DD makes headlines with hourly bulletins

After Mahajan8217;s repeated questioning of privately produced news on DD, the Prasar Bharati board had also endorsed his move by giving TV Today8217;s Aaj Tak an extension only as a current affairs programme. The privately-produced KhasKhabar on Calcutta Doordarshan, the only other anomaly to this newly-imposed rule so far, continues under litigation.

In a bid to 8220;professionalise8221; and 8220;modernise8221; Doordarshan8217;s news set-up, Mahajan8217;s team has also decided to revamp the newsroom with the help of BBC and Reuters. The revamping is expected to cover redesign of the newsroom, re-training of the staff and expansion of equipment.

This is proceeding apace with the plan to give DD Metro a facelift. Meetings have been held under the chairmanship of Iamp;B Ministry Additional Secretary RR Shah to rationalise the commercial rates, change the programming and improve transmission. The aim is to convert DD Metro into a 24-hour entertainment network and stem the downward slide in Doordarshan8217;s revenues, which declined by nearly Rs 100 crore over last year.

Shah is expected to take over as Acting CEO from OP Kejriwal, a move which has still not elicited a reaction from the Prasar Bharati board.