News Broadcasting
Asian American presence in US broadcast newsrooms declining
MUMBAI: The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), in the US, has expressed disappointment over the news that the percentage of Asian American radio and television journalists has dropped to the lowest level the organisation has seen in this decade.
The percentage of Asian Americans in television newsrooms, throughout the US, dropped to 2.2 per cent this year. This is the same level as it was at in 1995. The numbers were released by the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) and Ball State.
By comparison, 4.1 per cent of the television newsroom workforce in 2001 were Asian Americans. The data covering radio newsrooms painted an equally bleak. Only 0.2 per cent of the radio newsroom workforce are Asian Americans.
AAJA broadcast VP Randell Yip added, “This downward trend will not reverse itself until television and radio news organisations make a sincere effort to recruit, train and offer opportunities to Asian Americans.”
“AAJA is committed to providing scholarship, fellowship and training opportunities to our more than 2,100 members. However, none of that will have an impact until media organisations commit themselves to hiring and promoting a diverse workforce that includes Asian Americans,” he added.
The survey had more positive results for other minority groups in the US. Hispanics in local TV rose from 6.5 per cent last year to 8.9 per cent, and in radio, they rose from 1.2 per cent last year to 3.9 per cent this year. Blacks in TV rose from 8.4 per cent to 10.3 per cent, and in radio, they rose to from 4.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent, this year.
Newsday courts reporter and National Association of Black Journalists president Herbert Lowe said, “Another year, another survey? It is the same thing. The industry is not sufficiently hiring or retaining or promoting black journalists. Sitting across the tables and bemoaning the same excuses isn’t getting us anywhere. The industry must hire, retain and promote. Plain and simple.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
