Radhika Roy

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Radhika Roy
Born
Radhika Das

(1949-05-07) 7 May 1949 (age 74)
Calcutta, India
Alma materWelham Girls' School
Oldrey Fleming School (SLP)
Miranda House (BA)
The New School (MA)
New York University
OccupationJournalist
Known forFormer Executive co-chairperson, NDTV
SpousePrannoy Roy
RelativesBrinda Karat (sister)

Radhika Roy (

née Das; born 7 May 1949) is an Indian journalist who is the founder and former executive co-chairperson of NDTV. She was the managing director of the company between 1998 and 2011. The company started as a news production house and became the first independent news broadcaster in India. Roy began her career in journalism at The Indian Express and worked for a period of time at the India Today magazine before becoming the founder of NDTV
.

Biography

1949–1984: Early life and career

Radhika was born in

Radhika Roy began her career as a journalist at

New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV).[7] Both the Roys are considered to be the founders of company, but according to Prannoy, Radhika was the original founder of the company and that he joined afterwards.[8] The company began as a production house for the public broadcaster Doordarshan,[9] and became the first independent news broadcaster in India.[3] NDTV is considered to be a legacy brand,[10] which set the template for broadcast journalism in India.[11]

1984–2022: Co-Chairperson of NDTV

Radhika Roy was the

managing director of NDTV between 1998 and 2011, before which she was the chairman.[12][13] She also held the position of chief executive producer.[2] Prannoy Roy became the public face of the network, while Radhika Roy managed the editorial and backend processes.[13] She grew a reputation for demanded high standards for editorial integrity and impartiality.[14] Radhika had instituted a legally binding code of conducts for journalistic ethics in the company at a time when other broadcasters had none.[15] She has also been described as having a sense of social justice and integrity,[6] Roy had implemented measures such as arrangement of sanitary napkins in NDTV offices during a time when the debate over destigmatisation of periods in workplaces had not yet enter public discourse.[2] According to a senior executive at the company, "[I]f Prannoy Roy is the face of the organisation, Radhika Roy is its heart and soul."[6]

NDTV launched India's first 24x7 independent news channel in a 5-year partnership with

market capitalisation by the end of the year.[19]

Radhika Roy along with her husband Prannoy Roy were designated as the executive co-chairpersons of NDTV after 2011.

media freedom in the country.[20] The government attempted to ban the Hindi news channel NDTV India in 2016 and retracted following widespread protests.[21][22] In 2017, the offices of the company and the residence of the Roys were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after a NDTV news presenter had questioned statements made by a ruling party spokesperson.[23][24]

In June 2019, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Radhika and Prannoy Roy from holding managerial or board positions in the company for a period of 2 years over alleged withholding of information in loan agreements.[25] The order was appealed against and stayed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).[26] In December 2020, SEBI imposed a fine on the Roys worth 27 crore (US$3.4 million).[27] SAT directed the Roys to deposit 50% of the sum as conditional to a second hearing.[28] The company moved to the Supreme Court of India (SCI) which exempted them from the deposits.[29] Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud remarked that it was "brash" for the tribunal to have demanded it.[30]

Doubts had also begun emerging by 2015 over how much control the Roys had over their company after it had become involved in a debt agreement with the billionaire

Reporters sans frontières released a report, according to which, Radhika Roy directly held 16.32% of the stake in the company while her husband held 15.95% of the stake. The two held an additional 29.18% stake through a 50:50 holding company called RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd.[32]

In December 2022, Radhika and Prannoy Roy sold 27.26 per cent out of their 32.26 per cent shareholding in the news network to Adani Group, who till then had over a 37% stake in NDTV, making the conglomerate, the single largest shareholder with over 64.71 per cent stake.[33]

Public image and recognition

Radhika Roy has a reputation of being a private person who stays away from fame and keeps a low profile.[6][4][34] She has been described as being "quiet and behind the scenes."[2]

Roy along with her husband were awarded the

Fortune India's list of 50 most powerful woman in business in India.[32] In its 2016 list, the magazine remarked that she remains on the list due to her "sheer staying power in the face of adversity" and because NDTV remained one of the most trusted news brands in the country.[34]

In 2023, Securities Appellate Tribunal overturned a 2020 order that held Radhika Roy guilty of insider trading which barred him from engaging in the securities market for two years.[36] In addition, it also compelled him to pay money made through the alleged insider trading between 2006 and 2008.[37]

References

  1. ^ Kinjal (11 June 2021). "False message makes claims about NDTV and its founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy". Alt News. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. ^
    SheThePeople.TV
    . Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Kaushik, Krishn (1 December 2015). "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 2. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  4. ^
    The Indian Express Group
    . 30 December 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Department of English". Miranda House - University College for Women. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Bansal, Shuchi (21 April 2003). "Radhika Roy: NDTV's heart and soul". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  7. .
  8. ^ Kaushik, Krishn. "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 1. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  9. .
  10. ^ Aneez, Zeenab; Neyazi, Taberez Ahmed; Kalogeropoulos, Antonis; Kleis Nielsen, Rasmus (March 2019). "Indian Digital News Report" (PDF). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. University of Oxford.
  11. ^ Wintour, Anna (19 October 2012). "A week inside India's media boom". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Notice" (PDF). NDTV. 27 September 2012.
  13. ^ a b Karmali, Naazneen (8 September 2006). "News Delhi TV". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020.
  14. ^
    Oxford Scholarship Online
    .
  15. ^
  16. .
  17. .
  18. .
  19. ^ Shirsat, B. G.; Krishnakumar, Aparna (13 August 2005). "Media industry valuations hit the roof". Business Standard. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  20. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  21. ^ Krishnan, Murali (7 November 2016). "'Ridiculous and arbitrary' – Indian journalists slam NDTV ban". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  22. ^ Venu, M. K. (8 November 2016). "The Creeping Erosion of Free Expression". The Wire. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. ISSN 0013-0613
    . Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  24. Oxford Scholarship Online
    .
  25. . Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  26. ^ Modak, Samie (18 June 2019). "SAT stays Sebi's order asking Prannoy, Radhika to step down from NDTV". Business Standard. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  27. ^ "SEBI fines NDTV's Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy Rs 27 crore for 'violating regulatory norms'". Scroll.in. 25 December 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  28. ^ "SAT directs NDTV's Prannoy and Radhika Roy to deposit ₹8.5 crore before it hears them further". Business Line. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  29. ^ "NDTV's Prannoy, Radhika Roy exempted from making deposit for hearing appeals against SEBI penalty". Scroll.in. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Supreme Court stays recovery of Rs 27 crore penalty imposed by SEBI on Radhika Roy, Prannoy Roy". Newslaundry. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  31. ^ Kaushik, Krishn. "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  32. ^ a b "The Roy Family". Media Ownership Monitor - India. Reporters Without Borders. December 2019.
  33. ^ [1]
  34. ^
    Fortune India
    . 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  35. ^ "E&Y; picks Ratan Tata for entrepreneurship award". Business Line. The Hindu Group. 29 October 2003. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013.
  36. ^ Team, N. L. (6 October 2023). "SAT quashes SEBI's insider trading order against Prannoy and Radhika Roy". Newslaundry. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  37. ^ Team, N. L. (6 October 2023). "SAT quashes SEBI's insider trading order against Prannoy and Radhika Roy". Newslaundry. Retrieved 16 January 2024.