News Broadcasting
Blasts send news channels scurrying for coverage
MUMBAI: It was a matter of minutes, but Star News pipped its rivals to field coverage and providing images of the bomb blasts in Mumbai and proved its mettle in covering live news better when it mattered the most.
Trashed thus far by critics for being slow on the uptake and more interested in the glamourous side of city life, Star News showed its true colours when its camera team and reporters reached Mumbadevi Zaveri Bazaar, the Gateway of India before the rest of the news channels’ crews. Aaj Tak was still conferring live with bureau chief Shishir Joshi who seem to be far away from the scene of the blasts. Later, AajTak’s crew got into the act.
While all the channels flashed the news immediately, the difference lay in the presentation and depth of coverage. NDTV 24*7 was way behind its sibling NDTV India, which had live reportage happening from the scene of the blasts, even though actual footage of the blasts came a little after Star News. Sahara Samay Rashtriya on the other hand did a better job with correspondents and cameramen on the field speaking to locals getting first hand accounts.
That Star News’ anchors and reporters were geared for the emergency showed in the comfort levels with which the news was being tackled. Public broadcaster Doordarshan put safety first by refusing to divulge the number of casualties and even had deputy prime minister L K Advani saying that he would be hard put to comment until he had further information.
The foreign broadcasters, BBC and CNN were predictably the last to join the coverage. Compare that to the time when we had to tune in to BBC to find out that Mrs Gandhi had been assassinated. CNN did have correspondent Ram Gopal live from India pitching in with a report but that was around an hour after the news came out in full on domestic channels. It later picked up footage from Sahara Samay. The wheel clearly has turned full circle. Where the international news media used to inform us about developments and disasters within the nation, today Indiy,Indian media suffice.
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.
