#MediaMoves

Rukmini Rao makes a move to CNBC TV18 as Special Correspondent. She had her previous innings with Bloomberg TV India as Special Correspondent, Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt. Ltd. as Senior Producer, and The Times Global Broadcasting Co Ltd. as Correspondent. Reach out this Bangalore based business journalist @rukminirao.

» Alok Joshi becomes the Managing Editor of CNBC-Awaaz and CNBC-Bajar (TV18). He has previously worked with CNBC-Awaaz as Executive Editor, BBC World Service as Producer, TV Today Network as Special Correspondent, Times Group as Sub-Editor cum Reporter, and Allahabad Patrika Pvt. Ltd. as Sub Editor cum Reporter. Mumbai based Alok can be reached @thealokjoshi.

#MediaMoves

Former Resident Editor of Hindustan Times, Sudeep Mukhia makes a comeback to CNN-IBN as Executive Editor. He was the part of CNN-IBN’s launch team in 2005 and has been associated with many big publications like India Today, Indian Express and, The Financial Express. Reach out to Sudeep @mukhiasudeep. » Nisha Poddar joins CNBC-TV18 as Deputy Editor M&A. She was earlier with ET Now as M&A reporter, and with NDTV-Profit briefly. Connect with this Mumbai based Corporate Khabri @PoddarNisha. » Shauvik Ghosh has started his new innings in the PR Industry and joined Genesis Burson-Marsteller. Formerly he was the Staff Writer at Mint and has also worked with Financial Express. » Diksha Madhok has been promoted as India Editor at Quartz. She has been associated with Quartz since 2014 as Reporter and later as Ideas Editor. Her previous stints were with Startup Village, Reuters, and India Today. Connect with Delhi based Diksha @dikshamadhok.

#MediaMoves

Congrats to Adith Charlie for joining CNBC-TV18 as Deputy Editor. He was earlier associated with VCCircle as Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu Business Line as Principal Correspondent, USAK as Researcher, Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) as Research Analyst (Freelance), and IRIS Business Services Ltd. as Content Writer. Mumbai based Adith has authored two research booklets for the EICC and tweets @AdithCharlie.

» BloombergQuint – joint venture between Quintillion Media and Bloomberg appoints Sajeet Manghat as National News Editor. He was previously working with CNBC-TV18 since 2014 as Head- Online Research, Bureau Chief and later as Deputy National News Editor. Mumbai based Sajeet can be reached @sajeetkm.

Debating Intolerance!

The Telegraph National Debate on whether ‘tolerance is the new intolerance’ garnered a lot of attention and gained viral status for the words of passion from speakers Anupam Kher and Barkha Dutt. Dutt, who spoke after the Bollywood actor, gave a befitting response to his nationalist rant. “Have we as Indians, forgotten the art of conversation?”, she asked the audience. “We are more intelligent than this nationalism vs. anti-nationalism narrative”, she added in her speech. » Former Chairman of Network 18 Media & Investments, Manoj Mohanka, is planning to bail beleaguered media house DCHL out by an acquisition deal. Positive about the huge potential of a turnaround in the publication, Mohanka is hoping that all the stakeholders will buy into the proposed scheme of compromise. Read more here. » CNBC-TV18 partners with Indo-American Chamber of Commerce for the first ever Indo-US BPO Summit. To be held in Omni Orlando Resort, Florida on March 29-30, 2016, the summit aims to introduce attractive opportunities for US MNCs in the ‘New India’. Check the key themes and the speaker lined up at the summit here.

#MediaMoves

ETCIO.com appoints its new Assistant Editor (South), Pankaj Maru. He was formerly with Financial Express – Express Computer, CyberMedia India Online, and The Times of India. Blogger at ‘pankajmaru’ can be reached @maru_pankaj. » Dushyant Kumar starts his new innings with CNBC TV18 as Associate Producer. He had his previous spells at Money Bhaskar, News Express, Aaj Samaj, Amar Ujala, and Hindustan. Connect with this Noida based avid traveler & socialist @KD_Journalist. » Priya Gupta bids adieu to Bombay Times and joins T-Series as President, Films. Her previous stints were with Hindustan Times, Apollo Tyres, Gillette, and LG Electronics. Reach out to this Mumbai based movie fanatic @priyagupta999.

