India News, Indian Radio, Broadcast Media

 

 

India News, India radio & broadcast media : The Indian national television (Doordarshan) and radio (All India Radio, or Akashwani) networks are state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Their news reporting customarily presents the government's point of view. For example, coverage of the 1989 election campaign blatantly favored the government of Rajiv Gandhi, and autonomy of the electronic media became a political issue. V.P. Singh's National Front government sponsored the Prasar Bharati (Indian Broadcasting) Act, which Parliament considered in 1990, to provide greater autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio. The changes that resulted were limited. The bill provided for the establishment of an autonomous corporation to run Doordarshan and All India Radio. The corporation was to operate under a board of governors to be in charge of appointments and policy and a broadcasting council to respond to complaints. However, the legislation required that the corporation prepare and submit its budget within the framework of the central budget and stipulated that the personnel of the new broadcasting corporation be career civil servants to facilitate continued government control. In the early 1990s, increasing competition from television broadcasts transmitted via satellite appeared the most effective manner of limiting the progovernment bias of the government-controlled electronic media .

Since the 1980s, India has experienced a rapid proliferation of television broadcasting that has helped shape popular culture and the course of politics. Although the first television program was broadcast in 1959, the expansion of television did not begin in earnest until the extremely popular telecast of the Ninth Asian Games, which were held in New Delhi in 1982. Realizing the popular appeal and consequent influence of television broadcasting, the government undertook an expansion that by 1990 was planned to provide television access to 90 percent of the population. In 1993, about 169 million people were estimated to have watched Indian television each week, and, by 1994, it was reported that there were some 47 million households with televisions. There also is a growing selection of satellite transmission and cable services available.

Television programming was initially kept tightly under the control of the government, which embarked on a self-conscious effort to construct and propagate a cultural idea of the Indian nation. This goal is especially clear in the broadcasts of such megaseries as the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata . In addition to the effort at nation-building, the politicians of India's ruling party have not hesitated to use television to build political support. In fact, the political abuse of Indian television led to demands to increase the autonomy of Doordarshan; these demands ultimately resulted in support for the Prasar Bharati Act.

The 1990s have brought a radical transformation of television in India. Transnational satellite broadcasting made its debut in January 1991, when owners of satellite dishes--initially mostly at major hotels--began receiving Cable News Network (CNN) coverage of the Persian Gulf War. Three months later, Star TV began broadcasting via satellite. Its fare initially included serials such as "The Bold and the Beautiful" and MTV programs. Satellite broadcasting spread rapidly through India's cities as local entrepreneurs erected dishes to receive signals and transmitted them through local cable systems. After its October 1992 launch, Zee TV offered stiff competition to Star TV. However, the future of Star TV was bolstered by billionaire Rupert Murdock, who acquired the network for US$525 million in July 1993. CNN International, part of the Turner Broadcasting System, was slated to start broadcasting entertainment programs, including top Hollywood films, in 1995.

Competition from the satellite stations in India brought radical change to Doordarshan by cutting its audience and threatening its advertising revenues at a time when the government was pressuring it to pay for expenditures from internal revenues. In response, Doordarshan decided in 1993 to start five new channels in addition to its original National Channel. Programming was radically transformed, and controversial news shows, soap operas, and coverage of high-fashion events proliferated. Of the new Doordarshan channels, however, only the Metro Channel, which carries MTV music videos and other popular shows, has survived in the face of the new trend for talk programs that engage in a potpourri of racy topics. - 1995 loc data - India Radio and Broadcast Media

 

religion in india   Vedas  Karma  Jainism   Buddhism   Hindu Gods   Vishnu    Shiva   Hindu Goddesses    Hindu Ceremonies   Life cycle rituals   Temples in India  Taj Mahal Pictures   Pilgrimages in India   Mahatma Gandhi

India art   Indian Paintings    Indian Architecture   Indian Films    Indian Cuisine     Indian Literature    Indian Dances     Indian Drama     Sports in India   Indian Festivals   indian fashion    Festivals india  economy of India      India finance   foreign aid india   india trade  used sailboats   wholesale suppliers wholesale furniture  wholesale electronics motorcycle trailers shower curtains   wedding programs  herbal remedies   living room furniture  tractor supply  lamp shades  import cars  foreign exchange india  india telecommunications      india foreign relations   Indian laws  amazing Facts    Outdoor games    Solar system     Tongue twisters   Baby Poems    flag of india  Festivals of India   monuments India   Schools  India   colleges India  Indian national anthem   History of India   indian baby names  Indian fashion  bollywood ringtones  india mobile phones     Indian vegetarian recipes     

Homework Help  INDIA  Home   BABY PICTURES   Indian parenting

Copyright 2000.Indianchild.com. India News media . All rights reserved. No Content from our pages can be used/copied/downloaded for any use/publication/website in whatsoever manner without our written permission.