Campaign@8: Newsmakers who headlined our timeline: Arnab Goswami

As part of the Campaign India eigth anniversary issue, we celebrated 'Newsmakers Who Headlined our Timeline', with the headlines, perspectives and learnings.

 

Here's the sixth of our eight,  Times Network's Arnab Goswami

 

From the horse’s mouth

“The journalism I follow is journalism of opinion, of taking a stand – not of political correctness, not of fence-sitting. Certainly not journalism rooted in the belief that having an opinion violates some old law of journalism.”

- Speaking at Goafest 2015, Campaign India, April 2015

 

Headlines

 

“Arnab Goswami accidentally demands his own resignation after Lalit Modi names him in tweet.”

UnRealTimes.com (Satire), June 2015

 

“Times Network elevates Arnab Goswami, Jagdish Mulchandani”

Campaign India – June 2015

 

“Arnab Goswami vs India Today: A see-saw battle ensues for top spot in TV news”

Business Standard, June 2015

 

Perspective

Ravi Rao, leader, South Asia, Mindshare, Campaign India, July 2014

“Popular news anchors definitely help channels get continued viewers. If you look at Arnab Goswami, a good majority may say they like him, they love to watch him. And there is a good majority that may say we detest him but yet tend to watch him. He has a unique trend and a style, and he does what he does very well.”

 

Campaign View

Three headlines in a month reproduced above are reflective of the high that the editor-anchor who Times Television named president-news and editor-in-chief of Times Now and ET Now earlier this year. The elevation came with good reason. After a sluggish start, Goswami has led Times Now to the number one position among English news channels (source: BARC), and kept it there. A shift from that position for just one week in June 2015, before the channel came back to number one, is reflected in one of the headlines in a financial daily above. That the channel was not number one for a week, was a newsworthy development for media that writes on media. And somewhere in the upward journey of Times Now, its leading face had become a news brand. And his brand of journalism had acquired an identity all its own.

There may be intense competition in the days to come. But they will have one challenge if they are to seek market leadership: they will need to take on the popularity of the leading English news anchor on prime time. Also someone who has led the social media charge on English news TV.

 

(This article first appeared as part of a feature in the issue of Campaign India dated 4 September 2015)