By Our Staff
It’s that Friday of the year when we are scheduled to announce the 2022 Mediaperson of the Year.
We were supposed to have announced it last Friday, December 16. That’s around the time when we do it each year. But this time we didn’t. And this is despite a longlist of 15 that we had last month.
Every day, we make notes on our synced devices adding possible contenders for the award. Doing it quarter-by-quarter ensures that recency – or a newsmaker of around the time the award is being decided – shouldn’t play a huge factor. If someone has done phenomenal work in the first half of the year, she/ he/ they/ it shouldn’t lose out…
The year 2022 has seen some great headlines. Former Disney/Star boss Uday Shankar teaming up with the Murdochs to pick up a sizeable stake in Viacom18. And then Viacom/Jio grabbing digital rights for IPL. Punit Goenka ensuring the deal with Sony goes through. Adani making his intentions to be a media magnate very clear by buying stake in NDTV (via one of its parents).
But there was no clear winner in sight.
We think Shankar and Goenka are strong contenders for our Mediaperson of the Year next year, once they take their respective organisations to the next level.
It’s business as usual for the others – like for the streaming platforms even though Amazon did venture into cricket. Digital platforms were more in the news for cornering a fair amount of revenues but there were just a hundred thousand shades of grey around them. The madness at Twitter has impacted India with people being sacked. Thankfully, nothing else. Not yet.
Should it have been Gautam Adani? Or Dr Prannoy Roy? Or Ravish Kumar, who says he is the cause for the buying of the network?
Or the Times of India group bosses for getting back the organisation on the path of revenue growth despite the odds?
Or Dainik Bhaskar for continuing to be bold and getting into the select club of the Top 10 media conglomerates in the country?
Or technologies like Artificial Intelligence who can never ever bring in the x factor that humans can?
Or advertising agencies – creative and media – who are not doing very badly, but – other than the metals fest at Cannes – haven’t had major consistency
Or the average Indian – you and me – who have to content with a below par performance in many spheres?
Given all of the above, we have decided that there will be no 2022 Mediaperson of the Year.
We had taken a decision last week, but we gave it another week, so that we don’t miss out on any name
Having said that it goes without saying that it’s no mean effort for all of us in the Indian media to weather the storms that exist.
Let’s all hope, pray and work towards a happier, purposeful and more prosperous year ahead.