News Broadcasting
Contentious issues are off limits for BBC journos
MUMBAI: The BBC has announced changes to its guidelines covering the circumstances in which BBC journalists, presenters and freelancers can write regular columns for newspapers and magazines.
The changes mean that no staff, or regular freelance journalists whose main profile or income comes from the BBC, will be able to write newspaper or magazine columns on current affairs or other contentious issues.
The new arrangements have been approved by the BBC governing board. However, current contracts in place mean that some columns will continue until the middle of next year. Articles on specific BBC programmes that are part of an overall press and publicity plan will be allowed, as will columns on non contentious issues and food, film or music reviews, or syndicated articles that appear first on BBC News online.
Freelance journalists whose main profile and income is not through the BBC will be exempt. Current staff and freelance contracts will not need amending. Senior news managers are already in discussion with the journalists affected, the majority of whom are staff employees.
BBC News director Richard Sambrook said: “Impartiality is an essential element to the BBC’s reputation and to our journalism. When our journalists write in papers it is seen as an extension of their work for the BBC. Yet columns and newspaper articles on controversial issues depend on expressing opinions to an extent which is often incompatible with the BBC’s impartiality. The audience’s trust in the independence of the BBC’s journalism on all subjects is something we cannot afford to compromise.”
The BBC producer guidelines dealing with conflict of interest will now be redrafted in line with the agreed changes.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
