News Broadcasting
A Palme d’or for the Cinéfondation!
Jane Campion is to head up the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury of the 66th Festival de Cannes, a position held previously held by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Michel Gondry, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Martin Scorsese and John Boorman.
Originally from New Zealand, Jane Campion has attracted critical acclaim since the very beginning of her film career: in 1986 she won short film Palme d’or for Peel and garnered interest from critics all over the world for Sweetie, the first feature she presented in competition at the Festival de Cannes. After An Angel at my Table, she returned to Cannes with The Piano, which won the Palme d’or in ’93, as well as the best actress award for Holly Hunter.
Her work, which is dominated by the presence of fascinating women in search of their identity, comes in a variety of styles, from Holy Smoke (Kate Winslet) and Portrait of a Lady (Nicole Kidman) to In the Cut (Meg Ryan). Her latest film, Bright Star, was a fictional biography of the poet Keats and his muse, and was presented in competition at Cannes in 2009.
Gilles Jacob, president of the Festival de Cannes and the Cinéfondation, declared: “Jane is a child of Cannes. I know this as it was I who selected her first three short films for the Festival, because I liked her style and consistency. Naively perverse young girls, teens closed in around their solitude, and women mulling over desires and regrets: Jane’s is a passionate universe that she firmly holds in check as she draws these intricate group portraits. I am delighted that the love story between Lady Jane and the Festival continues today as she takes on the role of president.”
The Cinéfondation and Short Film jury is comprised of five eminent figures from the worlds of film and literature and they choose their three prize winners from among the Cinéfondation’s selection of film school entrants. The jury also chooses the winner of the short film Palme d’or, which is presented during the closing ceremony of the Festival, on Sunday May 26th 2013.
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: 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.
