News Broadcasting
NewsX editor-in-chief Jehangir Pocha passes away
MUMBAI: The pressure-filled TV news business has had another casualty. Jehangir Pocha, the co-promoter of IndiMedia Pvt Ltd, which earlier owned the NewsX channel, died earlier this morning in Gurgaon following a cardiac arrest.
Pocha came into the limelight after he worked out a rescue package to bail out the channel in 2009 along with Nai Duniya CEO Vinay Chhajlani. Launched originally by the eighties poster boy of television – Peter Mukerjea – as part of the INX Media group, it had fallen up on troubled times soon after its launch in 2008. Pocha was editor in chief at BusinessWorld maagazine when he partnered with Chhajlani.
NewsX continued, but desperately needed cash to run and Pocha and Chhajlani found a buyer in the Kartikeya Sharma owned Information TV (part of the ITV Group) and its associates in mid-2012. Even as Chhajlani exited, Pocha continued as the channel’s editor in chief.
Born in Mumbai, Pocha did his Bachelors in Economics in 1990, followed by an MBA in Marketing in 1992 from the SP Jain Institute, Mumbai University. Later, he also did his Masters in Public Administration, Media and foreign policy from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Pocha was The Boston Globe’s Beijing-based China correspondent from 2003-2007. Prior to that he spent about a decade in the IT industry, holding management positions with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies in the US and Singapore.
His passing away has been mourned by many. Amomg them the prime minister Narendra Modi who said: “I am shocked and saddened to hear about Jehangir Pocha’s demise. I pay my condolence to his family in this hour of grief. May his soul rest in peace.”
The Broadcast Editors’ Association sent out a statement condoling his sad demise: “It is big loss to the world of TV journalism. Jehangir was a dear colleague of ours and was a guiding force in BEA’s activities.”
Former IBN18 editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted, “Deep condolences to family of Jehangir Pocha. Life is transient, but was lived well. RIP”
Anupam Kher’s tweet: “Can’t believe that @JehangirPocha is no more. Just spoke to him few days back. One of the best journalists & human beings. So so sad. RIP”
Senior news TV journalist Dibang tweeted: “Oh suddenly @JehangirPocha passes away #RIP Life is transient, can end suddenly; we plan for future, now is the only moment we have: #Kabir
Colors TV CEO Raj Nayak had this to say in his tweet: “A friend who tweeted 10 hrs ago, who came to meet me few days back to discuss his future plans is suddenly no more @JehangirPocha RIP #Life“
Journalist and digital entrepreneur Govind Ethiraj tweeted “RIP wonderful guy, India’s best China journalist, great writer.”
The soft spoken Pocha’s tweeted late last night: “Hurrying Home…”
Pocha’s tweet was in response to a news clipping that he had attached with it. It referred to a High court judgement stating that “constantly reaching home late from work without informing your wife amounts to cruelty. “
He is survived by his wife Ranjana and twins.
RIP! Jehangir.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
