News Broadcasting
Sanjay Gupta has our full and unequivocal support: CNN
MUMBAI: Professionalism, humanity and need of the hour can make a human being go beyond the line. But on the other hand, a fraction of inconsistency may dilute the bravery and turn it into a debate. In a recent such occurrence CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta assisted surgeons by performing craniotomy on a young victim at Bir Hospital while reporting from Nepal which was stuck by earthquake.
The natural calamity took many lives. Amidst that, as per Dr Gupta, there was a small kid who needed immediate medical attention and that’s when he volunteered and effectively saved her life.
Post this, CNN went on to showing images of an eight year old girl in Nepal claiming her to be the one medically operated by Dr Gupta. But later on, a flurry of reports came in that questioned the claims of CNN. Reports state that the girl shown in the clip, underwent no surgery, which thus questions the integrity of CNN’s reporting.
Explaining the scenario Dr Gupta asserted, “We want to get these things 100 per cent right. It’s important, obviously, to the viewers. It’s important to the families, you know, who are there undergoing this, suffering through the aftermath of the earthquake.”
CNN, later released an official statement saying, “Journalism is not brain surgery, but brain surgery is brain surgery. We are proud that Sanjay is one of the few reporters in Nepal to cover the earthquake, and while there, he was asked to help save a young victim’s life. As we reported, he assisted the surgeons at Bir Hospital by performing a craniotomy on a young victim. While some reporting suggests that the girl in the clip wasn’t operated, we at the time of our reporting believed her to be. We will try to verify that. Regardless, Sanjay spent a week in Nepal, helped save a young life in the operating room, and we couldn’t be more proud of him. He has our full and unequivocal support.”
Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon as well as a medical correspondent.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
