News Broadcasting
BBC News opens its archives for the first time
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that its division BBC News Interactive has released nearly 80 online news reports, for the first time from the archives.
The bulletins cover some iconic events of the past 50 years including the fall of the Berlin Wall, crowds ejecting soldiers from Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and behind-the-scenes footage of the England team prior to their World Cup victory in 1966.
They are offered as The Open News Archive, part of a new kind of BBC service – in pilot stage – which is not just about enjoying BBC output but allowing the UK public to use it to create content of their own. The clips have been made freely available under the terms of the recently-launched Creative Archive Licence.
The Creative Archive Licence allows people within the UK to watch, download and edit the clips and programming for non-commercial purposes. People interested in being creative with BBC material will be free to download and mix that footage and use it as the fuel for their own creative endeavours.
The footage is now at bbc.co.uk/opennewsarchive. To ensure that the material is available to as wide an audience, it will be made available in QuickTime, Windows Media, MPEG1 and MP3 formats.
In releasing these reports, the BBC has now doubled the number of programme extracts it originally made available through an initial trial with Radio 1 Interactive.
BBC News director Helen Boaden says, “This trial is an important step in allowing us to share with our audiences the extraordinary news archive which the BBC has recorded over the years. We look forward to getting their reaction.”
Creative Archive Licence Group project director Paul Gerhardt says, “The big news stories of the last three decades are the punctuation marks in the stories of our lives. The BBC’s telling of those stories is part of our heritage, and now that the UK public have the chance to share and keep them we’re keen to know how they will be used. Whatever you do, let us know – and help to shape the future of the Creative Archive.”
The BBC will be releasing further content across other areas of bbc.co.uk over the coming months.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
