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  • Network18 Q2-2015 results a little better q-o-q and y-o-y

    Network18 Q2-2015 results a little better q-o-q and y-o-y

    BENGALURU: Bringing Network18 Media and Investments Limited (Network 18) to the black is still work in progress for its new board, but it should get there soon, considering the company’s Q2-2015 numbers and TAM data for its bouquet of news and GEC channels led by Colors, CNBC, CNN-IBN and ETV among others.

     

    Please refer to the attached financial performance statement and press release for the various figures and TAM data reported by Network18.
     
    Network18 reported 11.2 per cent y-o-y and 5.1 per cent q-o-q growth in consolidated Total Income from Operations (TIO) in Q2-2015. The company’s consolidated TIO in Q2-2015 was Rs 744.84 crore versus Rs 669.85 crore in Q2-2014 and Rs 708.39 crore in Q1-2015. Corresponding HY-2015 and HY-2014 TIO numbers were Rs 1226.48 crore and Rs 1023.98 crore respectively, indicating a decent 18.1 per cent growth in the current half year.
     
    Note:  100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore
     
    Let us look at the other Q2-2015 and HY-2015 numbers reported by Network18
     
    Consolidated loss for Q2-2015 was lower at Rs 36.47 crore versus the one time adjusted massive loss of Rs 1021.88 crore in the last quarter and the Rs 36.28 crore in Q2-2014. Loss in HY-2015 has widened to a huge Rs 1058.35 crore because of the Q1-2015 adjustments, versus the Rs 20.93 crore loss in HY-2014.
     
    Correspondingly, consolidated profit before depreciation, interest and taxes (PBDIT) numbers for the current quarter has improved to Rs 33.6 crore which was 36.2 per cent higher than Rs 24.7 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and 14.9 per cent more than the Rs 29.3 crore in the year ago quarter. In H1-2015, consolidated PBDIT at Rs. 58.3 crore was 6 times (up 514 per cent) more than the Rs. 9.5 crore in H1-2014.
     
    The company’s consolidated total expenditure at Rs 746.90 crore (100.3 per cent of TIO) was 1.8 per cent more than the Rs 733.45 crore (103.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 11.5 per cent more than the Rs 670.1 crore (fractionally more than 100 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 total expenditure at Rs 1480.36 crore (101.9 per cent of TIO) was 15.5 per cent more than the Rs 1281.92 crore (104.5 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
     
    Consolidated Programming cost at Rs 172.39 crore (23.1 per cent of TIO) was 1.7 per cent more than the Rs 169.54 crore (26.7 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 10.5 per cent more than the Rs 143.84 crore (21.5 per cent of TIO)in Q2-2014. HY-2015 programming cost at Rs 341.93 crore (23.5 per cent of TIO) was 46.9 per cent more than the Rs 232.71 crore (19 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding half year -period of last year.
     
    Finance costs in Q2-2015 was 6 per cent lower at Rs 29.01 crore (3.9 per cent of TIO) versus the Rs 30.88 crore (4.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 4.3 per cent more than the Rs 27.83 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Finance costs in HY-2015 at Rs 59.89 crore (4.1 per cent of TIO) was 0.6 per cent more than the Rs 59.53 crore (4.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
     
    On a consolidated basis, two segments contribute to the company’s numbers – Media Operations (MO) and Film production and distribution (Film).
     

    Consolidated Segment figures
     
    MO revenue in Q2-2015 was 4.5 per cent more at Rs 727.94 crore versus the Rs 694.08 crore in Q1-2015 and 19.3 per cent more than the Rs 607.8 crore in Q2-2014. In HY-2015, MO reported revenue of Rs 1419.05 crore which was 23.8 per cent more than the Rs 1146.61 crore in HY-2014.
     
    MO reported operating profit of Rs 3.88 crore in Q2-2015 versus an operating loss of Rs 83.88 crore in Q1-2015 and an operating profit of Rs 9.46 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, operating loss from MO widened to Rs 79.90 crore from Rs 30.39 crore in HY-2014.
     
