News Broadcasting
MIB to relook Journalists Welfare Scheme
Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has constituted a ten-member committee headed by renowned journalist and member of Prasar Bharati Ashok Kumar Tandon to take a look at the existing guidelines of the Journalists Welfare Scheme (JWS) and make appropriate recommendations for changes therein.
This decision is considered significant in the light of the many changes that have taken place in the media eco-space including the loss of a large number of journalists due to COVID-19 and the broad basing of the definition of the “working journalists”.
The JWS which has been in existence for many years needs a relook from a futuristic perspective and broad basing the coverage for the benefit of the journalists of this country. With the enactment of the Occupational, Safety, Health and Working Condition Code 2020, the definition of the working journalists has been broadened to include within its fold those working in both traditional and digital media. Further, it was also considered necessary to look at the possible parity between accredited and non-accredited journalists from the perspective of welfare and availing of benefits under the scheme.
The MIB has in recent times taken proactive steps for grant of ex-gratia payment to the families of journalists who unfortunately died due to COVID-19 and such assistance has been given in over 100 cases at Rs five lakh each.
The committee is expected to give its report in a time-bound manner within two months. Its recommendations would enable the government to frame guidelines afresh for the benefit of the journalists. The committee headed by Ashok Kumar Tandon includes Sachidanand Murthy (resident editor – The Week), Shekhar Aiyar (freelance journalist), Amitabh Sinha (News 18), Sishir Kumar Sinha (Business Line), Ravinder Kumar (special correspondent – Zee News), Hitesh Shankar (editor – Panchjanya), Smriti Kak Ramachandran (Hindustan Times), Amit Kumar (Times Now), Vasudha Venugopal (Economic Times) and Kanchan Prasad (Addl DG, Press Information Bureau).
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.
