News Broadcasting
China censors BBC World, again
MUMBAI: China is back to its old censorship ploys. Yesterday it repeatedly blocked transmission of BBC World’s week-long series of China-themed programmes to hotels and apartment compounds for foreigners during political and other sensitive reports.
For example, a report on restive Muslim Uighur ethnic group in China’s far west was cut off after just seconds of starting to air. According to international media reports, the screen went black after a BBC correspondent said, ” But the Uighur people have little affection for their Chinese masters.”
Other foreign channels and BBC World are not licensed for cable distribution to ordinary Chinese, but millions of households with unlicensed satellite dishes can view them.
The media reports stated that the Uighur issue has been especially a sensitive issue as some members of the minority group are waging a low-intensity struggled against Chinese control.
China claims the violence is linked to the al-Qaida terrorism network, though outside experts are skeptical.
The BBC’s website describes China Week as “a themed series of news reports and programmes exploring one of the world’s most dynamic countries.”
The programmes are also carried on BBC World Service radio. They feature more than 60 journalists reporting from cities and rural areas throughout China. Interview subjects range from China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, to Hollywood martial arts star Jet Li.
The programmes include an edition of the audience participation show “Question Time,” which is recorded in Shanghai and features a panel of Chinese officials and government critics.
Earlier in 2003, China has suspended a transmission of the BBC World TV channel that reaches thousands of foreigners across the country after it objected to a news item dealing with the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Before that in the mid-1990s, BBC World was forced off the Star platform, which had then been just bought over by Rupert Murdoch from the Hong Kong-media tycoon Richard Li.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
