News Broadcasting
DD goes outdoors for publicity blitz
NEW DELHI: Even as the allies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance coalition government increase pressure on changes in Doordarshan News, parent organization Prasar Bharati has decided that it would increase promotional activities relating to its big products, a la private sector satellite channels.
For starters, about 50 agencies, specialising in outdoors promotional activities, have made a pitch for the DD account, which may not be financially very big, but is attractive as DD’s barter schemes offers many an agency a chance to have airtime on the vast terrestrial network.
Confirming that outdoor marketing agencies like Pioneer and Sellwel have pitched for the DD account, a Prasar Bharati source said, “The final short listing would be done soon, which may include more than one agency. The rationale behind this is that Prasar Bharati should have multiple agencies doing promotional work for various products like big ticket entertainment programming or the Olympics.”
The focus on outdoor promotion for programmes to be undertaken by DD, a proposal cleared by the Prasar Barratry board recently, would be kicked off with a blitz revolving around the Gulzaar-directed dramatisation of Premchand’s novel `Godan’, which would go on air mid-July.
Earlier, DD, or its sibling All India Radio, seldom used to undertake promotional activities related to programmes or events in a big way, except some done on various DD channels. Most of the time, such activities, if any, were funded by private producers of serials on DD.
Though the Prasar Bharati board, increasingly under pressure to effect changes in the organization starting with DD News, has emphasized on the self-funded promotional activities, the commercial department of DD is chalking out a plan whereby expenditure on such initiatives may be shaved off.
For example, DD is looking striking barter deals with outdoor marketing agencies. In lieu of hoarding space given to DD’s programmes around Delhi, for instance, the agency concerned could avail of some seconds of commercial airtime on DD channels. DD already has such barter deals in place with some newspapers like Malyalam Manorma and The Indian Express and is looking at concluding similar deals with Internet-based companies too.
LIKELY CHANGES IN DD NEWS
Meanwhile, additional director-general (administration) Sanjiv Dutta, who was holding additional charge of ADG (news) in DD, is likely to be relieved of his additional responsibility.
Though no official word is out on this, but sources in Prasar Bharati admitted that some changes would be effected in DD News, including clipping the wings of those people who had been hired from private satellite channels for DD News during the tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led previous coalition government.
Saleha Wasim, a newsreader-cum-fashion & image consultant, has proceeded on leave already. Wasim, formerly with NDTV, is said to have gone to Australia.
DD News’ consulting editor, Deepak Chaurasia, is holding fort till now, but talks of his imminent exit are rife in DD. Especially in the light of Communist Party of India (Marxist) , an important ally of the government, taking up cudgels against the so-called pro-BJP people in DD News.
Senior CPM member, Nilotpol Basu, met up with information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy on Friday evening to reiterate his party’s stand on several media-related issues, including the printing of the International Herald Tribune and de-saffronisation of Prasar Bharati.
As a fallout of the IHT case, meanwhile, head of Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI), an organization under the I&B ministry, GD Beliya, has been shunted out of the organization and replaced by a officer of the Indian Information Service, Deepak Sandhu.
The I&B ministry feels that RNI should have been more alert while registering a brand like IHT in India, which has given the publishers of the newspaper in India some legal sanctity.
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
