#AnuragBatraBW

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Exchange4media Group And Anurag Batra Launches First Ever Party Spokespersons 50 Rankings

Anurag Batra One of the youngest media moguls from India, Anurag is a serial entrepreneur and a mentor to many successful entrepreneurs. He is a man of many talents and someone who adorns many hats. Anurag Batra is also an author, an angel investor and a TV show host and the founder of the iconic exchange4media group and Chairman BW Businessworld group. In a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the exchange4media group 50 Party Spokespersons were ranked and honoured for their work as political advocates of their respective political parties.

At the event held at India International Centre on April 28, veteran political spokesperson and Member of Parliament, Sudhanshu Trivedi was awarded the first place in the list that saw 5 non-BJP Spokespersons in top 10. Randeep Singh Surjewala and Abhishek Manu Singhvi of Congress were ranked at no. 3 and no. 5 respectively followed by Raghav Chadha of AAP at no. 6, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena at no. 7 and Anurag Bhadouria of Samajwadi Party at no. 10. Amongst BJP leader Sambit Patra bagged second rank, Gaurav Bhatia was at no.4, Syed Zafar Islam at no.8 and Shaziya Ilmi was no.9.

The selection process was based on the criteria of quality of argument, uniqueness of points, presentation style, credibility and visibility. The winners were selected after a long exhaustive screening process by the editorial board of exchange4media which included Dr. Anurag Batra. The awards were preceded by an insightful conference that included fireside chats with founder Dr. Anurag Batra and panel discussions with other judges, covering topics related to political discourse in the country as well as dealing with brickbats and criticism that political spokespeople are often exposed to for their work in public sphere.

Also forming part of discussions was the evolving role of political spokespersons and the need to distinguish cacophony and communication. The first of its kind concept to recognise men and women involved in political life who serve as the public face of their parties, a job that often comes with more than a fair share of criticism was lauded by Dr. Anurag Batra among other attending spokespersons and dignitaries.

[online-journalist]

Dr. Anurag Batra Discusses Why The Tv Ratings Issue Continues To Rage On

One of the youngest media moguls from India, Dr. Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur and a mentor to many successful entrepreneurs. Dr. Anurag Batra, Founder, exchange4media Group and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld, asks pertinent questions on why the ratings issue continues to rage on. In his latest article, Anurag Batra speaks on the unanswered questions about the TV ratings.

“It’s been 10 weeks since the ratings have resumed for individual news channels. Ratings and measurement are supposed to bring order and give a currency for performance and measurement for all stakeholders. However, instead, the ratings have turned out to be baffling and bemusing. The ratings in the current form leave a lot many questions unanswered rather than answering and regaining credibility”, Anurag Batra says. The current regime seems to be taking off the sheen of ratings and raises a lot of questions about the mechanism, he analyses.

The first question he answers is whether the landing pages viewership be counted as legitimate viewership and should this data be factored in while calculating ratings. In his words, “In the past, a certain broadcaster did it and the then CEO of a ratings mechanism allowed the same and the technical board of the ratings mechanism continued to allow landing page data to be featured as ratings, and allowed it as an input into ratings. I, personally, would strongly urge the stakeholders to reconsider allowing landing pages determined inputs as ‘no viewership’ or its weightage be minimised. The advertiser is paying for engaged and real viewers, not accident-bait viewers who are forced to leave impressions on a certain page”.

The second issue that worries Anurag Batra is the fact that news channel owners who rightly stayed away and criticised such practices of landing pages or other not so best practices have started embracing these practices to stay ahead. “Certain news organisations have even embraced professionals who have been mired in controversy and who they were earlier targeting for malpractices. This is very disturbing. We have to have faith and conviction in one’s own content and the process rather than hiring the same professionals that were once publicly accused of malpractices. This is double-spoken and espouses the low morality of some news media owners and their own eagerness to do well in the short term. Ideally, such professionals should have been singled out and side-lined in a formal way. We need to clean up the system”, Dr. Batra says.

