News Broadcasting
BBC World News unveils plans to help global audiences
MUMBAI: As the United Kingdom looks towards the EU Referendum, the BBC has today unveiled its plans to help global audiences make sense of the vote.
From documentaries and debates to live streaming on social media, BBC World News and BBC.com/news will provide a multiplatform offer, which means people around the world can keep up with the latest on the campaign wherever they are.
The BBC’s international news service will be mobilising its team of experienced correspondents and presenters with live broadcasts from across Europe to explain key moments in the campaign and help people understand what the result could mean where they are, while also offering a wealth of content online at bbc.com/eureferendum (www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum)
Sharing content and analysis via Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter will be at the heart of the coverage as Outside Source presenter Ros Atkins takes his innovative daily news show on the road. He will be presenting his TV programme from Paris, Manchester and Edinburgh as well as live steaming on the BBC News Facebook page. He will also be covering the BBC’s live, televised EU membership debate at London’s SSE Arena, Wembley on Tuesday June 21st. Ros will use social media to bring viewers key points as senior politicians and other key figures explore both sides of the argument, while BBC World News will broadcast the debate live.
On results day Ros will be joined by World News presenter and former BBC political correspondent Philippa Thomas in London’s Westminster as they cover the reaction to the referendum’s outcome in a special day of live broadcasts. Presenters David Eades and Karin Giannone will be bringing the view from Brussels, and Kasia Madera will be in Poland. BBC World News America anchor Katty Kay will be keeping American audiences up to speed, with a special London edition of her show while business correspondents Karishma Vaswani and Michelle Fleury will gauge the reaction of the financial markets and business communities around the world.
Alongside the service’s news reporting BBC World News will also be broadcasting special documentaries. These include an Our World special with Gabriel Gatehouse considering what has become of the European dream and an hour long film ‘The Truth About EU Migration’ (title TBC) presented by Mishal Husain taking an impartial look at the effects of migration from other European Union countries to the UK.
Unveiling the wealth of content, BBC World News digital and editorial director Richard Porter said, “This is a historic referendum for the British people, which we know is being watched closely around the world. It’s our responsibility to ensure audiences get the clearest explanation of the issues, with coverage they can trust. Audiences can expect the same quality of coverage whether they come to us on TV, on our website, our app or on social media – and we’ll reflect back what they’re saying to us, as well as what the politicians are saying to them. We’ll draw upon all the knowledge and experience of our expert correspondents to ensure audiences get the whole story.”
Key Content
• Our World: The European Dreamwith Gabriel Gatehouse-It’s more than 65 years since Europe set out on a journey that’s led to today’s complex union of 28 states. As the European Union struggles to stay united in the face of 21st century crises, for Our World Gabriel Gatehouse asks what’s happened to the European dream. Tx Friday June 10th 0930 GMT
• The Truth about EU Migration – Mishal Husain takes an impartial look at the effects of migration from other European Union countries to the UK. From the economy and jobs market, through education, housing, and the NHS, to security and national identity, this documentary explores the true impact of EU immigration on Britain.Tx date tbc
• EU Referendum: The Great Debate -As the campaign reaches its climax, BBC presenters David Dimbleby (Question Time) will be joined by Mishal Husain (Radio4 Today) and Emily Maitlis (This Week’s World), live at SSE Arena, Wembley in London for the BBC’s biggest ever campaign event as thousands of voters are invited to question representatives from the ‘leave’ and ‘remain’ camps
– TxJune 21st.
• Outside Source Specials / BBC World News live broadcasts
o Paris – June 9 and 10
o Belgium – June 14
o Manchester & The Netherlands – June 16
o Scotland – June 20
• Results Day – rolling coverage from Westminster and Brussels with in-depth analysis as the result becomes clear – June 24
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
