News Broadcasting
Declaration on press freedom at meet on World Press Freedom Day
New Delhi: A record-breaking number of participants from all parts of the world have adopted the Finlandia Declaration setting new challenges to ensure press freedom, access to information, safety of journalists and cultural diversity for all media practitioners everywhere.
More than 1000 media practitioners and stake holders, including representatives of governments during a meeting on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May in Helsinki called on UNESCO’s 195 member states to “reaffirm that press freedom and the right to information are essential for a free, independent and pluralistic media and crucial to the advancement of human rights and sustainable development.”
In keeping with the new sustainable development goals set by the United Nations for the next 15 years, the Finlandia Declaration stresses the importance of access to information and the responsibility of states in making public information available both on and off-line, and promoting universal access to the internet.
It also calls on states to ensure the safety of journalists, whose vulnerability to violent attacks undermines press freedom and freedom of information in many parts of the world.
The Declaration furthermore recognizes the pertinence of UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection of and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression, artistic freedom and cultural diversity to the exercise of the fundamental human right of freedom of expression.
Participants at this year’s main World Press Freedom Day event, organized by UNESCO and Finland, lauded UNESCO’s Executive Board decision to celebrate an International Day for Universal Access to Information on 28 September every year.
During the two-day conference, the director-general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the prime minister of Finland, Juha Sipilä and the host country’s president, Sauli Niinistö, highlighted the paramount importance of press freedom and freedom of information for sustainable development, good governance and a basis for all freedoms.
The celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2016 drew the support of some 50 civil society and media organizations. Some 100 World Press Freedom Day events have been organized around the world this year.
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: 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.
