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{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Radhika Roy
| name = Radhika Roy
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Radhika Das
| birth_name = Radhika Das
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|05|07|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|05|07|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[India]]
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[India]]
| death_date =
| death_date =
| Religion =
| Religion =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[Welham Girls' School]]<br>[[Miranda House]] (BA)<br>Oldrey Fleming School (SLP)<br>[[The New School]] (MA)<br>[[New York University]]
| occupation = Co-Founder, Co-Chairperson [[New Delhi Television|NDTV]]
| occupation = Executive co-chairperson of [[NDTV]]
⚫
| alias =
| title =
| alias =
| family =
| title =
| spouse = [[Prannoy Roy]]
| family =
| children = 1
| spouse = [[Prannoy Roy]]
⚫
| ethnicity =
| relations = [[Brinda Karat]] (sister)
| ethnicity =
| salary =
| salary =
| networth =
| known_for = Being the founder of the first independent news broadcaster in India ([[NDTV]]).
| networth =
| credits =
| credits =
| agent =
| agent =
| URL =
| URL =
}}
}}
'''Radhika Roy''' ([[née]] '''Das'''; born 7 May 1949) is an Indian journalist, who is the founder and executive co-chairperson of [[NDTV]]. She was previously the managing director and editorial director at the company. 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.
'''Radhika Roy''' (born 7 May 1949), née '''Radhika Das''', is an Indian journalist, and the co-founder of [[New Delhi Television]] (NDTV).<ref name="bloomberg_profile">{{cite web|title=Radhika Roy|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=25451340&privcapId=6981979|publisher=Bloomberg|accessdate=18 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Bansal">{{cite web|last1=Bansal|first1=Shuchi|title=Radhika Roy: NDTV's heart and soul|url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/apr/21spec1.htm|publisher=Rediff India Abroad|accessdate=18 January 2017|date=21 April 2003}}</ref> Following a ten year career in print journalism,<ref name="caravan_120115"/> she switched to television in 1987 and co-founded NDTV, which she has led for more than 25 years.<ref name="Bansal"/><ref name="NDTV">{{cite web|title=Radhika Roy|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/corporatepage/radhika_roy.aspx|website=NDTV|accessdate=27 January 2017|quote="Radhika Roy is the guiding force behind NDTV and has been responsible for leading NDTV's tremendous growth since inception."}}</ref> The [[Securities and Exchange Board of India]] issued an order to bar Radhika Roy and her husband [[Prannoy Roy]] from holding management positions on NDTV, for 2 years. SEBI alleged & laid claims that an investigation conducted by SEBI, has shown that information regarding loan agreements was withheld by Radhika Roy & Prannoy Roy.


