DD News team to make way for UPA’s choices

DD News is set for a makeover yet again. After the Left and the Congress cried themselves hoarse over arbitrary appointments to Doordarshan&...

DD News is set for a makeover yet again. After the Left and the Congress cried themselves hoarse over arbitrary appointments to Doordarshan’s news channel during the previous regime, now it’s the UPA Government’s turn to get back at the NDA.

Orders have been issued to journalists/former Indian Information Service officials ‘‘perceived’’ to be close to the Left-Congress combine to take over and refurbish the news channel once again.

Additional Director General (News) Amitabh Chakravarti confirmed that DD News was getting a new set of people and they were likely to take over soon.

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The new appointments include Qurban Ali from the BBC as consulting editor; Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, formerly with the CNBC, who has been asked to join as media business editor); K. Selvaraj, who resigned from the IIS, will join as news coordinator; Avtar Singh Negi, former DD hand, will be the news editor; and Pankaj Shankar, known for his film on the Gujarat riots, will join as input editor.

The salary for the new appointees ranges between Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000, CEO K.S. Sarma said. ‘‘When DD News was a satellite channel, the salary was around Rs 2 lakh, brought down to Rs 1.2 lakh when the channel turned terrestrial. Now I don’t think anybody on the news channel is getting more than Rs 50,000,’’ he added.

Currently No 3 in the viewership race, DD News enjoys a viewership of 14 per cent and is currently behind NDTV India.

Former Information and Broadcasting minister Pramod Mahajan commissioned professionals close to him to produce news. Sushma Swaraj later did away with the commissioning. Ravi Shankar Prasad brought in a new team just before the general elections.

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