GECs
AOL launches interactive news experience
MUMBAI: Interactive services company America Online has announced the launch of a new AOL News experience. The enhanced online news service delivers best-of-breed content, resources and top personalities on-demand, 24*7 while actively involving members in the news process.
As part of the launch, AOL has expanded and signed agreements with some of the world’s most trusted news sources, including usatoday.com and nytimes.com which will enable AOL members to receive premium, comprehensive news coverage.
Consistently ranked by comScore Media Metrix as the number one online news destination with 24.1 million unique visitors per month, AOL News offers an “involvement journalism” experience, bringing members the complete news on their terms and engaging them in the story through a wide range of multimedia offerings.
An official release informs that using the power of the on-demand news environment, members can read newspaper and magazine stories, watch TV footage, listen to audio clips and view photos-all from one convenient source and at no additional charge. The new AOL News format also enables members to access the day’s top stories via the AOL.com site when they are away from home. With AOL News, members, not editors, pick the medium and decide how and when they consume the news.
To complement the member’s personalized news experience, AOL News offers multiple opportunities for members to join in the larger news debates and connect with other members through polls, message boards, chatrooms and AOL Journals (blogs), creating a more enhanced, shared experience. Members can also connect with eyewitnesses, newsmakers and news correspondents who offer additional analysis and unique perspectives.
To give an example, AOL members can currently enjoy exclusive video interviews by George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC News’ Sunday morning programme This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos also answers members’ questions about major news events and key political issues.
Other AOL partners include ABC News, The Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. Through relationships with People and Entertainment Weekly, AOL News also features marquee entertainment specials as well as weekly cover stories. Along with its CNN News Ticker, CNN provides AOL News with custom interactive features such as galleries and timelines, as well as video content from CNN NewsPass, including 90 Second Pop and nightly clips from Anderson Cooper 360 degrees.
To complement the premium news content, compelling interactive features such as online opinion surveys and discussion areas are embedded alongside the stories so members can react and interact with one another with just one click. A feature What America Thinks measures what Americans are thinking about and how they are responding to top news stories. AOL News also monitors the pulse of America by engaging people of different ages, genders, backgrounds and viewpoints through related message boards, polls and shout-out areas.
GECs
‘I wasn’t enjoying it’: Why ex-Colors CEO Raj Nayak quit at his peak
Former TV and media executive says happiness, not hierarchy, defines leadership
MUMBAI: Former television executive Raj Nayak, once among the most powerful figures in Indian broadcasting, has offered a candid reflection on leadership, ambition and the decision to step away at the height of his career.
Speaking on the ThinkRight Podcast, Nayak dismissed corporate titles as hollow constructs, arguing that designations are often mistaken for identity. Leadership, he said, has little to do with hierarchy and everything to do with character.
Despite holding senior roles across Star TV, NDTV and Colors, Nayak described his career as largely unplanned. He said progress came not from strategy but from effort, adding that his only constant was giving each role his full commitment.
One of the most formative moments, he recalled, came in 2001 when he quit his job and spent nine months fighting a non-compete case in the Mumbai High Court. The sudden loss of structure and support, he said, exposed how dependent he had become on corporate machinery.
That period also shaped his public persona. The nickname “Raj Cheerful”, later adopted across social media, became a defining trait within the industry, with actors such as Hrithik Roshan embracing it as part of his identity. Over time, Nayak said, the label evolved from an affectation into a lived philosophy.
Nayak also addressed his decision to leave his role at the peak of his influence, a move he described as deeply counter-cultural in corporate India. From the outside, he said, everything appeared perfect. Internally, it was not. After months of unease, a conversation with his family proved decisive, pushing him to act on values he often spoke about publicly.
“People don’t quit jobs at their peak… I was doing everything perfect… but I knew I was not enjoying it,” he added.
Reflecting on success, Nayak argued that power and visibility offer no assurance of fulfilment. Happiness, he said, is a more reliable measure. Overcoming fear and greed, he added, remains the hardest test of leadership and of life.
