ITV

Tag: Headlines Today

  • India Today to hold a roundtable in New York

    India Today to hold a roundtable in New York

    NEW DELHII: The India Today group, will flag off Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most important foreign trip to the United States with a news roundtable in New York. The day long conclave promises to be a landmark event that will address the issues and key points behind Modi’s maiden visit to the US since taking over office.

     

    While leaders of the two largest democracies meet and set agenda of international impact, the India Today Global Roundtable will make sense of the power talks and the implications on the road ahead. The high profile Roundtable event will see the presence of the most powerful personalities and thought leaders from across the globe. The discussions will cover the pertinent topics in the wake of the growing Indo – US ties.

     

    The event will be graced by stalwarts from the United States including Former US secretary of Defence and The Cohen group chairman William Cohen, former United States ambassador to India Frank Wisner, India Caucus senate director Mark Brunner, Brookings Institution Project on International Order and Strategy director Bruce Jones, Virginia House of Delegates member Tim Hugo and many more.

     

    Key Indian personalities and American citizens of Indian origin will be adding to the discussions with an Indian perspective. The illustrious speakers will include congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, Intelligence bureau former director  Nehchal Sandhu, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh,  CCI president  Ajay Shriram,  BJP MP Jayant Sinha,  CCI director general Chandrajit Banerjee, Columbia University professor  Jagdish Bhagwati.

     

    The exclusive telecast of the event can be seen through the day on 26th and 27th September on Headlines Today.

  • Vinay Tewari joins Headlines Today as managing editor

    Vinay Tewari joins Headlines Today as managing editor

    MUMBAI: Taking charge of TV Today Network’s English news channel Headlines Today as the new managing editor is Vinay Tewari.

     

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Tewari said that he would be joining the organisation from 1 October. His role would be to build the brand of Headlines Today. He will report to India Today Group chief creative officer and India Today Group digital chief operating officer Kalli Purie.

     

    Tewari will take charge of a position that was vacated by Nalin Mehta early this year. Prior to this, he was with Network 18 as managing editor of CNN-IBN. He was also assigned the responsibility of IBN7.

     

    This will be his second stint with the company. He was earlier Hindi channel Aaj Tak’s Delhi bureau head and also had the responsibility of bringing synergy between the Hindi and English news channel.

     

    He had started his two decade long career in 1993 with the Pioneer before moving to The Times of India. 

  • Rajdeep Sardesai joins India Today Group as consulting editor

    Rajdeep Sardesai joins India Today Group as consulting editor

    MUMBAI:  After a hiatus of three months, former editor-in-chief of IBN18, Rajdeep Sardesai has decided to move to India Today Group as consulting editor.

     

    Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that he would be looking at joining TV Today in August.

     

    Sardesai announced his new assignment via a tweet “Delighted to be joining TV Today network, India’s largest news network, as consulting editor. Looking forward to working with a great team.” He will be contributing to the revamp of the channel and its alignment with digital assets of the group. 

     

    At first, he will be doing a prime time show on its English channel Headlines Today. On his appointment, India Today Group chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie said, “Rajdeep has been an asset to whichever team he has belonged to, including the cricketing ones. Great to have him with us. I know he will hit the ball out of the park for team India Today.”

     

    Recently, the network saw Shekhar Gupta move out of his full time role into a consulting position. The network also saw Karan Thapar and Boria Majumdar join earlier this year. 

     

    Sardesai has worked with NDTV and CNN-IBN. Prior to this, he was working with Times of India in Mumbai. Recently, he just concluded writing a book on Indian elections while simultaneously launching his own website ‘Breaking Views’.

  • Rahul Shivshankar is now NewsX editor in chief

    Rahul Shivshankar is now NewsX editor in chief

    MUMBAI: The spate of changes at ITV Network that runs NewsX and India News continues. The latest is the elevation of current managing editor of NewsX Rahul Shivshankar to the post of editor in chief of the English news channel.

     

    He had joined NewsX in September 2013 in his second stint at the channel. Shivshankar is the face of the channel’s weekday prime time show Nation@9:00pm and India Debates.

     

    Prior to rejoining NewsX, he was executive editor of Headlines Today and senior editor at Times Now. He has also worked on the editorial page of Times of India. He has a total of 20 years of experience.

     

    Speaking on his elevation, ITV Network managing director Kartikeya Sharma said, “I am delighted to recognise the talent of Rahul Shivshankar. He is a celebrated name in the news fraternity and has an incredible drive and vision, which makes him a wonderful choice to lead the channel. Bringing in talent of the caliber of Rahul and enlarging his role, will allow Rahul and his team to accelerate our move into a continuous and dynamic model of innovating in the news genre. Under Rahul’s tenure, NewsX has become India’s leading English news channel with a consistent performance of being a market leader and in a short span time, it has attained a leadership edge over its competition and is a force to reckon with in the English news genre. Rahul has been instrumental in reorganising content strategies and news operations with greater creativity and flexibility and has developed more cohesive and unique experiences for our audiences. He’s been everything I could ever want in an editor and I cannot imagine a better choice at NewsX for editor in chief. Congratulations Rahul—you more than deserve it.” 

