MxMIndia

Tag: Dr. Prannoy Roy

  • India does not have one single (outlet) to compare to Financial Times or Al Jazeera, said the all-new media boss. Ranjona Banerji comments

    So what will NDTV be under Gautam Adani?

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiIndia’s fastest growing businessman Gautam Adani has almost closed the deal to buy the news channel NDTV.

    Adani has stretched his wings, with a little bit of help from his powerful friends, to various industries from airports to mining to solar power, far from his original bastions of ports and edible oils.

    There has been much ferment over this hostile takeover because for many in India, NDTV has remained the last practitioner of Indian TV’s version journalism, as all its competitors have fallen in line with government diktats. In a sense, NDTV was the forerunner of free non-state-controlled broadcast news in India. Most of the older generation of television presenters were trained by NDTV, and that is where the first star anchors emerged from.

    Dr Prannoy Roy was a major influence on how TV would be conducted in India in the early days, after he and his wife Radhika Roy started NDTV in the mid-1980s. His show The World This Week for Doordarshan was very popular.

    The question now being asked over and over again by loyal viewers is what will happen to NDTV after Adani takes over? What will happen to Ravish Kumar, the fearless anchor who looks after NDTV’s Hindi news channel, the only TV journalist who does not kowtow to government forces?

    Why Adani wants a media outlet of his own is self-evident. His international press is not that good, and that sometimes spills over to India. The general assumption therefore will be one more propaganda channel which focuses on positive publicity for Adani companies and Adani himself. This is how many or most industrialist-owned media houses behave. Earlier the result journalism-wise would be disastrous because people expected some sort of basic standards – the collapse of the Observer papers after the Salgaocar-Ambani takeover is a case study here.

    But since 2014, assisted by a helpful government which demands total loyalty from media houses, the Ambani takeover of the News18 group has been a success. Not obviously when it comes to journalism but definitely when it comes to numbers.

    Hardly surprising then that Adani wants his own mouthpiece.

    What is amusing however – because I am cynical – is that in an interview to the Financial Times, Adani made the following comment: “Why can’t you support one media house to become independent and have a global footprint?… India does not have one single (outlet) to compare to Financial Times or Al Jazeera.”

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/25/indian-tycoon-defends-hostile-takeover-bid-for-broadcaster

     

    Now that’s an interesting standard for an Indian mainstream media which currently struggles to get even the basics correct. Neither the Financial Times nor Al Jazeera specialise in the sort of nightly high-decibel battles which characterise Indian television. The Financial Times is a serious pink paper, of the sort which today’s media owners scoff at. Indian news consumers, the general feeling goes, are largely thick, easily excitable and undiscerning and thus can only appreciate news in the form of a soap opera.

    There is nothing new in pandering to the lowest common denominator. It is an old media policy. But neither FT nor Al Jazeera fall quite into that News of the World, National Enquirer category. India Today TV recently ran a show where they objected to a tweet by actress Richa Chadha on the Indian Armed Forces. For their show, they ran photos of Chadha in swimwear. That works to belittle women, to put Chadha in her place as it were, and appeal to their crass audience. Actor Akshay Kumar objected to Chadha’s tweet, but the news of that was not accompanied by images of Kumar in revealing swimwear.

    Is Gautam Adani making it clear that this is not the sort of future he envisages for his version of NDTV?

    Well, you can hope as much as you like but the truth is likely to be elsewhere. In the same FT interview, Adani made this remark: “Independence means is government has something wrong, you say it’s wrong”.

    And Adani also said this: that the media should have the “courage” to back the government when it is right.

    There you have it ladies and gentlemen, clear intent from the tycoon himself.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal

     

  • With liberaliation and opening up of the world, one would have expected a stronger interviewing culture to develop in India, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    The Art of the Interview

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Shailesh KapoorThe interview that has been the talk of the week was well worth a watch, especially since I have recently binge-watched The Crown across the four seasons, and British royalty has been a topic of interest since then. We have known Oprah Winfrey as a fine interviewer for years now, and this one was no different. She didn’t seem even a bit over-awed by her ‘royal’ guests. There was no oh-this-is-so-huge vibe to her demeanor, or to the show itself.

