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It isn't exactly sunny times for weather broadcasts in India.

Weather talk is a popular pastime in the West. Besides radio stations, exclusive cable channels dedicated to weather, like The Weather Channel, are also available. In fact, many young girls aspire to become weather girls in local networks, much like Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman's character in Gus Van Sant's black comedy, To Die For. But in India, this segment has not really taken off, as politics and Bollywood rule television news.

However, the ravage caused by the tsunami recently has been well documented by the channels. Says Alka Saxena, Editor and Programming Head, Zee News, "Weather reporting has not got the prominence it deserves. Once the Government puts in place new systems to track weather changes, I am sure there will be more interest among news channels."

Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has already announced major upgradation plans and the setting up of a new tsunami warning system. "India is a vast country and highly susceptible to the vagaries of nature. Surely there will be considerable interest among farmers and the agricultural community," says a senior official of a news channel on the prospects for weather reporting. Currently, almost all news channels have weather updates. Some have special features such as pollution watch. These receive good sponsorship from advertisers.

However, sceptics beg to differ. "How many people want to know whether or not to carry an umbrella before stepping out? There are so many other day-to-day problems dogging people. Weather is the least of them," said one.

What's news on TV?

"Indian news channels are cluttered and there is really no consistency," says Gillian Samuels, Business Director, Bruce Dunlop Associates (BDA), an Australian company offering design services to broadcasters and advertisers. Samuels is currently working on the branding and packaging of Channel 7, the latest from the Dainik Jagran stable.

"We are the on-air brand identity for the channel. When we started work on this channel, we looked at all the existing ones. We were clear that the logo and the look would not be created from the clichés," she says.

Therefore, the colours of the national flag or other national symbols were out. Instead, the design house chose to represent the diversity of India. Colours such as blue, golden orange and red have been used. Also, the team opted for a clutter-free look.

For a non-Hindi speaking person, working on the look of a Hindi news channel was a challenge. But this is not a first for the design house. It has earlier worked on the branding of a Chinese channel in Singapore called Channel U.

The company's clients include Hallmark Channel, Discovery Networks, Sky Italia, Paramount Comedy Channel and Disney, among others.

With the competition among Indian news channels hotting up, re-invention is the order of the day. Only recently Star News worked on a new look. Aaj Tak and Zee News have also believed in transforming themselves at regular intervals. "This is mainly done to overcome viewer fatigue," says an industry source.

Adult or vulgar...

Vulgar music videos were under the spotlight at an interaction between content providers, broadcasters and officials of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry. While media watch groups were livid about the picturisation of some of the old classics, broadcasters said they had little control over the videos. They had no way of finding out whether the version given to the channel is the same as the one certified by the Board. "Sometimes the cuts suggested by the Censor Board are not carried out. It is difficult for the channel to keep track of these," says a broadcaster.

Meanwhile the Government, keeping in mind changing sensibilities, is planning to allow adult A-certified films and music videos late in the night, post-primetime.

Picture by V.V. Krishnan

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