     

    His first stint at the channel was between 2011 and 2012. He was also one of the core members who launched Headlines Today in 2003.

     

    ITV Network group CEO RK Arora feels that this move will strengthen the network’s commitment to become India’s largest and most profitable TV news network. “We have assembled the most talented journalists in ITV Network and Rahul’s elevation as editor in chief will help us leverage his skills and experience to deliver breaking news with context and perspective on the most important stories. I am confident that Rahul will bring NewsX to greater heights than it’s ever known.”

     

    Shivshankar has extensively documented the attack on Nariman House in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 in an anthology of investigative narratives published by Roli Books.

     

    “I am deeply honored. I have been blessed with a team of incredibly talented and creative people that work tirelessly to bring to life stories told with a rare degree of nuance, objectivity and accuracy. This collective effort and enterprise has catapulted News X to a leadership position in the English news space. This role provides me with an exciting opportunity to shape the future of news TV,” said Shivshankar.

  • Vinay Tewari quits Network 18

    Vinay Tewari quits Network 18

    MUMBAI: Adding to the list of the latest exits from Network 18, CNN-IBN and IBN7 managing editor Vinay Tewari has quit the company.

     

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Tewari said that he is evaluating his future course of action. Unconfirmed media reports state that he may be joining Headlines Today.

     

    Tewari has been associated with the network for nearly a decade. Prior to that, he was with TV today for three years, The Times of India for eight years and The Pioneer. 

     

    At Network 18, he was responsible for all special projects and news gathering operations.

     

    Initially Tewari was handling just the English channel but after Ashutosh quit as managing editor of IBN7 earlier this year to join the Aam Aadmi Party, Tewari was given the mandate of the Hindi channel as well.

  • Aditya Birla Group may exit India Today Group

    Aditya Birla Group may exit India Today Group

    MUMBAI: Even as rumours of the Adani group wanting to buy out NDTV is looming large, another company has decided to exit from the media business. The one so charming industry doesn’t seem to be boding well for all, it seems.

     

    According to media reports, the Aditya Birla Group is planning to cash out its investment in Living Media India, the holding company of the India Today Group and is said to have appointed Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofA-ML) for exiting the two year old investment in the Aroon Purie controlled group.

     

    Living Media acts as a holding company and owns 57.2 per cent stake in TV Today Network. The listed company controls its broadcasting assets, including Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, and operates its publishing business, which includes a host of magazines such as India Today.

     

    The Birla group bought 27.5 stake in May 2012 and had at that time said it saw media as a sunrise sector from an investment point of view and that Living Media offered one of the best opportunities for growth and value creation.

     

    Even though the companies never disclosed the price of the stake sale, according to experts, TV Today network was then valued at around Rs 1300-1400 crore and Birla paid about Rs 350 crore to buy the stake.

     

    Aditya Birla Group has also previously forayed into the media business through a production company Applause Entertainment in 2003 which shut down in 2009. The production house is known for Amitabh Bachchan starrer Black.

     

    The stake sale comes on the backdrop of Mukesh Ambani’s RIL taken over media house Network 18 gaining control over IBNlive.com, Moneycontrol.com, Firstpost.com, Cricketnext.in, Homeshop18, Bookmyshow.com and broadcast channels like Colors, CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and CNBC Awaaz, all run by Network18.

  • Nalin Mehta joins TOI Delhi as consulting editor

    Nalin Mehta joins TOI Delhi as consulting editor

    MUMBAI: After his brief stint of seven months at Headlines Today, Nalin Mehta has now switched places as the new consulting editor of the Times of India. Mehta, who joined the organisation on 8 August, will be based out of New Delhi, highly placed sources have confirmed to indiantelevision.com.

     

    Prior to this, he was managing editor of Headlines Today. Mehta has had a long association in the media industry starting off in the broadcast media as a journalist with Zee News and then moving on to NDTV. After completion of his PhD, he became deputy news editor and prime time anchor with Times Now.

     

    By moving back to the print sector, sources say, Mehta has taken a break from the broadcast media for a while.

     

    He has also written several books on the media industry such as India on Television, Olympics: The India Story (co authored by Boria Majumdar) and Television in India. Currently, he is also working on his next untitled book.

     

    Recently, another notable anchor, CNN-IBN deputy editor Sagarika Ghose had also announced her plan to join Times of India as consulting editor from New Delhi.

