Limited live TV coverage for Musharraf visit

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 11. Unlike in the case of the Clinton and Putin visits where precedent was set aside to give their stay in India extensive live coverage, the Government appears to have decided not to make an exception for the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, when he comes visiting this weekend.

As of now, only some of his engagements in the country will be covered live. No television channel - not even Doordarshan - has been given permission for live telecast of the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In fact, only two of Gen. Musharraf's engagements in Delhi will be covered live by Doordarshan: His visit to Rajghat - first ever by a Pakistan head of State - soon after the ceremonial welcome, and later the visit to his ancestral home in the Walled City.

Though Doordarshan officials conceded that live telecast of state visits was not a set practice, an exception was made during the visit of the then U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, when practically every engagement of his was telecast live. And a precedent-of-sorts was set when similar coverage was given by Doordarshan during the visit of the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin.

Given that decisions pertaining to live transmission are taken at the ``highest level'', there is considerable speculation in Mandi House that the Government does not want to add to the hype that the Musharraf visit has generated.

However, others in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said the decision not to open many an engagement of Gen. Musharraf for live coverage was tailored by the fact that at least half-a-dozen television channels had sought permission for live coverage. ``Positioning of so many OB vans around every venue poses a problem of both logistics and security.''

Still, his visit to Rajghat has been opened to more than just Doordarshan for live telecast. And since this is the first time so many news networks are clamouring for permission, they have been called for a rehearsal on Thursday to avoid any glitches on D-Day.

But live footage of Gen. Musharraf's engagements is only one aspect of what private news channels have lined up for this weekend. Though limited in comparison to the day-long programming that is being planned by the domestic channels, coverage in BBC and CNN too will venture beyond the headlines and special packages have been put together by both networks.

As for the Indian networks, they are pulling out all the stops in the ongoing channel war and have already begun to carpet bomb viewers with information. By the weekend, viewers are sure to get more than their fill of information with most of them set to offer day-long programming.

Be it Star News, Aaj Tak or Zee, all are bending over backwards to provide detailed coverage. If Star has constructed a glass set with the Taj Mahal as a backdrop for the Agra leg of the visit, Aaj Tak has decided to position as many as three OB vans in Agra to provide mobile uplinking. Even regional channels are in the race with ETV moving to Agra with its Digital Satellite News Gathering facility.

Live footage being limited, all these channels are going to depend heavily on discussions. And keen as networks are on getting the upper hand in this round of their ongoing battle, the experts they are calling in for the discussions - some are even being flown in from Pakistan - are today a closely guarded secret.

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Section  : National
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