    Oprah started off with a clarification to the viewers, when she told Meghan Markle: “There has not been an agreement (between us). You don’t know what I’m going to ask. And there’s no subject that’s off limits. And you are not getting paid for this interview”. Meghan replied: “All of that is correct”. That, to me, set the tone for what would be a candid and unscripted conversation that will not always go on predicted lines.

    Hours after watching the show, I was left thinking why we have so few good TV interviewers in India. If we keep aside Kapil Sharma, who does a fine job of his comic interviews, and some good film interviewers in Hindi and South cinema, we will struggle to come up with great ‘general interviewers’, i.e., those who can interview people from any domain. In any case, no one will even come close to Oprah’s caliber, forget stature.

    News interviewers like Rajat Sharma and Prabhu Chawla started off well, but have become routine and predictable over time. Some other names spring up when you think more, like the old NDTV line-up, including Dr. Prannoy Roy himself. But none of them have been consistent at it, either in terms of regularity or quality. And the one from that lot who has been consistent doesn’t ‘interview’. He runs his own little show with a guest as supporting cast. Now on three channels.

    Simi Garewal, then, is the only name that comes to my mind. I often revisit her shows, and they have aged quite well with time. But that’s pretty much the only name on my list.

    My view is that interviewing is not in sync with our culture and social fabric, and that’s why, it’s a genre of content that has never taken off in this country in its truest form, except in niche media. The first issue is to do with listening. A good interviewer needs to listen well. Though I didn’t come across any data to validate it, I have a strong hypothesis that if there was a ranking of nations on the average listening skills of its population, we will rank quite low.

    The second factor has to do with low curiosity levels itself. Societies facing existential challenges generally do not value knowledge and learning as much as developed societies, that are in the upper half of the Maslow needs pyramid for an average citizen. Hence, watching an interview is not interesting per se for many Indians. About a decade ago, in a consumer focus group, when we asked a young Delhi boy why he didn’t watch Bollywood interview shows on TV, he quipped at lightning speed: “Kisi aur ka interview hum kyon dekhein?”

    That almost-oxymoron-ish reply has stayed with me. Unless the interviewer makes the conversation entertaining, voyeuristic and juicy, there isn’t any direct consumer benefit of watching an interview, at a mass, pan-India level at least. Because knowledge is not in high demand, and certainly not in this format. So, most cricket fans in India would rather watch MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, than watch Dhoni tell the same story himself, even though the latter is more authentic.

    With liberalization and opening up of the world, one would have expected a stronger interviewing culture to develop in India over the last three decades. But if at all, it seems to have gone south. And Oprah’s latest show is a reminder of how wide the gap is!

  • The India Today Group-Axis-My-India exit polls have got 33 out of 35 elections bang-on over the last four years, notes a communique

    Axis-My-India gets Exit Poll right for India Today yet again

    By A Correspondent

     

    Screengrab of Pradeep Gupta doing a jig with Rajdeep Sardesai shaking a leg

    We don’t know what’s your view, but for us, the ultimate accolade is when your competition compliments you. On Tuesday evening, while analysing the landslide sweep of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections, first former psephologist Yogendra Yadav saluted pollsters Axis-My-India for getting the Delhi numbers right yet again, and then NDTV founder Dr Prannoy Roy was very generous in his praise for India Today group Chairman and Managing Director Aroon Purie for his guts for letting the Axis-My-India folks to give the far-out numbers and not interfere (in carrying them as is). There was of course a nice laugh about the jig that Axis Founder and Chief Pradeep Gupta and India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai did on air which has been doing the viral.

     

    According to the information we have received, the India Today Group-Axis-My-India exit polls have got 33 out of 35 elections bang-on over the last four years. Yadav specifically hailed the polling agency for its Haryana poll results late last year. For Delhi, the exit poll aired on India Today anticipated the Aam Aadmi Party’s sweep in the February 8 vote, giving it between 59 and 68 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Its nearest rival, the BJP and its allies, were projected to get 2 to 11 seats and the Congress none. By Tuesday evening, the predictions turned out to be pretty accurate, with the AAP securing 62, the BJP 8 and the Congress knocked out for a duck.

