The Hindu Business Line : In the eye of the hurricane

The devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina received wide coverage on major channels. Discovery Channel even aired an hour-long documentary on the storm surge for Indian viewers.

Cricket is back in our living rooms; this time round the sport offered some moments of delight for English fans around the world after England regained the Ashes from Australia after 18 years.

For Indians who tracked the series on TV though, it was a pleasure to see cricket fans of another country going berserk with joy over a victory. While BBC was prompt with its breaking news alerts on England's win, CNN also included it in its sports coverage.

The channels also gained viewer attention with their coverage of Hurricane Katrina. CNN, obviously, had a vast coverage of the devastation wreaked by one of the worst natural disasters to strike that country. For days after the tragedy very little was known about the plight of the victims, and the news coverage extended for several days.

Though the tragedy was quite on a lower scale in comparison to the tsunami that wreaked havoc across several Asian countries in December 2004, killing more than two lakh people, the apathy and the inability of the US Government to reach out to the victims prompted viewers to tune in to CNN or BBC.

Responding to the curiosity of viewers in India, Discovery Channel aired a programme titled, Katrina: Killer Hurricane. The hour-long documentary explained what a `storm surge' was and also aired the views of scientists, who warned that storms and hurricanes were likely to appear more frequently in the future. The channel had responded similarly with a feature on tsunamis soon after the devastation in Asia.

India is key to many players in the entertainment industry. CNN continues to nurture hopes in the Indian market. "India is an important market for CNN," says Jill Dougherty, Managing Editor, CNN International Asia Pacific. But she is not willing to say if CNN looks at India as an editorial destination or as a market.

The international news channel has launched the second edition of its weeklong programme, Eye on India. "Last year's show was hugely popular. This year's programme will showcase a range of issues with an accent on India-Pakistan relationship," she said. "It is a prism on modern-day India."

The second edition is being aired from Mumbai with CNN's senior anchors Jim Clancy, Veronica Pedrosa, Andrew Stevens, Satinder Bindra, Richard Quest and Mallika Kapoor. Richard Quest, who switched from BBC to CNN, is a familiar name among Indian viewers.

The weeklong show includes a live panel discussion titled CNN Connects: Dialogue for Peace — India and Pakistan. A special documentary titled India & Pakistan: The Path to Peace, talks to people on both sides of the border.

Bollywood could very much be a part of the show, as it is being aired out of Mumbai.

What people watch...

When asked if she watches any of the children's channels, 12-year-old Triya Rao says, "They are so boring." Having grown up on a diet of Cartoon Network, Triya today has no patience for children's programmes. "I like to watch Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 or Fame Gurukul or Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Most kids' channels repeat programmes," she says.

As for 34-year-old Preeti Jayram, she loves to watch Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai on Sony Entertainment Television. Preeti used to love soaps, but is now tiring of their plots. "Kaisa Yeh... seems a little different from others," she says.

Padmaja Madhu enjoys her daily dose of Malayalam programmes on channels like Asianet and Surya TV. "But most of the serials are quite boring except for a couple of comic shows," she says. She enjoys some episodes of Life is Beautiful on Asianet and Indumukhi Chandramati on Surya. Life is Beautiful is a satirical look at everyday life. Some discussions and interviews on Asianet are quite riveting, she says.

Sridevi Menon, a government employee, avoids serials and prefers reality shows as "they don't make you dependent".

"I want to watch something useful," says Sangeeta Bijoy, a senior corporate executive. Discovery and National Geographic Channel are her favourites, though she does find time for Star World, AXN, CNN, BBC and NDTV.

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