NEW DELHI: Senior journalist A Surya Prakash was today appointed Chairman of the Bharati Board, filling a post which had been lying vacant for the last six months.
The appointment, which will be for three years, was made on the recommendation of a three-member committee headed by Vice President M Hamid Ansari and comprising Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju and I&B Secretary Bimal Julka, Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a statement.
He will succeed another veteran journalist Mrinal Pande who completed her tenure on April 30 this year.
Prasar Bharti Corporation, which was created by a 1990 Act of Parliament, is governed by the Prasar Bharati Board, which comprises a Chairman, an Executive Member (Chief Executive Officer), a Member (Finance), a Member (Personnel), six Part-time Members, a representative of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Directors General of All India Radio and Doordarshan as ex-officio Members.
The Chairman is a part time member.
Prakash is currently Consulting Editor of the Pioneer newspaper and a Distinguished Fellow at Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), a think tank with which National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was also associated earlier.
Prakash has a long experience of both TV and print media and has held key positions in several print and electronic media organizations.
He has served as Editor with Zee News, Executive Editor with The Pioneer, India Editor with the Asia Times (a business and political daily published from Bangkok and Singapore), Political Editor with Eenadu Group of Newspapers and Chief of Bureau with Indian Express, New Delhi.
"He is also known for his well-researched interventions on national political issues. He is the Founder-Director of the Film and Media School at the Institute of Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi and Founder-Director of the Pioneer Media School," the statement said.
"The decision of the committee was communicated by the Hon’ble Vice President," the I&B ministry said in its statement.