     

    Noted a communique: “In Delhi the pollsters measured voting behaviours, preferences and predispositions of the city’s diverse demography. Like a thorough statistical exercise, the survey delved deeper into the voters’ educational background, economic conditions, work, age-groups, caste, and religious affiliations. Since 2013, Axis My India has conducted 40 post-poll surveys, of which 38 have been spot on. Since their association with India Today in 2016, the pollsters have predicted 35 elections, of which 33 turned out to be accurate.:

     

    Said Kalli Purie, Vice Chairperson, India Today Group: “Every time we get a poll right the stakes get higher. This was our fifthy poll bang-on. The trust put in us by our viewers is a big responsibility and makes us work harder (and gives us many sleepless nights!). People keep asking me what’s the secret sauce that even your bitterest competitor quote and copy your poll. The answer is simple. We wear glasses with no colour when we look at data. Data is always neutral. The partnership of the best data input from Axis and serious ground reporting from our team before every election has made this incredible feat possible. Having an unparalleled platform with the combined muscle of broadcast, digital and social also helps a little‼”

     

    Added Gupta while attributing his successful predictions to team work and scientific monitoring of voter behaviour: “We follow international best practices. Our methodology is highly refined that helps us eliminate margins of error,” adding: “Our sampling is the most demographically and politically representative in any given election. There’s zero tolerance for any compromise on quality. That’s perhaps the reason why the Harvard Business School is doing a case study on Axis-My-India for the GE 2019 predictions.”

     

     

  • For India’s future to be robust, the media has to be even more robust, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Sound, fury & graphics on Results TV

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    One thing one has to say for our beloved news channels is that they do not let us down. You are guaranteed a proper Indian jatra-tamasha when it comes to election results coverage. Your TV screen is covered with colours, faces, numbers, words all competing for attention. Graphics run around everywhere, and they change faster than a pulsar can rotate on its own axis – 17 times in one second, I believe in the case of one.

    I have not understood until today where these channels get their figures from because every channel gets different numbers on leads and trends! As you switch from one to the other, the same party can win between 283 and 291 in the space of eight channels and 10 seconds. And the best for me is that none of them tally with the Election Commission’s results website.

    Aah, well. Having been forced to run through these channels thanks to this column, I found that surprise surprise, the least scary and most readable graphics were on India Today, although once people started speaking you had to run for cover. The easiest to watch was Mirror Now with Faye D’Souza providing a friendly face and personable presence to viewers. The most “sound and fury”, as expected, was on Times Now, with strong competition between Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar as to who could outshout the other (the guests had to try really hard here).

    CNNNews18 was less obnoxious than I thought it would be. NewsX was more watchable than I had assumed, although there were too many faces on the screen. Wion was boring by comparison but less frenetic. Tiranga TV was all right. The most amusing was Republic TV because from what I could understand, Arnab Goswami speaks mainly in Hindi now. NDTV remains the most reliable and generally un-screechy. I missed Dorab Sopariwala, usually a regular with Dr Prannoy Roy, but perhaps I watched at the wrong times?

    Most news channels of course, true to type, were overjoyed at the projected massive mandate for Narendra Modi and the BJP. (How close the exit polls, otherwise known as pre-voting surveys, were to the actual results, we shall discuss in another column.) So therefore, no chance of expecting much journalism from the usual suspects into the next five years.

    The twin concepts of showing truth to power, of holding a government accountable for its policies and actions, will once again fall to a smattering of newspapers and news sites and a couple of news channels. I sincerely hope that I am wrong. But, judging from the last five years and the looks of utter triumphant joy on the faces of anchors like Rahul Shivshankar, Navika Kumar, Rahul Kanwal at a BJP win, to name just three of the usual suspects, we have to be prepared for more of the same.

