Horrific. Ghastly. Dastardly. Inhuman. Unbelievable. Catastrophic. Deadly. Words that have been used to describe the airplane attacks on the World Trade Centre I and II - two icons of the New York landscape and US economic power - and the heart of American defence - the Pentagon.
The world has watched the devastation that has reshaped the Manhattan skyline, and has gasped in horror at the carnage, the uncounted loss of human life. All because of the power of satellite television. Professional cameramen and TV journalists have tailed the rapid developments. Even laymen have contributed their mite through their amateur efforts at filming the sequence of events using handycams.

Obviously, whoever is behind the attacks was seeking maximum impact. Hundred per cent attention globally to the shaming of America and its high falutin anti-terrorism security measures. The world has watched as the centre of capitalism has been brought to its knees, bloodied in ways that will take a long time to heal.

The idea was also to cause paralysis, panic, fear globally. And also elicit a response. Possibly an irrational response.

Images of balls of flame exploding off long-lasting structures as planes slammed into them. Images of those pillars of strength crashing down as if they were made of wet sand were flashed around the world courtesy television.

Television acted as a uniting force as we all grieved over the heinous acts. In some corner of the globe, a group of people would in all possibility be grinning in delight at the Maximum Impact they generated. We may never get to see those images.

But we may well get to see pictures of them much later when they have been blasted off the face of the earth; disintegrated into smithereens, should the world choose to fight back against the perpetrators of the act. Which a rather weak looking President George W Bush Jr has said will happen.

Television channels have all reacted differently while providing coverage of America under attack. Networks such as CNN, CNBC, chose to continue to follow the developments without inserting advertising. The entire affair was of a magnitude beyond commercial considerations. There was a time when CNN would place commercials on its channel, and charge what it wanted, according to industry sources. That has changed over the past couple of years.

Indian news channels Zee, Star and Aaj Tak too kept abreast of developments. But they chose this morning to sprinkle their coverage with TV commercials. Mammon it seemed had the upper hand even in the time of tragedy. After all, it‘s not every day that you get audiences rivetted to news channels continuously.

The next few days are going to see news channels continuing to capture viewers‘ eyeballs. Hopefully, the commercials will not detract from the mood of the moment. And ad sales teams at the channels will maintain some decorum and decency.

It is a moment for all of us to pause. And for the powers-that-be in India to wake up to possible attacks sometime in future. 1992 happened. It should not be allowed to happen again.

ANIL WANVARI,
CEO, INDIANTELEVISION.COM

Some 62 of Star Plus‘ shows figure in The Top 100 Intam ratings chart for the week ended 2 September 2001. 19 shows each of Zee TV and Sony Entertainment go to make up the rest of the chart for Hindi entertainment channels.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi tops the charts with a TRP of 10.49, with Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki follows with a rating of 9.7 and Khullja Sim Sim was ninth with a TRP of 4.63 rating. Other Star Plus shows which completely dominate The Top 20 are: Kangan, SSSHHH...Kohi Hai..., Sanskruti, Kalash, Kaahin Kissi Roz, Shagun, Son Pari, and Kora Kagaz.

Sony Entertainment‘s KKusum is the highest non-Star Plus programme, occupying the twenty-first spot with a TRP of 3.48. Zee TV‘s Koshish Ek Aasha is at the 22nd spot. Some 10 of Zee TV‘s new shows lead by Kohi Apna Sa (55), Justujoo (63), Kohi Apna Sa (66), Razzmatazz (75), Mujhe Dor Koi Khinche (76), Gharana (77), Baazi Kiski (81), Gharana (82), and Shri 420 (100) figure in the list.

Sony Entertainment shows such as CID (42), Heena (48) Aahat (52), Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye (57), Milan (59), Mahabharat (80), Kahin Diyaa Jale Kahin Jiyaa (83), Boogie Woogie (84), Choodiyan (91) are some of the Sony shows in the Top 100.

Today was the day after as national broadcaster Doordarshan‘s Metro channel turned the clock back a year after HFCL Nine Broadcasting took up the three-hour prime time band on the channe

It was at 10:00 pm yesterday Nine Gold signed off on a quiet note on DD, a year after HFCL Nine bought the 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm prime time slot for a massive Rs 1210 million. Nine Gold CEO Ravina Raj Kohli has been quoted as saying the real value of the band was actually not more than Rs 300 million.

Channel Nine Gold launched on the national broadcaster‘s Metro channel on 8 September 2000. However, with this slot becoming a hot property friction soon arose with the mandarins at DD who couldn‘t seem to come to terms with the new operational culture that had set in. By June, 2001 the only thing that was clear was that the contract between Channel Nine Gold and Doordarshan had hit a dead end and was living on borrowed time.

Kohli had said at the time that the serials on air would complete their runs. This has happened in part only. Weekly series like Piyaa Bina, Kavita and Zindagi Milke Betayange have had their run. Among the other serial are Mooch Nahi Toh Kuch Nahi, Choonch Ladi Re Chooch Ladi and the Archana Puran Singh-produced Samne Wali Khidki.

Three daily soap-sagas Jannat, Maan, and Kabhi Sautan Kabhi Saheli have ended without any conclusion. Asked what would happen to these shows, an official spokesperson for Nine Gold said: "We are in talks with Star and Sony but nothing has been decided yet."

Kabhi Sautan Kabhi Saheli, which aired from 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm, was the last show to air on DD Metro under the Nine Gold banner. At the end of the show credits of the Nine Gold‘s staff associated with programming, their business associates as well as in-house personnel scrolled down across the screen.

Meanwhile, DD is going it alone on the programming front (after its call for bids from private broadcasters met with a pathetic response. For the present, the 7-10 pm band will be filled with old re-runs. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, whose producer recently won back the rights to the serial, will be the biggest serial in the new (old) line-up. The telecast will mark the comeback of the first sitcom on Indian television that made its debut on DD 14 years ago.

DD is also airing The Big Picture and re-runs of other series which were extremely popular series in the early 80‘s like Nukkad and Udaan.

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