NTV Chowdary: Media Baron With No Self-Identity!

Eenadu, Sakshi, TV9, ABN, and NTV are the media houses with substantial clout in recent years. Eenadu Newspaper is the most-circulated Newspaper for several decades and Ramoji Rao has been the doyen of Telugu journalism. Eenadu group’s ETV channels are never in the rating race but they command high relevance thanks to journalism standards. From the anti-Congress stand to opposing YSR and Jagan now, Ramoji Rao always stood stall against powerful establishments and made his own mark in the media space.

Sakshi is more about the political brand. The group is identified by its promotors – YSR and Jagan Mohan Reddy. As they are politically very relevant, Sakshi is identified by them than the editorial staff or its standards.

TV9 hogged the limelight and continued to be the market leader for many years. Ravi Prakash, the founder of the channel was credited for disrupting the Telugu News Channels space by introducing 24-hour News Channels and inducing sensationalism in News. Many News Channels have been implementing the idea even today. It is a different story Ravi Prakash is no longer associated with the group now.

ABN – Andhrajyothy is a different game altogether. Both the Newspaper nor the Channel is in the Top 2 positions. But then, Radhakrishna, who positioned himself against YSR and Jagan Governments, left his mark by bravely taking on the establishment despite the limitations and inadequacies. The fact he became the face and voice of the channel made him a more buzzing topic in political space and as relevant as Ramoji Rao.

Lastly, it is NTV. The channel managed to pull down TV9 from its Number one position and is sitting comfortably there for quite a while now. Narendra Chowdary is the man behind the channel. But then unlike the other media barons like Ramoji Rao, Ravi Prakash, and Radhakrishna, Narendra Chowdary failed to have his own self-identity in this space. The major reason for this is how Chowdary positions the channel from time to time. We have seen the channel changing ideology in accordance to who is in power. As a result, there is no self-identity for the channel or its Chairman.