News Broadcasting
Time Warner chairman, CEO Parsons is Mipcom’s Personality of the Year
MUMBAI: Reed Midem which organises the television event Mipcom in Cannes France has named Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard D. Parsons as the Mipcom 2006 Personality of the Year.
Parsons will receive the accolade on 11 October. Mipcom takes place from 9 to 13 October 2006 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Reed Midem CEO Paul Zilk says, “We are extremely pleased to honour Richard Parsons as our Mipcom Personality of the Year. Under his leadership, Time Warner informs, entertains and connects people all over the globe through its leading brands and programming.
“In an ever-evolving world defined by constant technological and demographic change, Time Warner – with its long tradition of innovation and creativity – continues to shape not only our industry, but the culture we live in.”
Parsons says, “I am very honoured to be this year’s Personality of the Year and to join the notable ranks of past honourees. I am particularly pleased to be recognised at Mipcom, the veritable hub of the worldwide television market, which gathers industry leaders together from across the globe.
“This award is a testament to the more than 85,000 Time Warner employees who are the creative source for all that we do. I dedicate it to them and to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who continue to inspire us to provide the best in entertainment and information in these rapidly changing times.”
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.