==Biography==
On 14 June 2019 , Prannoy Roy & Radhika Roy made a joint statement stating that they "believe the Sebi order asking them to step down as directors and to not hold any management positions in NDTV, is based on an incorrect assessment and highly unusual and perverse directive"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndtv.com/communication/statement-from-radhika-and-prannoy-roy-on-sebi-order-2053470?amp=1&akamai-rum=off | title=Statement From Radhika And Prannoy Roy On SEBI Order | date=14 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sebi-bars-ndtv-promoters-prannoy-radhika-roy-from-accessing-securities-markets-for-2-years/articleshow/69791905.cms | title=Sebi bars NDTV promoters Prannoy, Radhika Roy from accessing securities markets for 2 years | publisher=[[The Economic Times]] | date=14 June 2019 | accessdate=14 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/sebi-bars-prannoy-radhika-roy-from-ndtv-board/article27943165.ece | title=SEBI bars Prannoy, Radhika Roy from NDTV board | work=The Hindu | date=14 June 2019 | accessdate=14 June 2019}}</ref>
Radhika was born in [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]] on 7 May 1949,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kinjal|date=2021-06-11|title=False message makes claims about NDTV and its founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy|url=https://www.altnews.in/old-fake-message-about-ndtv-prannoy-roy-and-his-wife-viral-again/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[Alt News]]|language=en-GB}}</ref> at 5/1B Belvedre Road to Sooraj Lal Das, a [[Bengali]] engineer who had migrated to the city from [[Lahore]] during the [[partition of India]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mukherjee|first=Ritwik|date=2018-03-31|title=Vanity Addresses|url=https://mydigitalfc.com/fc-weekend/vanity-addresses|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[Financial Chronicle]]}}</ref> In the 1960s, Radhika was sent to study at the [[Welham Girls' School|Welham Girls']] boarding school in [[Dehradun]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]. Radhika met [[Prannoy Roy]] during her teenage years. Prannoy was also from Calcutta who was sent to the [[The Doon School]], a boys' boarding school in Dehradun.<ref name="caravan_120115">{{cite web|last1=Kaushik|first1=Krishn|date=1 December 2015|title=The Tempest|url=http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/the-tempest-prannoy-radhika-roy-ndtv|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[The Caravan]]|page=2}}</ref> She graduated with a degree in English literature from [[Miranda House]], [[University of Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Department of English|url=https://www.mirandahouse.ac.in/academics/departments/english/englishoverview.php|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=Miranda House - University College for Women}}</ref><ref name="Bansal">{{cite web|last1=Bansal|first1=Shuchi|date=21 April 2003|title=Radhika Roy: NDTV's heart and soul|url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/apr/21spec1.htm|url-status=live|website=[[Rediff.com]]|accessdate=18 January 2017}}</ref> Radhika and Prannoy moved to [[London]], [[United Kingdom]] for further studies, where they got married and then returned to India, settling down in [[Delhi]].<ref name="caravan_120115" /> In London, she studied at the Oldrey Fleming School and became a qualified [[speech pathologist]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2007-12-30|title=Power Women|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/power-women/255634/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]|publisher=[[The Indian Express Group]]|language=en-US}}</ref>


Radhika Roy began her career as a journalist at ''[[The Indian Express]]'' where she worked for the editing desk. She joined the ''[[India Today]]'' magazine where she was a news coordinator. Roy quit her job at the magazine to join [[The New School For Social Research]] for a post-graduate degree in [[broadcast journalism]] in New York, United States.<ref name="Bansal" /> She also applied for and completed a course in [[television production]] at the [[New York University Tisch School of the Arts]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1988, Radhika Roy along with her economist husband Prannoy Roy founded [[New Delhi Television Ltd]] (NDTV). Both the Roys are considered to be the founders of company, but according to Prannoy, Radhika was the original founder of the company that he joined afterwards.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kaushik|first=Krishn|title=The Tempest|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/the-tempest-prannoy-radhika-roy-ndtv|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[The Caravan]]|page=1|language=en}}</ref> The company began as a production house for the public broadcaster [[Doordarshan]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shrivastava|first=K M|title=Broadcast Journalism in the 21st Century|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]]|year=2010|isbn=978-81-207-3597-2|pages=36–37|language=en}}</ref> and became the first independent.<ref name="caravan_120115" /> NDTV is considered to be a legacy brand in India,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aneez|first1=Zeenab|last2=Neyazi|first2=Taberez Ahmed|last3=Kalogeropoulos|first3=Antonis|last4=Kleis Nielsen|first4=Rasmus|author-link4=Rasmus Kleis Nielsen|date=March 2019|title=Indian Digital News Report|url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-03/India_DNR_FINAL.pdf|journal=[[Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism]]|publisher=[[University of Oxford]]}}</ref> which set the template for broadcast journalism in India.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wintour|first=Anna|date=19 October 2012|title=A week inside India’s media boom|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0eb44760-1907-11e2-af88-00144feabdc0|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>
==Career==
Roy worked for over ten years in print journalism, including with publications such as ''[[The Indian Express]]'' and ''[[India Today]]''.<ref name="caravan_120115">{{cite web|last1=Kaushik|first1=Krishn|title=Have Radhika and Prannoy Roy undermined NDTV?|url=http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/the-tempest-prannoy-radhika-roy-ndtv|publisher=The Caravan|accessdate=18 January 2017|date=1 December 2015}}</ref>


