Nidhi Razdan quits NDTV, 3 days after Sreenivasan Jain’s exit

Nidhi Razdan has resigned as the executive editor of NDTV, three days after her colleague Sreenivasan Jain announced that his three-decade journey with the channel had come to an end.

Razdan’s decision is only the latest in a series of resignations at the network following the Adani takeover. The journalist, who has worked with the channel for over two decades, is yet to respond to Newslaundry’s request for comment. She announced the decision on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

On Saturday, Sreenivasan Jain, who hosted the shows Reality Check and Truth vs Hype, had announced his resignation on Twitter. “The decision to resign wasn’t easy, but...it is what it is. More later.”

Earlier this month, the channel’s group president Suparna Singh, Chief Strategy Officer Arijit Chatterjee, Chief Technology and Product Officer Kawaljit Singh Bedi had quit the network.

“Their direct reportees and all heads of departments will start reporting to me with immediate effect,” wrote Sanjay Pugalia, the network’s new director, in a subsequent email to the channel’s staff.

Announcing the resignations, NDTV had said the company was in the process of putting up a new leadership team which will set a fresh strategic direction and goals for the broadcaster.

Last month, the network’s founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy sold 27.26 percent of their remaining 32.26 percent shareholding to the Adani conglomerate. After an open offer, the Adani Group earlier emerged as the majority shareholder in NDTV. The open offer came after the media arm of Adani Enterprises acquired nearly 30 percent of NDTV shares through an indirect deal.

The Roys had resigned as directors of the board of NDTV promoter RRPR on November 29. Subsequently, Sudipta Bhattacharya, the chief technology officer of Adani Group; Sanjay Pugalia, senior journalist and CEO of Adani's AMG Media Network; and journalist Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan took over as directors of the board.

Earlier this month, at the first NDTV town hall meeting after the Adani takeover, the network’s new leadership had addressed questions by the channel’s staff on editorial freedom, salaries, expansion, and BJP spokespersons on shows.

An employee had said that a lot of people had chosen to stay with NDTV not because of the money but because of the kind of journalism that is practiced at the channel. Pugalia denied that this could change, saying that the raw material of NDTV as a product is its credibility.

In December, after his first media interaction after the takeover, Adani had told India Today that “NDTV will be a credible, independent, global network with a clear lakshman rekha between management and editorial”.

Update at 6.27 pm, Jan 31: This report has been updated with Razdan's tweet announcing her resignation.