News Broadcasting
NDTV gears Richard Gere for grilling on ‘India Questions’
MUMBAI: Hollywood icon Richard Gere’s experience with a group of 21 year old Indians is not one which he will forget for a long time.
On NDTV’s India Questions, anchored by Prannoy Roy, which pits feisty Indian students against politicians and film stars of fame and repute, Gere will be facing a young group this time round. The show will be aired on 22 January at 10.30 pm.
The show has youngsters asking pertinent questions to this celluloid icon of millions. The college students inquire about Gere’s personal life, show interest in his art and religion and raise issues related to Gere’s on-going campaign on AIDS awareness in India. “The group that gathered to grill Gere was confident and respectful, but not one bit over-awed by Gere’s movie persona. They were very sharp kids who asked some tough questions, and Richard, for his part, was gracious and very eloquent in answering whatever was hurled at him,” says Roy.
The program explores Gere’s commitment to Heroes, a project that has him working with the government to educate the public about AIDS. The show also holds plenty of light moments for its discerning viewers. Gere comes up with the names of his favourite movies and also discusses his toughest roles and after some incessant urging from a young lady from the audience, Gere shares his thoughts on Indian women and confesses to an inclination for them!
Much to the delight of his young interviewees, Gere gets on to the floor after some time, only to boogey the ‘Chicago’-way. The show ends magnificently when the youngsters bully Gere for a Bhangra instead!
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.
