Time stood still at the edit meeting room of the Times Now office at Lower Parel in Mumbai as Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami announced to a group of around 40 employees, that he had put in his papers.
It was a decision that had been in the making for a long time. But when the time came, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief and President, News, of Times Now and ET Now said that he had paused, vacillating on whether to stay or leave.
Around 12.30 pm, reporters in Delhi and Mumbai were asked to be a part of the edit meeting. Though most expected a regular edit meeting after his break (he had been on leave for a week), Arnab started the meeting with the announcement.
“I am not the kind of person who will collect moss. I am a rolling stone,” he said.
He told the team that he had the option to leave or stay, and after much thought he decided to move on.
Around 25 people from the Mumbai team and 15 from the Delhi office were part of the meeting. A few broke down as he made the announcement. Goswami, who never misses an opportunity to criticise ‘Lutyen’s media’, told his team that some of his media contemporaries would be happy with his announcement, but not for long.
He then told the team that he would be part of ‘independent media’ and had been planning a venture, which includes a TV channel that had a large digital footprint.
When someone in the team asked him for ten takeaways from his experience at Times Now, he joked that his epitaph should not be written and he would be around for another 30 years.
So, what happens to NewsHour?
With Times Now's ticker announcing that Arnab is back on his flagship show ‘The Newshour’ after his break, there have been questions on whether he has actually resigned.
The man himself had something to tell his team about The NewsHour.
“He told us that he was anchoring the show tonight, but what happens tomorrow is the management’s decision,” a senior member of his team told TNM.
Arnab told the team, “Through NewsHour I have tried to dismantle and disrupt old pillars that have been there for long time and I will continue to do that.”
So what is Arnab Goswami’s future plan? Read our exclusive here.