Leading from the front: Aroon Purie

The year was 1975 and India was in the midst of the Emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. One of the biggest collaterals of the period was press freedom. It was during this time that Vidya Vilas Purie, a former film financer and the owner of Thompson Press, launched India Today, a fortnightly magazine.

He appointed his daughter Madhu Trehan as its editor and son Aroon Purie, an alumnus of the London School of Economics and a Chartered Accountant, as its publisher.

Aroon, who sought new challenges after being jaded with accounting and auditing, took on the new role with zest and zeal. His unique skillset as an accountant-publisher came in handy to the business, which was struggling to make a profit.

The purpose of the magazine, according to Aroon, was to "fill the information gaps" about the developments in India to Indians living abroad. In 1977, he took over the editorial reins when his sister had to temporarily step back for personal reasons.

Coincidentally, it was also the year when the Emergency was lifted and press freedom was restored. India Today took off, diversifying in five languages and taking the number one spot with a readership in the tens of millions.

The magazine's success propelled the company into becoming a media behemoth the India Today Group, which encompasses TV, radio, digital and more. The man at the vanguard of this transformation was Aroon, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, of India Today Group (Media and Entertainment).

Before the advent of cable TV, Aroon popularised a monthly news video journal "News Track." It comprised news video cassettes on investigative stories. It completely transformed the idea of news dissemination, but post-1991, when cable TV made inroads into India, Newstrack soon became a weekly news show on Doordarshan. In 1995, Aaj Tak was born as a Hindi News show on DD.

Five years later, Aaj Tak would script history becoming an independent news channel in a never-before-seen 24-hour format. The channel also pioneered the use of OB vans, hitherto unheard of in Indian media.

Under Aroon's able leadership, the India Today Group grew from a single magazine to a highly diversified media conglomerate, comprising 21 magazines, 4 TV channels, 1 newspaper, multiple websites and mobile apps across platforms. The Group has also extended its business interests to ecomm, books, retail, education and music.

Despite hailing from a background of pure numbers, Aroon had a fine eye for news and as the editor-in-chief, he shaped India Today as we know it. In an interview with Harvard Business School, he shared how he always pushed reporters to write for the average Indian reader with an emphasis on clarity.

He approached news like an accountant conducting a rigorous audit, leaving no detail unaccounted for. The high standards set for the editing process earned a clever nickname from the staff after the man himself -- Purification.

"I've done my job as a journalist the best way I could. Fortunately, I love news and I love journalism," he once said.

In 2011, Aroon was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the e4m News Broadcasting Awards. He was also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the third-highest civilian award of the government of India.

Aroon is also the first Indian elected as the chairman of FIPP (Federation of International Periodicals and Publications) and is a board member of the Global Editors Network. In keeping with his accountant background, he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accounts (England & Wales).

Today, the Group has 36 magazines, including international titles. The flagship magazine India Today is the veritable market leader with an equally popular Hindi edition. Aaj Tak, the pioneer among 24-hour news channels, now also has a hugely successful YouTube channel, which became the first news channel globally to cross 50 million subscribers on the platform.

Aroon is also the Managing Director of Thomson Press (India) Ltd., a printing venture established in 1967. It largest commercial printer in South Asia with five facilities across India.

The Group enjoys the trust reposed on it by 500 million viewers and a social media following of 250 million, all thanks to a plucky news magazine in 1975 and an editor-in-chief who upheld high journalistic standards.