Prannoy Roy did not lose NDTV. India lost Prannoy Roy’s NDTV : Sujit Nair
SUJIT NAIR, SENIOR JOURNAKUST
What does it really mean to stay committed to your craft… when everything around you is designed to break you?
There is something deeply inspiring about watching Prannoy Roy today. A man who helped shape modern Indian television news, who co founded NDTV, who brought credibility, data driven election analysis, and intellectual depth into our living rooms, now travelling across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, recording interviews on his own mobile phone for his digital channel Dekoder.
No studio lights. No prime time debates. No corporate backing.
Just a man, a phone, and an undying commitment to journalism.
If passion ever needed a face, it would look like Prannoy Roy.
But his legacy is not just what he built. It is also, who he built.
NDTV, at its peak, was not just a news channel. It was a school. A culture. A standard. He mentored a generation of journalists and introduced them to a simple but powerful idea, journalism without fear or favour. Many carried that torch forward. Some did not. But the ecosystem he created shaped Indian media in ways we often forget.
And let us be honest, Prannoy Roy did not lose NDTV. India lost Prannoy Roy’s NDTV.
At a time when narratives were convenient and pressures were real, he and his organisation faced investigations, raids, and relentless scrutiny. Yet, through all of it, there was one thing they did not do.
They did not bend.
Not once did they turn into cheerleaders for power. Not once did they barter credibility for comfort. Not once did they dilute their editorial spine to survive.
That is not just journalism. That is character.
… And maybe that is exactly what journalism still needs.
