News Broadcasting
BBC implementing radical change : Michael Grade
MUMBAI: The BBC’s public service mission for the 21st century remains unchanged. But the BBC has to change to demonstrate it can and will deliver it..
This was the core of the message that BBC chairman Michael Grade delivered in his keynote address to the CBI annual conference in Birmingham
“The BBC has to return a dividend to the public whose licence fees support the BBC. A dividend not in cash. But a dividend nevertheless of real and measurable value to the public, both as individuals and as citizens”.
He described how the BBC’s five core purposes, together with new governance initiatives, like service licences and the public value test, will provide greater clarity to drive the BBC to deliver its public service mission and to be more accountable for its performance.
Grade said that an important element of the BBC’s reforms was the changes to the governance system. He said the need to change had been too pressing to await the outcome of the Charter review debate.
Grade said that, while the current system of governance had been in need of radical reform, he believed it remained the most appropriate model for the BBC and he explained why other governance models currently being discussed would not work for the Corporation.
“It’s sometimes said that there’s a fundamental design problem with a system that asks BBC Governors to be both cheerleaders and regulators. Of course there is a potential contradiction. But it’s not significant as long as the Governors don’t confuse championing the BBC with championing the management of the BBC.
“The supervisory structure appropriate to a commercial broadcaster albeit one with some public service obligations is not right for the BBC which receives nearly three billion pounds in public money.”
He added that one area of great importance to the Governors, and where they are looking to do more, is getting closer to licence payers in order to understand their concerns.
“I think that the internet and the new digital technologies should contribute to a solution. In the New Year, we will announce our programme of action to connect with the licence fee payers who are our customers and our owners. They deserve better than a passive role.
“We are publishing new, much more tightly drawn, objectives. They focus on how bbc.co.uk can be made more distinctive, and deliver more public value, in this developing and growing market.
“We’ve reviewed our portfolio of websites and closed some sites down because they would not meet our new test of public value.There are further closures and spending reallocations within online to come as we specify what we won’t do, as well as what we will.”
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.
