I sit down to write this review of NDTV 24x7 after watching it for more than six months. After CAS was imposed on Chennai, the only English channels available to us are NDTV and BBC World. I have watched NDTV so much that I know all the anchors’ names by heart (who’s the girl who does the weather on weekdays?........Navodita Das!).
So, having established my credentials for writing this review, let me get right down to it.
Obviously, Prannoy Roy knows what he and his team have to do. they have stellar
reporters and shows that you just cannot miss (Big Fight, We the People. Great Indian Tamasha). the gimmicks are few and far between, its true hard reporting all the way.
Not surprisingly, NDTV is a channel with a conscience. Often I see them taking up the issues which bother us all and turning the spotlight on it to make sure some action is taken.
NDTV is often credited with bringing TV Ad rates down to ludicrous levels. But the ads I see are for international brands and only serve to increase the prestige of the channel.
Unfortunately, being a English channel limits NDTV’s audience to the english speaking cream of society. This also makes NDTV very Delhi-centric (the heart of english speaking IAS Babudom). Consequently, the south is almost totally ignored (this is underscored by the fact that the channel has only one full time reporter for TN).
One more problem is the quality of the channel’s signal. lately, I often notice the absence of audio in the early mornings. This completely defeats the purpose of a 24 hour channel.
The most obvious problem with the channel is its relaxed dress code. Reporters are allowed to wear anything on screen! I once saw Barkha Dutt wearing a salwar kameez with a yellow dupatta! this is totally unprofessional and distracts the viewer. In contrast, Aaj Tak presenters (note the word Presenters) are always attired formally and made up well. So much so that their skin color is always the same.
My biggest gripe about 24x7 is their lackadaisical attitude to breaking news. In this aspect, 24x7 is very similar to that venerable old newpaper (India’s National Newpaper, if you please), The Hindu. I am sure Hindu readers are familiar with the way the paper treats news from slightly suspect sources. It just ignores them.
SO, only by the time the other papers have reported the news item on first page, analyzed and dissected it, does the Hindu publish it on the 6th page. I agree that this is much more responsible journalism and is probably ok for a newspaper. But for a TV channel like NDTV it is suicide to ignore breaking news. But it has happened on numerous occasions (CAT paper leak, Chandrababu Naidu assault and many train accidents) and this neglect of breaking news does not bode well for a growing channel like 24x7.
So thats all I’ve got to say about that.