ITV

Tag: Tarun Tejpal

  • Sahara TV readies comprehensive assembly poll coverage

    Sahara TV readies comprehensive assembly poll coverage

    With assembly elections to the some key states round the corner, Hindi general entertainment channel Sahara TV plans to provide comprehensive election coverage to its viewers. Branded as Chunav Sangram the programme will be a run-up to the elections followed by 24-hour live telecast on 24 February, 2002. 

    Elections are being held in the key states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab as well as the new state of Uttaranchal (which was carved out of UP) and the northeastern state of Manipur. The time schedule of Chunav Sangram is as follows:

    4 February to 23 February, 2002  7 pm to 8 pm. 24 February, 2002 onwards  live non-stop coverage from 8 am on. 

    Starting 4 February, Sahara TV will air an hour-long election analysis programme anchored by Vinod Dua and eminent psephologist Ashok Lahiri. To make a strong impact with these discussions, Sahara TV has roped in names like Ashwini Minna, Mahesh Bhatt, Tarun Tejpal, JS Malhotra, Vivek Bharati, Shankarsan Thakur and Purshottam Agarwal who will form an exclusive panel of analysts. Besides these, the programme will also have senior politicians joining the studio discussions from time to time.

    The election special programme will take off with a benchmark projection poll indicating the likely positions of the parties in the forthcoming elections followed by a series of election related daily opinion polls.

    The hour-long Chunav Sangram will also include an interesting segment offering on-the-spot election related investigative stories by Nalini Singh highlighting issues like corruption, misuse of official machinery, use of guns, nepotism etc

    Commenting on this initiative, Priya Raj, V-P (publicity, promotion & PR), Sahara TV said: “The election special programme Chunav Sangram reiterates Sahara TVs commitment towards providing up-to-date and quality news coverage to our viewers. Chunav Sangram is a unique value added information package in todays clutter of news. Our focus on precision and quality achieved with the help of the state-of-art technology, a large team of newsmen and leading experts with our own inimitable Vinod Dua – will help viewers make sense of the current political scenario helping them to make an informed decision during the forthcoming elections.

    Sahara TV has made arrangements to provide 24-hour live telecast of these elections on 24 February involving 400 newsmen. Beginning from 8 am the programme will analyse the results in four states.

    Sahara TVs studios in Noida, New Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Imphal will be providing the necessary live inputs. Sahara TV will use its online VSAT connectivity to receive up-to-date election news from UP (Meerut, Agra, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Bareily, Lucknow); Punjab (Chandigarh, Bhatinda, Amritsar, patiala), Uttaranchal (Dehradun, Nainital), Imphal and Delhi City Centre for the election coverage.

  • Sahara TV readies comprehensive assembly poll coverage

    Sahara TV readies comprehensive assembly poll coverage

    With assembly elections to the some key states round the corner, Hindi general entertainment channel Sahara TV plans to provide comprehensive election coverage to its viewers. Branded as Chunav Sangram the programme will be a run-up to the elections followed by 24-hour live telecast on 24 February, 2002. 

    Elections are being held in the key states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab as well as the new state of Uttaranchal (which was carved out of UP) and the northeastern state of Manipur. The time schedule of Chunav Sangram is as follows:

    4 February to 23 February, 2002  7 pm to 8 pm. 24 February, 2002 onwards  live non-stop coverage from 8 am on. 

    Starting 4 February, Sahara TV will air an hour-long election analysis programme anchored by Vinod Dua and eminent psephologist Ashok Lahiri. To make a strong impact with these discussions, Sahara TV has roped in names like Ashwini Minna, Mahesh Bhatt, Tarun Tejpal, JS Malhotra, Vivek Bharati, Shankarsan Thakur and Purshottam Agarwal who will form an exclusive panel of analysts. Besides these, the programme will also have senior politicians joining the studio discussions from time to time.

    The election special programme will take off with a benchmark projection poll indicating the likely positions of the parties in the forthcoming elections followed by a series of election related daily opinion polls.

    The hour-long Chunav Sangram will also include an interesting segment offering on-the-spot election related investigative stories by Nalini Singh highlighting issues like corruption, misuse of official machinery, use of guns, nepotism etc

    Commenting on this initiative, Priya Raj, V-P (publicity, promotion & PR), Sahara TV said: “The election special programme Chunav Sangram reiterates Sahara TVs commitment towards providing up-to-date and quality news coverage to our viewers. Chunav Sangram is a unique value added information package in todays clutter of news. Our focus on precision and quality achieved with the help of the state-of-art technology, a large team of newsmen and leading experts with our own inimitable Vinod Dua – will help viewers make sense of the current political scenario helping them to make an informed decision during the forthcoming elections.

