News Broadcasting
Singapore’s Mediacorp restructures senior management
MUMBAI: If you place a call to Singapore’s MediaCorp hq, you’d better be armed with this report. The multimedia firm has gone in for a sweeping restructuring of its senior management. The group is involved in TV and radio (both in entertainment and news), and newspaper publishing.
The changes were announced by Group CEO Ernest Wong yesterday and a release states that the changes reflect “the synergies of News across our multi-platforms as well as to further harness the inherent strength of our position as the News Leader and News Hub of Singapore.”
Among the changes announced include:
* Shaun Seow, currently the CEO of MediaCorp News, will be promoted to Group Managing Director. Under the new portfolio, Seow will be in charge of MediaCorp News Pte Ltd, MediaCorp TV12 Pte Ltd and Group Communications.
He will oversee the news function of the Group, covering TV, radio and newspapers. He remains a Director and Editorial Advisor of MediaCorp Press.
* Woon Tai Ho, currently the CEO of MediaCorp TV12, will be transferred to MediaCorp News as CEO. Woon will be responsible to drive content strategies in the areas of news, documentaries and info-educational content for the global market.
* Philip Koh, currently Acting CEO, will be confirmed as CEO of MediaCorp Publishing. He will concurrently hold the appointment of Executive Director of MediaCorp Press (relinquishing his current appointment as COO). He will be appointed to the Board of MediaCorp Press as a Director.
* James Yip, currently Acting CEO, will be confirmed as CEO of MediaCorp Radio.
* Alice Tan, currently the Senior Vice President of Network Programming and Promotions MediaCorp TV Channel 5, will be promoted to be CEO of MediaCorp TV12. Tan will be responsible to drive content strategy in the area of Malay/Indonesian content production for the regional market. Tan will relinquish her appointment as CEO of TVMobile but remains on the Board of TVMobile as a Director.
The following Senior Vice Presidents have also been promoted to strengthen the structure and operations of their respective business units:
* Khiew Voon Kwang, as Managing Director of MediaCorp TV.
* Eric Lynge, as Managing Director of MediaCorp TV.
* Melvin Ang, as Managing Director of MediaCorp Studios.
* Ong Hee Yah, as Managing Director of MediaCorp News.
*Chan How Fang, as Chief Editor of MediaCorp News.
* Michael Chiang, having rejoined MediaCorp Publishing after his sabbatical, has been promoted to the position of Editorial Director.
“We are pleased to announce these new appointments which will reinforce MediaCorp as The Choice for both news and entertainment content. We�ve had a good financial year that just ended in March 04. With the reorganisation of key staff, we look forward to do even better as we focus to meet our content-driven strategy,” said Wong.
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.
