NDTV just a year old perhaps - but has dramatically changed or we can say transformed the perception of what a news channel is in the minds of many indians ? atleast it has done it for me.In 2006 people heavily relied on the numero uno --Aaj Tak ('sabse tej' fame) which was at that time like a messiah of Indian news and information industry.The taja khabar,breaking news trends were first started by this baby from 'India Today group' and then the whole bunch of other news channels started to follow them either intentionally or else they had no other option but to follow the call.
NDTV had just commenced then and was clearly over shadowed by the 'Aaj tak' mania.Believe me nobody would have thought at that time that it would come of it's age so quickly .Today it commands respect from all quarters and scetions of people who understand what news,media and sensible journalism is all about.Truly they had a vision in their mind which took a while to unfold and reach the masses.The best part of it is that they were resolute and believed in them ,stuck to their guns in this fiercely competitive segment.
Dr Prannoy roy with his magnetic smile and charisma has been like a messianic figure.From the day one he was quite convinced it seems that if you had to be successful then you had to be different-class apart from the rest of the lot.This thought or we can say a conscious effort is also seen in the channels look,feel,content,administration,coverage and delivery.Difference,discipline has percolated down right across it's diverse portfolio.
Talking of portfolio-what does it mean ? does a news channel have a portfolio ? confused butyes today NDTV has it -NDTV 24/7 (Hindi,English),NDTV PROFIT and a battery of programmes hosted on these three with the likes of Gadjet guru,The car and the bike show,All in the family and many more.....
Truly it is redining the news & media space of indian television.It has made me believe in an age old saying 'Slow and steady wins the race' (which nowadays is not so true).Abuot others they are in a stiff competition and will have to really mature fast if at all they want to catch up with the big Indian story.Some self-proclaimed channels have literally become so pathetic and have degraded themselves both in quality and quantity.I feel sorry for Aak tak it is looking helpless,rusty,out of quality news- it is picking bits and pieces of information and making stories out of it to just drive it's TRP ratings or lets call it survival.
But yes i am confident now that NDTV has set an exapmle for others to follow our Indian journalism is all set to take off and reach new heights -just like Indian economy.
Looking at things one cannot deny the fact that
India is certainly on a move ....
