Monday, July 21, 2008

Following up...

Following up on last week's post about Sakaal Times and the tension there, I believe the end-game has begun for the paper as regards its Delhi operations. Pity, we could hardly make fun of them. In addition, Andy Mukherjee isn't taking the FT job and depending on who you believe he was/wasn't approached. It might not be a bad idea for FT18 to keep their plans in abeyance for the time being, since other papers in the business space are struggling to make ends meet (save The Economic Times) and the situation is rather bad at a stand-alone newspaper. If the economy goes into a full-blown recession later this year, a lot of new publications might feel the heat, particularly since many of them have next to no subscription revenues.
And returning to the takeover at HT, the point someone just made to me was that Business Today is providing HT Media their top editorial team - both at HT and Mint (Sanjoy was Editor of BT for nine years, Samar is also ex-BT and Sukumar at Mint was Sanjoy's #2 at BT for several years). Good things happen to good people!
Oh, and for the government, I personally think that the government will not fall, and in the Somnath-Babu crisis, everybody forgot the simple fact that he is a man without a seat in the next election. And as for Mayawati becoming PM, won't happen for a while yet - maybe 2014's LS elections, but not in 2009.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I pray she never becomes the PM.
Cz if she does, I'm gonna be convicted under Section 121 of the IPC.
JK

Anonymous said...

yeah i respond in affirmative,there is virtually no way she can become prime minister unless bjp or the congress supports, I dont think there can be any governemnt formed without the help of the two big national parties. Even in the best of projections, she will get not more than 50 seats(inclusive of Ajit singhs party), so she will be a junior party, and i suppose of the NDA, and i acutally had a dream about this, she will be made a deputy prime minister, and if the stars are not good, with Advani 80, and with all the pressures of being PM, he might meet St Peters one terrible night, and Mayawati would come breathing distance close to becoming PM...but she s a big threat to the congress.

K, best channel s coverage of the trust vote? and recalling a post of yours a few days back, the Prime ministers brief interactions with the media today, has got him a complete image and PR makeoever.

Anonymous said...

Just to add-on my bit on the people-movement front. BBC India Pvt ltd ( a subsisiary of BBC World Service) has been formed and registered within india. This has been primarily done to announce the JV between NDTV and BBC World for the BBC Hindi TV to be launched in September 2008. Names of the Editorial Board have been formalised at Bush House for BBC India Operations. India Business Development Manager Vineeta Dviwedi to head the Channel as the BBC wants its present Hindi Editor Sanjiv Shrivastav out of this scheme of things because of his pro-BJP leanings and his anti-Bush House campaign( leading to ouster of Hindi service Head Achala Sharma and London Editor Shiv Sharma). The BBC managaement apparently has agreed to send one Editor level chap from Bush House to oversee the smooth takeover and redundancy giving option of NDTV India from August onwards and his name would be announced by this weekend. Will add on the latest as it comes .