The third issue he discusses is with data collection. A lot of employees of a certain data-gathering agency, which was accused of malpractices or at least the lack of any checks and tampering, have joined a new agency that is supposed to protect and gather data. This is too ironic. This shows the lack of oversight and it seems it is so easy to violate data, Dr. Anurag Batra concluded.

[currentmediasstuff]

“Cacophony of opinions and views on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, just turned shriller” - Anurag Batra

Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur and he acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld. Anurag Batra forecasts his views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world economy. According to him, information wars are preceding real conflicts, and then escalating them.

Anurag Batra is a successful entrepreneur, media magnate, journalist and a perpetual optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur who acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld, a 35-year strong media brand as well as most respected business publication in the country.

Anurag Batra forecasts his views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world economy. Russia finally invaded Ukraine on 22nd February, polarising the world into allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its own traditional allies of the Soviet era like Belarus. According to Anurag Batra, the dissonance of opinions and views on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, which has been aspiring for a NATO membership, is increasing day by day.

The US remains deeply polarized along political and racial lines. China has adversarial positions open across the spectrum. The world is increasingly divided. “Even as media professionals landed in the war zone, rumours and unverified social media posts began to confuse the actual situation on the ground”, Anurag Batra brings the truth to the limelight. Polarisations are not only typical of geopolitics, where vested economic interests decide who takes which side, says Mr. Anurag Batra. In his opinion, we have been witnessing polarisations in domestic politics on ethnic or racial lines, not just in India but also in the world’s oldest democracy, the United States of America.

India has abstained from the vote on the United Nations resolution on Russia, citing its traditional ties with Russia, as well as nations aligned with NATO.  As India deftly plays the balancing game on the UN vote on Russia and Ukraine, the situation will test India’s resolve and diplomatic dexterity. For the longest time India swore by the doctrine of non-alignment, it is now the time to build a fresh paradigm based on those principles. “India is obviously choosing to adhere to the doctrine of non-alignment, even as we champion peace”, Dr. Anurag Batra says.

In the views of Anurag Batra, information wars are preceding real conflicts, and then escalating them. Years of cultural and ideological conditioning supplemented with incessant fake news has often fructified into hardline opinions and strategies.

[currentmediasstuff]

Zee-Sony merger as a true win-win for all stakeholders says Anurag Batra

Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group. Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. Anurag Batra discusses about the 3C’s that the post pandemic economy embraced lately and the part of Zee Sony merger in this 3C economy. Mr. Batra believes that the Zee legacy should be preserved and strengthened through its merger with Sony.

Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group.  Anurag Batra discusses about the 3C’s that the post pandemic economy embraced lately and the part of Zee Sony merger in this 3C economy. 

The media and entertainment sector are an important part of the creative economy. If there are three words that describe the change post pandemic in our professional and personal lives, they would be: Contactless, Collaboration and Compassion. India has embraced the 3C economy wholeheartedly and we are seeing consolidation across the board driven by this new paradigm. According to Anurag Batra, Zee Sony merger is part of this move to the 3C economy. The Zee Sony merger is a welcome development by all measures. Zee is a home-grown Indian Company and its merger with a global heavyweight augur well for the industry as it is bound to drive consolidation and growth while bringing in enhanced investment into the sector.

Anurag Batra hopes that the merger will be approved by all stakeholders, policy makers and regulators, as well as withstand all legal challenges. He considers this essential if they have to grow the media and entertainment industry. According to him, a broadminded approach is needed across the legal, policy & regulatory framework to enable such M&A to pave way for a lively and growth-oriented future for the industry.

Anurag Batra also has a clear view on another perspective that is included here. His belief is that financial investors should not suddenly assume the mantle of strategic partners. If they want to see the creation of value for all stakeholders, they must continue to trust the management and board of the company while establishing appropriate checks, balances and governance controls. This is especially important if the management is always delivering spectacular returns. “Strategic support and inputs would certainly serve as an assist for the management but intervention where none is required is a surefire recipe for long term disaster on the back of some misplaced desire for short term satisfaction”, Anurag Batra said.