    For the rest, the battle is on. We must be prepared for a rise in bigotry and notwithstanding the Sensex and Nifty rises of May 23, India’s economic situation remains precarious. For India’s future to be robust, India’ democratic institutions which includes the media has to be even more robust. Here’s our test. I can guarantee now, unless a huge reckoning happens, we are going to fail again.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. Her views here are personal

  • Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was the Chief Guest at the Red Ink Awards of the Mumbai Press Club

    Press Club Mumbai awards Red Ink Award to Prannoy Roy, others

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    “I have heard a lady anchor on a Hindi channel, twirling her hair and saying, ‘Break kebaad, aapkoek rape dikhaenge’,” Dr. Prannoy Roy, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award said to a stunned audience as he talked about the ghastly tsunami of tabloid journalism that has inflicted the Indian media space. The co-founder of the NDTV Network was speaking at the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards for Excellence in Indian Journalism 2015, where he was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

     

    Often known as one of the most respected and trusted anchors in Indian journalism, Dr. Prannoy Roy blasted the tabloidization of news in India, and put the blame on advertisers. He criticized the journalists that keep their sources too close and hence alter the path of their story and emphasized the importance of maintaining stricter defamation laws so that journalists themselves cannot get away with slack trends in reporting. Talking about the lowering of standards of Indian journalism, Royretorted, “If this decline in quality continues, I believe three years from now, the Indian media will have no credibility left and Sir (pointing to Suresh Prabhu) you know what that means. It happened to politicians a long time ago.”

     

    Roy, however, stressed that the laws of defamation must be governed by the courts and the legal system and that the government must never ever have a say in the Indian media.

     

    Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who was the chief guest at the event after CM DevendraFadnavis was a no show, suggested that media houses should work on ‘Making News’ while chasing ‘Breaking News’. “A lot of positive news is left uncovered in this new trend,” he said.

     

    A panel discussion – Celebrating the Voice of Dissent- was conducted that included senior journalists Shekhar Gupta, former Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express, Srineevasan Jain of NDTV, Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The discussion was moderated by Sachin Kalbag, the Editor of Mid-Day.

     

    The media professionals expressed concern at some politicians turning ‘mini dictators’ and trying to threaten the freedom of speech. They also took a jab at the BJP government for the comment made by a party member that every Hindu woman must have at least four children.

     

    The RedInk Award for Impact Editor of the year went to Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, for his ability to capture eyeballs and expand audience reach with what in his own words is ‘the longest one hour television news debate.’ On being asked what he has to say to those who criticize his form of journalism saying that it has a negative impact, Arnab is quick to respond, “We are in the business of news, not in the business of compliments. So for us criticism and praise in equal measure is okay, as long as we do our job honestly.”

     

    The RedInk Award for Journalist of the Year, instituted for the first time, went to Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV for his consistent investigative work epitomized in his series ‘Truth versus Hype’ and other programmes. Scroll.in was awarded the ‘Best News Start-Up of the Year’ for scaling up its influence rapidly as an alternative source of news and features.

     

    The RedInk Award for business journalism in the print medium went to Dinesh Narayanan of The Caravan Magazine and in the television space went to Dibang from ABP News.

     

    The award for Crime journalism in print was shared by two journalists, Leena Reghunath of the Caravan Magazine and Vinod Kumar Menon of Mid Day. In the broadcast space the RedInk award for excellence in crime reporting went to TarunNangia and Dipu Rai of Zee Business.

     

    Sharad Vyas ofMid Day bagged the award for excellence in Environment reporting, while in the broadcast category, the award was shared byUmeshKumavat from ABP News and Rajat Singh of AajTak.Kumawat’s wife walked up on stage proudly to receive the award on his behalf as he was in Nepal reporting at the time.

     

    In the category of Health and Wellness, the RedInk award in the print space went to Johnson Poovanthuruth from Deepika Magazine and to Nikita Saxena from Caravan Magazine. For the broadcast category, VrushaliPurandare of TV-9 walked away with the award.

     

    The Redink Award for the Human Rights category in print went to SalilTripathi, from The Caravan Magazine and for television to Shams Tahir Khan of AajTak.

     

    The much-awaited RedInk award for excellence in political reportage in print went to Dinesh Narayanan of The Caravan Magazine and in broadcast; it went to Jitendra Dixit of ABP News.

     

    Caravan continued to steal the show as  Rahul Bhatia walked away with the RedInk award for excellence in sports journalism in the print space, whereas Suprita Das of NDTV won the same in the broadcast space.

     

  • 25 outstanding journalists to be honoured with RedInk Awards on 30 April

    NDTV’s Dr Prannoy Roy to be honoured at RedInk Awards in Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dr Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-Chairman of NDTV Group, has been awarded the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Award 2015 for Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Journalism for his consistent and pioneering contribution to news television in India. Dr Roy will be honoured for his service to journalism at a glittering ceremony on Thursday, 30th April in Mumbai at the Jamshed Bhaba Auditorium, NCPA, by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.

