News Broadcasting
Arnab Goswami told to respect Tharoor’s right, Delhi HC hearing on 16 Aug
NEW DELHI: Even as the Delhi High Court did not restrain Republic TV in its investigation into the death of Sunanda Pushkar, it asked the channel head Arnab Goswami to respect Shashi Tharoor’s right to silence on the issue. A spokesperson meanwhile said it was “another big victory for Republic TV” as Tharoor failed to ‘gag’ the channel.
The court asked Goswami and his channel to file its reply on the Congress MP’s plea to refrain from “misreporting” his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death, and asked them to respect his “right to silence”.
The court was hearing an application moved by Tharoor in his pending Rs-20 million defamation suit against Goswami and the channel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him while airing news relating to the death of his wife. Tharoor alleged that they continued to engage in “defaming and maligning” him despite an assurance given in the court on 29 May by their counsel. The matter has now been fixed for 16 August 2017.
Tharoor’s counsel Salman Khurshid submitted that the court must direct Goswami and the channel to not mention the expression “murder of Sunanda Pushkar”, as it is yet to be established by a competent court that her death was “murder”, to ensure the trial was not prejudiced.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Goswami and the channel, said they have only placed the actual evidence and the police report while broadcasting the news. “We have not called him a murderer in any of the news broadcasts on the channel,” he said. The judge asked the counsel not to use names and said “they will have to abide by that.”
Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi on the night of 17 January, 2014. The matter is under investigation.
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News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
