News Broadcasting
US networks go overboard to ‘cover’ for Jackson repeat
MUMBAI: One fallout of all the jumping around that has been going on following pop princess Janet Jackson’s half time flash at last Sunday’s Super Bowl is the way the US broadcast networks are falling over themselves to prevent any repeat.
The first of course is CBS which took the most heat for Jackson’s breast bare. Sunday’s (Monday morning in India) upcoming telecast of the Grammy Awards will be delayed live to allow censors to suitable edit both audio and video images.
It doesn’t stop there though. ABC’s live telecast of the Oscars on 29 February will for the first time see the network implementing a delayed airing. One wonders if this has anything to do with the Super bowl show-all or provides ABC a convenient escape route to edit out any unwanted anti-establishment tirades similar to what Michael Moore delivered last year. Moore, while picking up the award for best documentary for his anti-gun film Bowling for Columbine had trashed President George Bush as well as the US-led invasion of Iraq. To quote Moore from his speech: “We live in a time with fictitious election results that elect fictitious presidents. We live in a time when we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.”
It needs noting here that ABC’s decision to use a delay on the Oscars was made over the objections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The “cover-up” wave extends to beyond just live events. NBC network edited Thursday’s episode of ERto remove a brief shot of an elderly patient’s breast.
Defending its action, the network said it had “unfortunately concluded that the atmosphere created by this week’s events has made it too difficult for many of our affiliates to air” what producer John Wells called “the incidental exposure of an elderly woman’s breast in the context of a medical trauma.” And Wells was pointed in his criticism of the ERediting, issuing a statement that it could have a “chilling effect” on writers.
One only hopes that the network “crackdown” is just a passing phase and will will be given a quiet burial once the dust has settled on the Jackson affair.
Speaking of Jackson, a Fox News report says that some deal is being worked out wherein both Jackson and the man who actually did the “rip-off” pop toy boy Justin Timberlake will be part of the Grammy telecast on CBS.
Till now the news had been that only Timberlake would definitely be performing (being nominated for five Grammies, including Album of the Year is a great incentive to be forgiven any transgression).
According to Fox, the proviso for getting re-entry is that each of them must issue a one-sentence apology on screen about their actions at the Super Bowl.
Could the reported softening have anything to do with Jackson’s boyfriend, producer Jermaine Dupri, protest resignation from the Atlanta chapter of NARAS? Maybe, maybe not.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
