Will always remember that red mike: Ravish Kumar

A day after announcing his resignation from NDTV, veteran journalist Ravish Kumar has released a video on his YouTube channel, saying “he will always remember that red mike.”

In the heartfelt video uploaded on his YouTube channel called Ravish Kumar Official, the journalist said, “9 PM used to be on my mind as soon as I woke up in the morning. But now there will be no 9 PM, no prime-time.”

“I don't know what I will do at 9 PM now. I love television. I will always remember that red mike.”

Thanking people for giving him love and support, Kumar said, “At a time when the people in power tried to silence my voice, it was the people of the country that showed immense love towards me. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without my viewers. I urge them all to continue supporting my work, which will now be on my  YouTube channel and Facebook page,” Kumar said in his video. Kumar shared that viewers have been his real editor, who have praised him for good work as well as expressed disappointement when his work was not good enough.

Kumar shared that it is the viewers' support which is allowing many journalists to express their views on Youtube and Twitter fearlessly. "You have been supporting many websites through subscription. In today's times, viewers are the biggest institutions of journalism. Journalism does not exist in instituions these days, it exists in the people. It is because of the support of the viewers that journalists are today asking questions fearlessly. This has been the biggest contribution of you viewers to journalism."  

"It is possible that someone might trample the voice of the people, trample the democracy, but you viewers give us strength. I am proud of you viewers." 

Commenting on the state of journalism in the country, the journalist said, "Media today has beome the voice of the powerful and not the people. The media in India has changed. The ecosystem of journalism in India is dying. The youngsters who are studying to become journalists will have to do the job of brokers.”

Looking back at his 26-year-long journey at NDTV, Kumar said he joined the channel in 1996 as a translator. In his initial days at the channel, he said,  his job was to go through the letters written by viewers. “I still do that. Even today, you send thousands of messages…I even get handwritten letters!”

Kumar also made a special mention of his women colleagues. "On this day, i would specially want to remember my women colleagues. The honesty and ethics with which they work is commendable, he said.

Ending his long journey with NDTV India, Kumar on Wednesday resigned as its senior executive editor.

In an internal mail, the channel stated that Ravish’s resignation came into effect immediately. “Few journalists have impacted people as much as Ravish did. This reflects in the immense feedback about him — in the ‘crowds he draws everywhere; in the prestigious awards and recognition he has received, within India and internationally,” read the mail. “Ravish has been an integral part of NDTV for decades, his contribution has been immense, and we know he will be successful as he embarks on a new beginning,” the mail read.

The subscriber count of Kumar's YouTube channel has gone up from 7 lakh to more than 15 lakh in a day after his resignation from NDTV.