News Broadcasting
CNN spruces newsgathering service; hires new correspondents
MUMBAI: In a bid to boost its broadcast and newsgathering operations, CNN has appointed new correspondents globally and will also be deploying a lap-top based Digital Newsgathering’ (DNG) system for the network’s broadcast and newsgathering operations, announced CNN International managing director Chris Cramer.
Pioneered by the 24-hour news network’s New Delhi Bureau, the digital news gathering (DNG) exclusive to CNN, will be used by all 28 international bureaus.
“By pioneering this new technology and hiring the best journalists from around the world, CNN continues to be what all the competition strives to be, editorially sound and commercially strong. The announcements today underline why CNN is able to stay ahead of the competition,” offered Cramer.
Exclusively developed by its in-house engineering team, CNN’s DNG system combines new lightweight cameras, advanced satellite and internet communications technology. The technology helps the correspondents to report the news far more proactively and enable them to file stories for CNN’s television, radio, wireless and internet services. According to the release, the technology will also enhance correspondent ability to respond quickly to breaking news as it happens.
As for the appointments, CNN has appointed Martin Soong as an anchor/correspondent for CNN International Asia Pacific region. He will be joining the regional presenting team in Hong Kong, on 1 April 2004. He will anchor the news programs produced out of the network’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong and report from the territory and across the region. Prior to CNN International, he had been with CNBC Asia, as news editor and anchor, says a company release.
In the Middle East, CNN has appointed former NPR London bureau employee Guy Raz as Jerusalem correspondent to work alongside John Vause and bureau chief Tom Fenton. The second appointment at the Middle East bureau is that of Atlanta based Octavia Nasr, who takes on responsibilities as CNN’s senior editor for Arab affairs. She has worked across the CNN networks for 14 years of experience. According to the release, her in-depth knowledge of the region will enable the network to bring global audience a fuller picture of the complex issues and events taking place in the Middle East.
As for the new digital gathering development, CNN has immediately begun the deployment of strategically trained international Video Correspondents to report from around the world. The first three video correspondents to use the technology are Alphonso Van Marsh, Ryan Chilcote and Karl Penhaul. These journalists showcased the technology during the ‘breaking news’ coverage of the capture of Saddam Hussein, the logistically challenging coverage of the Bam earthquake and the dramatic fast moving events surrounding the recent Georgia revolution, adds the release.
The trio will comprise Soong’s core team. Based at the network’s headquarters in Atlanta, Marsh was previously a writer, producer and correspondent for CNN International. He joined CNN in 1997 as a freelance correspondent and producer. He has been an associate producer for CNN and time in the investigative unit and has served as the interim bureau chief for CNN in Nairobi, Kenya, says the release.
Marsh, who has worked as a journalist in over 20 countries including Afghanistan, Egypt and Cuba, has received numerous awards for his international reporting.
Based at the network’s Moscow bureau, Chilcote was previously a producer for CNN and has covered multiple stories from Russia and the former Soviet republics, including Russia’s last two wars in Chechnya. He has also reported extensively from Afghanistan and has been a journalistic force outside of Russia in CNN’s coverage of the U.S.-led war on terrorism. In 2003, he reported from the frontlines of Operation Iraqi Freedom from his embedded position with the 101st Airborne, adds the release.
Penhaul, who until today has been a freelance contributor for CNN, was an embedded journalist during the recent war in Iraq and has reported on the war in Afghanistan. He also covered Columbia extensively, including the drug trade, kidnappings, guerrilla tactics and internal strife in the country. Prior to working with CNN, Penhaul was an international correspondent for Reuters news agency in Bogotá, Colombia for four years.
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.
