Rachna Burman appointed to NBDA board as Rohit Gopakumar steps down

Rachna Burman, a senior media industry executive and director at Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (The Times of India), has been appointed to the board of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), replacing Rohit Gopakumar, people familiar with the development told e4m. 

Burman's appointment comes shortly after another significant change in the composition of the news broadcasters' industry body, with Network18 recently replacing its Managing Director Rahul Joshi with Group General Counsel Kshipra Jatana as its representative on the NBDA board.

The appointments were formally completed on Friday during NBDA board meeting. 

The changes come at a time when the NBDA is navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory environment, with television ratings, digital news regulation, broadcasting policy and the relationship between news broadcasters and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting becoming increasingly important issues for the industry.

Burman brings policy and media experience

Burman has spent more than three decades across journalism, media management, corporate strategy and public policy. She began her career in journalism with The Economic Times and subsequently worked with The Pioneer before moving into senior management roles within the Times Group.

Over the years, she has held several senior positions across the group, including chief of the corporate bureau at The Times of India, coordinating editor of TimesofIndia.com and senior management roles at Times Internet.

Her career has increasingly focused on media policy, regulatory affairs and corporate strategy. She has also served as Chief Public Policy & Content Assurance Officer of the Times of India Group and was appointed a director of Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Burman's experience is particularly relevant for the NBDA as broadcasters and digital news publishers face a regulatory environment that increasingly cuts across traditional television, digital platforms and connected television.

Her appointment also gives the Times Group a senior representative on the board at a time when the association is expected to continue engaging with the government on several policy issues affecting the news industry.

Network18 changes its representative

The latest board reshuffle follows Network18's decision to replace Rahul Joshi with Kshipra Jatana as its representative on the NBDA.

Joshi had represented Network18 on the industry body while overseeing the company's television and digital news businesses, which include CNBC-TV18, CNN-News18, News18 India, Moneycontrol and Firstpost.

NBDA board enters a critical regulatory phase

The changes at the NBDA come against the backdrop of several major developments in India's television and digital news ecosystem.

The industry body has been involved in discussions around television ratings, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting's evolving regulatory framework and issues concerning digital news publishers.

The recent debate around the Television Rating Policy has further highlighted the divergent positions within the broadcasting industry, particularly over the treatment of landing-page viewership in television ratings. 

Burman's induction adds another experienced media-policy professional to the NBDA board.

The two changes — Burman replacing Gopakumar and Jatana replacing Joshi — underline a broader evolution in the composition of the association's board, with senior executives with deep experience in policy, regulation and corporate affairs taking on greater representation.

For the NBDA, the changes come at an important juncture as the association seeks to balance the interests of television news broadcasters and digital publishers while engaging with policymakers on the future regulatory framework for India's news media.

With the government continuing to revisit the regulatory architecture governing broadcasting and digital media, the composition of the NBDA board is likely to assume greater significance in the months ahead.