Arnab Goswami’s new setup: ‘a global, digital news agency’

It was supposed to be Newshour anchor Arnab Goswami’s last prime time tonight. Titled “We Changed The News”, this special edition of Newshour was to last four hours, with star guests and select panels that have graced the show over the past 10 years. Goswami was supposed to exit with a bang except the management at the Times TV Network decided this was not to be. According to sources in the channel, the management’s decision was sudden and Goswami was informed last evening that he would no longer be going on air. “So he came to the news pit last evening cried his heart out and gave a small parting speech,” said the source, adding that perhaps the management didn’t want to make a hero out of Goswami by allowing him his swansong at least in Times Now as the Newshour anchor.

A source close to Goswami said that Goswami was not happy about how his grand exit had been extinguished. Apparently, his new company will be a “global digital news agency” in which Goswami won’t play second fiddle to anyone.

Meanwhile, there’s speculation on who’s likely to replace Goswami. Names like Rahul Kanwal of India Today are doing the rounds and there’s even a rumour that the Jains reached out to Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria. All this is purely in the space of newsroom gossip, of course. One thing is for sure: it’s going to be no easy task for Times TV Network to find the next face of Newshour.

Watch this space for more as concrete details emerge.