     

    Dr Roy along with his wife and journalist Radhika Roy in 1988, were the first to set up a television news production company called New Delhi Television, now called NDTV. In later years, Dr Roy made a mark for his incisive and pioneering coverage of election news and changed the way people consumed TV news with his ground-breaking programmes such as ‘The News Tonight’ and ‘The World This Week’. After years of producing the news for Star News, Dr Roy launched his own broadcasting network with NDTV 24X7, NDTV India and other channels in 2003.

     

    Dr Prannoy Roy was chosen for the RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award from a shortlist of senior editors by a survey among 200 journalists all over India, and a final consideration by the Managing Committee of the Mumbai Press Club. RedInk Lifetime Achievement award winners in previous years include the late Vinod Mehta, Kuldip Nayar, N Ram, and Mrinal Pande.

     

    Judging for the RedInk Awards, which includes as many as 10 categories have just been completed, and as many as 24 journalists who have produced outstanding and impactful stories in calendar 2014 will also receive awards along with Dr Prannoy Roy on 30 April at the NCPA. The judging process proved to be a herculean task with over 800 entries in the print/online category and nearly 250 stories from television journalists. Each of the categories 10 categories had a dedicated jury of senior persons with domain knowledge assigned to judge the entries. A special curator was also assigned to sift the large number of entries in each section and guide the judges.

     

    The judging process brought in well-known names such as Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico, for the Business category, Dr Kiran Shaw Mazumdar, chairperson of Biocon, for the Health & Wellness category, Justice Kode and former Mumbai Police commissioner M.N. Singh for the crime category and Sudanshu Vats, CEO of Viacom18 for the ‘Entertainment & Lifestyle’ stories.

     

    Star India is the Presenting Partner for the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2015. Some of the awards partners includes Aditya Birla Group, Yes Bank, Indiabulls Housing, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, SevenHills Hospitals and JSW Steel.

     

  • Oh, yes, it will. Just as an NDTV will minus Dr Prannoy Roy and Barkha Dutt. Though not necessarily so for Times Now sans Arnab Goswami

    Mediaah! Will CNN-IBN survive without Rajdeep Sardesai?

     

    Mediaah! By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Rajdeep Sardesai’s decision to quit CNN-IBN isn’t like that of an employee leaving any organisation. Had he not quit NDTV in 2005, he wouldn’t have not gone on to team up with Sameer Manchanda and Raghav Bahl and set up the channel.

     

    In Bahl, Rajdeep found an able ally and his teaming up with Manchanda, one of the sharpest brains in the business, ensured that the new channel started operations near-instantly. Rajdeep quit NDTV in April and CNN-IBN went on air in December 2005, and its instant success contributed much to Bahl’s fortunes as well as image of being a television news tycoon.

     

    Until early 2008, Rajdeep and his channel were the clear leaders. They had trounced NDTV early and the year 2006 and 2007 belonged to them. Rajdeep was voted ‘Impact Person of the Year’ in 2006 and was clearly the toast of town and the must-have guest in the capital’s political circuit.

     

    However, from 2008, after much fumbling and a really terrible take-off,  Times Now started gaining ground. This columnist, then writing on exchange4media.com, commented much to the annoyance of many how Arnab Goswami was a better, more aggressive, news anchor.  If Rajdeep would frown on his shows, Arnab would ask the tough questions. He was bratty, and often abrasive, and represented the mood of the viewing masses.

     

    The November 26 Mumbai terror strike changed things dramatically for Arnab and Times Now.  It was the undisputed leader. Simultaneously there was a sense of outrage against Barkha Dutt, though not as much against Rajdeep, who was equally shrill in his coverage from the terror zone. But then so were most other television journalists, including Times Now staffers.

     

    What emerged from Arnab’s show right then and the scene hasn’t changed dramatically ever since is that there’s little else other than the Newshour on Times Now. The other popular programme is Total Recall, but that’s Bollywood nostalgia.

