Sohit Mishra Mumbai bureau-chief of NDTV resigned on being instructed by the channel's editor in chief Sanjay Pugalia to disrupt Rahul Gandhi's press conference in Mumbai on 31 August 2023 Image via Ground Report from Twitter
Tanishka Sodhi of Newslaundry reported on 11 September of an incident in Mumbai on 31 August when Adani appointed editor-in-chief of NDTV Sanjay Pugalia instructed two journalists to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s press conference in the city. According to a Newslaundry source at NDTV, Pugalia apparently instructed two of his journalists including the Mumbai bureau chief to “create a ruckus” and “change the narrative,” at the press event.
The press conference by Gandhi was to again call for a joint parliamentary committee probe over the Adani group’s stock manipulations from 2013 to 2017. While on the one hand, the local regulator SEBi’s probe into the charges made by the Hindenburg report has thus far seemingly exonerated the Adani group, renewed interest in the affair arose in the last week of August from the possibly incriminating details obtained from the OCCRP and shared with the Guardian and the Financial Times. Essentially the trail of shell companies, two proxy investors, and the Indian market regulator SEBI’s alleged oversight of the Adani Group was in the eye of yet another storm as the conglomerate rushed to defend itself. Apparently, its recently acquired NDTV media platform attempted to help out with its editor and chief instructing his reporters to disrupt the Rahul Gandhi press conference.
While the stories by the Guardian and The Financial Times launched the usual political war of words and name-calling that represents a substantial part of the Indian democratic discourse these days, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s press conference on 31 August at the Hyatt Regency took place on the sidelines of the opposition INDIA bloc’s Mumbai meet. Gandhi renewed his party’s demand for a joint committee probe, claiming the “country’s reputation was at stake.”
Around 300 media persons, from both national and regional publications including Sohit Mishra, NDTV’s Mumbai bureau chief, attended the press conference. However, hours before the event, Mishra had been allegedly asked by the channel’s editor-in-chief Sanjay Pugalia to disrupt Gandhi’s press conference, by creating a ruckus in order to change the narrative of the event, according to Newslaundry’s sources. Pugalia joined the network as its chief after Adani’s AMG Media Network took over NDTV. On the other hand, and to his credit, Mishra has apparently submitted his resignation to the network.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
