NDTV will forever be associated with the Roys: Rajdeep Sardesai

The Indian media landscape has undergone a big shift in recent days following Adani Group's acquisition of NDTV. After the media group's promoter firm RRPR Holding Private Limited transferred 99.5% of its stocks to Adani Group, founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy stepped down as its directors, marking a watershed moment in the world of Indian news media.

The Roys have played an instrumental role in shaping the Indian news media ecosystem. In 1984, they co-founded NDTV, which pioneered independent news broadcasting in India. It is also launched the first 24X7 news channel and lifestyle channel in the country.

Their stepping down has caused a mixed reaction amidst the media fratnernity, among them is senior India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, who remembers Roys' contributions wistfully.

He shared a Facebook post in which he recollected fond memories of working with the Roys.

"There are times in life you ask: yeh kahan aa gaye hum! Last night was one such. On the road in Gujarat through the day, I returned totally fatigued to the hotel room to read the news of Prannoy and Radhika Roy having resigned from the board of the NDTV holding company. A flash of emotions, sentimentality and a wave of nostalgia gripped me but most of all, a sense of acute sadness."

When the history of Indian tv news is written the Roys will get pride of place along with likes of Aroon Purie as early pioneers. The Roys commitment to building a news institution that nurtured talent and gave so many of us the wings to fly and soar will remain their abiding legacy. In particular, I will always respect the genuinely humane manner in which every staff member was treated through good times and bad, one reason why NDTV was always ‘family’ for so many, an egalitarian work ethic in which the cameraperson or OB driver often became your buddy for life.

At a personal level, doing live elections with Dr Roy remains an unforgettable memory as does the opportunity to be part of the team that built a network that became a household name . I am just grateful for having been part of those heady days. Maybe it was a quieter, gentler time with less manic competition, maybe we didn’t always get it right but it was surely a period when we didn’t have to look over our shoulder to worry about who in power might be offended by a story or a sharp remark in a live debate.

I don’t know what lies ahead for NDTV and the Roys but I will always be their well wisher and admirer. Eight years ago, I saw a channel/network that one had worked to build from scratch being taken over overnight leading to a forced exit : it took me some time to get over it, made me realise who my friends really are but I now believe that it’s all part of life’s uncertain journey: main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya is a life anthem!.

NDTV will now have new owners with their own ideas but the name will forever be associated with the Roys who put their sweat and toil to take a small operation from a GK 1 basement where I first joined in 1994 into a vibrant national network. Let me not say too much more at this moment but leave this post with a photo that says it all: 1998-99 in a general election at the time.

Guess the figure on the extreme left! As I said: kahan Gaye woh din when a tv studio was space for intelligent conversation with alternate viewpoints and no one being dubbed ‘anti national’! As for those on social media who are rejoicing today. , go get a life. Better still, build a channel of your own!"