NEW DELHI: The exodus from Adani-owned NDTV continued, with senior journalist Sarah Jacob being the latest to quit the channel.
Incidentally, the move comes after Jacob presented a news bulletin in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It came amidst widespread criticism for her news bulletin, in which she said how PM Modi was respectful to women.
The bulletin, and Jacob, came under sharp criticism for what many said was an agenda-driven news bulletin in which she was seen projecting PM Modi as a great messiah for women. This prompted many to question the integrity of NDTV, whose reputation is at stake following its takeover by Gautam Adani’s enterprise.
Signing off pic.twitter.com/RLi9hwSVNL
— sarah jacob (@sjacobtalk) May 23, 2023
In her statement, Jacobs wrote, “Last night, I resigned from NDTV. To Dr. Roy and Radhika Roy, Thank you for building what was one of India’s great media institutions. To my many colleagues of over two decades, thank you for the memories.”
Jacobs, who was hosting the channel’s iconic ‘We The People’ show, added, “It has been a fantastic ride from 2001 to 2023 at NDTV in various capacities. From being a reporter to having my own show, it has been rewarding and I am forever grateful for all that NDTV gave me and continues to offer.”
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“To be in the middle of the most spectacular years of the Indian TV news industry boom, that too at NDTV, which has set the standard of excellence for the industry, has been a magical career thus far. I hope future generations get to work at a place like I did, while learning the ropes,” she added.
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Thanking her audience, Jacobs said, “A most special thanks to my viewers, supporters and critics… Your feedback keeps us honest. I will miss my show ‘We the People’ immensely and hope that whoever takes over from me will continue to ask the tough questions, but for now this is Sarah Jacob, signing off from NDTV.”
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Jacob is the latest in a spate of resignations after the Adani Group acquired the network from Dr Prannoy and Radhika Roy. Ravish Kumar left NDTV soon after and in January, NDTV’s group president, Suparna Singh, chief strategy officer, Arijit Chatterjee, and chief technology and product officer, Kawaljit Singh Bedi, also stepped down.
Soon after, Sreenivasan Jain and Nidhi Razdan also announced their decisions to end their stint with the channel.