Network 18 founder launches beta version of digital news site “The Quint”

 16th March 2015    PR News 
 Paarul Chand

After pioneering business TV news in India, the founder of Network 18, Raghav Bahl has launched  the beta version of  "The Quint” a mobile ready news site  along with wife Ritu Kapur. The news site is aimed at the millennials as well as today’s overwhelmed news consumer.

Bahl and Kapur exited Network 18 in 2014 after selling to Mukesh Ambani and Reliance. Now, over a period of six months “The Quint”, is up and running.

In the last one month, “The Quint” has taken an interesting approach using Facebook notes written by the journos on the team, as well as by the founders, to comment on news events and illustrate their editorial approach.

A look at the site on a mobile phone doesn’t show much differentiation in terms of user experience from a Huff Po  India as of now.

In a launch message, Raghav Bahl says that he believes that, “The journalist will be led by a powerful content torch, the trending algorithm – to write more angles and excite a “conversation”. But if the story does not trend, he needs to tuck his ego in his tail and get on with another piece.”

This has important cues for the PR business in India while pitching content, as it struggles to evolve its content approach in the digital age and grapples with questions such as owned and earned media, paid content and ensuing the supply of video and pictures.