Our Notions of News

Citizen is at the centre of all our endeavours as we inquire, interpret and inform the public about events, trends and day-to-day history. We report news to all the citizens which include the consumers of news, or our viewers/ readers, but our journalism is meant for all citizens, not just the consumers of news. The job of our news is to keep everyone informed - to enable us to be better citizens, equipped with what we need to know to make better choices - in governance, politics, economy, society and our daily life.

Government: Citizens elect governments to improve the fate of a nation. They affirm their faith in every arm of the government - central, regional and local - to be accountable and answerable as a collective unit to the aspirations of the citizens. They demand that all policies of the government of the day and their execution to be directed towards their greater good. We are the eyes, ears and voices of the citizens.

Politics: We look at politics as an instrument of public service. It is a positive pursuit, not a quest for power. Citizens expect that in a democracy, their representatives gain power only to empower them. They want to be informed how the power they have entrusted to the politicians is being used to this end. Our effort should be to distil the news from noise of the politics which distracts the citizen. We stay focused on the real purpose of politics.

Economy: The sum total of all the enterprise by a people and their Government reflects in the economy. A Government is meant to facilitate all its people to realize their full potential and ambitions to improve their living standards. Thus, an economy should be aimed at eliminating ignorance, disease and inequality in a society. Economic policies or regulatory mechanisms of a modern state should be directly linked to better education, health and incomes for all its people and that is what we report.

Business and Market: To achieve the maximum potential of all human endeavour is the goal of any business. To nurture and harvest the best of entrepreneurship needs a free market environment and freedom of choice. The state is duty bound to facilitate the enterprise of its people while the people should see their duty to adhere to the law of the land and contribute to the society at large. No business or market can thrive without close connection with the people and society it operates in. Human evolution hasproved beyond doubt that if enterprise takes wings, it can change generations for the larger good.

Culture: India is defined by its culture. Our rich cultural diversity has been our biggest strength through millennia. We cannot inform the citizen about contemporary events or cultural current affairs unless we are well-versed in our cultural heritage. Our duty is not merely to keep the audience abreast with unfurling cultural trends but also to constantly remind the citizens about our cultural roots that are the foundation stones of our civilization which has withstood the vagaries of time.

Agriculture and Rural Landscape: Indian citizen is still largely living in its villages and dependent on agriculture. Though television and the Internet are mainly consumed by the urban populations, we cannot ignore the multitudes while providing information to them. Audience awareness about rural areas and agriculture will shape them as better informed citizens to understand a shared destiny. Our output should ensure an adequate coverage of our rural landscape and its people’s journey towards a better tomorrow.

Entertainment and the Arts: The information and opinion we purvey should be credible and the entertainment we provide should be wholesome. We have a larger role to play in a democracy, especially in a developing country like ours where demographies differ not only on socio-economic parameters but also on socio-cultural choices. We are not a mere platform of entertainment and gossip, we are not purveyors of prejudice and petulance. We draw the best from our cultural heritage, music, theatre, the arts and motion pictures to present a rich tapestry of the idea of India.

Sports: Sports are a celebration of youthfulness and dreams to be the best. With the largest young population in the world, India can be a leading sporting country if our youth are guided and encouraged to participate in sporting activities. We have to equip all our youth with knowledge and avenues to achieve sporting excellence, as a pastime and as a career. The spirit of participation in sports and games should be the bedrock of our information dissemination on the subject.

The Internet: The worldwide web is a repository of infinite information but also the largest unregulated space on earth. These two realities make our work doubly important as practitioners of free flow of information. Our journalism as curators of the Internet bears the responsibility of informing the public what is essential and newsworthy while guarding against the frivolous and wasteful for the audience. We give our audience all the information that is fit to circulate.

International Affairs: The world is our country and our religion is to do good. We practice the dictum of Vasudhaiv-Kutumbakam without compromising the integrity and stated principles of our nationhood. We walk the road of peace, but guard our borders effectively. We mean no harm to others, but not at the cost of harm to our country. Our national interests reign supreme as defined by our founding fathers.

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