News Broadcasting
George Entwistle is BBC head of TV current affairs
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s, director of news, Helen Boaden, announced today that George Entwistle will be the corporation’s new Head of Television Current Affairs. Entwistle, who is currently the executive editor, Topical Arts for BBC Two and BBC Four said, “Producing and commissioning the best possible television journalism is right at the core of the BBC’s role in British public life. For the Head of Current Affairs, making sure that our journalism engages as wide an audience as possible, and meets their need for insight and inspiration, feels like the most important of challenges – one I feel very excited and privileged to have been given.”
The BBC Television Current Affairs department, produces and commissions over 250 hours of output, and includes such programmes as BBC One’s Real Story and Panorama, and BBC Two’s This World.The department also produces a raft of specials, including recent highlights, Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs, The New Al-Qaeda and The Power of Nightmares. Boaden said, “George has an impeccable current affairs track record and a reputation for creating programmes of real flair and distinction.”
Entwistle, a former award-winning Newsnight editor, who joined the BBC as a trainee in 1989 added, “My time in topical arts has been immensely stimulating, and creating a brand new programme, The Culture Show, which has involved an amazingly dedicated bunch of people, has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”
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.
