GUWAHATI: Prasar Bharati, the government-owned broadcaster, has sparked controversy by changing the logo of its Hindi news channel, DD News, from red to orange. The move has drawn criticism from opposition parties and media experts who have raised concerns about the perceived 'saffronisation' of the channel, citing the colour's association with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Click here to join our WhatsApp channel
The announcement of the rebranding, including the change in logo, set design, and general visual aesthetics, was made through social media posts on April 16. Gaurav Dwivedi, the CEO of Prasar Bharati, defended the decision, stating that the colour change was part of an overall revamp to align DD News with DD India, the English news channel under the same group.
Dwivedi clarified that the choice of orange for the logo was not influenced by political considerations, emphasising that it was selected for its high recall value and to refresh the channel's visual aesthetics. He pointed out that similar updates were made to the logo of DD National, another channel under Prasar Bharati, last year.
ALSO READ: ‘I Don’t Support Separate State Demand’: HRA Choudhury
However, Jawhar Sircar, former CEO of Prasar Bharati and currently a Rajya Sabha member from Trinamool Congress, criticised the move, labeling it as another instance of ‘saffronisation’. Sircar expressed concerns about the merging of party identity with state institutions, citing similar changes in the Rajya Sabha's aesthetics and the G20 logo.