Aroon
Purie is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of India Today and is the
Chief of India Today Group. He is regarded as one of the most successful
entrepreneurs of Post-independence India. He is credited with changing
the landscape of Indian journalism with his brand of fearless and
unbiased reporting.
Early Days
Aroon
Purie was educated at the Doon School. He procured his B.Sc. in
Economics from the London School of Economics. His father was from the
film business and had set up a printing plant in collaboration where
Aroon was working as production planner. Quickly, he realized that they
would have to create their own work to keep the printing plant working.
His vision of creating children's books for Indian children with Indian
themes got him into publishing children's books. They had to move to
magazines as children's books were not commercially viable. Moreover,
the high price of paper in India left them with no choice but to give up
on publishing children's books. The magazines became much bigger than
the press. Recently, he has handed over the reins to his son Ankoor
Purie. But, he is still the guide and mentor.
Aroon Purie is married to Rekha Purie, a former model and they have three children - Kalli, Koel and Ankoor.
Aroon Purie is married to Rekha Purie, a former model and they have three children - Kalli, Koel and Ankoor.
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Birth of the Spark
Aroon
started out at Thomson Press in 1970 as Production Controller and has
been the guiding force. The Thomson Press is the largest commercial
printer in South Asia and has a national presence with five facilities
across India. Initially, the Press was involved in distribution of
overseas publications and printing children's books for export. He then
set up Living Media to publish India Today in 1975 to keep the printing
press busy. He realized that it was very tough marketing to Indians
living overseas and distribution was very expensive. As an experiment
they let out some copies in the local markets. They found that there was
good acceptability locally and soon they started building on the
domestic market. The biggest lesson Mr. Purie has learnt from this was
to build a strong domestic market before going to international markets.
This is applicable to all products.
The
India Today magazine really took off in the time of emergency. In 1977,
elections were held after the lifting of the Emergency. Voices and
opinions were gagged and news was suppressed during the Emergency.
Indira Gandhi lost and a non-Congress party had come to power. With the
lifting of the Emergency, a lot of news stories that had been suppressed
were waiting to be broadcast and spread. According to Aroon Purie,
they were very interesting times with a lot happening in Indian
politics. The most interesting was the fall of Indira Gandhi and the
Janata party coming to power under Morarji Desai. Then in 1980, the
Janata party fell and Indira Gandhi returned to power. Then there was
the Sanjay Gandhi aura, which though short-lived, was fodder for the
media. The tragic, yet dramatic death of Sanjay Gandhi was followed by
the induction of Rajiv Gandhi into the political mainstream. All these
events were a plethora of news stories and India Today did not let the
opportunity go waste. It was the ideal phase and the magazine reported
the events with clarity and credibility. This was the main reason why
India Today gained its leadership in media. Its never before seen brand
of journalism without fear or favour transformed the landscape of Indian
journalism and Mr. Purie was the beacon guiding its progress.
India
Today magazine has grown to become the most read publication with
editions in five languages. The India Today Group publishes several
other magazines to cater to various segments of society and also
different fields. They include: India Today Spice; India Today Home;
Business Today; India Today Travel Plus; Design Today; G&G (Gadgets
and Gizmos); Money Today; Directories Today and Mail Today (a joint
venture with the Daily Mail). The group also brings out the Indian
editions of Golf Digest; Cosmopolitan; Men's Health and Harvard Business
Review. Mr.Purie has steered India Today into a tie-up with AOL TIME
Warner group for exclusive marketing and distribution of Time and
Fortune magazines. The varied and rich product mix of magazines reflects
his understanding of media space.
The
group's success in the print medium led Purie to diversify into TV,
music and other related businesses. Music Today is the best online store
for finest Indian music. OYE 104.8 FM is the radio channel started by
the group. India Today Book Club was launched in 1999 to provide the
Indian book lovers access to high quality Indian and international books
at affordable prices and the additional option of home delivery. It
provides books on various sections catering to all ages and fields. It
also gives exclusive offers on every purchase. Harper Collins India is a
joint venture with Harper Collins. In December 2000, he launched the
24-hour news and current affairs Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak, which has
established itself as a brand delivering what people want and expect it
to deliver. The group TV Today which controls Aaj Tak also has an
English news channel Headlines Today. The India Today Group
launched India Today Woman magazine to celebrate the achievements of
professional Indian women not just in the workplace but as mothers,
daughters, wives, sisters, even best friends. It's a magazine that
highlights their leadership skills, their ability to multitask and yet
get a job done. The India Today Woman Summit and Awards was started in
2009 as an annual affair. The Summit not only acknowledges the
contribution of modern Indian women in top managerial cadres but also
provides interaction between highly qualified and successful women and
women who are striving to make it to the top.