Radhika Roy was the [[managing director]] of NDTV between 1988 and 2011.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=27 September 2012|title=Notice|url=https://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/corporatepage/images/NDTV12pagesnotice-proxy.pdf|url-status=live|publisher=[[NDTV]]}}</ref> Prannoy Roy became the public face of the network while Radhika Roy managed the editorial and backend processes. She grew a reputation for demanded high standards for editorial integrity and impartiality.<ref name="Kaushik-IndiaMeansBusiness_">{{Cite book|last1=Kaushik|first1=Kshama|title=India Means Business: How the elephant earned its stripes|last2=Dutta|first2=Kaushik|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-908851-5|pages=277–281|language=en|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198072614.001.0001|via=[[Oxford Scholarship Online]]}}</ref> According to an executive at the company, "[I]f Prannoy Roy is the face of the organisation, Radhika Roy is its heart and soul."<ref name="Bansal" /> She continued to act as a steward for the editorial end of the company after 2011.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|last=Joseph|first=Ammu|title=India: What You See Is Not What You Get|date=2013|work=The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism|pages=384–403|editor-last=Byerly|editor-first=Carolyn M.|place=London|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|language=en|doi=10.1057/9781137273246_28|isbn=978-1-137-27324-6}}</ref> Radhika had instituted a legally binding code of conducts for journalistic ethics in the company at a time when other broadcasters had none.<ref name=":3" /> She was reportedly well liked by her employees and heavily involved in the company's day to day operations, one former employee described her working style to be sometimes controlling as there was no effective decentralisation in the company.<ref name="Bansal" />
In 1988, she launched [[New Delhi Television]] (NDTV) with her husband, [[Prannoy Roy]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shinde|first1=Shalaka|title=Prannoy Roy, Dad of News TV: Here's A Tribute From Your 'Students'|url=https://www.thequint.com/videos/2016/10/15/happy-birthday-dr-prannoy-roy-economist-turned-psephologist-made-elections-fun-ndtv-vikram-chandra-rajdeep-sardesai|publisher=The Quint|accessdate=18 January 2017|date=15 October 2016}}</ref> He credits her with being "the guiding vision and force behind NDTV", and others{{who|date=January 2017}} say that she is deeply involved in all aspects of the day-to-day running of the organization.<ref name="Bansal"/> She was Managing Director of NDTV{{clarify|date=January 2017}} from 1988 to 2011, and became Executive Co-Chairperson of NDTV on 29 July 2011. She also serves as Executive Director of NDTV.<ref name="bloomberg_profile"/> During a television career of more than 25 years, she has rarely been interviewed or photographed, being intensely private.<ref name="Bansal"/>


