News Broadcasting
TV news coverage of corruption issues up 11 times: CMS study
MUMBAI: Television news channels are crusading against corruption as never before. Corruption coverage in primetime bulletins by the six television news channels during 2005 to 2011 have grown over eleven times in terms of percentage, a research study by CMS (Centre For Media Studies) Media Lab reveals.
Though the coverage of corruption-related issues by TV news channels as well as newspapers have increased substantially, especially during Anna Hazare‘s fast in August, petty corruption involving vulnerable sections of people are yet to become a concern for the media.
The study – ‘Face of Corruption in News Media 2011‘ – says that the priority is for scams and scandals rather than for systematic issues and correctives that need to be pursued. The far off and grassroots level corruption hardly figured.
It said the coverage related to corruption issues was well over eight per cent of primetime and six per cent of front pages from January-June 2011, but during Anna‘s fast the coverage overall went up to over 60 per cent of primetime of news channels and mostly live coverage.
“Reporting on corruption in news media between the year 2010 and 2011 has doubled. However, during July – September of 2011 alone the coverage has more than tripled,” noted CMS director PN Vasanti in the report. “Since the Anna Hazare crusade, there are initiatives all around and all across the states towards curb, contain corruption and the compulsions. With the kind of spread of e-seva and e-governance services, and transparency movement gaining ground, hopefully news media would take up reporting these in 2012 and expedite the process of decline of corruption.”
Mainstream news media attached priority to scams and scandals involving high-profile personalities. “Most of the corruption covered in 2011 involved individuals, but with high profiles and of high scams. English channels focused relatively more – both on institutions and individuals; while Hindi news channels focused relatively more on individuals in their coverage of corruption,” the report stated.
The study pointed out that there were seven scandals, which were reported more often in the stories of news media – channels, newspapers and radio – during the period of the study. Of these, four were to do with government (2G, CWG, Adarsh, Bofors), two were to do with civil society (Ramdev and Anna Hazare) and two (Hasan Ali and Citi Bank) were from private / corporate.
“The news channels focused more on scams referring to politicians and bureaucrats and to big public utilities / services (like CWG, DGCA, GNDA, etc). CNN-IBN had only 21 percent for covering such corruption against as high 90 percent of Aaj Tak and 81 percent by Star News. Even DD News had 42 percent coverage to do with corruption involving or referring to bureaucrats. In all, major stories covered by news media were analysed. By and large they were all chasing the same stories, and even same way,” said the report.
This CMS Media Lab study for January – June 2011 involves analysis of primetime (7– 11 pm) coverage of corruption by news media. It includes front pages of six newspapers (Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasjar, Hindustan, The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times), six news channels (NDTV 24×7, CNN-IBN, Zee News, Star News, DD News and Aaj Tak) and AIR news.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