     

    NDTV has established a huge second and third layer, though other than Prannoy Roy and Barkha Dutt, the rest of the cabin crew  – Vikram Chandra, Sonia Verma Singh and Sreenivasan Jain – pale in comparison even as they can hold fort for a month or two. Quite like CNN-IBN where Bhupendra Chaubey was an excellent stand-in for Rajdeep on the days he took off, but is he the man who can steer the channel to the top slot amongst English news offerings? Can his interviewing skills match those of Arnab?  The answer is a clear No. Read that in 200 points, all caps.

     

    So will CNN-IBN survive after Rajdeep Sardesai’s exit? Oh, yes, it will. Just as India not just survived but thrived after Indira, the Tatas after JRD, the Aditya Birla group after Aditya Birla etc etc. Also, remember, we have had channels which have meandered directionless for years. Headlines Today, for instance. Or even NewsX.

     

    Headlines Today has seen a fresh lease of life after the entry of Karan Thapar and it will gain more respectability with newly appointed vice chair and editor-in-chief  Shekhar Gupta on air.

     

    There were rumours that both Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt were approached by Reliance Industries for the top editorial job at CNN-IBN. Barkha is said to have spent a few days in Mumbai recently and even though she denied the news posted by Sahara Samay on its website last week, many believe she may well accept the job now that it’s clear that Rajdeep has exited. A well-known face like Barkha’s will ensure that Rajdeep’s absence is not felt by viewers.

     

    Meanwhile, a new top deck is reportedly assuming charge at Network18 and an announcement is likely to be made on who will lead the company in the absence of most biggies in the organisation.

     

    Will Rajdeep join the India Today group, as was speculated? Or is he taking time off to write a book? Since MxMIndia doesn’t revel in breaking news or carrying wild gossip , we recommend you look up other trade sites for that. What we would like to reinforce are three things.

     

    1. Had Rajdeep Sardesai not existed or not quit NDTV, CNN-IBN would’nt have been around or at least not happened as early as December 2005. Of the various news channels, CNN-IBN has an excellent reporting team, even though many were retrenched last year.

     

    2. The success of any leader is indicative by how it manages operations after he or she leaves. Prannoy Roy has ensured that. Arnab hasn’t. You don’t want to watch the 9pm bulletin when he’s not on air. Rajdeep has a good B and C team but none of them with the same profile has him

     

    3. CNN-IBN (and IBN7) will survive for sure. But it’ll need a new face soon.  Clearly, money is not going to be the constraining factor for this recruitment. For Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited, that’s hardly a worry. What the master and his advisors have to convince the big and famous editors is that they will be allowed to operate in a free and frank manner.  That they will be allowed to carry news which may be negative on them. Now will that will be a tough ask?

     

    There are many who  believe news journalism is doomed with the active entry of Reliance Industries in news media. That, as I have written earlier, is an incorrect assumption. Most of our big publications were set up by business houses – large or small.  Moreover,  we do know of some well-known media conglomerates indulging in corrupt or incorrect practices.

     

    If in the true spirit of business, Mukeshbhai and Reliance Industries do not devalue the brand, there is no stopping CNN-IBN and the rest of the media empire from attaining greater heights. If considerations of the rest of their businesses impact the editorial policies, the Ambanis know what happened to TheSunday Observer and the Observer of Business and Politics in the 1990s.

     

    Interesting times ahead for sure.

     

  • This is perhaps one of the most creatively exciting new ventures NDTV has launched, with so many 'firsts' for television in India

    NDTV Profit splits to offer stockmarket shows at trading hours, sponsored bands as NDTV Prime in the evenings and on weekends

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV has announced the rollout of a two-in-one channel – NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime. The announcement was made at a function held at the Trident, Bandra in Mumbai.

    On the channel, NDTV Profit, in a fresh association with The National Stock Exchange of India will operate from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and will offer viewers in-depth and credible business news and analysis during market hours.

    Speaking on NSE’s partnership with NDTV, Chitra Ramakrishna, MD & CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said, “I think this is a very good initiative and comes together with what NSE has been trying to do over the last few years in terms of investors outreach. NSE always reaches out to various segments of audiences starting from school children at one end to senior citizens. Some of you may be financially savvy, some of you may not be. But we believe that it is really our accomplished sort of objective to reach out to everyone to spread financial literacy at one end, and better investor awareness. So the best way to do this is to have knowledge outreach programmes and the more creative and varied the channels are, we are able to reach out to impart that kind of education.”

