ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the everyday nation created and sustained by the English news channels in India. In the vibrant news television space in India, a distinction is made between the regional and English news channels. The former is known to confine themselves largely to the regional and even local issues, while the latter, catering as they are to English speakers who are presumably urban-based and in white-collared jobs with different aesthetics to the regional audiences, attempts to take a pan-Indian perspective leading them to be classified as ‘national channels’. While the categorization is not without problems, the perception has significant outcomes for the discursive nation. Audiences’ perceptions and the commercial imperative that directs programme producers to tailor messages accordingly lead to a specific narrative of the nation which is further amplified through constant iteration and adoption by other news media.