     

  • Finance Minister’s interview on Headlines Today leads as the No.1 FM Interview

    Finance Minister’s interview on Headlines Today leads as the No.1 FM Interview

    MUMBAI: Headlines Today dominate the FM interview ratings in the English News genre with Karan Thapar’s, ‘Nothing But The Truth’ special show. The channel took coverage around the Budget to new levels with the show hosted by Karan Thapar, leaving interviews of the FM across other channels far behind.

    The Finance Minister faced a slew of blunt questions and direct concerns around the Budget on the show.   The candid responses by the FM on the criticisms and the clear cut interviewing style of Karan Thapar ensured that viewers got their fill on all news and views around the Budget. The show led with over 13 TVT 000s (Source: TAM, Market -6 Metros, TG- CS 25+ M AB).

    Karan Thapar among the most respected journalists stands out for his unique and direct interviewing style. He has interviewed the biggest names in News and brings with him, his expertise in hard hitting One- on-One interviews.  This interview with the FM, besides a series of other prominent interviews has carved a position for the hard hitting interview show – ‘Nothing but the Truth with Karan Thapar’.

    Maximum Ratings of Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley’s interview across English News Channels

    1.Source: TAM, Market -6 Metros, TG- CS 25+ M AB

    2.Source: TAM, Market All India, TG- CS 25+ M AB

     

  • There is no foundation funded journalism in India: Shekhar Gupta

    There is no foundation funded journalism in India: Shekhar Gupta

    MUMBAI:  Social media is the new hub for news breaks.  The role that the platform played during the recently concluded ‘election of the century’ set the tone for the future of journalism in the country.  And stressing on the same was India Today group editor in chief of news properties and vice –chairman Shekhar Gupta at a session on ‘Media and Governance’ at Indian Merchants Chamber.

     

    Gupta said that social media like Twitter will affect governance in India. Calling social media as the new form of journalism that is used to break many stories, he also cautioned that it spreads urban mythologies. He went on to add that  if a war like situation arises, leaders having mass following on Twitter will find it difficult to control a “Twitter storm” from the Twitterati.  Gupta also expects the new government to make phone calls to media owners and it is during this time the media will be tested he said.

     

    Speaking about the turnover of the Indian media industry he quoted  a press article which mentions that the total turnover of the Indian media industry including entertainment is less than that  of telecom giant Bharti Airtel.

     

    He pointed out that India’s demographics and an aggressive literate policy were fuelling the growth in Indian media. He compared the outburst of channels and publications in the media to the 1962 war where the Indian army had expanded suddenly. He also lamented about the fact that today’s TV journalist were inadequately trained in classrooms as well as newsrooms and as such the media is going down the value chain.

     

    At a time when serious discussions are taking place about media ownership with the latest one being Reliance Industries’ acquisition of Network18, Gupta said that the media has always been owned by the corporate and stated, “There is no foundation funded journalism in India”. He also said that large corporate companies are not in the business to milk money out of media organisations as for them the investment is too less.  Gupta said the only worry for him was “funny people” owning the media. He explained how a particular political family at the regional level controls the distribution of media in a north Indian state.

     

    Speaking about the ad revenue of news channels, he explained that FMCG advertisers like soaps, toothpastes and aerated drinks first go to general entertainment channels (GECs) like Star Plus, Colors or Sony where they get high viewership. The second option is sports channels which again have high viewership and last in line are news channels that have no choice left and have to offer ad slots at cheaper rates.

     

    Gupta was previously the editor in chief of Indian Express and a well known host on NDTV for his show Walk the Talk. When asked what will be his new role at India Today group, he said that his essential job was still the same although it was a different universe. “It is still what it was, except it is not a broadsheet daily. This group is diverse as it has 36 titles including magazines and channels like Headlines Today and Aaj Tak,” he said.

  • Rajdeep Sardesai-Sagarika Ghose to join India Today group?

    Rajdeep Sardesai-Sagarika Ghose to join India Today group?

    MUMBAI: India’s power news couple – Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghose – may be headed for Aroon Purie’s India Today group.

     

    While Sagarika is joining Living Media magazine India Today as editor at large, Rajdeep is reported to have got an offer to join the TV Today Network, which he confirmed to Indiantelevision.com.

     

    Said Sardesai: “Yes, Shekhar Gupta – vice-chairman, India Today group and editor in chief of news properties and I have been in discussion and we go back a long way. But I have not yet taken a decision. I am currently, focusing on my book for the next six weeks as I have to complete it by then.”

     

     Sources close to the India Today group however revealed that both Sagarika and Rajdeep have accepted the offer made to them. Their joining date is expected to be 1 August.  

     

    The India Today group has gone through some changes on the editorial front in the past few months with the magazine’s editor Kaveree Bamzai stepping down, Headlines Today managing editor Nalin Mehta quitting and Karan Thapar launching his show on the channel. 

     

    Sources indicate that Gupta has decided to give the group a new independent editorial thrust, something along the lines that the Indian Express group had in its heydays.