News Broadcasting
Amitabh Bachchan lashes out at news media, insists on professional code
NEW DELHI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who recently enacted the role of a media baron in the film Rann, feels there is “general failure of trust in the mainstream media” and so it needs to “re-examine” its role and responsibility to the people.
In a hard-hitting speech after giving away 14 CNN-IBN Citizen Journalist Awards here at a glittering function, Big B stressed the need for a professional code of ethics for the media.
Bachchan said that professional journalism is a crucial necessity in a democracy and the role should be to provide the public with reliable and accurate information through balanced reporting. The media should be accountable to people, he added.
The news media had “a duty to double-source facts; to thoroughly investigate material for the possibility of error, bias, prejudice, slander and its various vicious mischiefs. They also have a duty of responsible, reasoned, transparent judgement, not mere opinion,” he said, adding the media should not use cheap hackneyed language, or promote “garbage celebrity.”
If one looks at the cost-benefit analysis of blogs versus newspapers, prospects for the professional news media look grim, he observed. He said the responsibility should increase with such a large number of channels to work towards greater integrity.
“As we stand on this threshold of change, we have a seeming infinity of channels before us. With this privilege of multiplicity of choice, with whatever individual preference we hold, may we choose hopefully. And may the institutions that provide this wealth of choice give us dignity, and honour the greatest gift of humanity, our spirit of intelligent enquiry. Do not switch off the TV controls, not just yet. Keep watching,” Bachchan added.
In a speech modeled on that of Mark Anthony in William Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’, he addressed “friends, Indians, countrymen and women” to point out that when one citizen upholds the right for another, he does his duty. This is the essence of liberty.
He praised the valour and intelligence of the citizen journalists of India and the virtue of professional news media epitomised by CNN-IBN, “who have demonstrated the imaginative foresight to embrace change, to cultivate the nascent seed of citizen journalism so that it may flourish, bloom and bear its fruit of civic culture.”
He concluded his long speech with a rendition of the poem ‘Agneepath’ by his late father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
The awards were given in six categories: CJ Fight Back, CJ Save Your City, CJ Be the Change, CJ Photo, CJ Video and Special CJ. The awardees included a 13-year-old girl fighting against child labour, a 90-year-old woman freedom fighter fighting for restoration of her pension, two differently enabled persons fighting for reducing accidents in Mumbai local trains and improving standards of schools in small towns and villages, and a civil servant ensuring education to children of workers on archaeological sites.
Bachchan announced a five-year pension from his personal funds for the 90-year-old Gayatri Devi who had been brought on a wheelchair.
In the programme sponsored by Idea Cellular Limited, IBN18 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said the aim was to empower the citizen to help Indians climb any mountain. IBN7 managing editor Ashutosh said the aim was also to draw the attention of the government to the reportage by the CJs.
The evening also saw a special performance by famous playback singer Shilpa Rao which left the audience mesmerised.
The award ceremony will be telecast on 20 February on IBN7, IBN-Lokmat and CNN-IBN at 7 pm, 8 pm, and 9:30 pm respectively.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
