recent case of The Times of India and DNA both carrying an 'exclusive' interview with US President George Bush has highlighted the race for news. Television has made exclusive news a regular affair. Interviews with Sonia Gandhi, Amar Singh's taped conversations, live transmission of George W Bush's arrival in New Delhi, Gudiya's dilemma - every report was claimed to be exclusive by more than one channel at some point of time.

What is an 'exclusive'? In news terms, it means a report that is reported first by one news organisation. Why then are news channels confusing 'exclusive' with 'common'? Is the viewer actually being taken for granted? How far will such a trend go?... more