News Broadcasting
DD refutes charges that Amitabh Bachchan was ignored
MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati has come out in the open defending Doordarshan against allegations that the pubcaster failed to provide adequate news coverage on Amitabh Bachchan regarding his illness.
Prasar Bharati, in a media release issued today, asserts that DD News has given due prominence to the story in its news presentation. The news of Amitabh Bachchan’s illness was covered in 63 bulletins over a period of one week, it claims.
Beginning from 28 November, when Bachchan was hospitalised, DD News has given an update on the superstar’s health in almost all its major bulletins, including an extensive coverage on December 1st , the day when he was operated, states the release.
DD News head Amitabh Chakrabarti justifies the pubcaster’s method of coverage saying it follows the parameters given and reflected in the Parthasarathy Code. He says DD is quite different from private TV channels which keep on doing stunts just keeping Television Rating Points (TRP) in mind.
“With the advent of electronic media and the ferocity with which these channels raise hypes – perhaps with an eye on TRPs, goes close to the culture of tabloid journalism. Doordarshan scrupulously avoids that. It was a conscious decision by the editorial hands that while presenting news on Amitabh Bachchan’s illness, we should not create any hype so as to raise unnecessary scare among the millions of viewers,” he says.
Chakrabarti also points out that DD News even carried a full-fledged story on Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s birthday on 27 November. “This is to illustrate that there was no effort to downplay Amitabh Bachchan’s illness as alleged in some media reports,” he adds.
DD has been under tremendous pressure with allegations, mainly coming from the print media, that it ignored Amitabh Bachchan at the behest of AICC president Sonia Gandhi. Reportedly, I&B minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi himself had to instruct his ministry to give adequate coverage to Bachchan on DD News.
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.
