News Broadcasting
Lightworks looks to get married at Mipcom
MUMBAI: Lightworks Programme Distribution (LPD) has announced that filmmaker Michael Apted’s Being Married will headline its slate of programmes to be presented at next month’s television trade event Mipcom.
The event takes place in Cannes, France from 9-11 October 2006.
Being Married is a reality TV alternative which takes a look at the courtship, marriage, and progression of nine couples. Combining interviews with footage of the couples on dates, interaction with their families, the actual wedding ceremonies, and the challenges they experience five years after the wedding, the film provides a fascinating perspective on the cultural phenomenon of marriage in the 21st Century.
Being Married is inspired by Michael Apted’s 7/UP, which began in 1964 and is considered to be the greatest longitudinal documentary effort of all time, according to a panel of 400 UK filmmakers assembled by Channel 4. Currently the president of the Director’s Guild of America, Apted’s career spans documentaries and features.
LPD executive VP and MD John Cuddihy says, “Michael Apted’s accomplishments, including his past and present films, are of the highest quality and we are delighted to be associated with him.
“The documentary leverages the endless and timeless fascination with what makes lasting relationships work and reflects the most significant ways in which marriage and relationships are being challenged and re-defined. Lightworks Program Distribution’s library consists of bold, entertaining programmes which convey the challenges of today’s world. I am confident that Being Married will captivate viewers world-wide and will be a worthy addition to our award- winning library.”
In the first installment of Being Married nine soon-to-be-married couples discuss their relationships, their decision to get married, their backgrounds, their views on sex, divorce and their expectations and dreams for the future. The second installment revisits each of the 9 couples to find out how their lives have changed and how their relationships
progressed in the first five years of married life.
Despite their cultural, geographical, and socio-economical differences, each of the couples-regardless of age or sexual orientation, face similar challenges within a marriage: the stresses of jobs, living situations, and in some cases, children.
Lightworks Enterprises, president and CEO David Dreilinger says, “We could not be more pleased to work with Michael Apted on this project, produced in the style that he pioneered. This is a further indication of the growth of our organisation and the caliber of award-winning talent that is involved in our programmes..”
Being Married will premiere in prime time on Hallmark next year.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