    Film segment reported 38.7 per cent higher revenue at Rs 19.85 crore in Q2-2015 versus the Rs 14.32 crore in Q1-2015, but was 68 per cent lower than the Rs 62.05 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, Film segment revenue fell by 57.7 per cent to Rs 34.17 crore from Rs 80.85 crore in HY-2014.
     
    Film segment reported operating loss of Rs 4.38 crore in Q2-2015, operating loss of Rs 0.95 crore in Q1-2015 against an operating profit of Rs 3.13 crore. For HY-2015, this segment’s operating loss for both HY-2015 and HY-2014 was Rs 5.33 crore .
     

    Network18 Standalone Q2-2015 and HY-2015 numbers
     
    On a standalone basis, Network18 reported lower TIO in Q2-2015 at Rs 16.80 crore versus the Rs 17.77 crore in Q1-2015 and the Rs 29.23 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TIO at Rs 57.95 crore was better than the Rs 34.58 crore in HY-2014. Standalone loss for Q2-2015 at Rs 18.52 crore was lower than the Rs 637.96 crore in Q1-2015 (one-time adjustment) and the Rs 32.59 crore in Q2-2014.
     

    Standalone segment figures
     
    Three segments contributed to Network18 standalone numbers – Event Management (EM), Web operations (WO) and Publishing business (publishing).
     
    Event management had no revenue in Q2-2015 and Q1-2015, and Rs 8.95 crore revenue in Q2-2014. Operating losses from this segment in Q2-2015, Q1-2015 and Q2-2014 were Rs 0.11 crore, Rs 0.06 crore and Rs 0.76 crore respectively.
     
    WO reported revenue of Rs 12.98 crore in Q2-2015, Rs 12.68 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 9.22 crore in Q2-2014. Operating losses from this segment were Rs 2.75 crore in Q2-2015, Rs 3.99 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 9.99 crore in Q2-2014.
     
    Publishing segment reported revenue of Rs 3.82 crore in Q2-2015, Rs 5.09 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 10.59 crore in Q2-2015. Operating losses from this segment were Rs 1.66 crore in Q2-2015, Rs 2.29 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 3.91 crore in Q2-2014.
     
    Additional Notes
     
    1.       Pursuant to the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), the Group has, effective from 1st April, 2014, reassessed the useful life of its fixed assets and has computed depreciation with reference to the useful life of assets as recommended in Schedule II to the Act. . Consequently Depreciation for the quarter and half year ended 30th September is higher by Rs.1.16 crore and Rs.9.78 crore respectively and net loss is higher by Rs. 1.16 crore nd Rs.9.78 crore respectively. Further, based on the transitional provision provided in Schedule II, an amount of Rs. 7.13  crore has been adjusted with the opening reserves during the half year ended 30th September 2014.
     
    2.        During the quarter ended 30th June, 2014, based on a review of the (i) investments, and (ii) other current and non-current assets, the Group has accounted for (a) diminution in the value of certain investments to the extent of Rs. 142.83 crore and goodwill Rs. 234.78 crore; (b) obsolescence/impairment in the value of certain tangible and intangible assets to the extent of Rs. 127.43 crore and (b) write-off and provisions of non-recoverable and doubtful loans/advances /receivables to the extent of Rs. 519.41 crore and the same has been disclosed as Exceptional Items. Further, Exceptional Items for the said quarter ended 30th June 2014 also includes Rs. 20.94 crore towards severance pay and consultancy charges. However, these adjustments will have no impact on the future operating profit and cash flows of the businesses of the Group.
     
     
    3.       Equator Trading Enterprises Private Limited (“Equator”) including its subsidiaries Panorama Television Private Limited and Prism TV Private Limited had become wholly owned subsidiary of the Company with effect from 22nd January, 2014. Hence, the consolidated results of the current period also include the results of these subsidiary companies. Eenadu Television Private Limited had also become an associate with effect from 22nd January 2014 and its results have been accounted as “Associate” under accounting standard 23 on Accounting for Investments in Associates in Consolidated Financial Statements. To this extent, the results of this period are not comparable with the corresponding previous period.

