ITP FAQs

Published by Emil Abraham,

Media in India
  • Media Companies: Media owning companies in India share in many cases some significant features. Whereas some present a fairly simple shareholding which shows clearly who pulls the strings, others have created complex structures of subsidiary companies. The web of companies, cross-owning one another, are set up to obscure the relationship between the owner and the media company. For instance, the Birla Family’s shares in the India Today Group required meticulous calculation involving going through the shareholding structures of more than two dozen companies, which stand out with their heavy crossholding among each other. A similar pattern can be detected in Essel Group and Zee Media Corporation, owned by Dr. Subhash Chandra whose shares are veiled behind several interconnected companies.
    In addition, media companies in India are mostly private limited companies. With a few public companies that trade between 25 and 35 per cent of their shares in the Indian Stock Exchange, most of these are still largely controlled by the founding families.
    • Rajya Sabha TV is a cable television network channel owned and operated by Rajya Sabha that covers the proceedings of Rajya Sabha. Apart from telecasting live coverage of Rajya Sabha proceedings, RSTV also brings incisive analysis of parliamentary affairs.
    • Other FAQs: Prasar Bharati, Network 18, NDTV, The Times Group, The Hindu, Zee Media.
  • Television stations in India: Television came to India in September 15, 1959 with an experimental transmission based in Delhi. In 1965 a daily one hour news service was started. The television services were extended to Mumbai in 1972. By the year 1975 services were extended to Kolkata, Chennai, Amritsar and Lucknow. The state public service broadcaster - Doordarshan was constituted as a separate department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting by 1976 when the network starting expanding with eight stations covering a population of 45 million.
    Television in India was all about Doordarshan till the late eighties of the last century. In fact, till 1982, television broadcast was in black and white. It was only in 1982, when India hosted the Asian Games in New Delhi, that the country transitioned to colour television broadcast. Doordarshan continued to be the sole television broadcaster for nearly a decade, till 1991. India had a taste of first "private" television channel in 1991 when Sun Network, based in Tamil Nadu of South India, and later Zee TV, based in North India launched. Today the country has nearly 900 television channels of which, more than 400 are news channels. MOM has investigated ownership structures of 23 leading television stations in India.
  • Individual Media owners: Media ownership in India presents a pretty sight from the outside. Mostly consisting of individuals with a background in media, or companies that have media as a part of their diverse portfolio or businessmen with multiple interests. But scratch beneath the surface, and one can see politics lurking in the background. Some significant examples: Asianet News Malayalam and Suvarna News Kannada, are owned by Asianet News Network Limited, or ANN. But ANN is majorly owned by Jupiter Capital, a company owned by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament from India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP. The Darda brothers, former Ministers of the Indian National Congress government in Maharashtra, and in the previous Congress-led regime at the Centre, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) own Lokmat. The biggest media conglomerate in South India, the Sun Group is run by Kalanithi Maran, the grand nephew of the former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Muthuvel Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. News Live, a prominent news television channel in the eastern part is run by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of the minister in the BJP government in Assam, Himant Biswa Sarma. Sakal, a prominent Marathi newspaper is run by the family of Sharad Pawar, President of the Nationalist Congress Party. There are many examples like these in our study.
    It's important to note that political affiliation does not always or necessarily translate into political bias, but the link between political affiliation and content bias requires a whole new study including content analysis which is beyond the scope of this project. However, for the purposes of this study, political proximity of media especially through direct ownership or financial dependence signifies presence of a risk to media pluralism. Go to the owner’s database.

Television Programmes
  • Great British Railway Journeys
    Great British Railway Journeys is a BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The programme was first broadcast in 2010 on BBC Two and has returned annually for a total of 11 series. The series features Portillo travelling around the railway networks of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man, referring to Bradshaw's Guide and comparing how the various destinations have changed since; initially, he used an 1840s copy, but in later series he used other editions. Portillo has also presented 7 other programmes with a similar format: Great Continental Railway Journeys, Great American Railroad Journeys, Great Indian Railway Journeys, Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys and Great Canadian Railway Journeys, Great Australian Railway Journeys and Great Asian Railway Journeys.
  • Last Week Tonight
    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. Last Week Tonight shares some similarities with Comedy Central's The Daily Show, as it takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, but on a weekly basis.
  • Haritha Vidyalayam
    A panel of experts analyse the achievements of various government and aided schools in Kerala under different parameters. The best institution is honoured with a cash prize and an award.