Arnab Goswami announces Republic Kannada, channel to go on-air ‘very soon’

Bengaluru: Republic Media Network formally has announced Republic Kannada. Republic’s entry into the Kannada news market comes on the back of acquisition of the broadcast assets of the Karnataka media conglomerate VRL News Media. This would be a fully-owned channel of the Republic Media Network and will be on-air very soon.

Republic Kannada will come into the Kannada news market with its tagline ‘ನಿಮ್ಮ ಧ್ವನಿ’ (Nimma Dhwani’ or ‘Your Voice’), putting the people of Karnataka at the forefront in the channel’s pledge to fight for people’s causes, the company said in a press release.

The release further added, “Republic Kannada’s launch slogan ‘ ನೇರ ಮಾತು ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ಲಿ ಕಣ್ಣಿಟ್ಟು’ (‘Nera Maathu, Kannalli Kannittu’ or ‘Straight-Talk, Eye-to-Eye’) thunders an unequivocal message that it will be the platform of the people, for the people and by the people to look at the powers that be in the eye and do the straight talk.”

Republic Kannada, headquartered in Bengaluru, will kick off its on-air operations with over 300 professionals, including over 100 on-ground journalists, deployed across all 31 districts of Karnataka. Republic Kannada will have an additional stringer base of over 500 journalists.

On the tagline of Republic Kannada, Goswami said, “ Republic Kannada will change the news media landscape in Karnataka. We will be as always the voice of the people, ‘Nimma Dhwani’ and work to represent the aspirations of the people of this great state.”

Republic Kannada’s expansive newsroom and studios span over a 28,000-square-foot facility in the state’s capital city with multiple studios and over 73  in-house news production tools. Niranjan Narayanaswamy, Executive Editor – News, will head the editorial operations of Republic Kannada in addition to his other responsibilities at the Network.

On the entry of Republic into Kannada news, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami said, “ Republic Media Network is young and restless. We want to break through all language barriers and reach the people of India as widely and as quickly as we can. So, for the very first time this Network has chosen to grow inorganically. Anand and Vijay Sankeshwar of the iconic VRL Group are people who we deeply respect and admire. We share the same Core values of Nationalism and  Integrity. It is a privilege for us to welcome this valued channel they created with so much love in the Republic Media Network. I have great respect for the Sankeshwar family and, for me,  this is not just a business acquisition by the Republic Media Network but also a culmination of a great friendship with Anand Sankeshwar and respect for his father Vijay Sankeshwar Sir.”

On the expansion of the Network in just 6 years, Goswami said, “Republic Media Network is making history in every project it undertakes. We are destined to be the largest media organisation in India and by reaching approximately 438 million Indians on television alone we have achieved our target. However, we have a long way to go and our teams are working relentlessly to get there. The most important aspect of our growth is that it makes us the largest journalist owned and run news organisation in the world today. This is the most significant part of who we are and why the Republic Media Network is a household name across the country today.”