News Broadcasting
Freedom of information and media needed for new UN global development goals
NEW DELHI: The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) has welcomed UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon’s endorsement of guarantees for freedom of information and media in the UN’s next set of global development goals.
In his long-waited “synthesis” report on the UN’s post-2015 development agenda, presented to the General Assembly in New York, the secretary general said “press freedom, access to information and freedom of expression” are essential “enablers of sustainable development.”
The Secretary General’s report urged the adoption in 2015 of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals proposed by a 70-nation General Assembly working group, which includes a commitment by all countries to ensure public access to information and the protection of “fundamental freedoms” guaranteed by UN human rights treaties. The proposed goals also include commitments to the complete eradication of extreme hunger and poverty, strong new global environmental protection measures, the elimination of deaths from preventable diseases, and the fulfillment of past pledges on gender equality and universal childhood education.
Over the past year, a civil society coalition of national, regional and international press freedom and media development organisations led by GFMD and London-based Article 19 has been advocating for the inclusion of commitments to freedom of information and media in the UN’s new global goals.
“We have been saying for some time that a free press and open access to information of all kinds are essential to achieving these goals, and it is very encouraging to see that the Secretary General shares that view,” said GFMD chairman Leon Willems in a statement from Brussels.
The secretary general’s report today echoed civil society calls for post-2015 commitments to freedom of information and media both as crucial rights-based ends in themselves and as practical necessities for monitoring progress towards all the proposed new goals. His report noted that the UN’s advisors on the “data revolution” required for tracking and achieving the post-2015 goals have “underscored the importance of increasing access to quality data, remedying inequalities in the areas of access to information, data literacy, promoting civic space and enhancing the sharing of data and information.”
A free flow of public information and independent debate and analysis in media and civil society would also be required for the secretary general’s proposed annual “participatory, multi-stakeholder, and, importantly, universal review” of progress towards the new goals, under the auspices of a new “high-level political forum (HLPF)” at the United Nations.
“Press freedom and access to information, freedom of expression, assembly and association are enablers of sustainable development,” the report says.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
