News Broadcasting
CNN PRESENTS shows real-life drama inside Combat hospital in Iraq
MUMBAI: Over two weeks, CNN PRESENTS: Combat hospital looks at the life and death struggles that the medical team face every day in the Iraqi capital’s military emergency rooms at the 10 Combat Support hospital in Baghdad.
With exclusive and unprecedented access to the five doctors, 14 nurses and 22 medics who treat casualties from U.S. and coalition forces, the civilian population and even insurgents, in a building that Saddam Hussein once used for his own personal medical care, CNN PRESENTS: Combat hospital reveals the horror and humanity of present day Iraq.
Presented without narration, the programme is a compelling and gritty close-up look at the American military’s frontline hospital starkly depicted with the daily challenges that face the 10 Combat Support hospital in Baghdad. Graphic video and natural sound reflect the reality of the chaos and heroism in a wartime emergency room: gunshot wounds, burns, amputations and other devastating damage caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Filmed during 16 days of exclusive access to the Mountain Medic Combat Support hospital by CNN Baghdad bureau chief Cal Perry, CNN senior photojournalist Dominic Swann, and CNN’s Ryan Chilcote, viewers see why the maturity and professionalism required in a Combat emergency setting are hard-earned.
A young nurse, Lt. Riane Nelson, R.N., talks ruefully about how she was “picked” to come to Iraq after being called to replace another nurse who became pregnant shortly before her tour of duty.
Nelson’s supervisor, head nurse Lt. Col. John Groves, describes the back story of Nelson’s early inability to keep up with the requirements of their busy unit. Then, Nelson worked with other personnel to resuscitate a critical patient with CPR, saving her life. After that, says Groves, “her confidence skyrocketed.” By the time viewers meet Nelson, she is a self-assured and proficient team member, saving more lives during the programme.
Outside of the emergency room, the unit tries to maintain some normality by playing football and baseball in the alley behind the hospital and even celebrating a co-workers 21 birthday.
In one of the most compelling sequences in the documentary, the film crew captures the arrival of 12 casualties during a few moments of relative quiet for the medical team. Four are already dead. Seven U.S. soldiers and CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier are critically injured and fighting for their lives. The team goes back to work; their trauma rooms are full again.
CNN PRESENTS is the most honoured documentary program in cable news. So far in 2006, CNN PRESENTS has been honoured by an Emmy, six New York Festivals Awards, two National Headliner Awards and a National Press Club Robert L. Kozik Award for environmental reporting.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
