News Broadcasting
Times Now becomes ‘India’s election news HQ’
MUMBAI: It was at this year’s FICCI Frames where Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in his keynote speech said that from 1 April the channel will undergo a change.
Rightly so, as the new financial year began, the new shows on Times Now underwent change to suit the political mood of the country.
Calling itself ‘India’s Election News Headquarter’, the 15 new shows have been lined up for both weekdays and weekends. A few more are expected in the coming weeks. The new programming will be on from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm till 16 May and called as the ‘Super Prime Time’. The biggest of them all is the extension of ‘The Newshour’ on Sunday.
The weekday lineup includes:
-India 2014 – Live Report, a show that gets you the biggest election news story of the day from across the country at 6:00 pm
-India 2014 – Wide Angle is a one-stop destination for the viewer to catch all the political news in a quick and a succinct format, at 6.30 pm
-India 2014 – Politics, a pure political show features the buzz worthy stories of the day, at 7:00 pm
-India 2014 – Politics Central, a show that gets you all the political alliance of significance, the most noteworthy campaign of the day, the most controversial statement of a leader, at 7.30 pm
-India 2014 – Blueprint, a show that reveals all the drama, the buzz, the impact of the biggest political stories of the day at 8:00 pm
-News Deck, a short three to four minutes segment that provides additional information on the news of the day through accurate historical data on constituencies, percentage of votes, facts and statistics of electorate and candidates.
-The Flip, an interesting one minute format which focuses on the politician who has retracted from his earlier statement, by bringing out both versions of his statements, exposing the fact behind his u-turn
-Political Juice, to launch closure to the last phase of elections, this live show from Times Now will showcase the most important news of the day at 7:00 pm
The weekend lineup includes:
-Access, shooting the leaders in their natural environment as they campaign, this show aims to take the viewer closer to the leader, giving him a complete flavour of the elections frenzy, at 7.30 pm on weekends.
-India’s Watershed Elections, a six episode series tracking the electoral archives of the country, how governments were formed right from the first one by Nehru till today, weekends at 11:30 am
-Real Politik, the show looks at those politicians who are in the tumbles of tough politics, in an informal setting and gives an insight into the persona behind the politician, at Saturdays – 9:30 pm and Sundays – 5:30 pm
-Showdown, a two minutes segment on all seven days, that will brings out the news stories in a nut shell with key constituencies profiled with candidates and their stand on the issues
-Political Juice, the most talked about news of the day is featured in a two minutes segment, giving the viewer the highlight of the day in a concise format, all through the week
– Your Voice & Your Vote, the voice of the electorate, ‘Your Voice Your vote’ in a short 30 to 40 second vignette format, features people voicing their key issues and their expectations from the new government. These will play throughout the weeks
-Politics Now, are fast news wrap format bulletins which give news updates in a crisp two to three minutes
Says Times Now, ET Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul, “Times Now has always led the elections news coverage whether the recently held 5 states election or others. This time around will be no exception as Times Now, with its most comprehensive line up of over 15 new shows and formats has virtually turned in to Election News Headquarters. In addition to this Times Now will continue with its endeavour to keep our viewers updated with all news during this crucial election period to make their voting decision easier.”
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.
