Speakers | Managing newsrooms in the time of lockdown
Managing newsrooms in the time of lockdown
Webinar Speakers
Co-Founder & CEO, Quintillion Media, India
Ritu Kapur is the co-founder and CEO of The Quint and board member, World Editors Forum. She is also a Board Member at Oxford University’s prestigious Reuters Institute Of Journalism and the World Editor's Forum. She used to head Programming at History Channel, was Features Editor at CNN IBN, where she launched the popular CJ (Citizen Journalist) Show, among others. Kapur has been recognized by Outlook Business as "Woman of Worth 2017 - The Newsmaker".
Under her leadership, The Quint has grown by nearly 250% Year on Year in terms of both Unique Users and Pageviews, and seen a 100%+ growth in revenue, and pulled in some of the biggest clients in the industry. She has also driven the redesign of The Quint's website, founded the proprietary interactive microsite format "Quint Lab", and launched the health content platform "Quint Fit".
Along with being an accomplished leader, she has spearheaded many initiatives and campaigns tackling social issues. Some of her most successful campaigns are Register To Vote and Power Of 49, which championed a manifesto for women, who comprise 49 per cent of the population. Another significant initiative was The Quint's partnership with BBC, which led to the birth of #SwachhDigital India, a campaign against fake news.
Ritu Kapur has also strived to provide multiple platforms for free speech such as Talking Stalking, Bol and Citizen Q.
Former Editor, The Hindu and Chairman, World Editors Forum, South Asia Chapter
Mukund Padmanabhan was the Editor of The Hindu. Earlier, he was the Editor of The Hindu Businessline. Currently, he is a Professor of Practice at the newly-established Krea University, north of Chennai. Mukund is an M-Phil in Philosophy and worked briefly as a lecturer in University of Delhi before switching to journalism. He is interested in and has written about politics, legal affairs, and literature. He was an adjunct faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, where he taught law and advanced writing to post-graduate students.
Managing Editor, The Times of India
Rohit Saran is Managing Editor of The Times of India. He has been Executive Editor of The Economic Times and India Today. He has edited Khaleej Times, Business Today, Money Today and India editions of Harvard Business Review and The Scientific American.
Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Mr. Mahfuz Anam is the Editor–Publisher of The Daily Star, the highest selling English newspaper in Bangladesh commanding 75 percent of the English newspaper market. During his Editorship (1993 - till date), The Daily Star has become the most respected and trusted English language newspaper of the country. He pursued a vigorous editorial policy of strengthening democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of media and fundamental rights. His occasional column "Commentary" has gained tremendous popularity among readers.
In 1998, Mr. Anam was made the Publisher and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Mediaworld Limited, the owning company of the paper.
Before co-founding The Daily Star in July 1991, he worked for 14 years with UNESCO from 1977 to December 1990 in various public affairs and media capacities in Paris, New York and Bangkok. His last position with UNESCO was in Thailand, Bangkok as “Regional Media & Public Affairs Representative” for Asia and the Pacific, covering 31 countries from which he resigned in December 1990, returned to Bangladesh, and started this paper.
Mr. Anam holds B. A. Honours and a Masters Degree in Economics from Dhaka University. During his student life, he was the winner of All Pakistan Debating Championship for 3 consecutive years, winning championship in Karachi, Dhaka and Lahore in 1967, 1968 and 1969 respectively.
He started his journalism career in March 1972 and worked as Staff Correspondent of Bangladesh Observer and Assistant Editor of Bangladesh Times before starting his overseas career in 1977. He was awarded Jefferson Fellowship in Journalism in 1976 by the Honolulu based East - West Center. He was given the “Courageous Journalism” Award, 2016, by the East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
He is the founding President of Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB). He is presently Secretary General of the Editors’ Council of Bangladesh.