Roy along with her husband were designated as the executive co-chairpersons of NDTV since 2011.<ref name=":2" /> The company began facing government pressure through litigations and intimidation of advertisers on the network after [[Narendra Modi]] became the Prime Minister, which was described as part of a process of cratering [[media freedom]] in the country.<ref name="NewYorkTimes02Apr20_">{{Cite news|last1=Goel|first1=Vindu|last2=Gettleman|first2=Jeffrey|last3=Khandelwal|first3=Saumya|date=2 April 2020|title=Under Modi, India's Press Is Not So Free Anymore|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/modi-india-press-media.html|access-date=16 December 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The government attempted to ban the Hindi news channel NDTV India in 2016 and retracted following widespread protests.<ref name="DeutscheWelle07Nov16_">{{Cite news|last=Krishnan|first=Murali|date=7 November 2016|title='Ridiculous and arbitrary' – Indian journalists slam NDTV ban|language=en-GB|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=https://www.dw.com/en/ridiculous-and-arbitrary-indian-journalists-slam-ndtv-ban/a-36293627|access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Venu|first=M. K.|date=8 November 2016|title=The Creeping Erosion of Free Expression|url=https://thewire.in/politics/creeping-erosion-free-expression|access-date=18 December 2020|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 June 2017|title=Falling in line: India's raucous democracy is becoming more subdued|work=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2017/06/24/indias-raucous-democracy-is-becoming-more-subdued|access-date=16 December 2020|issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jaffrelot|first1=Christophe|title=Business and Politics in India|last2=Kohli|first2=Atul|last3=Murali|first3=Kanta|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2019|isbn=978-0-19-091246-8|pages=186|language=en|via=[[Oxford Scholarship Online]]}}</ref> In 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.<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=14 June 2019|title=SEBI bars Prannoy, Radhika Roy from NDTV board|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/sebi-bars-prannoy-radhika-roy-from-ndtv-board/article27943165.ece|access-date=17 December 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Roy is married to [[Prannoy Roy]], who she met while attending [[Welham Girls' School]].<ref name='Reddif 2006-09-14'>{{cite news | first=Naazneen | last=Karmali | url=http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/14forbes.htm | title=Prannoy Roy plans to take NDTV global | work=Rediff | publisher=Rediff.com | date=2006-09-14 | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321064313/http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/14forbes.htm | archivedate=2014-03-21 | accessdate=2014-03-21 }}</ref> They have a daughter, Tara Roy.<ref name='Rediff 2005-05-31'>{{cite news | first=Bipin | last=Chandran | url=http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/may/31ndtv.htm | title=Prannoy Roy to gift NDTV stake to daughter | work=Rediff | publisher=Rediff.com | date=2005-05-31 | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808085739/http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/may/31ndtv.htm | archivedate=2011-08-08 | accessdate=2014-03-21 }}</ref>


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 [[Mukesh Ambani]]'s conglomerate [[Reliance Industries]] following a series of loan transactions necessitated by the NDTV's downturn due to the [[global financial crisis]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kaushik|first=Krishn|title=The Tempest|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/the-tempest-prannoy-radhika-roy-ndtv|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[The Caravan]]|page=4|language=en}}</ref> In late 2019, the international news organisation ''[[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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=December 2019|title=The Roy Family|url=https://india.mom-rsf.org/en/owners/individual-owners/detail/owner/owner/show/the-roy-family/|url-status=live|website=Media Ownership Monitor - India|publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]]}}</ref>
Her sister [[Brinda Karat]] is a member of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], which is the highest decision making body of [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Exclusive Interview/Brinda Karat|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2005/may/04inter1.htm|access-date=2021-01-20|website=www.rediff.com}}</ref>


== Public image and recognition ==
==Corruption allegations==
Radhika Roy has a reputation of being a private person who stays away from fame and keeps a low profile.<ref name="Bansal" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|year=2016|title=Radhika Roy - Most Powerful Women in 2016 - Fortune India|url=https://www.fortuneindia.com/mpw/radhika-roy?year=2016|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-24|website=[[Fortune India]]|language=en}}</ref> In 2007, she was featured by the museum on broadcasting history, [[Paley Center for Media]] as one of 50 major women figures in the history of television and radio broadcasting. She was also listed in ''[[Fortune India]]''<nowiki/>'s list of 50 most powerful woman in business in India.<ref name=":0" /> In it's 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.<ref name=":4" />

The [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] had filed a criminal conspiracy case against [[New Delhi Television|NDTV]] managing director Roy in 1998 for alleging fraud in [[Doordarshan]] upgrade.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?204133 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2015-09-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910184345/http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?204133 |archivedate=10 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In July 2013, Roy and NDTV were cleared by the courts and found not-guilty of all charges involving cases filed against Roy by the CBI under Section 120-B of the [[Indian Penal Code]] (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.<ref>[http://zoomindianmedia.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/ndtv-and-prannoy-roy-once-upon-a-time/ NDTV and Prannoy Roy – Once Upon a Time] Zoom Indian Media (14 February 2011).</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/Storyold/19100// CBI case against Prannoy Roy]. ''The Indian Express''. (20 January 1998).</ref>

