NEW DELHI : Has the new look Doordarshan (DD) News experiment failed? Barely two months after the DD's prime time news segment was revamped with new anchors and spiffy graphics, the show appears to be lurching with dipped ratings and one of the main English news anchors, AjaiShukla, has already put in his papers.
The old guard, including anchors, reporters and the information service officers, feel that they have been given a short shrift. Sources said that DD was working on strengthening content with better reporting skills and research back up and revamping visuals since last June, and the new "team'' with higher pay packets have parachuted on the groundwork done to claim credit. I&B ministry sources also added that the new team too hasn't been flawless.
Among the significant faux pas being pointed out — an absolute no-no in any TV channel let alone a public broadcaster — was an anchor's attempt to identify the community targeted in the Hyderabad blasts. Other incidents are rapidly rattled off: death toll in the Hyderabad blasts continued to be reported as 21 despite an official confirmation of 16, discussion on AFSPA was allowed to be hijacked by "separatist'' line of thinking, while an anchor volunteered to suggest a connection between Congress president Sonia Gandhi during a discussion on Italian mariners' row.
A series of `malapropos' moments later two circulars were sent on March 13 and 14 asking the new team to have discussion topics and panelists cleared by DD's DG (news).
Sanjeev Srivastava, who is at the helm of affairs at Newsnight, refused to comment on the issue. However, a member of the new team said that editorial autonomy had not been affected. "Nothing has changed since the circulars were issued. The information is submitted to the DD DG (news) but there has been no interference so far,'' the source said.
The source, however, added that the plans to expand Newsnight, including recruitment of over 40 people, had gone on a "go-slow.'' "The issue is not editorial autonomy at all. The slow poison that is being injected is that we are being starved of funds and resources. We don't get any logistics support from the current establishment and are short-staffed. So if this experiment fails it will be because of lack of resources not editorial freedom,'' the team member said.
Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar refused to comment on the "turf-war.'' He said, "We have done our best to start the news segment but daily operational problems have to be handled by DD director general and DD DG (news). Nobody can or should do backseat driving.''
On ratings dipping during primetime, Sircar said, "As you know we are in legal problems with TAM and don't take their currency. We have made references to TRAI and the Competition Commission of India and would not like to comment on the ratings." (टीओआई)
