The nationally-televised press conference of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh virtually became too hot to handle by the public broadcaster Doordarshan. A technical snag due to fire in one of the outdoor broadcast (OB) van blacked out around five minutes of the live telecast not only for Doordarshan but also for the 230-plus private channels across the country. Overall, the PM?s first live-televised press conference in UPA-II went for around 80 minutes.
Even as Doordarshan has ordered an inquiry, the PMO may take action against those responsible for the particular OB van that caused an embarrassment to the much publicised press meet by the PM, sources said. ?PMO is unhappy with the event. Some heads may roll at Doordarshan,? a source familiar with the matter said.
Doordarshan crew did three-days of dry-run preparations leading up to the PM?s press conference on Monday without any technical glitch. ?The uplink of live feed got affected which caused the disruptions. Technical persons are investigating its cause,? a senior DD official told FE.
When contacted, Aruna Sharma, director general, Doordarshan said: ?Fire broke out in the OB van causing the disruption in live transmission. But the entire conference has been recorded by Doordarshan including the disrupted portions which we will re-play later in the day and during our news bulletins.?
After fire, the OB vans of DD had to operate without the air conditioning in order to keep the telecast up and running.