A day after he bid farewell to his 26-year-long stint at NDTV, senior journalist and popular anchor Ravish Kumar, on Thursday, December 1, put out a heartfelt message on his YouTube channel, where he explained his journey with NDTV and the reasons behind leaving the channel. The decision to resign from NDTV comes against the backdrop of the channel’s takeover by the Adani group and hours after the resignation of the channel’s founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy as directors from the board of RRPR Holding Private Ltd (RRPRH), the promoter group of New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV).
In the video that was uploaded on his YouTube channel – Ravish Kumar Official – the journalist said that while there are several news channels with different names, they are all in reality “godi media’. Ravish said, “The ecosystem in which they all operate is the same and even those who are destroying journalism are claiming that they are upholding it”.
Ravish, in his video, said that he does not wish to talk anything about NDTV at the moment as he is in an emotional state of mind. “I have spent 26 years in NDTV. There have been many seniors and juniors who have been part of my journey. Right now, I’m in an emotional state of mind so I cannot say anything objectively,” he said.
A well-known journalist and author, Ravish has anchored some of the leading shows of NDTV such as Prime Time, Hum Log, Ravish ki Report, and more. “One thing that NDTV taught me is that TV journalism is all about teamwork. But after anchors became stars, this tradition took a hit. An anchor is only as good as his team,” he said.
Ravish also had a word of gratitude for his women colleagues. “I have learnt a lot from their dedication to the profession and their understanding and their experiences,” he said.
With Ravish announcing his resignation, plenty of questions were raised by his loyal viewers and by the journalist fraternity about whether he will be looking to move into another organisation or start his own venture. “At this point, the next step isn’t clear. I have my own YouTube channel. You will find me there,” said Ravish, who urged his audience to continue supporting his channel and Facebook page.
Ravish said that he refrained from appearing on his Prime Time show for the last few days as he wanted to try and phase himself out so that his viewers who have been watching his 9 pm show for years will get used to not seeing him on the show.
Ravish has been openly critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government’s attack on press freedom, even coining the term ‘godi media’ (roughly translated to ‘lapdog media’), which has now become a popular way to refer to news outlets perceived as mouthpieces of the ruling party in India.