     

     

    Click here for the financial statement

  • 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. 

  • ITV Network appoints Manish Chettri as senior VP and national head SKOPE

    ITV Network appoints Manish Chettri as senior VP and national head SKOPE

    MUMBAI: ITV Network, which runs the English news channel NewsX and a clutch of channels under India News, has appointed Manish Chettri as senior vice president and national head SKOPE.

     

    He will be responsible for creating concepts both in the B2B and B2C space as well as contribute to the channels’ leadership position and revenue mix. Working closely with the marketing team, he will be responsible in the creation of new intellectual properties, format selling, syndications, partnerships and delivering additional solutions to existing and new advertisers.

     

    He was earlier with Network18 as VP and national head B2B initiatives for CNBC TV18. Chettri has also worked with companies such as Hindustan Times, Times Internet, Confederation of Indian Industry, Mudra Communications and CIM India.

     

    ITV Network MD Kartikeya Sharma said, “Manish brings to ITV network a rich combination of sales and strategic marketing that makes him ideal to scale and lead our sales force, for experiential advertising which will undoubtedly enhance ITV Network’s win velocity. Manish’s proven track record in B2B and B2C relationship building and focused revenue generation will help us build on our forward momentum and enable ITV Network to sustain this rapid growth. We look forward to leveraging Manish’s sales leadership to realise the exciting opportunity we see in front of us.”

     

    ITV Network group CEO RK Arora reposes faith in Chettri adding value to the network and help its objective of being India’s most profitable TV network. He said, “Manish is a phenomenal addition to our leadership team and brings a tremendous wealth of experience with him. His customer-focus and in-depth experience in IP creation, B2B events, strategic alliances, brand building and sales, will strengthen ITV Network’s commitment and its objective of becoming India’s largest TV news network. I am confident that Manish will take ITV network to greater heights than it’s ever known.”

     

     “I am excited to join ITV Network at this pivotal time,” Chettri said. “The battle for maximising revenue in the broadcasting industry is going through a sea of change wherein companies are looking at alternate forms of revenue apart from the traditional advertising sales. I look forward to using my experience to further enhance ITV Network’s performance, profitability and growth.”

  • Gautam Bhanot joins NewsX as national revenue head

    Gautam Bhanot joins NewsX as national revenue head

    MUMBAI: ITV Network, which runs news channels NewsX and India News, has roped in Gautam Bhanot as the national revenue head for its English channel. He will be responsible for the overall sales and revenue generation of NewsX.

    He will focus on growing the top line while also looking at creating new revenue streams and opportunities. Bhanot has 16 years of experience with his last sting being at Network18 where he was national sales head for CNN-IBN for nine years.

    Prior to this, he was with CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz as VP sales for north region. He’s also worked with The Times of India, Economic Times and Tej Bandhu Group.

    ITV Network MD Kartikeya Sharma said, “Gautam brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will be invaluable in unlocking the potential value of brand NewsX. I am confident that Gautam with his in depth understanding of media sales combined with his dynamism and leadership as a sales professional will be a great asset to the organisation.”

    ITV Network group CEO RK Arora said, “We are delighted to have Gautam on board at this exciting time of growth and expansion at ITV Network. We are certain that his experience and understanding of the business will benefit NewsX as we strive to continue to be the market leader in English news genre, in line with ITV Network’s objective of becoming India’s profitable and largest TV news network.”

    Bhanot said, “I believe the industry is going through a transformational phase wherein programming formats, news consumption patterns, technology platforms all are evolving and hence the opportunity to learn and contribute is immense. My agenda will be to enhance the offerings of NewsX and partner with new and existing clients, to deliver delight and grow the revenue stream.”

  • RIL will stand the test of time: Raghav Bahl

    RIL will stand the test of time: Raghav Bahl

    MUMBAI: He was much in the media about three months ago when he had sold his baby to an Indian business tycoon. After spending two months in the US researching for his ‘second innings’ as he calls it, Network18 founder and non-executive director Raghav Bahl is back in business.

