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Times Now

Times Now is an English-language news channel in India owned and operated by The Times Group. The channel launched on 23 January 2006 in partnership with Reuters.[1][2]

It is a pay television throughout India. Until 2016, it was India's most popular and the most viewed English news channel.[3][4][5]

The channel is widely seen as supportive of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.[6]

Times Now has been criticised for reporting misinformation.[7][8]

History

In 2016 Arnab Goswami (the earlier editor-in-chief) left the channel to launch Republic TV; S. Sundaram, who had served as the CFO for Times Now between 2005 and 2012, was named the Group CFO.[9] Goswami resigned as editor-in-chief of Times Now on 1 November 2016, citing editorial differences, lack of freedom and newsroom politics.[10][11] He hosted the last edition of his show,[12] The Newshour Debate, a fortnight later.[13][14] This came after the show had been subject to an investigation by Ofcom, the UK broadcasting regulatory authority, in August and September; the investigation had held Times Now guilty of violating the impartiality clause of its broadcast code, stating that Goswami had presented without impartiality, including sometimes not letting his panellists speak at all.[15]

In May 2017, The Times Group lodged a complaint against Goswami and Prema Sridevi, a journalist with Republic TV, under the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, 2000 accusing them of copyright infringement.[16] BCCL alleged that the two, previously employed with Times Now, that it owns and operates, had used its intellectual property (IP) in telecasting certain audio tapes that were in their possession during their time at the channel. Alongside IP infringement, the complaint also alleged the commission of offenses of theft, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of property, on the two, on multiple occasions days after the channel's launch.[17][18]

Times India eventually expanded the Times Now into a news network:

Distribution

Along with the other Times group channels (Zoom, ET Now and Movies Now), Times Now is distributed by Media Network and Distribution (India) Ltd (MNDIL), which is a joint venture between The Times Group and Yogesh Radhakrishnan, a cable and satellite industry veteran, under the brand Prime Connect.[19]

Employees

  • Rahul Shivshankar – Editor-in-chief [20] (till January, 2023)[21]
  • Navika Kumar – Group editor [22]
  • Maroof Raza – Consultant and strategic affairs expert[23]

Lawsuits

On 15 November 2011, in the country's highest defamation suit, the Supreme Court upheld the Bombay High Court's order requiring Times Now to pay ₹100 crore. The channel had erroneously run the picture of Supreme Court judge P.B. Sawant picture instead of someone similarly named as part of a Provident Fund scandal, and the payment went directly to Sawant.[24]

In 2018, Times Now aired derogatory remarks about activist Sanjukta Basu. She filed a complaint with the News Broadcasting Standards Authority in March 2019. In October 2020, she moved Supreme Court claiming that her case was pending with NBSA. Before the case could be listed for hearing in the Supreme court, NBSA released the judgement on her complaint. NBSA ordered Times Now to air apology on live TV at 8PM and 9PM during the prime time and submit DVD copies of the same. NBSA found that Times Now had not contacted Basu to get her version and failed to verify the facts before broadcasting. This conduct was judged to be a violation of NBSA guidelines. The NBSA order noted that "there was an absence of neutrality in the programme".[25]

Controversies

Violation of Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards

Times Now was accused of misrepresenting facts regarding an interview of an alleged eve teaser.[26] The News Broadcasting Standards Authority asked Times Now to apologize and fined them ₹50,000.[27][28][29][30]

The National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) reprimanded the channel for a bias in their coverage of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation on 23 June 2016 for violating the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards.[31][32]

2020 Delhi riots

In 2021, the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) found that debates by two Times Now anchors – Rahul Shivshankar and Padmaja Joshi on the topic 2020 Delhi riots were not conducted in an "impartial and objective manner". NBDSA found that the anchors had "violated the Fundamental Principles as enumerated in the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and various Guidelines issued by NBDSA". In his order NBDSA chairperson Justice (retired) A.K. Sikri directed Times Now to take down videos of from YouTube and websites. NBDSA had ordered this responding to the complaint filed against Shivshankar accusing him of selectively showing the observations of the courts and the police to make it appear as if the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protestors were responsible for the religious violence. The order quoted, "The coverage was done to target a community that is critical of the Delhi Police's investigation and project them and their critique in a negative light, thereby unduly hindering the right of the viewer to have a fact based view on the matter and amounted to a sustained campaign to challenge a position, without intimating to the viewers what that position is in its entirety or allowing panellists to explain the same".[33]

