, balanced reporting of Doordarshan in the 90s. Anchors like Pratima Puri, Salma Sultan, Rini Simon Khanna, and Vinod Dua delivered the news with dignity and professionalism. There was no need for drama—just facts, context, and respectful presentation.
Today’s channels magnify minor issues, sensationalize stories with background music and flashing text, and thrive on provoking viewers. Indian TV news has become less about information and more about fear, manipulation, and spectacle. It feeds our national appetite for drama, something our cinema and television have long indulged.
Since the liberalization era post-1991, when private channels emerged, they capitalized on viewers’ fatigue with Doordarshan’s simplicity and shifted towards more theatrical, soap-opera-style news. And sadly, audiences have encouraged this shift by rewarding sensationalism with high TRPs.
Meanwhile, Western journalists typically maintain composure, focus on visual storytelling, and let their footage speak. Indian anchors, however, often drown images