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Star
India finally made it official today. The Rupert Murdoch-promoted
company announced the appointment of Ravina Raj Kohli as
president - Star News Channel. Kohli starts work Monday
and will be spearheading the new Star News operation scheduled
to delink from Prannoy Roy's New Delhi Television on 31
March 2002.
Kohli is expected to be in Los Angeles within the next two
weeks to get a first hand look at how Murdoch's Fox News
operation is run. It is the Fox News formula on which the
new Star News will be modelled - meaning lots more focus
on entertainment, sports and business as an adjunct to politics.
Kohli will report directly to Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea
who, while announcing the appointment, said: "We are very
pleased to have Ravina join us at this exciting juncture.
Ravina's experience in the creative business of television
will bring to the news category in India a fresh boost and
new energy. I am confident that with her leadership, Star
News will achieve new heights as the pace-setter in news
broadcasting."
"I
am ready for the challenge ahead, and look forward to working
with Asia's most dynamic company, building on the popularity
and success of Star News - and breaking new ground," an
official release quoted Kohli as saying.
One thing that seems clear is that Star News will not be
operating out of the Star India head office in the western
Mumbai suburb of Andheri. A likely possibility as far as
office premises go is the Worli area of central Mumbai.
A whole new complex where the news operations will be housed
is just one part of the start-up costs of the news channel
which will have a completely new look - new ID, logos and
everything else. Star has reportedly earmarked Rs 2500 million
for just the first year of operations. That is huge money
and is likely to shake up all the players in the business.
Ravina Raj Kohli to head new Star news channel
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