News Broadcasting
Financial Express managing editor Sunil Jain succumbs to Covid
New Delhi: The ferocious second wave of Covid-19 continues to take a heavy toll on the news industry. Sunil Jain, managing editor of Financial Express passed away on Saturday after battling with post-Covid complications. He was 58.
“My brother, Sunil Jain, passed away this evening after post-Covid complications. He suffered a cardiac arrest earlier in the day but was revived, and finally passed after another cardiac arrest around 8.30 p.m. The doctors and all medical staff at AIIMS did their best and more. I thank you for standing by us in this dark hour,” his sister Sandhya Jain said in a statement.
We lost my brother Sunil Jain this evening to Covid+its complications. Doctors+staff at AIIMS battled heroically, but the demon was too powerful. May Tirthankaras guide his onward journey; deep gratitude to all who stood by us in these darkest days @drharshvardhan @rajivtuli69
— Sandhya Jain (@vijayvaani) May 15, 2021
A senior journalist with over three decades of experience, Jain started his journalistic career as a reporter in India Today magazine in 1991 and went on to become the magazine’s business editor. He then moved on to head the business and economy coverage for The Indian Express. Six years later, he joined Business Standard. He returned to the Express Group in 2010 as assistant editor of The Financial Express.
His sudden demise has left the news media world in a state of shock, with several friends, colleagues, and prominent personages expressing their grief over demise on social media. “Your Express family will miss you,” said The Indian Express’ executive editor Anant Goenka.
Sunil Jain, Managing Editor of Financial Express lost his battle to Covid today. He was a friend, of unquestionable integrity & inspired us with his professional commitment. Privileged to have known him, will cherish his passion, balance & wisdom.Your Express family will miss you
— Anant Goenka (@anantgoenka) May 15, 2021
President Ramnath Kovind took to Twitter to condole the senior journalist’s demise. “Sunil Jain was an editor known for his candour and forthright views. It was a treat to read his columns. After his untimely demise, his absence will be deeply felt in the world of journalism. My condolences to his family and friends,” he said in a tweet.
Sunil Jain was an editor known for his candour and forthright views. It was a treat to read his columns. After his untimely demise, his absence will be deeply felt in the world of journalism. My condolences to his family and friends.
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) May 15, 2021
“You left us too soon, Sunil Jain. I will miss reading your columns and hearing your frank as well as insightful views on diverse matters. You leave behind an inspiring range of work. Journalism is poorer today, with your sad demise. Condolences to family and friends. Om Shanti” said Prime minister Narendra Modi in a tweet.
You left us too soon, Sunil Jain. I will miss reading your columns and hearing your frank as well as insightful views on diverse matters. You leave behind an inspiring range of work. Journalism is poorer today, with your sad demise. Condolences to family and friends. Om Shanti.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2021
Several Union ministers including the minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Railways minister Piyush Goyal also paid tributes.
Anguished to hear about the passing away of Sunil Jain ji. He will forever be remembered for his journalistic brilliance. His untimely demise has left a huge void in the media fraternity.
My deep condolences to his family. Om Shanti— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 15, 2021
Hundreds of journalists have lost their lives in the catastrophe that has ravaged the country. India now accounts for half of all global new infections. On Saturday, India recorded 3.26 lakh Covid-19 cases and lost 3,890 lives that pushed the death toll to 2.6 lakhs.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