NDTV, through its foreign subsidiaries, is alleged to have violated Indian tax and corporate laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1088 |title=NDTV juggles funds, shares abroad, avoids tax|publisher=[[The Sunday Guardian]]|date=5 December 2010 |accessdate=6 December 2010}}</ref> NDTV has denied these allegations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://video.indiannewsandviews.com/watch_NDTV_Frauds_Book_Release_function_at_the_Constitution_Club,_New_Delhi_on_March_27,_2017?v=XFkd_zNSE6U |title=Todays India News |publisher=Video.indiannewsandviews.com |date= |accessdate=2018-01-10}}</ref>

''[[The Sunday Guardian]]'' ran a story which exposed the NDTV's financial misdemeanours and malpractices in connivance with ICICI Bank.<ref>[http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1082 "NDTV-ICICI loan chicanery saved Roys] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202102749/http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1082 |date=2 February 2011 }}</ref> provides details of how NDTV's major stakeholders raised funds by misdeclaration of the value of shares in NDTV. NDTV has denied the allegations and the NDTV CEO replied<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1083 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-02-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208060733/http://www.sunday-guardian.com/a/1083 |archivedate=8 December 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> to the ''Sunday Guardian'' along with the threat of "criminal defamation". On 5 June 2017, the House of Prannoy and Radhika Roy was raided by NIA and CBI.

On 19 November 2015 the [[Enforcement Directorate|ED]] served {{INRConvert|2030|c}} notice to NDTV for alleged violations under the [[Foreign Exchange Management Act|FEMA]] act,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ed-serves-rs-2030-crore-notice-on-ndtv-for-fema-violations/article7900384.ece?homepage=true |title=ED serves Rs 2,030 crore notice on NDTV for FEMA violations|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=20 November 2015}}</ref> however the company said it has been advised that the allegations are not "legally tenable".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/ndtv-gets-ed-notice-for-alleged-fema-violations/ |title=NDTV gets ED notice for alleged FEMA violations|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]|date=20 November 2015}}</ref>

The [http://itat.nic.in/ "Income Tax Appellate Tribunal"] (ITAT) has upheld an income tax department finding that promoters of NDTV used their own shell companies to round-trip investments of {{INRConvert|642|c}} during 2009-10, making them liable for recovery of tax and penalty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ndtv-round-tripped-rs-642-crore-via-shell-companies-in-2009-2010-tribunal/articleshow/59719501.cms|title=NDTV round-tripped Rs 642 crore via shell companies in 2009-2010: Tribunal|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=23 July 2017}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 21:07, 24 June 2021

Radhika Roy
Born
Radhika Das

(1949-05-07) 7 May 1949 (age 75)
Calcutta, India
Alma materWelham Girls' School
Miranda House (BA)
Oldrey Fleming School (SLP)
The New School (MA)
New York University
OccupationExecutive co-chairperson of NDTV
Known forBeing the founder of the first independent news broadcaster in India (NDTV).
SpousePrannoy Roy

Radhika Roy (née Das; born 7 May 1949) is an Indian journalist, who is the founder and executive co-chairperson of NDTV. She was previously the managing director and editorial director at the company. 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

Radhika was born in Calcutta, West Bengal on 7 May 1949,[1] at 5/1B Belvedre Road to Sooraj Lal Das, a Bengali engineer who had migrated to the city from Lahore during the partition of India.[2] In the 1960s, Radhika was sent to study at the Welham Girls' boarding school in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh. Radhika met Prannoy Roy during her teenage years. Prannoy was also from Calcutta who was sent to the The Doon School, a boys' boarding school in Dehradun.[3] She graduated with a degree in English literature from Miranda House, University of Delhi.[4][5] Radhika and Prannoy moved to London, United Kingdom for further studies, where they got married and then returned to India, settling down in Delhi.[3] In London, she studied at the Oldrey Fleming School and became a qualified speech pathologist.[6]

Radhika Roy began her career as a journalist at The Indian Express where she worked for the editing desk. She joined the India Today magazine where she was a news coordinator. Roy quit her job at the magazine to join The New School For Social Research for a post-graduate degree in broadcast journalism in New York, United States.[5] She also applied for and completed a course in television production at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[6] In 1988, Radhika Roy along with her economist husband Prannoy Roy founded New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV). Both the Roys are considered to be the founders of company, but according to Prannoy, Radhika was the original founder of the company that he joined afterwards.[7] The company began as a production house for the public broadcaster Doordarshan,[8] and became the first independent.[3] NDTV is considered to be a legacy brand in India,[9] which set the template for broadcast journalism in India.[10]