    From 5pm and on weekends, the channel will sport a brand new avatar – NDTV Prime, which is in association with Micromax. The channel is targeted at the 25+ urban male and will offer an interesting blend of ‘specialty bands’, which will showcase through the week across genres such as Technology, Auto, Property, Education & Careers, Entertainment and Comedy.

    Rahul Sharma, Co-founder, Micromax said, “Micromax has always looked at unique partnerships that bring alive newer experiences for Indian audiences through our brand associations and product offerings. We are very happy to partner with NDTV for their new and exciting venture NDTV Prime – India’s first dual channel, a new infotainment channel that will reach out to newer audiences through great content across different genres. With digitization and advancement of technology, we are seeing a trend for greater consumption of high quality content among the viewers. NDTV Prime provides an ideal opportunity for Micromax to reach out to evolved viewers through new programming on lifestyle, reality, automobiles, sports, music, property, gadgets & gizmos and comedy, all of which are showing increasing acceptance among Indian viewers. Our best wishes are with NDTV, and look forward to a long-term association.”

    Announcing the launch of NDTV Prime, Dr Prannoy Roy, Co-Chairperson, NDTV said, “This is perhaps one of the most creatively exciting new ventures NDTV has launched, with so many ‘firsts’ for television in India. The reactions so far, from advertisers and sponsors have been very, very positive. This new concept, with two prime times, changes many of the traditional views on what primetime viewership is all about!”

    In a first, sponsors are already on board partnering with the genres that fit in with their brands. Videocon d2h has come on board for ‘Ticket to Bollywood’ while Croma is the overall Technology Band sponsor. MRF is on board for the Auto Band and Supertech continues its association with the Property Band.

     

  • Over Rs8.89 crore funds were raised as part of the Green Campaign

    NDTV celebrated May 20 as ‘India’s Recycling Day’

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV, the country’s most reputed news network, brought together concerned citizens for the fourth edition of the NDTV-Toyota Greenathon on May 20, in a 12 hour long gala finale at the Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai.  This year, the focus has been recycling waste, especially plastic, along with encouraging everyone to keep their immediate environment clean. Joining the grand celebrations of Greenathon 4 were a galaxy of film personalities, celebrity chefs, composers and singers, chief ministers, Members of Parliament, school children and citizens from around the country.

     

    In keeping with the green theme, the NDTV-Toyota Greenathon 4 set was made of recyclable products. The unique Green Set, created by well known designer Omang Kumar, also had a Green Kitchen area where celebrity chefs including Aditya Bal, Ritu Dalmia, Bikramjit Singh and Vicky Ratnani cooked some eco-friendly, delicious recipes for guests and hosts.

     

    Supporting this Green Initiative and raising awareness about the environment, actor Milind Soman started his 1,500 km Green Run on April 20, running from the Qutub Minar in New Delhi, across 5 states and ending his Green Run at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai. His 1,500km run in 30 days had been recognised as a World Record by the Limca Book of Records.

     

    In an attempt to mobilise a mass movement, plastic/recyclable waste collection centres were set up across New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Phagwara (Punjab), Dharamshala and Nainital. People were invited to come out and participate in the recycling drive by depositing their recyclable waste, from plastic (bags and bottles), metal, paper, Tetrapak cartons and e-waste.

     

    Some of the generous supporters of the campaign were brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra, Cyrus Broacha, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Sridevi, Farhan Akhtar, Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rahul Bose, Kunal Kohli, Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Bappi Lahiri and Vasundhara Das.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Dr Prannoy Roy, Chairman NDTV Group, said: “NDTV-Toyota Greenathon 4 has been the best we have seen so far. I would like to thank TERI for being there and making this whole experience a success. Not having light is like losing your eyesight.”

     

    NDTV-Toyota Greenathon 4 saw Rs8.89 crore being raised to benefit 508 villages. IndusTower came forward to donate Rs5 crore and the Power Finance Corporation donated Rs3 crore. Other key donors included Shah Rukh Khan who adopted 12 villages and Aamir Khan who adopted 5 villages. Shahid Kapoor adopted 3 villages, Priyanka Chopra adopted 2 villages.