    Sahara TV has made arrangements to provide 24-hour live telecast of these elections on 24 February involving 400 newsmen. Beginning from 8 am the programme will analyse the results in four states.

    Sahara TVs studios in Noida, New Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Imphal will be providing the necessary live inputs. Sahara TV will use its online VSAT connectivity to receive up-to-date election news from UP (Meerut, Agra, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Bareily, Lucknow); Punjab (Chandigarh, Bhatinda, Amritsar, patiala), Uttaranchal (Dehradun, Nainital), Imphal and Delhi City Centre for the election coverage.

  • Zee TV is the only gainer in Week 48

    Zee TV is the only gainer in Week 48

    MUMBAI: As the alleged rape case involving Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal and a female journalist working with the magazine unfolded last week, the focus of Indian television viewers seem to have shifted from the general entertainment channels to the news channels.

    Otherwise there’s no reason for almost all the general entertainment channels (GECs) to witness a drop in its ratings in the week 48 of TAM TV ratings. It was just Zee TV that has gained with 448,553 GVTs (433,447), though it maintains its third position in the chart. Star Plus continues to lead with 548,331 GVTs (560,497) followed by Colors that has registered 478,534 GVTs (513,415).

    Life OK continues to be at number four with 334,327 GVTs (335,013), Sab TV with 269,269 GVTs (308,133) is at number five. Sony continues to be at number six with 238,987 GVTs (269,332). Sahara One is still lagging behind and is at the bottom of the ratings list with 33,691 GVTs (30,429).

    Coming back to the chart topper, Star Plus, its most popular and loved show in the prime-time slot seems to be losing out on viewers. This time Diya Aur Baati Hum has registered only 11,449 TVTs (12,298). Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, another popular offering from the channel too registered 7,329 TVTs (7,863). Even the viewership of Pyar Ka Dard Hai went down as it scored 6,661 TVTs (7,351). However, Sath Nibhana Saathiya managed enough to balance it out. The show registered 8,683 TVTs (8,290). The epic series Mahabharat too notched up and scored 7,170 TVTs (6,835). And surprisingly, the ratings of Saraswati Chandra too went up. It registered 5,367 TVTs (5,071). The ratings of popular celebrity dance reality show, Nach Baliye, however didn’t witness much change and registered 4,267 TVTs (4,736).

    Colors longest running and the most popular fiction series, Balika Vadhu generated 6,513 TVTs (6,684), while Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon scored 4,329 TVTs (4,749). Uttaran that has been on-air on the channel since quite some time now also witnessed a significant rise and rated 4,031 TVTs (3,645). However, Comedy Nights with Kapil that has been tickling the funny bones of the audience and has been really popular seems to have lost its charm this week and has witnessed a drop with 7,851 TVTs (8,464). The international series 24 starring Anil Kapoor has also failed to click with the audience and has registered 2,797 TVTs (3,058 TVTs). The unfolding romance and drama in the celebrity-reality show Bigg Boss too hasn’t worked too well for the channel as even that has lost out on viewers. Bigg Boss registered 5,102 TVTs (5,491).

    For Zee TV, its period drama Jodha Akbar seems to have worked well. The ratings of the show notched up taking its tally to 10,182 TVTs (9,801). Its sitcom Bh se Bhade too managed enough viewers and scored 2,079 TVTs (1,650). Even the ratings of Qubool Hai registered 5,862 TVTs (5,830). The ratings of Pavitra Rishta and Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se escalated as well with 5,468 TVTs (5,043) and 5,369 TVTs (5,019) respectively. Its popular dance reality show, Dance India Dance 4, however witnessed a drop and scored 4,323 TVTs (4,666) during the weekend.

    Fourth placed, Life OK witnessed a slight rise in its popular mythological series Mahadev and managed 3,312 TVTs (3,212). Even its new horror series Khauff Begins fared well in the first week with 2,539 TVTs. The ratings of Ek Boond Ishq and Do Dil Ek Jaan remained stable with 2,833 TVTs (2,834) and 1,491 TVTs (1,494) respectively. Crime-based show Shapath witnessed a huge drop and generated 3,055 TVTs (4,057). Crime-based show Savdhaan India scored 3,024 TVTs (3,035). Tumhari Paakhi managed to grab enough eye balls to take its TVT to 2,183 TVTs (1,877).