With the IPL rights coming up for bidding, Anurag Batra believes that big investments will be needed by multiple players to create a fair, competitive and lucrative field. The combined Zee-Sony be best placed to be the top challenger in the mix. The immense opportunities the combined entity would be able to create in terms of employment generation can be transformative for the entire creative ecosystem which in turn will propel advertiser sentiment and spending.

Anurag Batra points out the contribution of Indian homegrown giant Zee to the betterment of various socioeconomic indicators in the last three decades. The company contributed to the betterment of the country across the board - whether through employment generation, pioneering the sector, their gigantic CSR efforts or their unflinching and deep support to the nation during the pandemic. “If we look at India’s business world, homegrown companies such as Amul, Tata, Bajaj and even Zee have been synonymous with the country’s growth – and we must make every attempt to make sure they continue to expand and contribute to the economy”, Anurag Batra shared his opinion. “We need to preserve the Zee legacy and strengthen it by creating a strong Zee led entity through this merger with Sony”, said Mr. Batra. In the views of Anurag Batra, until more large Indian business houses invest and create larger plays in the sector, the prudent approach would be to encourage consolidation to create larger entities that can compete well and continue driving growth in the sector.

[currentmediasstuff]

Enthusiastic and Curious Man, Anurag Batra

Mr. Anurag Batra is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld. As a first-generation entrepreneur, he expanded the 35-year-old Businessworld brand into digital, events and BW communities and included newer entities like www.digitalmarket.asia, a leading website on digital marketing.

Anurag Batra is an entrepreneur of a different flavor. It takes all sorts to make a world, and while most would never confess that entrepreneurship was an all or nothing choice – simply to keep up appearances! – Anurag does the opposite. Unpretentious and sincere, this Dynamic Entrepreneur is a name many will find instantly recognizable, for he is an entrepreneur, media expert and a journalist rolled into one.  

Anurag Batra is also a media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He had completed B. Tech in Computer Sciences, a degree, which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI, one of India’s leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur and after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld, a 35-year strong media brand as well as most respected business publication in the country.

Early in 2006 the prestigious Management Development Institute (MDI), Batra’s Alma Mater, awarded Anurag the “Most Distinguished Alumni of the Decade” Award. Anurag is a member of the Sales & Marketing committee of the Delhi Management Association and is the Past President of the Franchising Association of India. He is passionate about magazines and is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM).

Since taking over BW Businessworld 13 months back Mr. Anurag has expanded BW Businessworld into digital, events and BW communities and has taken into its fold www.digitalmarket.asia, a leading website on digital marketing, India’s leading experiential marketing website and launch BW Hotelier in partnership with hotelier international. BW Smart Cities an editorial platform in a 360-degree format is to be launched in mid-February 2015. Mr. Batra is building the BW Businessworld business aggressively. Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com – India’s leading media industry website, PITCH – India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine, IMPACT – The Marketing Weekly, Franchisee Plus – Business Opportunity Magazine, Realty Plus – India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com/ – leading media industry website in Hindi. Mr. Batra is also appointed by Government of India as the Chairman of an industry committee formed to come up with a vocational training framework for the media, communication and entertainment industry. He mentors many budding entrepreneurs and enjoys the process of reverse mentoring as in what he learns from these young entrepreneurs. At BW Businessworld BW Accelerate is an initiative to provide a structured platform to entrepreneurs for mentorship and growth.

In a display of his candid nature Anurag related the manner in which he was introduced to entrepreneurship and said “I got fired, could not find a job and hence was forced to be an entrepreneur. No, I am kidding,” he laughs. “Entrepreneurship happens. It’s like love, you fall into it. I am the perfect case of an accidental entrepreneur. By the way, please do not understand that I am equating falling in love with an accident.