News Broadcasting
Swaraj stresses importance of media
NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj has called upon the media to introspect and contribute to make India a strong and a vibrant democratic India to take its due place in the comity of nations.
Delivering her address at a function to mark National Press Day, here on Friday, Swaraj regretted that in today’s media scenario, which has undergone a sea change after the technology explosion, sensational news has edged out developmental and positive news. In a race for being the first and most sensational, positive aspects of news items are being sacrificed, she said. Sensation may be a good saleable commodity commercially, but it is not in the overall interests of the country, she added.
The eminent jurist and MP, FS Nariman, who delivered the keynote address on ‘Future of India: Role of Media’ said that the media must be sensitive to the people’s problems and should lean on the side of the weak and the oppressed. It must be responsible to the Constitution and the country and not to the government, the business houses or the politicians. A free and robust press is a must for the successful functioning of our democratic system, Nariman said.
The chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Jaichandra Reddy, said that the spirit of the freedom struggle have to be revived and media must re-dedicate itself to the good old values of the profession of journalism. Small and medium newspapers, which have more and better access to rural and far-flung areas, have a greater role in awakening the people, he said.
Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi presided over the function.
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:Â 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.