Radhika Roy was the managing director of NDTV between 1988 and 2011.[11] Prannoy Roy became the public face of the network while Radhika Roy managed the editorial and backend processes. She grew a reputation for demanded high standards for editorial integrity and impartiality.[12] According to an executive at the company, "[I]f Prannoy Roy is the face of the organisation, Radhika Roy is its heart and soul."[5] She continued to act as a steward for the editorial end of the company after 2011.[13] Radhika had instituted a legally binding code of conducts for journalistic ethics in the company at a time when other broadcasters had none.[13] She was reportedly well liked by her employees and heavily involved in the company's day to day operations, one former employee described her working style to be sometimes controlling as there was no effective decentralisation in the company.[5]

Roy along with her husband were designated as the executive co-chairpersons of NDTV since 2011.[11] The company began facing government pressure through litigations and intimidation of advertisers on the network after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, which was described as part of a process of cratering media freedom in the country.[14] The government attempted to ban the Hindi news channel NDTV India in 2016 and retracted following widespread protests.[15][16] 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.[17][18] In 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.[19]

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 Mukesh Ambani's conglomerate Reliance Industries following a series of loan transactions necessitated by the NDTV's downturn due to the global financial crisis.[20] In late 2019, the international news organisation 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.[21]

Public image and recognition

Radhika Roy has a reputation of being a private person who stays away from fame and keeps a low profile.[5][6][22] In 2007, she was featured by the museum on broadcasting history, Paley Center for Media as one of 50 major women figures in the history of television and radio broadcasting. She was also listed in Fortune India's list of 50 most powerful woman in business in India.[21] In it's 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.[22]

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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Mukherjee, Ritwik (31 March 2018). "Vanity Addresses". Financial Chronicle. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c Kaushik, Krishn (1 December 2015). "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 2. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Department of English". Miranda House - University College for Women. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b c d e Bansal, Shuchi (21 April 2003). "Radhika Roy: NDTV's heart and soul". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b c "Power Women". The Financial Express. The Indian Express Group. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Kaushik, Krishn. "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 1. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Shrivastava, K M (2010). Broadcast Journalism in the 21st Century. Sterling Publishing. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-81-207-3597-2.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Wintour, Anna (19 October 2012). "A week inside India's media boom". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b "Notice" (PDF). NDTV. 27 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Kaushik, Kshama; Dutta, Kaushik (2012). India Means Business: How the elephant earned its stripes. Oxford University Press. pp. 277–281. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198072614.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-908851-5 – via Oxford Scholarship Online.
  13. ^ a b Joseph, Ammu (2013), Byerly, Carolyn M. (ed.), "India: What You See Is Not What You Get", The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 384–403, doi:10.1057/9781137273246_28, ISBN 978-1-137-27324-6
  14. ^ Goel, Vindu; Gettleman, Jeffrey; Khandelwal, Saumya (2 April 2020). "Under Modi, India's Press Is Not So Free Anymore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  15. ^ Krishnan, Murali (7 November 2016). "'Ridiculous and arbitrary' – Indian journalists slam NDTV ban". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  16. ^ Venu, M. K. (8 November 2016). "The Creeping Erosion of Free Expression". The Wire. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Falling in line: India's raucous democracy is becoming more subdued". The Economist. 24 June 2017. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  18. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe; Kohli, Atul; Murali, Kanta (2019). Business and Politics in India. Oxford University Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-19-091246-8 – via Oxford Scholarship Online.
  19. ^ "SEBI bars Prannoy, Radhika Roy from NDTV board". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 14 June 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ Kaushik, Krishn. "The Tempest". The Caravan. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ a b "The Roy Family". Media Ownership Monitor - India. Reporters Without Borders. December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b "Radhika Roy - Most Powerful Women in 2016 - Fortune India". Fortune India. 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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