2020–2021 China–India skirmishes

In June 2020, during a broadcast, Group Editor Navika Kumar reported that 30 Chinese soldiers had been killed in the Galwan Valley clash and read out names that were later identified as fabricated.[34][35]

Reception

The channel is accused of practicing biased reporting in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is included among pro-Narendra Modi "Godi media" outlets.[36][37][38][39]

Alt News accused Times Now in 2018 of repeatedly reporting "unverified claims, distorted facts and plain lies", including taking video clips out of context.[7] In 2022, Alt News wrote that they found Times Now to be one of the most prominent sharers of misinformation in the Indian media that year.[8]

According to a 2022 BBC News article, several Indian news anchors including Times Now's Shivshankar are known to shout down their panelists and ranting during their show, and have been accused of bias towards India's governing party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[40]

In 2020, Newslaundry reported that Shivshankar had used several dog whistles to negatively portray the Indian Muslims.[41]

On 6 September 2021, Times Now was criticised for a report using video that suggested a Pakistan Air Force jet was hovering over Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley. The video was soon revealed to be a United States Air Force F-15 jet filmed by a YouTube airplane enthusiast in Wales filming the jet within the Mach Loop three months before.[42]

See also

External links

References

  1. Daya Kishan Thussu. News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment SAGE Publications, 9 January 2008, retrieved 15 January 2018^
  2. Bipin Chandran. Reuters to pay $19 mn for 26% in Times Now Bipin Chandran, Business Standard, 14 June 2013, retrieved 15 January 2018^
  3. Pradyuman Maheshwari. Can any English news channel beat the just turned 10 Times Now? Pradyuman Maheshwari, The Hindu, 6 February 2016, retrieved 15 January 2018^
  4. India and the Olympics Routledge, 7 May 2009, retrieved 15 January 2018^
  5. India's Times Now news channel to launch in UK James Crabtre, Financial Times, 15 November 2015, retrieved 15 January 2018^
  6. Prashanth Bhat. Expanding public debate? Examining the impact of India’s top English language political talk shows Media Asia, 2023-04-03^
  7. Sam Jawed. A compilation of Times Now’s experiments with untruth Alt News, 13 February 2018^
  8. N. L. Team. Among media outlets, Times Group, Zee shared most misinformation in 2022: Alt News Newslaundry, 2023-01-04, retrieved 2024-10-24^
  9. Dingdong Contest between DD India and Republic TV in English News Genre, Television India^
  10. Vasupradha Srikrishna. Neoliberal Media Making the Public Interest and Public Choice Theory Obsolete: Need for a New Theory Media Watch, 1 September 2019^
  11. BS Web Team. Arnab Goswami gets candid: Was not even allowed to enter Times Now studio Business Standard India, 27 March 2017, retrieved 1 November 2019^
  12. Alyssa Ayres. Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World Oxford University Press, 5 December 2017^
  13. Arnab Goswami's new venture Business Standard, retrieved 8 January 2017^
  14. Arnab Goswami announces new venture; Times Now gets a new chief editor Firstpost, retrieved 8 January 2017^
  15. Shoaib Daniyal & Rohan Venkataramakrishnan. 'Proud of all my partners': Arnab Goswami when asked about BJP influence in new venture Scroll.in, 27 April 2017, retrieved 14 November 2019^
  16. Times Now files criminal case for stealing against Arnab Goswami of Republic TV The Economic Times, 17 May 2017, retrieved 17 May 2017^
