Jagdish Chandra is an Indian journalist and former bureaucrat; He is the owner of Bharat24 news channel and the CEO and editor of First India News. He is known for revolutionizing the regional news industry through his innovative ‘Patti’ (breaking news) system, which was later adopted by all news channels. Chandra has a proven ability to turn loss-making companies, whether government or news channels, into profitable companies.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Jagdish Chandra was born on Thursday, 7 September 1950 in Raisinghnagar, Bikaner, Rajasthan. His zodiac sign is Virgo. In the 1960s, Chandra moved with his family to Jaipur where he completed his schooling. In 1973, he completed his Master of Commerce from Rajasthan University and was awarded a gold medal for his excellent performance. The following year, in 1974, he appeared in the Rajasthan Administrative Services Examination and topped.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: black
Family
Jagdish Chandra belongs to a Punjabi refugee family who shifted to Raisinghnagar, a village 20 km from the Pakistan border in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
parents and siblings
Not much information is available about Jagdish Chandra’s parents. Jagdish Chandra has two siblings, a brother, Pawan Arora, and a sister, Usha Arora, both of them are civil servants in the Rajasthan cadre.
Jagdish Chandra’s sister, Sushma Arora
Jagdish Chandra’s brother, Pawan Arora
Wife
Jagdish Chandra is unmarried.
Religion
Jagdish Chandra follows Hindu religion.
livelihood
Civil Services
Jagdish Chandra participated in the Rajasthan Public Service Examination 1974 and topped the examination. On 24 June 1975, he joined as Sub Magistrate of Jaipur and the next day, 25 June 1975, emergency was declared in the country. After the Emergency, when the Janata Party came to power in Rajasthan, Chandra was transferred to Sikar, Rajasthan.
He served in various key positions in the state government including Transport Commissioner, CMD in Dairy Development and Urban Development Officer and was promoted to IAS by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on the basis of merit. Jagadish Chandra was appointed in the 1990 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and served in the IAS till 31 August 2008. At the age of 58, he took voluntary retirement, two years before the official retirement age of 60.
media
After resigning from civil services, Jagadish Chandra pursued his passion for journalism. He was appointed the head of ETV News Network which was going through financial crisis in those days but Chandra’s innovative approach made the channel profitable within a few years.
Jagadish Chandra attending a conference as head of ETV News Network
His innovative ‘Patti’ (breaking news) system, which allowed even the smallest pieces of information to be fed into the control room of news channels, became a sensation in the media industry. By encouraging people to call and share news from their local areas, this system revolutionized the way news was gathered. Once the information is verified, it will be broadcast as a ticker, revolutionizing traditional news gathering methods. While discussing his interest in journalism in an interview, he said,
Media has been my passion since the beginning. Even as a bureaucrat, I often hung out with journalists. News brings more relevance and recognition, and hence it makes you much more powerful than IAS.
In 2017, after an 8-year stint at ETV, Chandra resigned and joined ZEE TV as the CEO of regional news channels and daily newspaper DNA. He was the driving force behind the launch of ZEE Hindustan, a national news channel, which rapidly gained popularity after its launch.
He worked there for a year and then joined Rajasthan-based news channel First India News. He became the CMD of First India News and CEO and Editor-in-Chief of First India, an English daily with three editions in Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi.
Media veteran and well-known name Jagdish Chandra becomes CMD of First India News. #jagadishchandra said-now @1stIndiaNews Voice of the state as well as the country pic.twitter.com/qL3idiDP5D
– First India News (@1stIndiaNews) 13 April 2018
He had already earned a name in the field of regional news. To try his hand in national news, he launched a national news channel Bharat24 on 15 August 2022.
Discussing the motive behind launching Bharat24 in an interview, he said,
When I looked back at my life’s journey, I realized that there was an unfulfilled desire – the desire to run a national network. Yes, I did that when we launched Zee Hindustan, but it was just for 14 months and there was a strong desire to be part of a national network again, and that’s how the idea of Bharat 24 began. At 72, this is completely a passion project for me.
In June 2023, Rubika Liaquat joined Bharat24 as its Vice President. Jagadish Chandra hosts a show, The JC Show, on First India News where he interviews prominent personalities.
J.C. show poster
controversies
Involvement in land scam with Lalit Modi
In 2010, Lalit Modi’s name surfaced in various scams including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and land scam in Rajasthan during the Vasundhara Raje-led government. Reportedly, Jagdish Chandra, the then chairman of Jaipur Development Authority, along with others, helped Lalit Modi. The Ashok Gehlot-led government constituted the Mathur Commission to probe corruption allegations against former CMs Vasundhara Raje and Lalit Modi.
Former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh blackmailed
In 2011, the then Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh had filed a defamation suit of Rs 1 crore against ETV News Network and the magazine on the pretext of blackmailing the government into paying more for advertisements. It is alleged that Jagdish Chandra wrote several letters to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) demanding 100 per cent increase in the government’s advertising budget for electronic media, removal of a senior government official and threatened not to do government advertisements till the demand was met. were met. The Chhattisgarh government ignored this threat and refused to pay more. As a result of this, ETV MP News channel broadcast the news related to Raman Singh’s involvement in the coal scam.
award
- Lifetime Media Achievement Award by Avishkar Media Group
Facts/General Knowledge
- Chandra’s other name is Dr. Jagdish Chandra Arora.
- On 30 May 2022, he was awarded the honorary degree of D.Litt by Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Jagdish Chandra while receiving the honorary degree of D.Litt.
- Jagdish Chandra is known as ‘Murderer’.
- In 2014, before becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi chose to give his interview to ETV’s Jagdish Chandra, ignoring other big names in the media industry, including BBC and Aaj Tak. Amit Shah also adopted the same path.
- During his college days, Jagdish Chandra was an active participant in debate competitions. His extraordinary oratorical skills made him a versatile person. Reportedly, he maintains close relations with all ruling political parties.
- He follows a disciplined exercise routine of 2.30 hours according to which he runs 11 km daily, 5 km on the treadmill in the morning and 6 km in the evening.
- His famous sentence which drives him forward as a journalist is, ‘Khabar hi jeevan hai’ (News is life).
- He said, while talking to journalists at the Press Club of Jaipur, Ashok Gehlot mentioned Chandra and his flattery skills.
If I go to London, sometimes I get a bouquet of flowers from him, if I reach Mumbai, I get a bouquet with ‘Jagdish Chandra’ written on it. You should learn something from them. He is an expert in flattery.”
- During his 8-year tenure at ETV News Network, he took a salary of only Rs 1 per year. ETV News, owned by Ramoji Rao, was making losses when Chandra joined the channel; He considered it a sin to take salary from a loss-making company.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn