Downsizing Amid Financial Crisis? NDTV Fires Over 70 Staffers, May Soon Shift To Mobile Journalism

New Delhi Television (NDTV) has fired close to 70 employees, including senior camera persons and technical staff based across the country, Outlook has reported.

According to some employees, the channel said the move was necessitated by its decision to move to mobile journalism or 'MoJo'. As a part of mobile journalism, reporters record visuals and report news using their mobile handsets.

Newer reporters in NDTV have already been given smartphones and told to check out systems used for mobile journalism, Firstpost reported, quoting an unnamed source. According to the website, the move may have been taken because the channel is facing a serious financial crunch. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal recently imposed a 200 per cent penalty on NDTV for tax evasion.

"The editorial is experimenting currently and could soon shift to a different kind of video production. Hence, the changes are happening," the source claimed.

However, editorial director of the channel Sonia Singh has denied this, saying the decision was not "editorial" but purely related to "human resource issues".

Another round of pruning could take place soon, Firstpost said in its report, saying the channel could target those in the editorial team in the next round.