ndia TV, the Rajat Sharma-promoted news channel, has suddenly shot into the limelight. The only other time there was any buzz around the channel was probably in September last year when it tied up with Qatar-based news network Al-Jazeera. But this time, when it aired the expos� on the casting couch phenomenon in Bollywood and in Indian television, people tuned in and many stayed on to watch.

The sting operation aroused strong feelings. Many were outraged by Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor, many decried the absence of professional ethics. But this article is not about morality or the lack of it, sexual exploitation or entrapment or responsible journalism losing itself to sensationalism. This is about how India TV has managed to captivate its viewers ever since it broke the Shakti Kapoor story on March 13 and the one on small-screen actor Aman Verma four days later.... more