News Broadcasting
Martha Stewart selects Dawna Stone as `Apprentice’
MUMBAI: In the final episode of NBC’s The Apprentice: Martha Stewart which aired on US broadcaster NBC a few nights ago, the show’s host Martha Stewart selected candidate Dawna Stone as her apprentice.
The reality show contest named Dawna Stone to the new position of director of development of Body + Soul. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia acquired the healthy-living magazine last year.
MSLO adds that Stone will focus on new business development for the magazine, tasked with growing national advertising programmes and creating ancillary revenue streams, She is the founder and publisher of Her Sports, a magazine for women who are very active, sports-oriented, healthy and fit. Stone will work closely with Martha Stewart as well as with Body & Soul publisher Janesse Bruce and her Boston-based team.
Stewart says, “Dawna is creative and talented, and her entrepreneurial spirit and publishing experience make her a valuable addition to Body + Soul during its period of rapid growth.”
Stone says, “I am thrilled to have been chosen by Martha Stewart as her apprentice and to work with the team at Body + Soul. This is a fantastic opportunity to have a significant impact on the continued success of this magazine”.
In the past year, Body + Soul claims to have grown more than 30 per cent in circulation, making it one of the fastest growing magazines in the natural lifestyle category in the US. Now, more than ever, people are paying attention to what they eat, how they manage stress, how to stay fit, and how to bring balance to their lives. The magazine is on track to increase circulation again in March 2006 by more than 15 per cent, and an additional 14 per cent in July 2006, when circulation will reach 400,000.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
