News Broadcasting
Fashion journalism seminar brings out flaws in the trade
MUMBAI: A seminar on the evolution of fashion Journalism was organised by the Fashion Design Council of India at the ongoing Lakme India Fashion Week 2002, kickstarting the Business of Fashion seminars series slated to be held during the event.
Perfect Relations consulting partner Dilip Cherian who spoke at the seminar stressed the need for Indian Fashion Journalism to address all aspects of the business of fashion and not just remain people centric. Analysing the current ‘non serious’ slant of fashion journalism, Cherian said that it had till now failed to look at the more serious and relevant issues of the Industry and had restricted itself to the colourful and the glossy.
He said journalism coverage was superficial as it mainly revolved around the quantum of skin that was revealed or the virtual nonentities who attended the fashion shows. This has caused a huge gap in the reporting where, evaluation of the issues confronting the industry and developments within it were almost missing, he said. The fashion media lacked the ability to inform and educate the players in the industry, he added. It was this visible and pronounced lack of expertise that had made the target audience of fashion journalism almost immune to its influence.
He also criticised the fashion industry by saying, “The fault does not lie entirely with the media, it is the industry itself that has painted itself into a corner by completely ignoring the mainstream bits of the business. This was in fact, one of the big reasons why fashion journalism was also way off the mark, in content, impact, seriousness and therefore relevance. What is more annoying is the home-grown approach to this industry that specialisation simply does not matter.”
Disagreeing with the argument that fashion journalism was still nascent in India and therefore needed time to mature, Cherian said that the Indian fashion industry was competing with global benchmarks, and. it was important therefore for fashion reporting to grow side by side. As with other streams, fashion journalism also needed to focus on reporting the news, like the state of domestic market, export markets, technology, retailing, global trends, regional flavours and situation analysis
Concluding his remarks, Cherian made a plea for the ‘growth of fashion journalism’ and said that owners and editors of publications had an equally important role to play in taking fashion journalism to its next stage of evolution. It was equally important for industry players to spend more time with reporters giving industry information to them. Education combined with argument, Cherian said would hopefully result in more balanced and acceptable comment.
In its third consecutive year, the Lakme India Fashion Week 2002 is being held from 2-8 August at the Taj Palace Convention Centre in New Delhi.
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.