     

    Since its launch in 2008 The Greenathon Campaign has already funded solar lanterns for over 600 villages benefitting thousands of households. The NDTV-Toyota Green Campaign was the first ever-nationwide campaign to save the environment. The Campaign is aimed at creating awareness about the environment, by involving the people of our country to make a difference, and is supported by Dr RK Pachauri and TERI.

     

  • The awards marked the success of the 'Marks for Sports' campaign

    NDTV honours excellence in sports with ‘Spirit of Sport’ awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a grand finale, NDTV celebrated the success of ‘Marks for Sports’ campaign with the ‘Spirit of Sport’ awards held at the ITC Maurya Sheraton on Sunday. As part of the celebration, NDTV acknowledged excellence in sports by honouring renowned sports personalities across 14 categories. Union HRD minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour.

     

    Highlighting the successful completion of the Marks for Sports campaign, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV, said: “I am delighted with the overwhelming response we received for the campaign. I would like to thank Ranbir Kapoor for his association with the initiative. I truly believe that we require youngsters like him to make this campaign a huge success.”

     

    Supporting the cause, the Guest of Honour, Mr. Kapil Sibal, said, “I believe it’s a wonderful initiative by NDTV.  We have to change the mindset of people and the change should begin from home; it can then be taken to the next level to change the mindset of teachers. I am very happy that Ranbir is associated with the campaign, because with support of youngsters like him it will reach the masses. ”

    Celebrating the spirit of Marks for Sports, campaign ambassador and co-host for the awards along with NDTV’s anchor Sonali Chander, Ranbir Kapoor said: “The campaign needs the support of men and women to make it a success. The role of the mother is extremely important as I strongly believe that women are the true achievers as they excel in everything they take up.”

     

    The awards were presented by Mr. Sibal,  the Minister of State for Information and Technology Sachin Pilot and Leander Paes, ace Tennis player.

     

    The awards function was attended by Leander Paes, Rahul Bose, Milind Soman, Vijender Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Pankaj Advani, Jwala Gutta, Karun Chandok, Milkha Singh, Mary Kom, Vineet Joshi, Chairman, CBSE, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister, Haryana and Dharmesh Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Nirmal Lifestyle among other noted personalities.

     

    The highlights of the evening were music performance by Salim-Suleiman and stand up comedy by Papa CJ.

     

    Categories and Winners are as follows:

    1.    Legend Of Sport Award: Leander Paes

    2.    Lifetime Achievement Award: Late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Baichung Bhutia

    3.    India’s Outstanding Achievers (6 winners): Vijender Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Karun Chandok, Pankaj Advani, Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom

    4.    Fit For Life Award: Fauja Singh

    5.    Best Fitness Activist Award: Rahul Bose and Milind Soman

    6.    Generation Next of Cricket: Virat Kohli

    7.    Rockstar Performer in 2011 (outside of cricket) (7 winners): Dipika Pallikal, Ronjan Sodhi, Shiva Keshavan, Deepika Kumari, Vikas Krishnan, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa

    8.    Best Sports Advertisement: TATA Group

    9.    Against the Odds (Young Achievers): Shubham  Jaglan, Kokila, Arjun Vajpayee and Sagar Dhahiya

    10. Against the Odds (Lifetime Achievement):  Mahantesh andShiraz

    11. Best Corporate involvement in sports: TATA and Mahindra Groups

    12. BestStatefor Sports Promotion: Haryana

    13. Best Promotion of Sports in Education: Magic Bus, Olympic Gold Quest, YUWA and EduSports

    14. Fittest Bollywood Celebrity: Bipasha Basu

     

    Launched as an initiative in 2011, the ‘NDTV-Nirmal Lifestyle Fit India’ campaign has become a movement. The NDTV-Nirmal Lifestyle Fit India Movement is the first to create a nationwide fitness movement and in the first year of this campaign, it has created awareness about the importance of fitness in life.

    The year-long Marks for Sports campaign reached out to policy and decision makers across the country with a series of activities that included special televised debates and discussion programmes with the Campaign Ambassador, televised interactive ground activities with sportspersons and children and a signature drive asking for policy changes with pledges for donations and equipment.