No “Prime” Time Here

What does the launch of NDTV’s new two-in-one channel mean for business journalism?

WrittenBy:Kartik Malla
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Business news in India has decided it’s time to chuck any remaining pretense of journalism out of the window. NDTV  has proudly launched “India First 2-in-1 channel”. NDTV Profit, the erstwhile 24hour business news channel has now split down the middle. From 9am to 5pm the channel will show business news. In the remaining hours, the channel will broadcast “lifestyle” entertainment under the garb of NDTV Prime. When Prannoy Roy concedes that viewers tune off business news channels in the evening, there is a need to do something to bring them back. The question is, do viewers switch off because the channel has no news worth reporting or because what’s being reported is not worth watching?

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By transforming Profit  into Prime, it seems NDTV  believes it’s the former – there is absolutely, entirely, completely and utterly nothing worthwhile to report in the evening. The underlying assumption for this Jekyll & Hyde move is that across business news channels, viewers are really just interested in the stock markets. So after the closing bell in the afternoon,the only thing one can do is boogie. While the markets are open, there is a live stream of information to report. Frenetic graphics of stocks going up and down, accompanied with running commentary on the reasons for the movements. But let’s be clear – this is not news. There is no journalistic value added in reporting numbers released by stock exchanges. It’s just data, and one can access it in various ways. I am afraid it’s still not news no matter how many instant opinions you attach to the data while broadcasting. Comparing reportage on stock markets to reportage on a cricket match makes sense if you believe that viewers are hardnosed sattebaaz, interested only in the ups and downs of a ticker, much like the score in an IPL match. It may well be something else, but real analysis demands scrutiny, which by definition cannot be performed real-time.

Butlet’s take a step back. The notion that business news should be confined to stock market movements is not just narrow, but reflective of the huge expectation gap between channels and viewers. A business news viewer is interested in the broader aspects of the economy, industry and the health of the entire corporate system in the country. The last time I checked, there were a lot of issues in the corporate sector that needed journalistic review and insight. For instance, every scam from 2G to Adarsh to Coalgate to National Rural Health Mission has the fingerprints of corporate mis-governance.

While the political fallout of these scams is discussed ad nauseum, can we expect the business news channels to similarly explore the corporate side of these scams? Who will sift through corporate PR and identify the next Satyam? The next Kingfisher Airlines? Who will question the existence of certain audit firms that repeatedly fail in their most basic function? Who will follow up on the Ranbaxy malpractices? Who will investigate the investor base of Sahara? Who will validate the ethicality of corporate land deals in Haryana and in Gujarat? Who will expose the banks involved in domestic money laundering, directly responsible for propagating corruption?

Many students of business and finance grow up watching these channels – who will set the expected standard of corporate ethics and governance for the next generation of corporate workforce, leaders and entrepreneurs?

Surely there is enough news out there. Perhaps our hypothesis should be that people tune off business channels in the evenings because the news on it is not worth watching. For instance, I am sure many would tune in to watch an Arnab-style grilling of a Subrato Roy, or a panel discussion on gas pricing with people who know what they are talking about. That would bring the viewers in, but I suppose it would drive the other, far more important, demographic away – sponsors.

Since ‘Sponsor (and not customer) is King’, let’s give in to the fantasy of #WorkHardPlayHard. You’ve worked hard, now it’s time to play hard. There is no need to think – hard, or infact at all. How do we play hard then? By spending entire evenings watching “Gadget”, “Auto” and “Property”shows,which are little more than extended advertisements for the products featured on the show. No wonder the sponsors have loved the idea. Let’s also throw in a Bollywood-based reality show, in case you haven’t seen enough of them elsewhere. If nothing else, it’s free “promotion” for the upcoming movie, which NDTV  will produce at the end of the show. Basically, this seems to be the perfect place if you’ve got ideas that are less journalism and more in the realm of pre-packaged product placement and entertainment, (would be preferable if you already have a “title sponsor” in the bag).

This strange urge in the Indian news media, to do something odd and then claim to be the “First” to do it, is similar to the mad rush to be the first to comment on blogs or online articles.Even when there is nothing worthwhile to say, some would resort to simply writing the word “First” and claiming territory. The rest of the channels will catch up soon, as they always do in this path-breaking transition from the world of journalism to the world of PR, advertising and entertainment.

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