News Broadcasting
‘Bricking’ or distorting face of child victims on TV is meaningless: Renuka
NEW DELHI: Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury today emphasised that the electronic media should not show the face of child or women victims of molestation, rape or violence of any kind.
In a short chat with indiantelevision.com, the minister added that “bricking” or other tactics were pointless since people in the area always knew who the victims were and the identity was of no interest to those in other parts of the country.
She suggested that the media should find other ways of giving the news, adding that perhaps a reporter could give the news without showing any face or environment.
She also stressed that the electronic media should heed the guidelines about the method of questioning child victims pointed out in the report on “Study on Child Abuse: India 2007” prepared by her ministry. The report published in April last year had shown how children are generally questioned and made suggestions on how this should be done.
Earlier, addressing a session of the 8th Editors Conference on Social Sector Issues organised by the Press Information Bureau, the minister called upon the media to write editorials and articles on issues like crimes against children and women, female foeticide and related issues like nutritious diets.
Referring to a meeting she had held last week with principals and teachers in the aftermath of the incident in which a school student in Gurgaon killed a fellow student with his father’s gun, she said she intended to hold such workshops once every quarter in different parts of the country to find ways to curb the violent tendencies among children exposed to cinema, television and the Internet.
She would also be talking to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Central Board of Film Certification in this connection.
She said that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights would examine cases of the effect on children of television advertising, animation serials and other programmes, and films. She called upon the media to support her in this effort.
The minister also urged the media to devote the entire month of March to issues related to women, since the International Women’s Day falls on 8 March.
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.