Innovation and Start-ups

Good news for TV18. In the latest financial results for Q3 FY2016 it posted a 57% increase in profit. CNBC-TV18 has also been announced as the government’s official partner to promote entrepreneurship. The PMO GoI’s new baby ‘Start up India, Stand up India’ was kickstarted with a global workshop on “Innovation and Start-ups”. Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, moderated the first session of the workshop in the capital on Saturday. » India Today stepped up in the absence of dialogue with Pakistan. The Indian channel telecasted a joint broadcast with Pakistan’s Dawn News with Rajdeep Sardesai hosting at this end. Sardesai was optimistic that “such an initiative could only be good for both countries.” » The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is set to turn editor. Kate will guest-edit The Huffington Post UK in February, albeit for a single day. The Duchess plans to use this opportunity to “highlight the importance of children’s mental health as well as the inspiring work done by parents, teachers, researchers, and mental health professionals around the country”, and was “delighted” that The Huffington Post could help bring such an important issue to the fore.

Oh My God!

Fortune magazine ran into trouble with a Hindu group for likening Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to Lord Vishnu on its January international edition cover. US-based Hindu rights campaigner Rajan Zed requested the magazine publish a disclaimer on their website. Zed also sought an apology from Time-Inc. chairman and Fortune publisher and editor. “Casual flirting like this sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines”, he said. » Continuing their focus on ‘Make in India’ in the Defence sector, CNBC-TV18 is all set to organize ‘The Defence – Make in India Summit’ in the capital on January 21st. The summit, supporting the government initiative, will highlight various issues, challenges and opportunities pertaining to the sector. Check the list of notable speakers at the event. » CNBC in partnership with PT Trans Media Corpora is ready to enter Southeast Asia’s largest economy with CNBC Indonesia later this year. The Bahasa-language channel aims to “facilitate global business conversations, and to educate the growing middle class”, said Chairul Tanjung founder and chairman of PT Trans Media Corpora’s parent company, CT Corp. » In what can be interpreted as serious micromanagement and control, The Daily Telegraph had motion sensors installed under journalists’ desks to monitor whether they were at work. Planned to be in place for four weeks as an ‘environmental measure’ to keep tabs on energy usage, the devices were being removed immediately considering staff feedback according to a communicé circulated.

Million Dollar Scribe

Yahoo has hired media veteran Martha Nelson to oversee its suite of digital magazines. But what’s interesting is the $5 million a year pay package Yahoo is reportedly offering the former Times magazine Editor. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer personally recruited Nelson, and waited for her non-compete to expire after she left Time Inc. in 2013, according to sources. Yahoo is yet to make a comment on this as well as several other high-profile and expensive hires that the company has made from the media industry, including TV anchor Katie Couric, who reportedly renewed a $10 million contact with Yahoo. » Broadcasters have been asked to provide data while any action is held off on final orders from HC in TRAI’s case against over 100 private TV channels in violation of the ad air time limit. TRAI’s efforts to regulate adverts on TV are yet to bear fruit.  » #fame ties up with CNBC-TV18 for LIVE and uncut action from the 16th Overdrive Awards. Interact with Famestar Abhishek Dutta, business journalist Shereen Bhan, and also the jurists on your mobile app as the ceremony unfolds.

Ads In The Firing Line

Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has put 72 advertisements in a tight spot by accusing them for misleading ads. L’Oreal, Amity University, CNBC TV18, India Today, Flipkart, Uber and many other brands have allegedly indulged in deceitful word play.  » Pulp Strategy, a marketing and communications agency, has launched a cloud-based DIY app creation platform – Instappy. This platform will aid users to build intuitive and fully native applications for iOS and Android instantly. » ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has pledged to go Green by launching ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative.

Firstpost Amped Up!

Firstpost’s editorial team gets a boost as they appoint BV Rao (Editor) and Ajay Singh (Executive Editor) to assist R Jagannathan, Editor-in-Chief of Firstpost and Forbes India, as reported by exchange4media. Rao has worked with the top media brands of the country which include The Express Group, The Times Group, Free Press Journal as well as DNA. Singh leverages close to 25 years of experience with stints at Times of India, ET, Telegraph, The Pioneer, Business Standard, Star News, and more. » The war to claim top viewership has escalated between ET Now and CNBC TV18 (as reported previously). Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) during the course of its investigation found CNBC TV18’s claims misleading and unsubstantiated and it upheld the complaint made by ET Now. CNBC has been advised to modify or withdraw their advertisements. » After stepping out from Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd. Rahul Joshi, Editorial Director of ET, is slated to be announced as Network18’s ‘CEO News and Group Editor-In-Chief’. His mandate will extend to all aspects of business and editorial of Network18 properties.