News Broadcasting
CNN to rebrand two news shows
MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN International has announced that from 1 March it will rebrand two of its Hong Kong based shows. News Biz Today will be replaced with CNN Today while World News Asia will replace Asia Now.
CNN Today will air from 4:30 am to 8 am everyday, while World News Asia will air at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm daily. CNN Today will continue to be co-anchored by Stan Grant and Kristie Lu Stout. The content will consist of the rolling three and a half hour business and news programming with live breaking news from across the region and around the world. World News Asia will be co-anchored by Veronica Pedrosa and Andrew Stevens who will bring live updates to global viewers of the top news stories of the day in each one-hour programme.
A company release states that the changes reflect independent research and viewer feedback, creating more consistency across CNN’s international programming schedules. CNN Intl senior VP Rena Golden added, “The programme developments further define CNN as the leading international news provider, building upon the very strong relationship with the network’s audience in addition to providing an even stronger platform for advertisers. CNN continues to evolve and as a part of that the network has seen fit to re-brand its key news programmes to meet audience demands. We pride ourselves on our reputation of relevance to the audience.”
The new schedule gives CNN the framework to fulfill its commitment to landmark programming on the year’s key elections, the ongoing story in Iraq, and the Olympics, among others, as well as provide a broad, timely, regional-relevant focus of stories on the day’s news, finance and sport so that viewers are comprehensively prepared for the day’s business ahead.
Meanwhile another show Business Central has been renamed Business International which will air at 1:30 pm.
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.