     

    Speaking at the TV.Nxt 2014 summit with Vanita Kohli Khandekar, Bahl seemed at ease while talking about his 18 successful years in the business and what could have been avoided. He highlights two life changing situations for his company with the first being in 1999, when he decided to move from a software and content production company to a broadcasting one. ”If you want to scale up you had to be in broadcast and we clearly wanted to be in the news side of it. It was no fun in being a 10 per cent player,” he says.

     

     

    The second string of life was in 2007-08 when Viacom came to India looking for a partner and along with Network18 created the GEC Colors. ”They thought that if CNN and CNBC could coexist in the same balance sheet then they must be doing something right,” he proudly says adding that their main point was being a news company that entered the entertainment field. 

     

     

    “When the parent is a news company, we have a draconian law in India that a single Indian shareholder has to have 51 per cent of the news broadcast company, which meant I had to have 51 per cent at any point of time. That’s draconian for a single first generation entrepreneur. A lot of issues that TV18 faced were due to this, which is a less understood facet of the company,” he adds.

     

    However, he also agrees that his peak investment phase in 2008 including diverging into HomeShop18 and Infomedia was a classical error because it coincided with the economic depression. ”We were losing about Rs 2 crore a day with cash loss of Rs 750 crore.” he admits. Although in 2009-10 he got an infusion of Rs 1000 crore equity capital, Bahl says that he should have used at least half of it to reduce debts than expand.

     

    As popularly perceived that news is a loss making business, Bahl disagrees by saying that it actually makes a lot of money. Network 18’s news side was making Rs 700 crore to Rs 800 crore topline which it reinvested back in the business. “Which is why it seemed like it was making losses,” he says.

     

     

    Bahl also points out that in the last four months, the company has launched six channels. ”Our EBIDTA was Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore. This is very healthy.  Out of this, Rs 100 crore EBIDTA comes from CNBC business,” he informs. As per him, the nearest competitor to Network18 reaps Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore in topline.

     

    He is unperturbed about the hype that surrounded Reliance Industries’ takeover of his company. ”There has been a lot of prejudgment regarding RIL. Just because we were a news company, we were in focus because there is an institutional morality built into it. The larger the biz house, the more the issue,”  he says, while adding that Ronnie Screwvala’s deal of selling UTV to Disney didn’t come as much under media scanner as his company. The deal with Mukesh Ambani was a contractual commitment that was declared as convertible debentures on the first day. He hopes well for Network 18 in its new owners’ hands. ”Few years down the line, its balance sheet will be good,” he says. Side by side, he also foresees subscription revenues to grow to Rs 1000 to Rs 1500.

     

    Addressing the slew of exits from the company after his own departure, Bahl asserts that those were just a few, while dozens have stayed loyal including R Jagannathan from Firstpost and Senthil Chengalvarayan, Menaka Doshi and Latha Venkatesh from CNBC-TV18. ”We just assume that the owner wants to compromise. I think Reliance Industries will stand the test of time,” he asserts.

     

    Fear of journalism being tampered with is also a big question with the acquisition. Bahl feels that people undervalue Indian journalism. ”The world thinks it is power but it actually is a thankless business,” he says. Media in India is independent and plural with no media having more than 5-7 per cent voice, he adds.

     

    With digital on the rise, which is also to be Bahl’s second stint at entrepreneurship, he believes that it will be the biggest competition to news, though not immediately but in the next 10 years. He has chosen to tread the path of mobile news. ”I am out of the TV business but news is my first love. There is a large amount of innovation happening in news. The way I serve, target, personalise and curate content will be important,” says he. According to him, the next generation news companies won’t be just content focused but will be a 50:50 share of content and technology. At the same time, the engineer will be as important as the editor. 

     

    Khandekar said that this view was similar to what Google is doing by offering news. But Bahl clarified that Google does not create content, it only curates content. In today’s world even big media companies, curate content apart from its original ones. But what matters most to the consumer is the experience. ”Anybody who says that he won’t curate or aggregate content is living in the medieval age. A journalist is a curator himself. But, the quality of original content will be the differentiating factor,” he stresses. His two month experience in the US has also taught him that in order to have a good brand, one needs at least 33-40 per cent original stuff.

