News Broadcasting
BBC Board of Governors to examine religious content at seminar
MUMBAI: The BBC Board of Governors will hold a seminar on Friday 13 May in the UK to examine the broadcaster’s religious programming.
The Governors will be joined at the seminar entitled Taking Belief Seriously by BBC DG Mark Thompson and senior executive and editorial staff; the Central Religious Advisory Council; and a panel of invited experts. The seminar will focus on four key questions
-Does belief really matter to the BBC’s listeners and viewers?
– How complete a picture can BBC News deliver?
– Could belief join History in the broadcasting mainstream?
– drama and comedy: untapped potential?
The expert panel has been chosen to reflect a wide range of voices, ensuring diversity of opinion and a broad range of views. Speakers include Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God and The Holy War; Professor Ian Linden of the School of Oriental and African Studies; the Muslim Council’s Inayat Bunglawala, historian, author and broadcaster Dr Tristram Hunt, writer and broadcaster Armando Iannucci and actor and comedian Omid Djalili.
Last year the BBC had been forced to pull the plug on Popetown. The animated series had featured the pontiff as a fame-hungry nun. The animation featured corrupt cardinals and an infantile pope who bounced around the Vatican on a pogo stick. Not surprisingly Church going Christians cried foul.
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.
