News Broadcasting
‘Self regulation of media hasn’t failed Indian news completely:’ Dr Subhash Chandra
MUMBAI: In this era of ‘byte journalism,’ where media is either accused of paid news or being sold out for advertisement revenue, how to balance compulsion and competition was the question of the hour raised at the recently held IAA Conversations.
Spearheaded by journalist and author Shankkar Aiyer, the discussion saw media mogul and Essel Group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra analyse if news neutrality is but a myth in our country or is it an achievable fete. Stating that the role of media is to inform rather than reform, Chandra emphasised that news anchors should refrain from becoming arbitrators of news.
While Chandra’s take on ‘Google’ journalism isn’t very positive, he certainly credits the digital medium for revolutionising the way news is consumed.
“Digital medium has helped us in the news business tremendously. You not only get news in 140 words, but you can also gauge what news consumers are engaging in. It is no longer just an editorial call, but the nerve of the news consumers can be gathered through various social network engagements. That is where news media comes in. We pick up those pointers, and then give them more information around it. To some extent it also safeguards the interest of the consumers as the decision to what to pick up and what not to is more on the public’s hand,” he says, adding that the follow up by print and broadcast media is very essential as digital media doesn’t have the tool of infrastructure to do such in depth elaboration of the news.
According to him, the key factors that work against news neutrality, especially in broadcast news is the lack of transparency in their ownership as well as faulty editorial regulation from within the system.
“I can bet that 70 per cent of owners of the 300 something news channels airing in our country are not eligible to do so. The country’s law is very clear that no political party or religious group should own any channel. But still they do,” says Chandra adding that he wouldn’t be surprised if two of the channels are owned by notorious criminals like Dawood Ibrahim.
The way ahead, according to him, is to suggest to the government of India to look deeper into the actual ownership and investigate the stakeholders of media organisations and ultimately have their ownership transparent to the viewers, who can then decide for themselves.
When asked about his thoughts on the allowance of 49 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in news media in India, Chandra was prompt to reply that he is all in for ‘100 per cent FDI in news media’ as long as the foreign nationals allow the same stakes for Indian investors in their media. “If a US company is to own 100 per cent in a news media company here, Indian companies must be allowed to do the same in the US,” he says.
It is interesting to note that Chandra doesn’t find it wrong that a big corporation owns a certain media organisation, as long as the corporate veil is lifted to the public. “Corporate ownership is not illegal as per our law, though it may become unethical,” he says.
Chandra explains the latter issue of self-regulation by citing an example from within his own organisation. “I am aware of the unethical practices that have seeped within Zee News as well. Recently, I was informed of a stringer from Zee News in Hoshiarpur Punjab, who would collect evidences of corruption against builders, administrators, politicians and businessmen and blackmail them for money through agents. You see, it’s very easy to find scoop against such people. They ask for Rs 5,000 for not running it and Rs 1,000 for running it,” revealed Chandra, even congratulating the media who were successful in busting the scam.
On another instance, news brokers have been heard of sitting outside police stations in Haryana, looking out for victims whose FIRs have not been filed or other discrepancies by the police. “They promise to highlight their story through media in exchange for some money,” Chandra informs. While one may think of this as a social service in favour of the victim, Chandra is of the opinion that this goes against the ethics of a journalist and is no better than paid news.
The problem doesn’t only exist at the grassroots level of a media organisation. “This happens across levels – even at editor and sub-editor level,” reflects the media honcho. There are plenty of cases when a report, filed by a reporter becomes completely different by the time it is published or aired. “Those who report and file a story are at the very base of the news chain. The same report then goes through input and output editor. Then there is the entire organisation’s editorial that gives its own colour to the story. The publishers then add the final touch on whatever is left of the story,” Chandra adds wryly.
There are countless examples of how news media manipulates the truth, or in some cases become part of it, and Chandra regretfully admits that he hasn’t been able to put a stop to it.
While Chandra recognises their evils of news media colouring the news with opinion and judgements, he still doesn’t think there is any need of an external regulatory body. As per him, self regulation hasn’t completely failed Indian journalism, and he still has faith in it.
“We have put technological engines in place, which will be used post January 2016,” Chandra says while introducing a new self monitory mechanism that Zee News will put in place. “The moment somebody starts working on a story or any news – there is no way it won’t get recorded through the technological engine itself. And what happens with the story up to what level will be available. We feel this will help us control biases about the story by about 90 per cent.”
Chandra signs off from the conversation pregnant with ideas of a news analysis program that not only reviews the headlines on newspapers every morning, but also dissects the prime time news discussions of the previous night.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
