News Broadcasting
NDTV wins international recognition for news feature, engineering advance
MUMBAI: Dr Prannoy Roy’s NDTV has won recognition in two diverse streams of news channel activity.
NDTV’s investigative report “Education For Sale in Maharashtra, India” was Highly Commended in the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Broadcasting Awards 2004.
The report was entered in the category for the Award for Exceptional News Feature 2004.
The commendation went to NDTVs Sindhu Manesh, Anand Rao and Srikanth G. Rao who worked on the report. Using a hidden camera the team revealed that seats in top medical colleges were being sold for large amounts of money by state government ministers, politicians, principals and college registrars. The judges were impressed by the teams bravery, their meticulous research and the scale of the corruption revealed on film. A fallout of the report was the Supreme Court of India’s clamping down on the colleges.
The other front where NDTV has won laurels is from the International Broadcasting Conference (IBC).
The IBC Award for Cost Effective Engineering 2004 went to NDTV for a low cost satellite contribution and return path DSNG (digital satellite newsgathering) system. It replaces an existing service supplier, does not rely on third party operators and is resilient to poor power and telecom facilities.
The concept and design were by NDTVs systems manager, Rahul Deshpande and senior broadcast engineer Jay Chauhan and the project was executed by a team led by chief engineer, Jawahar Lal, deputy chief engineer, Dinesh Singh and producer Shayne P Singh among others.
A statement issued by NDTV says this is the first DSNG network relying entirely on MPEG-4 encoding.
The judges were Martin Salter, chairman of the IABM and IBC conference committee, Peter Owen, chairman of IBC Council, Mike Lumley, Royal Television Society, David Woods, EBU and the panel was chaired by Neil Dormand, CBA Technology Consultant.
The judging panel, while announcing the award, said they thought that the quality of the presentation from NDTV was excellent and that the achievement is a model to broadcasters in similar situations.
There was a detailed cost comparison of the chosen techniques against the alternatives, the NDTV statement says. Not only were technical difficulties overcome but also the outcome was very cost effective in terms of capital and operation.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Fury in the Gulf conclave on West Asia crisis
Three-hour summit to unpack geopolitical fallout and impact on India
MUMBAI: CNN-News18 is set to host a special three-hour broadcast, Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave, on April 7, aiming to decode the escalating West Asia crisis and its far-reaching implications for India.
Scheduled from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the conclave comes at a time when tensions between Iran and the United States are reshaping global geopolitics and triggering economic uncertainty. With India’s deep energy ties, trade links and large diaspora in the Gulf, the developments carry significant domestic relevance.
Built around the theme ‘Conflict, Consequences, and The Future,’ the programme will feature six curated sessions combining one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. The focus is to cut through the clutter and offer viewers a clearer understanding of the fast-evolving situation.
Key sessions include ‘Diplomacy in Times of War’ featuring Shashi Tharoor, and ‘World After the Iran Conflict’ with voices such as Ram Madhav, Reuven Azar, representatives from the European Union and the Iranian Deputy Envoy. Another session titled ‘Another Dunkirk?’ will bring together K. J. S. Dhillon and Jitin Prasada among others.
CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar said, “In times of war, clarity becomes the most powerful tool. Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave brings together credible voices to address the questions and confusion that arise amid an overwhelming influx of information.”
He added that the initiative is aimed at delivering “facts, perspective, and insight” at a time when misinformation can easily cloud public understanding.
Echoing the sentiment, CNN-News18 CEO– English and business news Smriti Mehra said the conflict marks a defining global moment, with consequences that extend well beyond the region. She noted that the conclave seeks to present the crisis with “depth, nuance and responsibility” so audiences can better grasp its real-world impact.
As geopolitical tensions continue to dominate headlines, the conclave positions itself as an attempt to bring order to the noise, offering viewers a structured, insight-led look at a complex and rapidly shifting global situation.
