News Broadcasting
Zee Media names its Global English News Channel – ‘WION’ (World Is One News)
MUMBAI: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) today announced that its Global English News Channel, slated to be launched this summer, will be called ‘WION – World is One News’. The channel will report global news and issues from a South Asian perspective.
Commenting on the new channel, Essel Group & ZEE chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Zee Media’s new Global English News Channel – WION, will look to offer a seamless experience to empower, educate and energise our discerning viewers. Inspired by the Group’s motto, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam-The World is My Family”, WION aptly stands for ‘World is One News’ and will give a global view of the world with a South Asian lens.”
Sharing more details on the news network, English News Broadcast and Related Content Editor-in-Chief Rohit Gandhi said, “With WION, we will meet the aspirations of 2 billion South Asians by delivering a global News network reflecting a South Asian world perspective. It’s high time for South Asian reporting from front lines, war zones and prominent global capitals.”
“While a TV channel is the face of this mobile-first start-up, our news gathering, reporting, production and publishing processes are an ambitious leap into a multi-screen future. We aim to disrupt conventional ways of thinking about news and set a new template for storytelling across platforms,” further added.
“WION’s target audience is Generation Z, not in terms of age, but in terms of values, beliefs and attitude. A generation that is global, social, visual and tech savvy” said ZMCL releasing a media statement.
WION is a mobile/digital first platform and later will be an international television channel. The news content will be available to audiences at their convenience, on their preferred screens. The network will use technology to bring in user-generated content, it is the audience’s voice that will define WION. Its newsgathering teams will be equipped with mobile technology for an ‘anytime-anywhere’ live approach.
WION will have bureaus across the globe. Using a mix of young and seasoned journalists with diverse nationalities, WION will dare to be on the forefront of what’s happening today in thought-provoking ways.
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.
