News Broadcasting
Disney Online’s interactive promo campaign supports ABC’s fall TV line-up
Disney Online has announced the launch of an interactive promotion designed to generate 90 million impressions for the ABC Network’s fall television line-up
(http://www.disney.com/abc ).
The campaign provides television buffs with sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes information about ABC shows and centres around Mushu, a character from Disney’s animated film Mulan, who plays the role of a gossip columnist.
The campaign includes: # Mushu’s Dish – A weekly e-mail newsletter series for families in which Mushu uncovers insider secrets and divulges undisclosed facts about the fall programming. Each newsletter will provide a clue, which when combined will allow recipients to enter the “Trip Thru TV Challenge.”
# A Trip Thru TV Challenge – Using the clues provided by Mushu, participants can try to solve ABC’s Prime Time Puzzle. Those who complete the challenge are entered for a chance to win an all-expense paid vacation to California. The winner, along with his/her family (up to four guests), will spend four days and three nights touring The Walt Disney Studios and vacationing at the Disneyland Resort.
They will also receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appear in a special segment of “The Wonderful World of Disney.” The challenge runs through 23 September.
The online campaign also includes media placements on FamilyFun.com and ESPN.com. One of the key components of ABC’s new programming strategy is the creation of a horizontal block of programming in the 8 pm slot Monday through Friday. Deemed ABC’s Happy Hour, this block is comprised of broad, inclusive programming targeted to entertain. The line up includes The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway? on Monday.
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.
