Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak (transl. Until Today) is an Indian leading Hindi-language news channel owned by TV Today Network, part of the New Delhi-based media conglomerate Living Media group (India Today Group).[1]
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | India and international |
| Headquarters | Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Hindi |
| Picture format | 16:9 (1080i HDTV) (2018–present) 4:3 (576i SDTV) (1995–present) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Living Media |
| Sister channels | India Today Good News Today |
| History | |
| Launched | 31 December 2000 (New Year's Eve 2000) SDTV 14 December 2018 HDTV |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Aaj Tak LiveTV |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| DD Free Dish | LCN 68 |
| Jio TV | Jio TV+ |
Aaj Tak HD edit
On 14 December 2018, Aaj Tak launched India's first Hindi high-definition channel, Aaj Tak HD.[2]Aaj Tak HD broadcasts news and two extra shows like Duniya Aaj Tak aired from 2019 (transl. World up to the minute) covering world news, Business Aaj Tak aired from 2019 (transl. Business up to the minute) covering the financial news of India and the world.
Aaj Tak HD also broadcast Movie Masala between 2019 and 2020 (transl. Movie Spice), covering the news of Bollywood.
History edit
Aaj Tak was first broadcast on DD Metro of Doordarshan (DD) in 1995. It was then broadcast as a news program of 10 to 20 minutes. Aaj Tak came into existence in December 2000 as an independent news channel. It then became the first complete Hindi news channel in the country to be broadcast twenty-four hours. One of the anchors at the time was Surendra Pratap Singh.[3][4] The tagline for Aaj Tak was "यह थी ख़बर आज तक, इंतज़ार कीजिए कल तक" (transl. That's all the news for today, wait until tomorrow).[3] Aaj Tak was the first news channel in India to use OB vans.[5]
By the time the channel came into existence, it had a reach of 52 lakh households. It now broadcasts to three crore households and its viewership in news channels is 56%.[4] On 14 December 2018, Aaj Tak launched India's first Hindi high-definition channel, Aaj Tak HD.[2] A channel rebranding took place in January 2021.[6]
Staff edit
Executive staff edit
- Aroon Purie, chairperson, India Today Group
- Kalli Purie, vice-chairperson, India Today Group
- Anjana Om Kashyap, executive editor
- Sweta Singh, executive editor
- Sudhir Chaudhary, consulting editor
- Sayeed Ansari, consulting editor[7]
- Vikrant Gupta, chief sports editor
Past staff edit
Past anchors have included Rohit Sardana[8] and Surendra Pratap Singh.[3] Uday Shankar worked as a news director during the initial years of Aaj Tak.[5]
Controversies edit
The channel has been penalized for propagation of fake news and condemned for being partial and supporting the ideology of the ruling government.[9][10]
In October 2020, Aaj Tak was fined ₹1 lakh and asked to broadcast apologies for fake news regarding Sushant Singh Rajput. The channel published fabricated last tweets by the actor on the channel, claiming that they were made by him a few days before his death and then deleted. Aaj Tak later removed its article with this fake news published in it.[11]
Aaj Tak was fined ₹5 lakh by BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) for viewership manipulation in a TRP scam.[12]
Between 4 and 5 April 2020, Aaj Tak had broadcast reports about Tablighi Jamaat. A complaint was filed with the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) in which Aaj Tak was accused of intending to "develop hatred in the minds of the people against a particular community" during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
On 16 June 2021, the NBSA directed that Aaj Tak's broadcasts be taken down from all Internet platforms that linked a COVID-19 outbreak with Tablighi Jamaat in 2020, citing potential "errors in the figures telecast".
