MUMBAI: In line with the restructuring happening in the overall Sahara group’s media business, the news segment too is undergoing changes with an endeavour to create synergy in the editorial line-up and several changes have been effected with effect from Friday.
Rao Birendra Singh, who had been looking after Sahara Samay U.P (the Uttar Pradesh-specific news channel), has been elevated and given additional responsibilties of Sahara Samay Rashtriya, the national news channel.
The mandate for him is to not only groom the two news channels, but also a successor and a deputy.
Prabudhraj Singh, who was the bureau chief of the Hindi news service, has now been made the editorial head of Sahara Samay NCR, a news channel aimed at the city of Delhi and neighbouring townships and areas spreading into other States, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Sahara Samay NCR, slated to formally go on air towards month-end, is presently running test signals.
Interestingly, senior print media journalist and former metro chief of Times of India’s Delhi edition, Sanjay Kaw will be assisting Singh. Earleir, Kaw, who has had a successful stint as a print journalist, was the editorial head of Sahara Samay NCR.
Contacted by Indiantelevision.com, senior executives of Sahara India Media & Entertainment (SIME) confirmed the changes, adding that another round of reshuffle would be undertaken towards June end with the addition of new personnel in various divisions of the TV new venture.
Ajay Pandey, who was earlier looking after the national news channel, will now be assisting SIME senior vice-prseident DK Pandey in bringing about a synergy in all the activities of the news channels from distribution to marketing to editorial inputs.
DK Pandey was roped in early this year from Reliance’s telecom division. He has also done a stint at Zee Telefilms.
Apart from few other changes, Prakash Nanda, a senior staffer with Sahara’s English weekly has been brought into the TV news division to handle diplomatic and strategic affairs coverage. Nanda, like Kaw,is also a former Times of India journalist.