Friday, January 12, 2007

After STAR, who?

While the rumour mills focused on Peter Mukerjea and his future with STAR TV, VAS revenues of telcos went up last night with text messages suggesting Sameer Nair and Michelle Guthrie had quit STAR flying across the length and breadth of the media-marketing-advertising universe.
No official word from STAR, though.
This morning Mid-Day and Business Standard carried news (rumours, actually) items on Nair’s exit. Mid-Day outdid BS, mentioning the exits of Michelle Guthrie and Peter Mukerjea as well, and the naming of the new CEO for India was the cherry on the top.
Still no official word from STAR.
Sometime today, STAR will have to make a statement, and we will know once and for all what the dickens is happening there. Is Nair leaving? Is he joining NDTV? Is Mukerjea staying? Will he have a boss in India? What’s happening in Hong Kong with Guthrie?
All the answers, later today.
But this blog is not a gossip blog, and you could read all about the new dispensation once STAR condescends to separate fact from fiction, which, as I said, ought to happen sometime today.
This blog is about disasters waiting to happen, not at STAR TV, but at every single buzzing media entity in the country.
Because the STAR imbroglio is not about palace intrigues and politics, but about the talent in the organization. With the talent comes the problem of managing the talent, managing the ambitions, aspirations and egos of key players.
Keep one happy, and make another unhappy – unless the talent includes very competent and senior human resource managers.
Which most media entities do not have.
This time around, the mess it at STAR TV.
Who’s next?

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