The NBSA said that the media has "complete freedom to report on the Covid pandemic", but "such reporting must be done with accuracy, impartiality and neutrality", and added "NBSA noted that the broadcaster had admitted that there may have been chances that there were some miscalculations as pointed out by the complaint, which were inadvertent, and the broadcaster had no intention to communalize the issue or malign any community."[13]
In June 2022, the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority said that Aaj Tak's taglines on Umar Khalid ‘gave an impression that the accused had already been declared guilty’ and asked the news channel to take down those shows.[14]
In March 2023, Aaj Tak faced widespread social media ridicule after the clip of their coverage gone viral where the channel's representatives were seen filming gangster Atiq Ahmed urinating while in transit form Gujarat to Prayagraj under the custody of police.[15]
In March 2024, News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDSA) fines Aaj Tak for Sudhir Chaudhry's 'tukde tukde,' 'Khalistani' remarks against Obama; penalises channels over 'Love Jihad' shows.[16][17]
Accolades edit
According to an old 2006 poll jointly conducted by the BBC and Reuters, of specific news sources spontaneously mentioned by Indians, Aaj Tak (mentioned by 11%) was the most trusted.[18]
Aaj Tak has won the award for "Best Hindi News Channel" 19 times since 2001 at the Indian Television Academy Awards.[19]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Rodrigues, Usha; Maya, Ranganathan (2014). Indian News Media: From Observer to Participant. India: SAGE Publications. pp. 23–24, 165. ISBN 9789351501589.
- ^ a b "Aaj Tak launches first of its kind HD news channel - Aaj Tak HD". AdGully. 14 December 2018. from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Singh, Dr Paramveer (5 August 2021). "8. India Today Group.". Indian Silver Screen. K.K. Publications. pp. 147–150. from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Television". India Today Group. from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b Munshi, Shoma (15 December 2012). "1". Remote Control: Indian Television in the New Millennium. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-755-2. from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Baddhan, Lakh (21 January 2021). "Aaj Tak refreshes brand with new look for 20th anniversary". BizAsia. from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ Team, N. L. (11 July 2022). "'The natural home for a household name': Sudhir Chaudhary to join Aaj Tak as consulting editor". Newslaundry. from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Bhati, Divya (2 May 2021). "RIP Aaj Tak TV Journalist Rohit Sardana died due to Heart Attack after suffering from Covid-19". jagrantv. from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ Suresh, Nidhi. "'Media has lost our trust': Why protesting farmers are angry with 'Godi media'". Newslaundry. from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ Scroll Staff. "Indians are expressing shock at news channel glee over demolition of Muslim activist's house". Scroll.in. from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Aaj Tak fined Rs 1 lakh by NBSA for telecasting fake tweets on Sushant Singh Rajput's death". The New Indian Express. 8 October 2020. from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Joshi, Neha (23 October 2020). "Aaj tak fined for viewership manipulation". Bar and Bench. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Team, N. L. (25 June 2021). "NBSA directs Aaj Tak to remove certain Tablighi Jamaat broadcasts from website, YouTube". Newslaundry. from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Take down 'sensationalist' shows on Umar Khalid, regulator tells Zee, India TV, Aaj Tak". Newslaundry. 15 June 2022. from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Staff, J. K. R. (27 March 2023). ""Patrakarita or mootrakarita?": Aaj Tak faces widespread ridicule after it broadcasts gangster Ateek Ahmed's act of urinating LIVE". Janta Ka Reporter 2.0. from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ PTI. "NBDSA fines Aaj Tak for Sudhir Chaudhry's 'tukde tukde,' 'Khalistani' remarks against Obama; penalises channels over 'Love Jihad' shows". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Singh, Bhavya (1 March 2024). "NBDSA Penalises Aaj Tak For Sudhir Chaudhary Show Using 'Tukde Tukde Gang', 'Khalistani', 'Pakistani Supporters' Terms In Video On Obama". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ BBC/Reuters/Media Center Poll: Trust in the Media 23 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine (pg. 13)
- ^ "Aaj Tak, India Today win most popular news channels at ITA Awards 2021; Aroon Purie conferred Hall of Fame award". Business Today. 14 February 2021. from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
Further reading edit
- Devi, Sudeshna (22 April 2022). Media Discourse in Contemporary India: A Study of Television News (1 ed.). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003232209. ISBN 978-1-003-23220-9.
External links edit
- Official website