NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms has claimed that Zee News created television history on Tuesday, 24 September 2002 by covering a military operation to flush out terrorists from a house in Gogjibagh area in Jammu and Kashmir live.

In a press statement, Zee News' deputy editor Alka Saxena has said this was for the first time in the history of Indian broadcast media that an anti-terrorist operation was covered live. Beginning from 6:30 AM through 10:30 AM, Zee covered the event non-stop, second by second.

The press statement also states that several other broadcasters, including a foreign-owned news channel, switched to Zee News several times during their bulletin to show their viewers the action-packed shots.

The statement further goes to state that the same evening, Zee's Gujarat bureau was the first to break the news of terrorists storming the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar. "Minister of State for Home Affairs I D Swami made the incident's first official confirmation in our studios," the statement, quoting Saxena, said.

The flip side of the story is that even Star News gave a comprehensive and extensive coverage to the two events as did some foreign news channels too, including CNN and BBC.

But it's Zee News which has made capital of its efforts by going to town and tomtomming them.