News Broadcasting
Al-Jazeera English MD says channel suffers from “bullying culture”
MUMBAI: Al-Jazeera English managing director Tony Burman has said that he believes that the TV news channel suffers from a “bullying, abrupt, top-down culture” that frequently “smothers open debate and discussion.”
As reported by MediaGuardian.co.uk, Burman in an email told to all staff and contributors working for the network that the channel needed to create a more “positive and reaffirming” working culture and urged staff to join him in his wide-ranging “AJE Renewal Project 2008-2011.”
“After four months in this role at AJE – and many more months watching the channel and reading its website – I certainly have come to some personal conclusions … I have come to believe that we need to create a working ‘culture’ within AJE that is far more positive and reaffirming than many of our colleagues think it is today,” Burman wrote in the email memo.
“For a network that claims to give ‘voice to the voiceless’ and ‘let the world report on itself’, we need to ‘live the brand’ a big [sic] better internally. It was evident in the staff consultation about ‘training’ that many of you feel there is often a bullying, abrupt, top-down ‘culture’ within AJE that – in your view – frequently smothers open debate and discussion. This must change,” Burman added.
Burman’s admission comes barely 48 hours after a London employment tribunal finished hearing evidence in a claim of religious, sexual and race discrimination made against the channel by its former head of planning, Jo Burgin.
During the tribunal, Burgin claimed that Burman’s predecessor, Nigel Parsons, was guilty of “inefficient, inconsistent and malicious management” during his time as managing director of the channel.
In his email to staff, Burman claimed he wanted to introduce a “sweeping new initiative to help move al-Jazeera English to the next level”.
He also detailed both the wide-ranging series of changes he believed the channel needed to make and the introduction of a series of working groups to looking into these issues, which included refocusing editorial, targeting a younger audience, taking the “digital leap”, and a comprehensive strategy of staff development.
A statement from Al-Jazeera English sent to MediaGuardian.co.uk said the note was an outline of the evolution of the channel.
“With the complexities of launching the channel in 2006, many of the younger staff felt their contributions were not fully embraced by some of AJE’s original managers who had to deal with many pressures,” said the statement.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
