News Broadcasting
Governors’ report stresses need for BBC to improve quality of comedy, drama
MUMBAI: The BBC’s board of governors has published the pubcaster’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2004/05 which records a year of radical change throughout the corporation. The report covers the first full year term of BBC chairman Michael Grade
The Governors said that on BBC Television much progress had been made in responding to audience expectations of quality and distinctiveness. However there is still more that must be done. There needs to be fewer repeats in peak-time on BBC One as well as increasing the quality of comedy and drama across television. BBC Two’s reach needs to be increased without endangering its new-found distinctiveness.
There is also a need to improve the value-for-money proposition of the digital television channels. On the radio front the governors noted the success of Radios 1 and 2 and their distinctiveness from others in the commercial sector. But the Governors also recognised their responsibility for ensuring that BBC Radio continued to meet its public service remit. bbc.co.uk and BBC News were identified by the Governors as clear examples of how the BBC’s purposes articulated in Building Public Value have delivered greater responsiveness at the BBC.
These include the six objectives which were set by the Governors last year. These covered journalism and impartiality; creativity and ambition; value-for-money; driving digital; and the BBC’s global reputation . Here, the Governors noted that significant progress was being made in the journalism arena which is driving the BBC’s digital and global reputation. On the value-for-money criteria the Governors were satisfied, having commissioned independent analysis, that the savings through job cuts and the selling of divisions like BBC Broadcast were achievable and in the interests of licence fee payers, but they recognised these changes had impacted on staff morale.
Meanwhile the report also states that the new system of service licences will provide greater clarity on what management, staff, audiences and commercial competitors can expect from all the BBC’s services. It will enable the Board to judge performance transparently using consistent measures. The Governance Unit is developing the framework for the service licences. This will shortly be opened to consultation and the initial licences are scheduled for publication early next year, to ensure formal operation at the start of the new Charter in 2007.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
