News Broadcasting
Provide security to media persons: IFJ tells Pak govt
NEW DELHI: “The current heated political climate in Pakistan has created a hazardous environment for journalists who are often, unfortunately, the ones caught in the frontline,” the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has said.
Expressing concern over journalist safety in Pakistan after four journalists were injured in a suicide bomb attack aimed at Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao in the north-western district of Charsadda on April 28, IFJ President Christopher Warren “this incident highlights the dangers that face journalists in Pakistan .”
“The IFJ once again calls on the government of Pakistan to take immediate, concrete steps to provide adequate protections for journalists.
The four journalists among the 28 persons injured are: TV cameraman Arif Yousafzai, ‘Subah’ newspaper reporter Siddiqullah, Ayaz Muhammad of the Associated Press of Pakistan, and Press Information Department photographer Arshad Ali.
“There are real concerns for the safety of journalists and other media workers in Pakistan,” said Warren. The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in over 115 countries.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
