MUMBAI: Like so many others before her, she took to Twitter to announce her departure from the network she has been associated with for so long. CNN-IBN deputy editor Sagarika Ghose tweeted late on the night of 3 July: “Goodbye CNN-IBN. God bless!”
Sagarika had gone on leave with her husband IBN18 editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai last month and expectations were that she would return if one went by the email he had sent out to his team about their departure.
Speculation, however, was that she would not return to the channel – part of the Network18 group, now owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries – and would probably hop over to the Aroon Purie and TV Today Network owned English news channel Headlines Today.
She also sent out a message to her colleagues at CNN-IBN in which she stated that she was leaving to try her hand at something “a little more challenging and creative, explore new vistas in reportage and commentary after almost a quarter of a century in journalism, among them 9 fabulous years at CNN-IBN.”
She added in the message: “CNNIBN has not only been an integral part of my life for almost every waking minute these past years, but more important, working with you has been a joy and an honour. At CNNIBN, an incredible team of professionals brought total commitment and integrity to reporting the news. We put journalism first and because of that we became a trusted and much loved brand.
“A free fearless press is the infrastructure of democracy–without it the term “citizenship” is diminished indeed. CNNIBN was always free and responsible! That’s why it became such an incredible success, so beloved of viewers. We created magic and that magic touched millions of lives, and the magic will remain with each of us always! The words of John Tusa, the venerable former director general of BBC World Service come to me: “Journalists cannot become the outriders of authority…but the freedom we have is the freedom to be responsible,” continued Sagarika in the message.
She ended it with: “Good bye is an unhappy word. I prefer au revoir..until we meet again.”
It is not known whether Rajdeep too will be following in the footsteps of his wife and announcing his departure from the news network, but once again speculation is that it is only a matter of time. Apparently, he has an offer to pen a book from Penguin.
Sagarika is the daughter of former DD director general Bhaskar Ghose, who strove to change the face of the pubcaster.
Meanwhile, even as she posted her farewell on Twitter and in a message, her husband announced on Twitter that he is “reading Dilip Kumar bio and listening to SJ/Mukesh/Shailendra classic: yeh mera deewanapan hai.. Bliss! Gnight, shubhratri.”
