 Façade of Sakshi TV building | |
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | India |
| Network | Sakshi Media Group |
| Headquarters | Hyderabad, Telangana, India[1] |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Telugu |
| Picture format | 4:3/16:9 |
| Ownership | |
| Parent | Indira Television Ltd.[2] |
| Key people | Y. S. Bharathi Reddy(Chairperson) |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 March 2009 (16 years ago) (2009-03-01) |
| Founder | Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy |
| Links | |
| Website | Sakshi.com |
Sakshi TV (transl. The Witness)[3] is an IndianTelugu-language 24-hour news channel. It was launched on 1 March 2009, by Indira Television Ltd. owned byY. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.[4][5] It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[6][7] Themedia group also owns the Telugu daily newspaper,Sakshi.[8]
The channel is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his political party—YSR Congress Party (YCP).[14] It has been criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[9][15][16] Sakshi TV has been found to be in breach of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) code of ethics on various occasions.[17][18] On 20 January 2022, theMinistry of Home Affairs denied security clearance to the channel citing intelligence reports. As of February 2022[update], the channel is functional following a temporary stay it obtained from theTelangana High Court.
The channel started airing on 1 March 2009.[4][5] It is promoted by Indira Television Ltd., withY. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of thenChief Minister ofAndhra PradeshY. S. Rajashekhara Reddy, as the Chairman.[8][19] According to aCBIchargesheet filed against Jagan Mohan Reddy, the investments in his media companies werequid pro quo[20] bribes by those people who had benefited from their unfair deals with his father's government.[21][22][23][24]
The channel was initially named Indira Priyadarsini.[8] According to Ramakrishna Reddy, the first Editor-in-Chief of the channel, it was renamed to cash in on the popularity of theSakshi newspaper which was launched a year before the channel by Jagan Mohan Reddy.[8] At its launch, the channel claimed to be the firstHDTV channel in the country. It was marketed as being primarily targeted at the youth.[8]
Of the nearly₹40crore (US$4.6 million) thegovernment of Andhra Pradesh spent on advertising inelectronic media for the years 2009-12, Sakshi TV got advertisements worth over₹17 crore (US$1.9 million). This was attributed to the undue preferential treatment Sakshi TV andSakshi newspaper received during the chief ministership of Rajasekhara Reddy.[5][21]
It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[25][6][7] In January 2019,Sakshi Media Group appointed Vinay Maheshwari as its Executive Director and CEO.[6] Maheshwari exited the company in March 2022.[26]
On 20 January 2022, the IndianMinistry of Home Affairs denied security clearance to Sakshi TV, along with a Malayalam channelMediaOne, based on intelligence inputs received from variouscentral government agencies.[27][28] The channel had filed awrit petition atTelangana High Court and, as of February 2022[update], it is surviving on a temporary stay until further hearing and another extension of the same on 8 August 2022.[29][27][needs update]
Sakshi TV broadcasts regional, national, and international news. It also has programmes on restaurant reviews, automobiles, cookery and entertainment.[4]
Sakshi TV is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy.[9][10][11][12] It has been criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and his partyYSR Congress Party.[9][15][16] The channel has been found to be in breach of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) code of ethics on various occasions.[18][17]
In January 2010, Sakshi TV broadcast aconspiracy theory by the American journalistMark Ames in the Russian online tabloidThe eXile, on the death ofY. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, father of Jagan Mohan Reddy, in ahelicopter crash on 2 September 2009. It alleged that Ambani brothers –Mukesh Ambani andAnil Ambani – ofReliance Group orchestrated the death.[30][31]TV5 channel broke the story while Sakshi TV andNTV relayed the report aired by TV5.[32][30]
The report led to massive attacks against the business establishments owned by the two Ambani brothers in Andhra Pradesh.[33][34][35] On 8 January 2010, criminal cases were filed against Sakshi TV and NTV while two senior journalists of TV5 were arrested.[32][36]Editors Guild of India asked the channels to desist from "irresponsible reporting" and condemned the reporting as sensational and against the principles of journalism.[35]
The channel is actively used by Jagan Mohan Reddy for political propaganda, especially against his political rivals. When he was arrested the channel ran consistent campaign claiming Jagan was innocent.
The channel has clearly been an instrument in promoting the political interests of Jaganmohan Reddy and the YSRCP.
In the last one year, Jagan launched an offensive against the Congress government and the party through his media house - Sakshi television channel and Telugu daily.
NBSA therefore held that Sakshi TV was in breach of NBA Code of Ethics and Guidelines particularly the provisions relating to accuracy, impartiality, objectivity, neutrality and privacy in reporting.