News Broadcasting
Asianet News Network acquires 51% stake in Kannada Prabha
BANGALORE: Asianet News Network (ANN) has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Kannada Prabha, the New Indian Express Group’s leading Kannada daily newspaper, as it seeks to spread its footprint across television, Internet and print.
The financial details of the deal could not be ascertained.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s regional news empire now consists of Asianet News in Malayalam, Suvarna News in Kannada and a major part of Kannada Prabha.
Kannada Prabha was founded by Ramnath Goenka on 4 November 1967. With a tagline ‘The Most Powerful Kannada Newspaper’, the Bangalore-headquartered Kannada Prabha is spread across the state with other editions in Mangalore, Shimoga, Hubli, Belgaum, Hyderabad and Goa.
Says ANN chairman Rajeev Chandrasekhar, “This alliance will leverage the vast synergy between two of Kannada’s most respected and credible news brands, namely Kannada Prabha and Suvarna News 24×7. This partnership and strategic alliance will be transformational for the reader and the viewer, giving the best in editorial, news reporting and features acceptable to millions of readers and viewers. ANN’s journalism credo ‘Nera Ditta Nirantara’ (Straightforward, Bold and Relentless) will now be visible in Kannada Prabha as well.”
Senior journalist Vishweshwar Bhat has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief and will spearhead the integration and growth of all the platforms.
Suvarna News is investing in a new Bangalore studio and news gathering infrastructure, which is scheduled to be commissioned in the next few months.
Chandrasekhar had earlier acquired Asianet, which owned and operated a clutch of popular Malayalam channels. He went on to launch Asianet Suvarna, a Kannada general entertainment channel, and Suvarna News 24×7. In late 2008, he sold the entertainment channels to Star India while retaining the news outfits.
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.