     

     

    While company acquisitions happen world over, Bahl feels that the industry does need capital in it. He feels that technology companies will find it difficult to enter the news business but news creators can learn technology easily. According to him New York Times and Times of India are examples of how companies have adopted better technology while online sites such as Vice and Vox have emerged into the digital era with high quality production of news. 

    Finally talking about the huge sum of money that Bahl pocketed from the transaction, he says that although it has taken away his insecurity, it has also made him more sensible.

  • Rakesh Khar joins Network 18 as operations GM

    Rakesh Khar joins Network 18 as operations GM

    MUMBAI: Network 18 has roped in a senior hand to head its operations. Rakesh Khar has recently joined the company as its general manger operations. This is his second stint with the company.

     

    Khar has a rich experience across several news channels over a period of nearly three decades. He has worked as  Zee Media consulting editor and as editor of Zee Research Group, Financial Chronicle as senior editor, Sahara Samay as strategic planning head and network business editor, Zee News executive editor, TV18 assistant editor, The Economic Times corporate editor and the Kashmir Times staff correspondent.

     

    Based out of Delhi, Khar has experience ranging from conceptualisation, execution, operations and strategy. He has built several editorial teams in print and TV news organisations.

     

    In the past couple of months, the network has seen several changes, after its acquisition by Reliance Industries led Mukesh Ambani. 

  • Reliance Industries’ execs meet Network18 employees

    Reliance Industries’ execs meet Network18 employees

    MUMBAI: The Network18 office in Empire Mills Complex, in central Mumbai had some new visitors on 8 July 2014. Alok Agrawal who has been appointed as group COO of Network18, non-executive director Rohit Bansal and Reliance Industries Ltd’s media director Umesh Upadhyay held a town hall meeting with the entire staff of TV18 that includes CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN Lokmat and History TV18.

     

    Attendees say it was a feel-good meeting and to reassure the employees about RIL’s honorable intentions for them all. The employees were told that the megacorp has full faith in them and hence had invested in the Network18 group and the objective was to make it a global brand.

     

    “There is no oil beneath your ground, if you are concerned about our motive,” is what one of them was heard to have said. Narrating an incident of the day founder Raghav Bahl finalised the deal, one of the members said, “Raghav on that day told the RIL executives that he had brought up the company to Rs 5000 crore and now you see if you can take it to Rs 50,000 crore.”

     

    They were further told that going forward the road ahead would be shared with them.  “It has been only 30 hours since the announcement of us acquiring Network18 has been made,” said one of them. “But you should know that 4G is very important for us as in the future smart phones are going to become very powerful. We are all happy that Raghav (Bahl) is continuing to give his support to the company.”

     

    A similar meeting had taken place a day earlier with the employees in the head office in Delhi where special assurance was given to the CNBC TV-18 employees that “they need not fear publishing any story.” Employees in both places were told that they can even report about RIL but not publish stories without any facts.

     

    One of the executives said that the main point in the whole RIL-Network18 deal was an exchange between two people (referring to Mukesh Ambani and Bahl) but everything else stays the same.

     

    A source from RIL says that the exercise is being conducted so that employees are personally met and assured rather than have them believe false rumours through the media. A few more meetings are expected to be held in the coming days.

  • Network18 gets independent directors’ approval for open offer

    Network18 gets independent directors’ approval for open offer

    MUMBAI: A day after TV18 got the nod by the Committee of Independent Directors (IDC) for the open price offer, now even Network18 Media and Investments has got the approval from the IDC for the open price offer made by the Independent Media Trust (IMT).

     

    The green signal for the open price offer was given by IDC chairman Manoj Mohanka and its member Hari S Bhartia.

     

    The offer was made by IMT along with Reliance Industries (PAC1) and Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings (PAC2) to the public shareholders of Network18 to acquire up to 22,99,46,996 equity shares at a price of Rs 41.04 per share. The manager to the offer is JM Financial Institutional Securities. 

     

    The announcement was made through a statement on BSE. “IDC believes that the open offer is fair and reasonable and in line with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011,” says the statement submitted to the BSE.