  17. Arnab Goswami faces police complaint for 'cheating' Times Now over Sunanda Pushkar, Lalu tapes Daily News and Analysis, 17 May 2017, retrieved 17 May 2017^
  18. BS Web Team. Times Group files criminal complaint against Arnab Goswami for IPR breach Business Standard, 17 May 2017, retrieved 18 May 2017^
  19. BCCL floats TV distribution joint venture The Times of India^
  20. Rahul Shivshankar appointed as Chief Editor of TIMES NOW The Economic Times, 16 December 2016, retrieved 30 October 2018^
  21. T. N. M. Staff. Rahul Shivshankar quits as Times Now Editor-in-chief The News Minute, 2023-06-20, retrieved 2025-05-16^
  22. Navika Kumar appointed Times Network Group editor 📢 Newslaundry, 19 February 2020, retrieved 24 February 2020^
  23. Times Now censured for not revealing defence analyst's business interests indianexpress.com, retrieved 17 January 2021^
  24. SC asks Times Now to deposit Rs 100 crore before HC takes up its appeal in defamation case Times of India, 15 November 2011, retrieved 27 July 2016^
  25. Scroll Staff. Times Now asked to air apology to activist for derogatory remarks during 2018 debate Scroll.in, 25 October 2020, retrieved 5 March 2022^
  26. Ananya Bhardwaj. Why Delhi woman behind viral post on 'molestation' didn't appear in court for 3 years ThePrint, 11 September 2018, retrieved 26 August 2020^
  27. Times Now fined, asked to apologize for intimidating reporting in Jasleen Kaur story The News Minute, 15 March 2016, retrieved 10 July 2016^
  28. Shuchi Bansal. NBSA asks Times Now to issue apology, pay fine for a story Mint, 15 March 2016, retrieved 10 July 2016^
  29. Zaheeb Ajmal. 'Times Now, will you issue public apology now', ask Twitterati after Sarvjeet Singh is acquitted by court National Herald, 26 October 2019, retrieved 17 January 2021^
  30. Aakruti Jagmohan. NBSA Asks Times Now to Apologise, Pay Fine for Jasleen Kaur Story TheQuint, 17 March 2016, retrieved 26 August 2020^
  31. NBSA reprimands three TV channels over Tablighi Jamaat reports The Hindu, retrieved 19 June 2021^
  32. NBSA fines News18 Kannada, Suvarna News, censures Times Now Deccanherald, retrieved 19 June 2021^
  33. Two of Times Now's Debates on Delhi Riots Were Not Impartial, Objective: NBDSA The Wire, 22 November 2021, retrieved 5 March 2022^
  34. Pooja Chaudhuri AltNews.in. Ladakh clash: Times Now falls for fake WhatsApp list naming 30 dead Chinese soldiers Scroll.in, 2020-06-18, retrieved 2025-05-16^
  35. Pooja Chaudhuri. Times Now falls for fake WhatsApp forward listing names of 30 dead Chinese soldiers Alt News, 2020-06-17, retrieved 2025-05-16^
  36. Anna Priyadarshini. TV channels double down Newslaundry, 2 December 2020, retrieved 24 January 2021^
  37. Farmers are angry with 'Godi Media' for demonising them. TV channels double down Newslaundry, retrieved 18 December 2020^
  38. Aman Madan. India's Not-So-Free Media The Diplomat, 23 January 2019, retrieved 24 January 2021^
  39. Puneet Nicholas Yadav. Are Newsrooms Run By Political Masters? Why Are Editors Compromising On Truth Telling? Outlook, 2 March 2020, retrieved 24 January 2021^
  40. 'I am Mr McAdams': TV anchor Rahul Shivshankar yells at wrong man on Ukraine live BBC News, 4 March 2022, retrieved 4 March 2022^
  41. Meghnad S. When Rahul Shivshankar used Black Lives Matter to bash Muslims, as usual Newslaundry, 3 June 2020, retrieved 5 March 2022^
  42. Pooja Chaudhuri, Aqib Pathan. Times Now airs video from UK as Pakistani fighter jet in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan alt news, 6 September 2021, retrieved 6 September 2021^