Budget journalism is about depth over speed, analysis over headlines

As Budget 2025 nears, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, breaks down how financial journalism is evolving, why context matters more than headlines and how digital is reshaping the way we understand the economy.

Excerpts:

Budget 2025 is highly anticipated, what is your approach to covering and analyzing this year's budget? 

Well, every budget is highly anticipated, and this one is no different. Our overarching theme for Budget 2025 is "Seize the Moment." This phrase captures the sentiment expressed by industry leaders and the general public regarding their expectations from the finance minister. The reason why we're calling it the "Seize the Moment” budget is because India has had the good fortune of being the fastest-growing large economy through a very difficult and uncertain global period. 

The global landscape continues to remain volatile, especially with President Trump introducing the threat of tariffs and the potential impact on fund flows and FDI investments. We believe that this is an opportunity for the government to send out a very strong pro-growth message. It’s a chance to reaffirm its commitment to encouraging private investment—both domestic and foreign—by removing friction points, particularly in regulatory processes. The push for improving the ease of doing business and addressing regulatory hurdles will be key. That’s why "Seize the Moment" is the guiding theme of our coverage for Budget 2025. 

Our programming has also become more interactive, incorporating digital-first budget IPs. A special initiative this year is "Budget Baatcheet", a YouTube-first series featuring informal conversations with CNBC-TV18’s budget editors on key themes likely to shape this year’s budget. We are using innovative and engaging formats across multiple platforms to connect with our audience and to highlight the mood of the nation and the mood with respect to the economy as we go into budget 2025. 

    In your view, how has budget reporting evolved over the past five years if you could give us a glimpse? 

Well, not much has changed in the way we report on the budget because at the end of the day; it’s also a policy document that provides insight into the government’s economic strategy and overall thinking.  We have sharpened our approach to budget reporting, primarily because of our extensive experience in covering and analyzing the budget in real-time for so many years. As a brand, CNBC-TV18 has always believed in disrupting our own programming, constantly evolving our formats, show durations, and guest lineups.  We've built a large and credible pool of influential voices who join us throughout the month and especially on Budget Day—to offer deep insights into the budget speech and key announcements. We’ve had the privilege of bringing on board former revenue secretaries, finance secretaries, and even this year, the former economic affairs secretary, as part of our expert panel. This gives our viewers a unique perspective from those who have been directly involved in the budget-making process.

These are some of the ways we've enhanced our coverage, elevating the quality of our analysis by incorporating greater expertise, diverse perspectives, and deeper contextual insights into our reporting. Otherwise, as I always say, CNBC-TV18 is a well-oiled budget machine, we’ve been doing this for 25 years. We know how to deliver accurate, insightful, and fast budget coverage, and we constantly push ourselves to improve. That commitment remains at the heart of what we do.

Do you want to touch upon any new approaches or creative elements that we've used this year for our special programming? 

As always, we tried to innovate with our budget programming. CNBC-TV18 has been India's budget headquarters for 25 years, and we've continued to innovate in our programming.  Over the past month, we’ve been gathering insights, analyzing expectations, and compiling wish lists from different sectors—including industry leaders, retail investors, foreign investors, and market participants. Through this, we’ve been providing our viewers with a mood check and a vibe check on what people hope to see from the Finance Minister.

We have also created a lot of budget-focused IPs, this year, introducing fresh formats to capture the prevailing sentiment.  One such initiative is the Budget Town Hall— where we bring together the best voices from different sectors to discuss where we find ourselves as an economy and share their prescriptions for growth.  

What new approaches or creative elements can viewers expect from CNBC-TV18's programming this year? 

One of the key highlights this year is the return of our very popular Budget Ballot. We introduced this last year as part of our budget programming, and it received an overwhelming response. The CNBC-TV18 Budget Ballot took us to different parts of the country, where we invited people to share their suggestions and recommendations for the budget. We have continued this initiative this year as well, compiling insights from citizens and viewers on what they expect from the budget. Unsurprisingly, income tax relief remains the top demand among the common citizens.

Beyond that, we’ve significantly expanded our explainer content across TV and social media. We’ve been running budget report cards, tracking promises made in the last full budget and evaluating where they stand today. Alongside that, we’ve continued with budget explainers that break down key terms, figures, and economic indicators, making the budget more accessible and easier to understand for a broad audience.

Additionally, we’re introducing the Budget Bell LIVE from NSE. This year, we will be at the National Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell, joined by a high-profile panel of market experts. Since the budget announcement falls on a Saturday and the markets will be open for a full trading day, we will provide sharp, real-time coverage of market reactions directly from the NSE. So, these are some of the new elements we’ve added, along with the many IPs.

  Any takeaways from previous years being implemented to elevate this year's programming? 

I’ve already touched upon some of these. The Budget Ballot, for instance, started as an experiment last year and is back by popular demand this year.  Back this year, the budget bible is  our explainers on the budget numbers and the budget promises, etc.  These elements have now become year-on-year constants in our budget coverage, helping us enhance the experience for our viewers.

 Looking ahead to 2025, what specific growth drivers do you foresee for CNBC-TV18 and how do you plan to capitalize on them? 

Our core focus remains the television business, which continues to be our foundation. Even within TV, we are constantly exploring ways to enhance our product offerings, expand our coverage, and deepen our specialization. I firmly believe that in this industry, true value comes from specialization. That’s why we will continue to build domain expertise and authority across various sectors. 

We have established ourselves as a trusted platform for markets, banking, and macroeconomics, while also building a strong reputation in covering startups and entrepreneurship, pharma and healthcare, infrastructure, and currencies and commodities. Looking ahead, our focus will be on deepening our expertise across these areas, as specialization will be a critical differentiator in an increasingly competitive media landscape. This approach aligns with our strengths, and we are committed to building on it to deliver even greater value to our audience.

Another major opportunity for us is on the digital front. We are forging ahead with full force across our digital platforms, including our website and YouTube, where we have witnessed phenomenal growth. In fact, 2024 has been a record-breaking year for us on YouTube, and we plan to build on this momentum. Digital has opened up a completely new audience base and revenue stream, allowing us to create digital first and digital-only content. It also gives us the freedom to experiment, innovate, and explore new storytelling formats in ways that are not always possible on traditional TV.

In addition to our website and YouTube, we are equally committed to strengthening our presence across social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. Each of these platforms offers unique opportunities—not just for content distribution but also for community building and monetization, which will be a key focus in 2025.

Next year will not only be about celebrating our 25-year legacy as India’s most credible and trusted business news brand but also about evolving and making this legacy even more relevant for the future. We are focused on making CNBC-TV18 more accessible across multiple platforms beyond television. This means thinking outside the box, embracing innovation and disruption, and experimenting with what we believe could define the future of business news—not just in India but on a global scale.