Sanjaya Baru, former Editor and Press Advisor to the Prime Minister, is set to join Business Standard as Consulting Editor from October 1.
Expanding its footprint in South Asia, Turner International has launched a dedicated one-hour programming block of its leading kids’ channel, Cartoon Network, on Art Television, Sri Lanka’s leading terrestrial English channel. Starting August 16 from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm everyday, kids in Sri Lanka can now enjoy the opportunity to experience Cartoon Network’s popular cartoons, which include ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’, ‘Powerpuff Girls’, ‘Samurai Jack’, ‘Johnny Bravo’, ‘Ed, Ed N Eddy’, ‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’, and many more.
Travelocity Global, one of the largest online travel companies in the world, has announced that it has acquired Travelguru, one of India’s leading online hotel distribution networks.
Three years since its launch in May 2006, My FM has announced that it has achieved break-even for the period of April-July 2009. The FM station from the Bhaskar Group has reported a gross turnover of Rs 13.39 crore in this period.
NewsX is currently in the process of working on its new identity and is hiring senior level people for the same. The channel has recently roped in VK Shashikumar as Head of Special Investigations and News Programming, Sanjay Singh as Resident Editor in Mumbai, and Nandita Kumar as General Manager in charge of Distribution and Strategic Planning.
News Corporation has finally announced the restructuring process that it had undertaken a few weeks back. STAR India, STAR Greater China and Fox International Channels will hold leading positions in their target markets in the new structure. Consequently, Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India would report directly to James Murdoch.
Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni will make the opening remarks at the NewsNext 2009, organised by the exchange4media Group, which will be held on August 26, 2009 at Intercontinental, Nehru Place in Delhi. The theme for NewsNext 2009 is ‘Triumph over Travails’.
A global survey across 50 countries has shown that Indians by and large look upon advertising much more favourably and find it more useful, productive and entertaining than their global counterparts, with 86 per cent of Indians saying that advertising helps them make a more informed decision.
Dentsu Communications has appointed Lavanya Anirudh as Vice-President, where she will be heading the Aircel business and would be responsible for consolidating Aircel’s business and its brand nationally. She moves from Ogilvy India, where she had worked for a decade. Anirudh would be reporting to Rajesh Aggarwal, President, Dentsu India.
How is the Ambani sequel different from its 2005 avatar? The biggest difference this time is the virtual paralysis that has gripped the Mukesh Ambani camp. While the Anil Ambani camp is busy ratcheting up the volume to very high levels, Reliance Industries is keeping mum, says veteran journalist Sandeep Bamzai.
ONGC has been chosen as the title sponsor for Nehru Cup 2009, while Airtel, Hero Honda and Emami are the associate sponsors. Zee Sports, the media partner for this tournament, has launched a 360-degree campaign for its promotion. According to estimates, Zee Sports is eyeing more than Rs 10 million in revenues from this football tournament.
Bhaskar Group’s radio venture, My FM, has assigned its creative duties to Mudra Delhi. The account size has been pegged in the region of Rs 8-10 crore. RK Swamy BBDO Delhi is the incumbent agency.
Public relations over the years in the western markets have seen PR firms identifying their verticals with specialised resources and teams to cater to the specific niches… The PR industry in India is still media led and has the traditional approach. The expectation from PR is to deliver media coverage, while PR goes beyond media and editorial visibility. Over a period, Rediffusion Public Relations has been working towards changing the perception of PR and expectations of the clients to go beyond just media mileage.