News Broadcasting
Indian campaigners at centre of Al Jazeera global brand campaign
MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English has made virtue of putting real people on its billboards and television commercials rather than its own star presenters and correspondents.
The channel’s new brand campaign is its largest marketing push to-date, and the slogan “Hear the Human Story” was unveiled at its global launch in South Africa today. The brand film featured at the special event was about the Gulabi Gang, also known as “vigilantes in pink”, who tackle issues such as violence against women and corruption in northern India.
Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English, said that the channel covered all the big themes and issues facing the world today, but did so from the perspective of real people: “We believe everyone has a story worth hearing. There are seven billion people to listen to on the planet right now. Al Jazeera exists to cover the people often ignored. People whose voices must be heard – but who are so often neglected by mainstream media.”
“Our editorial mission is to cover the world without a perspective. What that means is not seeing the globe through a geographical or cultural prism,by not weighting our coverage towards West, the rich nations, or anywhere else. We cover the developing world as much as the developed. So person in Bangui is given as much humanity as a person in Boston or Birmingham.”
Commenting on the choice of Johannesburg as the location for the launch, rather than the traditional financial centres favoured by other channels, AlJazeera executive director for marketing and distribution Abdulla Alnajjar said: “In a world where the truth is everywhere under attack, Al Jazeera puts the human being at the centre of its news agenda, giving a voice to the voiceless. This campaign is about human stories and we’re proud that theglobal launch for the campaign is here from South Africa, a region rich with history and human stories.”
“There is a common perception that the media are mainly interested in covering those in power, or the rich and famous. Our campaign gives a voice to the many people around the world who feel that they have been leftbehind.
“Our coverage is not about only about portraying difficult situations – its about the triumph of the human spirit and the ability for people in the most difficult of situations to make change. It’s on that foundation that we built this campaign honouring their lives and struggles. This campaign showcases incredible human stories and the humanity that unites us all.”
Some of the others featured in the campaign include: Kiki Katese who started a group of female drummers in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide; and Illac Diaz who brought lighting to slums in the Philippines using plastic bottles.
Al Jazeera English also point out that they aired a film about MalalaYousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winning teenager who campaigns for the right of girls to go to school, two years before she hit the headlines when she was shot by the Taliban. “We have extraordinary people like Malalaon our screens every single day. Their stories are inspiring and must also receive attention,” said Anstey.
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:Â 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.
