News Broadcasting
BBC World Service multi-media project wins award
LONDON: Digital Destinations, a multimedia project developed by the BBC World Service Trust in collaboration with BBC News Online, BBC Science Radio Unit, World Service Education Commissioning, and BBC World Service Bengali and French for Africa Sections, received the NetMedia EOJ Award for Technology in Barcelona a few days ago.
World Service Trust director Stephen King said, “The success of Digital Destinations shows what can be achieved when different parts of the BBC work together. Making information and communications technology more accessible and relevant to people in the developing world helps bridge the digital divide between the information rich and the information poor.”
The project brought together a series of BBC World Service radio programmes; the BBC News Online interactive web-site Digital Destinations; and a video, which was shown at a UN ICT Task Force meeting in Geneva in February 2003.
Radio programmes were produced by BBC World Service’s Bengali Service and French for Africa Service. The English series, From Dakar to Dhaka, Connecting Communities, was broadcast in October 2002 as part of the weekly BBC World Service programme Go Digital.
The project’s radio producers, on-line journalists and filmmaker travelled together to visit grassroots projects in two contrasting developing countries – Bangladesh and Senegal to explore how grassroots projects were helping to alleviate poverty and bridge the digital divide in the developing world.
In Bangladesh it showed how women village dwellers were making a living by renting out airtime on their mobile phones; examined the fight against corruption using digital maps with a computerised national database to decide where new roads or schools should be built and looked at a school using wireless technology to introduce pupils in the countryside to the internet.
In Senegal it showed a health centre using computers to keep traditional healing knowledge alive; how an NGO was dealing with the lack of text books by putting together its own and making it available on the internet.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 rolls out Battle for the States ahead of key polls
Multi-format election coverage tracks voter mood across five battleground states
NEW DELHI: CNN-News18 has launched a special election programming initiative titled Battle for the States, as India gears up for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
Built around the theme ‘Road to Power’, the multi-format coverage aims to follow the entire electoral journey, from campaigning and polling to results and government formation. The network is leaning into on-ground reportage and data-backed storytelling to decode voter sentiment across regions where local issues often shape the narrative.
The programming line-up includes ‘Vote Tracker’, a three-part series developed in collaboration with survey agency Vote Vibe. The show blends survey insights with expert commentary and field reporting, using augmented reality graphics to present complex electoral data such as vote share, seat projections and leadership preferences in a more accessible format. It will air every Monday evening until April 6.
Adding a cultural lens to political reporting is ‘So Saree!’, a ground-driven segment where women anchors travel across constituencies dressed in traditional handwoven sarees from each state. The format uses attire as a storytelling device, highlighting regional identity while capturing grassroots voices.
Meanwhile, ‘Unfiltered Kaapi’ and ‘Chai-Niti’ bring a more conversational tone, drawing inspiration from everyday political discussions in tea stalls and coffee corners. These segments aim to break down key issues through candid, fast-paced exchanges between anchors and reporters, tailored to regional sensibilities.
For viewers seeking deeper insights, the weekend docuseries ‘Reporters Project’ takes a longer view, with correspondents travelling across constituencies to map voter concerns and political shifts on the ground.
“Elections are about people, their aspirations, identities and the issues that matter to them, and every state tells a different story,” said CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar. He added that the initiative focuses on understanding “the sentiment on the ground and what’s driving voter choices”.
Echoing the emphasis on credibility, Network18 CEO – English and business news Smriti Mehra said the network aims to combine on-ground reporting with data-led insights to deliver clear and timely coverage as the elections unfold.
With a mix of data, culture and grassroots reporting, CNN-News18 is positioning Battle for the States as a comprehensive window into one of India’s most closely watched electoral cycles, where every vote carries a story waiting to be told.