According
to Mr.Purie, "The key thing in this business is to maintain your
leadership position because in media it is an established fact that the
leader corners most of the revenue. Your market share may come down as
the universe expands, but as long as you maintain your numero uno
position, revenues would keep coming." Both India and the
magazine India Today have grown almost simultaneously. This is one of
the reasons for the magazine's success. The country has gone through a
lot of change and has created a situation where there is a greater
hunger to understand the events and happenings. India Today has been
able to satisfy the need for awareness and enlightenment among the
public. It has been able to do it honestly and fearlessly over the
years. This has been the reason for the India Today Group sustaining
inspite of increasing competition in various media.
Purie
has taken up the editorial role for his magazines as he believes that
editorial excellence is vital for such an organization. It has been
something he has enjoyed doing since the inception of the magazine. He
is very finicky about details and is always improving and changing till
the last minute. He keeps changing things as he keeps thinking of better
things and better ways to do them. This trait is very vital in
journalism as news keep trickling in till the time of publishing or
airing on visual media. In his own words, "That's the thing about this
profession that you are never happy, you are always going to gun it
better. But the good thing is that you get chance to do it against
because there is another issue coming up, another broadcast coming up,
another newspaper is coming up, so that's the fun." This characteristic
of his has given rise to the term "Purification" in the India Today
Group referring to the purification process.
Purie
is a hands-on person and has many screens at his office and home to let
him watch content onscreen. This way, he is sure about the content that
is in his media. India Today Group stands for editorial excellence
which is very vital for its sustenance. They look at market trends,
changes in economy and keep track of events and identify the information
gaps and then try to find the right media or the right information to
be provided. News must evolve keeping the user in mind.
News
journalism has been evolving and news has become a commodity. People
have become more interested and are willing to procure news anytime,
anyhow and anywhere. News has evolved with more connectivity among the
users sometimes leading to user-generated content. News is being more
driven by people with opinions, expert opinions and domain expertise.
Now it is not just about the news but people are more interested because
of their views. Technology has played a very crucial role in the
changing face of journalism in various media - print, radio, television
and internet. Technology enables filming, broadcasting live and
documenting with very small devices. Hence, people other than
journalists can generate content and this is taking journalism to an
altogether different level.
Mr.Purie
is very clear and has a lot of confidence in his group. This is
reflected in his response to queries regarding desertion from TV Today.
This is one problem any leader faces. He credits his HR policy for
recruiting such good persons that others want them and are willing to do
anything to lure them away. But, he prefers to look at the brighter
side and replies that his group has not suffered due to these desertions
as it gives scope for new stars to be born.
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Apart from India Today
Regarding
the education system, he feels that educational institutions must
produce people who will be employable. He rues the lack of vocational
training facilities and the mindset that vocational education is not
preferred. He criticizes the Government for limiting its role in
development to legislation and not following through with execution.
Education is the key for nation development, especially India with a
huge young population. Learning should be fun and not by rote.
Aroon
Purie's views on education led him to set up the Vasant Valley School
in 1990 in New Delhi. It is a self-financing day school with a sprawling
campus spread over eight acres. It has a fully equipped Science and
Computer laboratories. Many activities are organized to inculcate
leadership and self-discipline qualities. The school lays emphasis on an
individual's intellectual and emotional growth and a spirit of mutual
respect between the students and the teachers. The future lies in the
inclusion of internet and digital world into education.
Learn
Today was initiated to provide simple effective methods for great
education. It promotes an educational vision by promoting professional
standards and brings about a change from mindless routine towards
discovery of possibilities. It has a unique method of developing books,
auditing schools and guiding teachers training.
During
the Kargil conflict while India Today was reporting the conflict, it
was realized that simple reporting was not enough. In August 1999, Care
Today was set up as a registered society to act as a link between the
readers and viewers and he problems facing the nation. During disasters,
the public has always been very forthcoming and generous in its offers
for help. In order to use this goodwill properly, Care Today uses
financial contributions from the readers of India Today and provides a
report on the progress made either through its pages or its websites.
Care Today has responded well to earthquakes in Gujarat and Kashmir;
droughts in Gujarat and Rajasthan and Supercyclone in Orissa. The
contributions have been utilized using the highest standards of openness
and transparency through its magazine and TV channels.
Aroon
Purie has been able to maintain the supremacy of his group by his
flexibility and willingness to adopt to various changes in media as also
the changing mindsets of the public. He has been able to deliver what
they want, the way they want honestly and fearlessly.
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