Hyderabad|India|April'2009:The BBC has announced the commission of
its ‘India Election Train’ – a unique multiplatform, multilingual
initiative - delivering international audiences a diverse range of news
from across India, during the run-up to the country’s General Election in
May.
From Saturday, 25 April until Wednesday, 13 May reporters from the BBC’s
Global News division will travel through India by train, investigating
what Indians want from their General Election and the key themes
surrounding it.
On board the train will reporters from BBC World Service English, BBC
Hindi, BBC Urdu, BBC Tamil, BBC Bengali, BBC Somali, BBC Swahili, BBC
World News television, Arabic TV, Persian TV and BBC.Com/news. Highly
knowledgeable about the country, a number permanently based there, the
journalists will broadcast stories to the world, across radio, TV and
online.
The BBC has worked with Indian Railways to design a timetable for the
project and the train will travel along the following route:
Dehli-Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-Kokata (Calcutta)-Patna-Allahabad-Dehli.
With the team visiting major population centres, as well as contrasting
provincial towns and rural areas, the BBC’s global audience will get to
hear the views of a wide range of Indian voters.
Online users will be able to track the journey of the train through a
special interactive map and a daily blog available on the BBC’s India
Election webpage www.bbc.com/india.
BBC reporters will investigate a variety of topics throughout their
journey, with a key one being India’s response to the current economic
crisis. India’s economy is still growing and some believe it could assist
the recovery of other markets around the world.
Security will also be addressed, since following the Mumbai bombings it
has become an important issue for many Indians. Other themes to be covered
are the workings of the world’s largest democracy, India’s rich/poor
divide, the role of religion and prominence of the entertainment industry
-with recent successes including ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
Richard Sambrook, Director BBC Global News, says: “The BBC’s approach to
covering the India Election is unique and representative of the breadth
and depth of its newsgathering facility. Multiplatform and multilingual,
the BBC India Election Train will provide audiences in India and around
the world with an in-depth view of the election and the key themes and
issues surrounding it”.
Reachout's News Bureau
April' 2009
