News Broadcasting
Dan Rather to leave CBS News after four decades
MUMBAI: News veteran Dan Rather will leave US broadcaster CBS News after 44 years.
CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus said, “Of all the famous names associated with CBS News, the biggest and brightest on the marquee are Murrow, Cronkite and Rather. With the utmost respect, we mark the extraordinary and singular role Dan has played in writing the script of not only CBS News, but of broadcast journalism. There will always be a part of Dan Rather at CBS News. He is truly a ‘reporter’s reporter,’ and he has helped to train several generations of broadcast journalists. His legacy cannot be replicated.”
CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves says, “For more than four decades, Dan Rather has approached the job of broadcast journalist with a singular passion, dedication and, always, an unwavering desire to tell the story to the American public. The unique mark he has left on his craft is indelible.”
CBS News is currently finalising plans for a primetime special on the newsman’s legendary career at CBS News. It is scheduled to be broadcast sometime this yea. CBS News also will make a contribution to Rather’s alma mater, now called Sam Houston State University.
Rather joined CBS News in 1962. He covered virtually every major event in the world for CBS News in the past 44 years. Rather regularly landed the biggest interviews with the world’s most important and compelling figures, from the famous to the infamous. CBS says that his passion for the news, for getting the story and for taking on the most challenging assignments in journalism is unmatchedsomething his competitors knew only too well–and he has dedicated himself to delivering to the American public coverage that is fair and accurate, no matter the size and scope of the story. Rather has interviewed every US president from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton and virtually every major international leader of the past 30 years. He landed two news-breaking interviews with Saddam Hussein. The first occurred in 1990 after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
Then, in February 2003, with coalition forces poised to invade the country, Rather secured the most sought-after interview in the world, an exclusive one-on-one with Saddam in Baghdad, the first the Iraqi leader had conducted with a Western journalist since 1991. Rather and his team at 60 MINUTES II also broke, arguably, the biggest story of the year–the abuse of prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison–in April 2004.
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.