    Sab’s fiction show, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah that has been keeping viewers in splits since last few years, has lost viewership it seems as it registered just 7,647 TVTs (8,856). Even Chidiya Ghar saw a significant drop and generated 2,935 TVTs (3,479). Lapataganj saw a slight dip as well and generated 1,769 TVTs (1,921). Baalveer registered 2,643 TVTs (3,293).

    Almost all the shows on Sony witnessed a drop in its ratings. Even its longest running crime series CID that has been really popular with the viewers witnessed a drop with 4,600 TVTs (5,254). Even Crime Patrol managed just 2,964 TVTs (3,255). The channel’s historical show Maharana Pratap recorded 2,733 TVTs (3,054), while quiz show KBC witnessed a drop and registered 3,248 TVTs (3,738). Other fiction shows either maintained a stable position or dipped marginally during the week. Its horror flick, Bhoot Aaya doesn’t seem to entice viewers as it registered only 1,423 TVTs (1,662).

    In the movie channel genre, Zee Cinema reported 253,575 GVTs (197,512); Star Gold registered 181,167 GVTs (178,122) and Movies OK scored 133,805 GVTs (127,470). On the other hand, &pictures witnessed a huge drop and scored 81,291 GVTs (112,609), Zee Anmol registered 55,524 GVTs (46,088) and Max scored 129,948 GVTs (200,508).

    While all the GECs have maintained a stable position this week with only Zee TV gaining few extra points, let’s see what’s in store for the channels in the coming weeks.

  • Amuls tasteless take on Tehelka

    Amuls tasteless take on Tehelka

    MUMBAI: For a brand as big as Amul, its ads too have come to be an iconic part of the country’s social-scape.

     

    From IPL spot fixing to the allegations of corruption that once swirled around Jagmohan Dalmiya, from Laloo Prasad Yadav’s arrest in the fodder scam to Raj Babbar’s atrocious comments with respect to Rs 12 meals; Amul ads have taken an unflinching stance, driving home the point cheekily, yet responsibly while almost always leaving the reader with a smile.

     

    This time round however, even Amul’s li’l moppet, of the polka dot fame, has been unable to save the day.

     

    The latest ad – a take on the Tehelka scandal – shows a Tarun Tejpal-like figure being pecked by crows (incidentally the crow is Tehelka’s mascot) while sitting on a stool inside what looks like an elevator, while the Amul girl stands outside with her bread and butter sandwich. The tagline reads: “Kya Se Kya Kho Gaya! Tehelka Macha De!”

     

    Tejpal, the editor of Tehelka, who has made a career out of his in-your-face brand of journalism, has been in the news for allegedly sexually assaulting a junior colleague, a friend of his daughter at that, in an elevator at a fest organised by the magazine earlier this month in Goa.

     

    The Amul poster, which takes a very obvious swipe at Tejpal, hasn’t gone down well with people and social media is abuzz with comments trashing the ad for its tastelessness.

     

    Writes columnist and writer Aseem Chhabra: “I find this Amul ad outrageous and offensive! Where is the humor in a rape case?” Tweets The Oddfather @TheOddfather1014h: “Sorry guys, just my personal opinion…I don’t think it’s very smart or creative using a molestation case in your ad #justsaying”. Posts Vijay @ohVijayJoshi3h wrote: “like idiots u came up to make fun of a sensitive topic can u do a fun ad on 26/11 & Arushi as well.. U r selling butter? Pathetic”.

     

    Clearly, the ad hasn’t cut ice with a majority of people unlike its previous ones. Whether they think it trivializes a serious issue or is just not witty enough or whether rape is a matter that just doesn’t lend itself to jokes; one can’t really point out.

     

    All said, adman Rahul Dacunha, the man behind all those witty Amul posters since 1993 is disappointed with people’s reaction.   “Am disappointed that you see this as a joke – it’s a satirical comment about the fall from grace of a man,” he tweeted.

     

    Ironically, Dacunha is the same guy who, in a column in Tehelka on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Amul in 2009 wrote: “Today is Tuesday morning. Actor Shiney Ahuja makes the headlines – he may have just raped his maid. The question before the Amul creative team at Dacunha Communications is: Should Amul walk away or comment? And if we do, what angle do we take? What tone of voice? This is the dilemma we often face with Amul.”

     

    If this is what Dacunha thought four years ago, we wonder what made him change his mind this time round…

  • The alarming L’affaire Tejpal

    The alarming L’affaire Tejpal

    The media industry as well as the common man was shocked yesterday when Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal reportedly admitted ‘misconduct’ against a woman journalist and offered to step aside from the post, and the office, for six months as a penance. The journo in question had alleged that Tejpal sexually assaulted her at an event organised by the magazine in Goa earlier this month.