     

    The approval for the open offer was made after the IDC reviewed (a) the public announcement in connection with the offer dated 29 May 2014 issued on behalf of IMT and the PAC’s public announcement; (b) the detailed public statement in connection with the offer published on behalf of IMT and PAC’s on 5 June 2014 and (c) the draft letter of offer (DLOF) dated 11 June 2014.

     

    The offer price, according to the IDC, is higher than the volume weighted average price of the equity shares for a period of 60 trading days immediately preceding the date of public announcement. The IDC also sought external financial advice from Price Waterhouse & Co which advised that as of 29 May 2014, the offer price pursuant to the offer is fair and reasonable from the financial point of view.

  • Raghav Bahl to continue as non exec director at Network18 group

    Raghav Bahl to continue as non exec director at Network18 group

    MUMBAI: After Reliance Industries acquired Network18, a slew of resignations followed. And amongst those was also the network’s founder and promoter Raghav Bahl. While there were questions on what was next, the much awaited announcement is finally out. Though Bahl ends his term as promoter from today, 7 July, he will continue to be the non executive director on TV18’s board.  He has also resigned as managing director of Network18, though he will continue as its non-executive director.

     

    This apart, the old promoters including Bahl, Ritu Kapur, Vandana Malik and Subhash Bahl, along with their affiliates have been replaced by Independent Media Trust (IMT), Network18 Media and Investments, Reliance Industries, RB Mediasoft, RB Media Holdings, RRB Mediasoft, Colorful Media, Adventure Marketing, Watermark Infratech and RB Holdings. The company announced this after a board meeting held this morning. And all of them have resigned from the board as well, along with the  co-founder and executive director of TV 18 Sanjay Ray Chaudhuri.

     

    In another announcement that followed, Reliance Industries revealed that Independent Media Trust (IMT) of which RIL is the sole beneficiary, has completed the acquisition of Network18 Media and Investments (NW18) including its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast (TV18).  With the completion of this transaction, IMT and RIL have become promoters of NW18 and TV18. The open offers to the public shareholders for acquisition of equity shares of NW18, TV18 and Infomedia Press as announced on 29 May by JMT are in process and the draft letter of offer has been filed with SEBI for its comments.

     

    The company also stated in a notice to the Bombay stock exchange that the Network18 board has been reconsituted with the appointment of veteran journalist  Rohit Bansal and founder and group chairman of Webduniya Vinay Chhajlani as non-executive directors, and  HDFC chairman  Deepak S Parekh and Adil Zainulbhai as independent directors, following the resignation of the promoter directors.

     

  • Finally, Rajdeep Sardesai says sayonara to IBN18

    Finally, Rajdeep Sardesai says sayonara to IBN18

    MUMBAI: First it was the better half of the power news couple – Sagarika Ghose-Rajdeep  Sardesai –  that announced through twitter last night that she was departing from CNN-IBN. Now Rajdeep Sardesai too has said his last sayonara to a news network he helped build from scratch. In a mail he sent out to his team today, he  announced his departure, expressing that it was one of the toughest letters to write.

     

    The reason for his departure he states in the message is that  editorial independence and integrity have been articles of faith in 26 years in journalism and may be “ I am too old  now to change.”

     

    Said he in the message: “ I must confess it’s not easy to leave a baby that one has helped create/build/grow and to leave such great colleagues. But I guess certain things in life are written in the stars. Editorial independence and integrity have been articles of faith in 26 years in journalism and maybe I am too old now to change!”

     

    He added in the message that the success of the channels – CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN Lokmat – was possible because of the freedom given to the journalists by the leadership at Network18.

     

    And he closed his message by saying: “Forget the cynics, journalism my friends is a great profession. Good journalism makes a genuine difference to the world by offering a mirror to society. Yes, putting news above noise, sense above sensation and credibility above chaos must remain a credo forever: else journalism will lose its moral compass. I hope the new management will always put journalism first and I wish them well.”

     

    Rajdeep’s departure comes two days before the new Network18 management is slated to be announced.