire amount, with the exception of Rs 12 lakh.

    The ITAT also allowed directed the IT department to allow it higher ESOP expenses of Rs 43.55 crore, against the earlier claim of Rs 21 crore. This has reduced the tax liability for NDTV for that period even further.

    NDTV won the ITAT’s nod on another ground too: it agreed that the company had correctly disclosed its international transactions with its associated enterprises including the provision for shareholder services on which no markup is required to be charged under transfer pricing regulation and negated the claim of the IT department of charging a notional markup on such services. Consequently, NDTV has got a tax relief to the tune of Rs 82.35 lakh in this regard.

    NDTV has other cases from IT department pending for other assessment years.

    The company notched up a loss of Rs 38 crore in its latest financial filings for Q1 2017 on a topline of Rs 115 crore.

    Its share was trading at Rs 78 odd at the close of trading last week.

  • Indian news media hurtling towards regulatory cliff: Prannoy Roy

    Indian news media hurtling towards regulatory cliff: Prannoy Roy

    NEW DELHI: When one of the poster boys of TV news in India holds forth on the subject of news, it is worth a read even if one did not agree with the person on every point. And when that person is Prannoy Roy, the reading becomes that much more compelling.

    “Almost by definition, the path to making profits for a news organization is littered with compromises that change the nature of journalism, often so that it can no longer be recognized as a news channel.

    “In the quest for profits in the overcrowded market of news channels in India, several choices are possible and different channels have chosen different routes, but the greater the success with any one of these routes, the more the nature of news journalism changes,” says Roy in his chapter in a book about NDTV and 25 years of television journalism, aptly named More News is Good News. The chapter has been put up on NDTV’s website.

    Pointing out that an easy option for TV news channels is to become tabloid-ish to gain eyeballs, Roy observes, “Virtually every single Hindi news channel in India today is grotesquely tabloid.”

    “I recall what I think is the lowest point so far when one Hindi channel anchor twirled her hair with her forefinger, looked into the camera and said, ‘Break ke baad aapko ek rape dikhayenge’ (After the break we will show you a rape),” Royrecounts one of the many faux pas of TV news in India.

    Though Roy feels that Indian media, especially TV news segment, has been much tabloid-ish — an observation that will certainly raise heckles in various quarters — he admits that it would be incorrect to put the full blame on Hindi news channels for this “grotesque” tabloidization.

    Not that NDTV — and Roy — hasn’t faltered, but it has also attempted to stand up and protest against discriminations. For example, alleging discriminations, NDTV filed a case in the US against a global advertising behemoth that had an interest in a company doing audience measurement in India.

    “Virtually every city in India has a ‘ratings consultant’ who, for a relatively small fee, will ensure higher ratings for any channel…In fact, Nielsen sent out their global head of security to India and, after a four-month elaborate investigation, he said, ‘I have never seen as much corruption of the Nielsen system anywhere else in the world’,” Roy holds forth on an open secret on audience measurement in India’s media world till a few years back and before BARC came into existence.

    What do such trends mean for journalism? Roy’s answer: “I don’t need to state the obvious that going tabloid in the quest for profits changes the nature of the beast, destroying journalism…the only Hindi news channel in India that is not tabloid is NDTV India and I must also report that the channel is making a loss!”

    Having held forth on tabloid journalism, TRP-fixing, `paid news’, blackmail and extortion, Roy is cautiously optimistic about the ‘soft power’ of media and its role in Indian democracy.

    “As India’s media has grown over the years, despite all the baggage, so far more news has been good news. So far we have seen the upside of unfettered journalism. But any strength taken too far becomes a weakness and our media appears to be hurtling towards its own regulatory cliff. It is at these critical moments that governments try to take control,” Royconcludes.

  • Indian news media hurtling towards regulatory cliff: Prannoy Roy

    Indian news media hurtling towards regulatory cliff: Prannoy Roy

    NEW DELHI: When one of the poster boys of TV news in India holds forth on the subject of news, it is worth a read even if one did not agree with the person on every point. And when that person is Prannoy Roy, the reading becomes that much more compelling.

    “Almost by definition, the path to making profits for a news organization is littered with compromises that change the nature of journalism, often so that it can no longer be recognized as a news channel.

    “In the quest for profits in the overcrowded market of news channels in India, several choices are possible and different channels have chosen different routes, but the greater the success with any one of these routes, the more the nature of news journalism changes,” says Roy in his chapter in a book about NDTV and 25 years of television journalism, aptly named More News is Good News. The chapter has been put up on NDTV’s website.

    Pointing out that an easy option for TV news channels is to become tabloid-ish to gain eyeballs, Roy observes, “Virtually every single Hindi news channel in India today is grotesquely tabloid.”

    “I recall what I think is the lowest point so far when one Hindi channel anchor twirled her hair with her forefinger, looked into the camera and said, ‘Break ke baad aapko ek rape dikhayenge’ (After the break we will show you a rape),” Royrecounts one of the many faux pas of TV news in India.

    Though Roy feels that Indian media, especially TV news segment, has been much tabloid-ish — an observation that will certainly raise heckles in various quarters — he admits that it would be incorrect to put the full blame on Hindi news channels for this “grotesque” tabloidization.

    Not that NDTV — and Roy — hasn’t faltered, but it has also attempted to stand up and protest against discriminations. For example, alleging discriminations, NDTV filed a case in the US against a global advertising behemoth that had an interest in a company doing audience measurement in India.

    “Virtually every city in India has a ‘ratings consultant’ who, for a relatively small fee, will ensure higher ratings for any channel…In fact, Nielsen sent out their global head of security to India and, after a four-month elaborate investigation, he said, ‘I have never seen as much corruption of the Nielsen system anywhere else in the world’,” Roy holds forth on an open secret on audience measurement in India’s media world till a few years back and before BARC came into existence.

    What do such trends mean for journalism? Roy’s answer: “I don’t need to state the obvious that going tabloid in the quest for profits changes the nature of the beast, destroying journalism…the only Hindi news channel in India that is not tabloid is NDTV India and I must also report that the channel is making a loss!”

    Having held forth on tabloid journalism, TRP-fixing, `paid news’, blackmail and extortion, Roy is cautiously optimistic about the ‘soft power’ of media and its role in Indian democracy.

    “As India’s media has grown over the years, despite all the baggage, so far more news has been good news. So far we have seen the upside of unfettered journalism. But any strength taken too far becomes a weakness and our media appears to be hurtling towards its own regulatory cliff. It is at these critical moments that governments try to take control,” Royconcludes.