News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera shuts China bureau following journalist’s expulsion
MUMBAI: Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera has closed down its Beijing bureau following the Chinese government’s refusal to to renew the press credentials and visa of Melissa Chan, its sole correspondent, and allow a replacement journalist.
Expressing disappointment at the Chinese government’s decision, Al Jazeera English said it has been requesting additional visas for correspondents for some time and which has not been obliged with.
The news broadcaster said it will continue to work with Chinese authorities to re-open the Beijing bureau.
Al Jazeera said Melissa Chan, who has been Al Jazeera English’s China correspondent since 2007, has filed nearly 400 reports covering stories about the economy, domestic politics, foreign policy, the environment, social justice, labour rights and human rights.
Al Jazeera English Director Salah Negm said, “We’ve been doing a first class job at covering all stories in China. Our editorial DNA includes covering all stories from all sides. We constantly cover the voice of the voiceless and sometimes that calls for tough news coverage from anywhere in world.
“We hope China appreciates the integrity of our news coverage and our journalism. We value this journalist integrity in our coverage of all countries in the world. We are committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom in China for any Al Jazeera journalist.”
The ruling Communist party in China, which has long been known as hostile to international media, has found itself to be at loggerheads with foreign media many times.
The Communist party has been giving state broadcaster CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency a major push into foreign language media in a bid to spread its own pro-China take on domestic and international events.
The move “seems to be taking China’s anti-media policies to a new level,” said Committee to Protect Journalists’ Asia coordinator Bob Dietz in a statement.
According to Dietz, Chan’s case “marks a real deterioration in China’s media environment and sends a message that international coverage is unwanted”.
The last time a journalist was expelled was when a German and a Japanese reporter were expelled in late 1998.
According to Associated Press, Chan has left China for California, where she will be taking up a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University.
China had pledged to relax restrictions on foreign journalists as part of its hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but changes have been minor and conditions have in some ways grown even more hostile.
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.
