News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera International sees delay in launch
MUMBAI: The proposed English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has delayed the launch of the channel from April to September at the earliest.
The channel an offshoot of the Qatar-based Arabic network has pushed the launch date on account of series of constructions and technical glitches at its four centres in London, Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Washington, according to The Guardian.
The channel is said to be still experiencing problems and thus, the launch has now been stated to be early September.
The executives of the channel are said to be increasingly fed up with the slow pace of progress. “Staff are extremely frustrated, as is the management, who are tearing their hair out at the inefficiency of support staff,” said a source to the publication The Guardian.
The bosses at the English-language service were concerned about “meddling” from Al-Jazeera’s Arabic owners, who are thought to be worried the new channel could end up a “watered down version of the BBC or CNN” and a “damp squib managed by non-Muslim westerners”.
Although the broadcaster has inked a deal with the Sky Digital in UK, it is however finding difficulties in striking deals in the key American market.
The Al-Jazeera spokeswoman speaking to The Guardian said that the broadcaster was not releasing an official launch date. However, she said the channel’s management had a particular date towards which they were working.
“They are waiting on their technical requirements to be fulfilled,” she said.
CNN and BCC are the main competitors to the Al-Jazeera International targeting the English-language news audiences, particularly in its coverage of the Middle East.
The broadcaster has already roped in high-profile personalities, including Sir David Frost, former CNN Riz Khan, former CNN Rageh Omaar, Channel Five news presenter Barbara Serra for the London newsroom, and as well as other journalists from Sky, ITN and elsewhere.
Recently, the channel hired a host of presenters for sports coverage.
Al-Jazeera launched in Qatar in November 1996, bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar, but came to international prominence during the US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 when it was the only foreign broadcaster in Kabul.
Al-Jazeera, which has been credited with changing the face of Arab television news, has faced criticism from the US as well as several Arab states. The channel is always surrounded by controversies by screening messages from the most-wanted man Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaida.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced plans to set up its own Arabic news channel next year and has roped in former Al-Jazeera executive Salah Negm as news editor.
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.