     

    So what’s all the fuss about? We live in times when adults having consensual sex has become quite common at workplaces. From Fatal Attraction to Inkaar, the subject has been captured on celluloid and written about a zillion times. There’s a term coined for it as well, ‘office spouse.’ We hear about such relationships every other day; be it in classrooms or boardrooms.

     

    And the media, much as it may like to pretend otherwise, isn’t too far behind in these matters. Prominent journalists have had consensual relationships which are a known fact among the fraternity but no one really talks about them, openly, at least.

     

    One wouldn’t be wrong if he/she calls media as a cesspool. Just that those who are in the business of washing other people’s dirty linen in public, won’t wash theirs in full public view. That would be just so wrong!

     

    One wouldn’t be wrong if he/she calls media as a cesspool. Just that those who are in the business of washing other people’s dirty linen in public, won’t wash theirs in full public view. That would be just so wrong!
    _____****__________________________________________________________

    Like Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhary side-stepped a news reporter’s query saying, “This is an internal matter”. Wouldn’t others of her ilk have said the same thing if they were in such a mess?

     

    There are many Tejpals striding the passages in media organisations around India. And more and more women are entering the media industry – whether in television news or general entertainment channels or newspapers – especially at the junior level. It is they who become an easy target for the ones sitting in their cozy cabins. Some of the younger lot might “cooperate” to get a helping hand in their careers while others who become victims might choose to keep mum so as to not harm their progress.

     

    It takes a lot of courage for one to step-up and take on the boss. The young Tehelka journalist did so and needs to be patted on her back for not letting the possible repercussions hold her back. But how many of them will do so? That is the worrying part.

     

    But there is a saving grace. Those in senior positions or positions of power should remember: Everyone is under scrutiny and no one — no matter how powerful — can escape from one’s actions in the liberalised social media environment of today. This is borne out by l’affaire Tejpal which has once again brought the much celebrated journalist in focus. But unlike earlier times when he was in the limelight unearthing scandals, this time, he is the scandal. The once media darling is now being crucified by one and all as a beast, and rightly so. Indeed, Tejpal and Tehelka, which made headlines with umpteen sting operations, finds itself being stung by scandal and that too rather badly.

     

    For a magazine known to take a stance, no matter what the consequences, it has come under severe criticism for taking a rather serious issue lightly. “He stepped down. It was not something she’d asked for. It was over and above that”, says Chaudhary matter-of-factly.

     

    Not only is the world shocked to know that Tejpal sexually harassed a junior colleague, who happens to be his daughter’s close friend, his decision to step aside from the editorship of the magazine and from the Tehelka office for six months as ‘atonement’ for what he describes as ‘a bad lapse of judgement, an awful misreading of the situation…’ has been labelled ‘inappropriate and grossly insufficient’ by many.

     

    Those in senior positions or positions of power should remember: Everyone is under scrutiny and no one — no matter how powerful — can escape from one’s actions in the liberalised social media environment of today. This is borne out by l’affaire Tejpal which has once again brought the much celebrated journalist in focus.
    _____****____________________________________________________

    Apparently, Tejpal, in his letter to Chaudhary, has said he repents his ‘drunken banter’ and offered to step aside from his post and the office for six months to ‘atone for his misconduct’. But does that absolve him from all responsibility? Maybe he hopes his close connections with the Congress president will help him in return of all the snooping he has done on the rival party.

     

    And what do we say to Chaudhary, otherwise known to be at the forefront of all women’s causes, who has in this instance chosen to support Tejpal, requesting Tehelka employees to ‘stand by the institution in this hard time.’

     

    Institution yes… but one whose future hangs in the balance. Will it outlast Tejpal when he is tried and thrown into jail as is being demanded by many on Twitter and on social media? This is probably what was playing in the mind of the victim, which is why she is still considering constitution of a committee by the magazine to go into the issue and take action. Remember, Tejpal allegedly forced himself on the girl in an elevator in a five star hotel more than 10 days ago. With a slew of publications downing shutters, and television channels shedding staff, another magazine folding up will not be good news for the industry, that too because of one man…

     

    While one can’t foresee the future, a niggling question remains: “What was Tejpal thinking (or smoking or guzzling) when a man of his stature did what he calls ‘a bad lapse of judgement’?”

     

    Maybe he doesn’t believe in practicing what he preaches.