New Delhi: Four former BBC journalists from India will officially launch an independent news organization, Collective Newsroom Pvt Ltd, on Wednesday, as part of the British public service broadcaster’s move to restructure its business operations in the country.
BBC has transferred its newsroom publishing licence in India to Collective Newsroom which will offer language-based content in the country in compliance with the government’s updated foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, the company said.
The development comes a year after the Enforcement Directorate filed a case against BBC India for alleged foreign exchange violations. The federal probe agency had also called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The move had followed the Income-Tax department surveying BBC office premises in Delhi.
Former BBC journalists Rupa Jha, Mukesh Prasad Sharma, Sanjoy Majumder and Sara Hassan will head the production of news content for BBC’s digital services in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.
The content will be for multiple platforms, including BBC news websites, media pages on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, and BBC India’s YouTube channel in English, the company said.
Collective Newsroom plans to diversify its offerings with audio podcasts and TV news bulletins and looks to partner with news entities beyond the BBC, the broadcaster said. Its complete Indian ownership aligns with the country’s 26% FDI cap in the digital media space.
“It (the new company) isn’t that different (from the BBC). The DNA is the same because we grew up here, it’s so much about public interest and pursuit of fact. The big difference is that it is completely owned by Indians, whereas BBC India was only operated by Indians,” Jha, chief executive officer at Collective Newsroom, said in an interview with Mint.
The relationship with the BBC is that of a client, she added, and all content will have to fit with its editorial guidelines. The latter will provide an annual budget and the relationship has been secured till 2027. India is BBC’s biggest global market outside of the UK, Jha pointed out.
“We definitely want to produce content for many others, not just the BBC. BBC is our first client and whatever we produce for them will be exclusive to them, ” Jha said.
“Our business plan is to function as a media company that is available to and is actively looking for opportunities with other newsrooms and companies. Nothing stops us (from doing so) in our agreement with the BBC,” she said, adding that such a strategy will also be viable business-wise.
Calling the creation of the new company an opportunity in a crisis, she said the idea was to create a media house owned and governed by Indians producing content of international standards that is independent and credible.
The four journalists will together own 75% shares in Collective Newsroom, with five other partners taking the rest. With around 200 staff members and over 100 stringers, the company shall be headquartered in New Delhi with smaller teams operating out of Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.
Besides Jha, the leadership team at Collective Newsroom includes Sanjoy Majumder as managing editor and deputy director of journalism, Sara Hassan as chief operating officer, and Mukesh Prasad Sharma as director of journalism and deputy CEO.
Emphasizing that the goal is not to be a source of breaking news but to add context and value, Jha said the company will also look at providing training for journalists in time. “The biggest challenge is to work without interventions and stay financially viable. But we are here with a long-term goal to work without pressure,” she added.
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Published: 09 Apr 2024, 01:52 PM IST