Two views on CNN-News18

Underwhelming relaunch of a channel in turmoil

By Ranjona Banerji

One unspoken rule in print journalism is that when you want to do a relaunch or launch a new paper, never ever bite off more than you can chew. That is, keep the readers’ expectations low and do not make your launch or re-launch so fabulous that you can never keep up to the standards you have set. It sounds cynical but it works. The most famous example of how not to do it was in the 1980s, when advertisements for the Metropolitan outdid the newspaper to such an extent that the paper sank without a trace. What copywriters wish a newspaper would be and what journalists can deliver are obviously parallel lines never to meet!

It is possible that someone at Network 18 was aware of this rule and that is why the re-launch of CNN-IBN as CNN-News18 is somewhat underwhelming. I suppose in keeping with today’s rubbish management jargon I should call it a “re-branding” though heck knows I could be outdated on that too!

The channel has gone through plenty of turmoil in the last few years. Even before Raghav Bahl sold out to the Ambanis, we had all sorts of stories of political pressure, of Congress versus BJP, of its two main faces Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagorika Ghose being eased out. In fact since Sardesai’s departure, the channel has been struggling to claim attention in an arena where it was once top choice.

A re-configuration was therefore essential. And there is some thought at work here – getting a panel of in-house talking heads for instance. So we have Ayaz Memon, Ajoy Bose, Vir Sanghvi and Swapan Dasgupta as resident commentators, who will appear as experts on politics, sports, social trends and perhaps some will have their own shows. Until then, they have appeared on all or various news channels, now the viewer knows to expect them on CNN-News18.

Features like Bhupendra Chaubey’s “Five headlines in five minutes” sounds a lot like something Headlines Today used to do years ago when its tagline was “smart news for smart people”, before it became India Today TV. All Hindi news channels offer a variation of this which is far superior: 700 headlines in 20 seconds.

A quick survey of English news channels on Tuesday night showed a variety of stories on offer: the Kohinoor diamond and the government’s flip-flops on it, a Union minister’s comment that celebrities should be jailed for endorsing bad products, changing stances on the Samjhauta blasts case and the drought situation in the government. CNN-News18 decided that the late TV star Pratyusha Banerjee’s pregnancy and abortion was newsworthy during the same time slots. Also, comedian Kapil Sharma’s new show.

(In other news, how on earth is one supposed to tell Times Now and NewsX apart if Arnab Goswami is not on air?)

This is a quote of a firstpost.com report on the changes (firstpost.com is part of the Network 18 group):

“Enlarged reporting teams equipped with cutting edge technology tools to deliver news from the ground fastest, new studios designed by the best in the world and a deeper leveraging of the CNN global news resources, form the core of this brand refresh. While continuing with its emphasis on engaging viewers in ways that are intelligent as well as innovative, the channel will focus more on immersive journalism. It means more in-depth reporting of news stories and covering angles in news developments generally left unexplored.”

One hopes that the unbearable jargon aside (“immersive journalism”?), some of these features will soon be visible. An in-depth feature on grains rotting on the roadsides in Rohtak was however on the menu, which is an excellent story to cover. One assumes that immersive journalism could also look at submersible pumps and the damage they cause to the water table during drought conditions?

So is CNN-News18 a Times Now-killer?

By Pradyuman Maheshwari

I know the headline is unfair. But that’s what every English news channel should aspire to do, right? Displace the leader.

So the answer to the question is: No.

Not yet?

No.

Why?

Because the channel bosses haven’t done enough to effect a turnaround.

It’s old wine in a new bottle.  So let me whine about it a little bit.

Whine because Network 18 – given that it’s owned by Mukesh Ambani – has enough resources at its disposal. And in terms of top deck, it’s got some of the brightest brains. Rahul Joshi, President – News, is one of the best newsrooms managers in the country.  It’s also got some sharpshooters within its ranks.

So what do we have? A credo that says it’s got no agenda. Heck, if there’s one business group that’s said to set all the agendas in the world it’s the Ambanis, but guess the owners don’t have much of a role… and one is being uncharitable towards the professional managers running it.

One can interpret it as a comment on Times Now.  But let’s get to my instant view on CNN-News18.

[] The look is neat and clean. Brighter… looks much better on a screen of at least 32 inches or more. Has some shades of India Today (after it switched from Headlines Today), but betters it.

[]Zakka Jacob is still the best amongst Tier 2b anchors in the country (Tier 1 being Arnab, Rajdeep, Barkha and you can add Prannoy Roy of course, Tier 2a being Vikram Chandra, Rahul Shivshankar, Rahul Kanwal and etc and Tier 2b has Ndhi Razdan and the likes and now Zakka Jacob.)

[] The CNN-IBN reporting team is still top class, though post-retrenchment of the last few years, many bright hands have exited

[] Bhupendra Chaubey is still around, albeit at 10pm. He is just about tolerable

[] Getting Cyrus Broacha to do more than his weekly bit was a good idea

[] Good to see Ayaz Memon on the primetime panel. Cricket rules, and we don’t too many observers of the game who can match him

While getting Ayaz was a good idea, but why Swapan Dasgupta and Ajoy Bose? Both can speak on everything under the sun, but we could’ve got some better folk. Say Siddharth Varadarajan. A Hartosh Singh Bal would’ve been better than Bose.

And Vir Sanghvi? One of the most stylish journalists in the country, he is past his prime (or as they say: sell-by-date).  The Niira Radia controversy didn’t too much for his rep, but he doesn’t make for good television any longer. Even a Suhel Seth would’ve been better.

One would’ve expected an entertainment specialist to be also on the show, and getting inhouse resource Rajeev Masand on board would’ve been good. Or the many specialists on the subject in Mumbai and Delhi.

Will the new look earn better ratings for the channel?

I haven’t seen Mumbai roads plastered with hoardings on the channel, but am sure some work has been done on distribution. I don’t think we will see CNN-News18 upstaging Times Now the way India Today did on launch week, but perhaps the idea is do it slow and steady.