News Broadcasting
DD gears up for 3rd annual awards function on Saturday
MUMBAI: It will be an evening of song, dance and reward for hard working folk in the television industry. The third annual Doordarshan Awards will take place on 22 November in the suburb of Goregaon at the Sports Club from 6:45 pm onwards.
In all 54 trophies will be handed out. There has been an expansion this year. Five administration Awards have been added for each of the country’s zones. In the programme category there are 32 awards up for grabs. These include promo, best Kendra, animation, sports, women’s. DD has tied up with Wizcraft for the event. At a media briefing this afternoon DD Sahyadri head Mukesh Sharma noted that the surge of a more competitive work structure, an well as recognition of excellence had resulted in improvement in in-house software production.
I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the chief guest. Also present will be Maharshtra’s chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Attendeees will see performance from the likes of Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Usha Uthup, Gurdas Mann. Lending a touch of glamour to the occasion will be stars from the television and film industry such as Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea, actor Jitendra, film director Shutosh Gowarikar.
Also present at the briefing was the Prasar Bharti chairman V Kamat. When asked by Indiantelevision.com as to the manner in which DD News would be functioning he pooh poohed talk that the channel would basically be a mouth piece for the government.
“DD News is a completely independent channel. There is no external pressure whatsoever. It was set up with the purpose of functioning autonomously and that is what we are doing. In fact if you have been watching us we have done stories and news features that have criticised the government. We also cover the news better than anyone else out there and as time goes on we will continue to improve.”
The channel also put out figures that back his claim. Tam data is for 3-11 November c&s 4+ for all Hindi news channels. DD News has a cumulative reach of 22 per cent. Only Aaj Tak is ahead with 26 per cent. Star News is beind with a share of 20 per cent followed by Zee News with 19 per cent. NDTV India has a share of 18 per cent.
The story is similar for the audience shares. Once again DD News is second to Aaj Tak. It has a share of 21 per cent while Aaj Tak’s is 29 per cent. Sahara Samay is languishing at the bottom of the barrel with a share of six per cent.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
