News Broadcasting
Jon Stewart to help CNN International introduce satirical element in news
MUMBAI: CNN International has announced that Jon Stewart will present The Daily Show: Global Edition on the channel from 21 September.
The show will be an international weekend edition of Stewart’s satirical news show The Daily Show with Jon Stewart which airs on American Network Comedy Central. The Daily Show: Global Edition will bring Stewart’s wit, satire and commentary on American current affairs to CNN International’s late night audiences in 161 million households around the world, according to an official release. The half-hour show will also include Stewart’s unique high profile celebrity interviews from the world of television, film, media and politics.
The channel says its diverse and eclectic mix of feature programming is part of the network’s ambition to bring its viewers a fresh, distinctive and culturally diverse schedule of feature programming each week. CNN International executive VP and GM Rena Golden says: “Stewart’s sharp commentary and observations illustrate Americas ability to find humour in its own customs, newsmakers and leaders. Our viewers are smart and sophisticated with an interest in, and knowledgeable about, America’s social, political and entertainment scene.”
Recorded weekly before a live studio audience in New York, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart takes place on a mock news set, with other Daily Show correspondents providing reports and comedy sketches throughout the programme.
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.
