Autonomous public broadcaster, Doordarshan has changed its logo to a different saffron (or orange) colour, drawing criticism from the opposition camp. Doordarshan’s English news channel DD News recently revealed its new logo by sharing a new promotional video on X. It was written in the caption that our values remain the same, now we are available in a new avatar. Get ready for a news journey like never seen before… Experience the all new DD News.
This logo came into effect on April 16, 2024, replacing the previous red one. Through their official social media pages, DD News said that their values will remain the same and they are now available in a new avatar. The ‘saffronisation’ of the channel has been criticized by the opposition and media experts given its association with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Jawahar Sarkar, who was CEO of Prasar Bharati from 2012 to 2016 and is currently a Rajya Sabha member from the Trinamool Congress, described this as another form of “saffronisation” and called Prasar Bharati “Prachar Bharati”.
This is also being discussed a lot on social media. Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi rejected the criticism. He said the color is orange. Six to seven months ago, we changed the DD India logo to the same color before the G20. Thus, two news channels from the same group now follow the same visual aesthetic. The logo of DD National, which broadcasts general entertainment and news programs in English and Hindi, was also updated last year to saffron/orange and blue, he said. Not only the color of the logo, we have also redone our equipment and studio, he claimed. Doordarshan began with a modest experiment in public service broadcasting on September 15, 1959. This experiment became a service in 1965 when Doordarshan reached television sets in living rooms in and around New Delhi. By 1975, services were extended to Mumbai, Amritsar and seven other cities. On April 1, 1976, it came under a separate department in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Doordarshan became the national broadcaster in 1982.
