News Broadcasting
CNN’s Cramer to be given ‘media leader’ award
MUMBAI: Last year, the president of CNN International Chris Cramer was instrumental in undertaking a major initiative to create awareness about the need to increase the safety level for journalists reporting on the field in the wake of 9/11. Now that effort is being rewarded.
Cramer will receive the distinguished media leader award of the Dart Centre for journalism and trauma in New York City on 2 April. An official release informs that the Dart Centre, a resource on traumatic injury for journalists worldwide, will honour the news executive for his unceasing leadership in moving CNN and the news industry toward greater attention to safety training and support for journalists who suffer traumatic stress.
Cramer has urged the news industry to increase both safety training and attention to the risk of traumatic or emotional injury to journalists. The chairman of Dart Centre Frank Ochberg said: “Because Chris is candid, explicit and personal in confronting the emotional impact of covering trauma, he has become the leading spokesperson for corporate responsibility in addressing emotional injury to media professionals.”
Besides the citation Cramer will participate in a panel discussion ‘Journalists at Risk’ along with ABC’s correspondent Deborah Amos, BBC North American correspondent Stephen Evans among others.
The release states that Cramer is the honorary president of the International News Safety Institute (INSI), a coalition of individuals and organisations dedicated to the safety of journalists. In addition, he is an honorary chairman of Newscoverage Unlimited, an organisation that promotes the recognition and treatment of traumatic stress among journalists.
At the time of INSI’s formation, Cramer had warned of the growing dangers journalists face as they cover wars. He had said: “These are nightmarish times for those working in the news media. The past year has been one of the most testing the profession has ever endured. Journalists are being killed at an unacceptable and unprecedented rate.”
Cramer joined CNN in 1996 bringing with him 25 years of experience at the networks British counterpart the BBC. Cramer was forward looking enough to insist back in 1995 that the global news service introduce compulsory hostile environment training. Cramer was responsible for the creation of six separately scheduled English language international channels that serve Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia Pacific, South Asia, Latin America, North America, and the US.
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.
