News Broadcasting
Pankaj Pachauri’s Go News unveils logo
NEW DELHI: Another one has bitten the digital bullet. This time it’s former NDTV news anchor and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media advisor Pankaj Pachauri who’s going digital with his first entrepreneurial and news venture called Go News. And, keeping in tune with times, the logo was unveiled in a short video on Twitter.
“Dear all, our news venture is getting ready for launch. We seek your support, blessing s and retweets!” Pachauri tweeted recently and it promptly got pinned and retweeted by media personalities and celebs. The tagline for the on-the-go news venture is `Credible, Co-creative, Concise.’
The news venture, which is claimed to be a not-for-profit endeavour, is targeting all those who want their news on the go and on their hand-held devices, mostly smart phones. The product will be available across a variety of mobile platforms, including the popular Android and iOS.
According to industry sources, though Go News is still a work in progress as hiring of staff continues and other fine-tuning happens, the message is quite clear: take the traditional TV newsroom and journalism online — something that another digital entrepreneur Raghav Bahl described in a column for indiantelevision.com as “gods of the digital newsroom.”
Though there are several credible digital news ventures in India up and running, two of the recent high-profile ventures include Arnab Goswami’s yet-to-be-launched Republic TV (renamed from the original Republic after political grandstanding by a politician and which will have a digital avatar too apart from the traditional look of a TV news channel) and former NDTV news anchor Barkha Dutt’s tie-up with Bahl’s The Quint for online video and written coverage of the ongoing State elections.
Go News is being pegged as top class journalism available on hand-held devices in a country that soon may become the world’s largest mobile phone market. India may boast of over a billion mobile phone subscribers — which need not necessarily mean that one billion people own phones — but the Mint newspaper quoted a Pew Research Center survey released early 2016 as stating that only 17 per cent Indians owned smart phones and India stood among the lower half of surveyed countries in Internet usage between 2013 and 2015. Things may have changed for the better since such surveys, but availability of bandwidth and its quality remain amongst the top challenges for consumers here
News Broadcasting
BBC to cut up to 2,000 jobs in biggest overhaul in 15 years
Cost pressures and leadership change drive major workforce reduction plan
LONDON: BBC has unveiled plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs, roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce, in what marks its biggest downsizing in 15 years.
The announcement was made during an all-staff meeting led by interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies, as the broadcaster moves to tackle mounting financial pressures and reshape its operations.
Between 1,800 and 2,000 roles are expected to be eliminated from a workforce of around 21,500. The cuts form part of a broader plan to save £500 million over the next two years, aimed at offsetting rising costs, stagnating licence fee income and weaker commercial revenues.
In a communication to staff, BBC interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies said, “I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge,” acknowledging the impact the move would have across the organisation.
The restructuring comes at a time of leadership transition. Former director-general Tim Davie stepped down earlier this month, with Matt Brittin, a former Google executive, set to take over the role on May 18, 2026.
While some cost-cutting measures are being implemented immediately, the majority of the structural changes are expected to roll out over the next few years, with full savings targeted by the 2027–2028 financial year.
The broadcaster had earlier signalled its intent to reduce its cost base by around 10 per cent over a three-year period, warning of “difficult choices” as it adapts to shifting economic realities and audience expectations.
With operating costs hovering around £6 billion annually, the BBC’s latest move underscores the scale of the financial challenge it faces, as it balances public service commitments with the need for long-term sustainability in an increasingly competitive media landscape.
