ABP News India, formerly known as Star News India, before its acquisition by the ABP Group has been a regular in our drawing room, flashing all the recent news and happenings as well as developments in the entertainment world and catfights and drama among celebrities for the coveted top positions! It has become an indispensable part of our daily routine with my mother starting the day with her daily religious chants and bhajans while keeping a close eye on the headlines (of course muting the channel), followed by baking the morning aloo parathas with extra ghee or preparing the sumptuous and wholesome yet minimal dish, Chhole Bhature for our breakfast before the daily rush to college or workplace.
The Bengali channel ABP Ananda is a hot favorite among our Bengali friends as well, with daily news anchor Suman giving ample content in “Ghonta Khanek Sange Suman”, which is relevant as well as a healthy dose of entertainment. Professors and philanthropists are often invitees on shows slotted for debate purposes, be it political, academics or any other issue plaguing our present-day society.
True, we all are aware of how much the news and media channels as well as online news websites play a significant role in development of opinions and political choices of the present and next generation too. Therefore, it is essential in a democracy that news channels and websites be unbiased to shape a community that is fearless and determined in whichever choice they make in life, political or not. Growing up as the single child in an intellectual family environment with both my parents from a strong academic background, I did not get the scope to watch daily soaps, serials or operas- rather I grew up on a steady dose of news channels which telecasted all recent occurrences which held a significant role in determining the state and nation’s future, sports channels telecasting everything from Barcelona vs Liverpool matches to MS Dhoni’s World Cup Victory moment.
My father was in a highly protestant mood at the resignation of Mr. Punya Prasun Bajpai from ABP News, who (reportedly) sought to look into the actual facts and supporting data behind “Mann Ki Baat” and faced immediate backlash, ultimately leading him with not many choices but leave. Journalist Neha Pant has also been a famous face on the same news channel for quite sometime now. IPTV has made ABP channels more easily accessible to us these days, and we couldn’t have asked for much more. Technological developments in satellite and cable as well as broadband services is the next big thing.