News Broadcasting
Reuters’ US scribes protest outsourcing to India
MUMBAI: The protest in the US against outsourcing is getting louder and angrier. A few days ago US employees of news organisation Reuters protested the outsourcing of editorial jobs to India.
Their union has begun its legal challenge to the company’s attempt to cover Wall Street from Bangalore.
The Newspaper Guild of New York’s charge is that offshoring US-based editorial jobs violates its contract with Reuters. The case will be heard before an independent arbitrator, whose decision is binding.
The case could take months to complete. As the lawyers square off, journalists and other employees picketed Reuters US headquarters in Times Square and other US bureaus at lunchtime. Their aim was to call attention to the dispute.
New York Guild president Barry Lipton says, “Instead of focusing on producing the highest quality news, Reuters is now focussed on producing the cheapest news. This change is not just bad for our members, it’s bad for Reuters and its clients.”
The Guild states that it had alerted Reuters managers last August that the exportation of jobs violated their contract. However, the London-based news and information company went ahead with its plans to expand its Bangalore-based editorial staff that was set up to write about American companies and other selected US financial news.
Lipton adds, “This is remote-control journalism, with low-paid reporters in India writing US news to US editors. It produces a cheaper product but adds no value to stories with reporting at the source.” Although no Guild-covered employees have lost jobs to offshore outsourcing to date, that could change in a few weeks with the Reuters’ plans to move other US-based editorial jobs to Canada and Singapore.
The exportation of New York-based reporting jobs to Bangalore comes just a few years after Reuters built its Times Square office tower and received millions of dollars in tax breaks by agreeing to retain and increase jobs in the city. The Guild and Reuters have been in contract negotiations for more than two years, with management seeking to slash healthcare coverage, retirement benefits and job security.
Reuters reporters in Bangalore are mostly responsible for extracting basic financial information from company news releases and quarterly earnings reports. Tasks like interviewing a company president, talking to analysts and covering breaking news, will continue to be done by more experienced journalists working in the countries where those companies operate.
News Broadcasting
UDF poised to return to power in Kerala, says Manorama-CVoter survey
Massive opinion poll projects shift in Kerala politics ahead of 2026 Assembly elections.
MUMBAI: The winds of change appear to be blowing through Kerala’s political landscape and this time, they seem to favour the United Democratic Front. A comprehensive mega opinion survey conducted by Manorama News in partnership with CVoter projects a potential comeback for the UDF in the upcoming Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections 2026. The survey, covering all 140 constituencies with a massive sample size of nearly 90,000 respondents, predicts the UDF could win between 69 and 81 seats.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is expected to secure 57 to 69 seats, a significant drop from the 99 seats it won in the 2021 elections. This would mean the LDF losing 30 to 42 of its sitting seats. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which drew a blank in 2021, is projected to open its account with 1 to 5 seats.
Region-wise, the UDF is expected to make strong gains in Malabar, winning 25 to 34 out of 48 seats, and in Central Kerala, where it could bag 29 to 33 out of 53 seats. In South Kerala, the LDF is likely to retain an edge with 21 to 25 seats, while the UDF may improve to 12 to 16 seats. The NDA could pick up 1 to 3 seats in the southern region.
The survey was conducted between 14 and 26 March 2026, with additional tracker and snap polls carried out from December 2025 to March 2026. A total of 89,693 respondents participated, ensuring representation across all demographics and social segments.
Manorama News has a strong track record of accuracy, with its previous projections closely matching the actual results of the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as the 2021 Kerala Assembly polls.
In Kerala’s famously fierce political battles, this survey suggests the pendulum may be swinging back. Whether the final verdict matches these numbers or throws up another surprise, one thing is clear, the 2026 Assembly elections are shaping up to be one of the most keenly watched contests in the state’s history.
