Media veteran Sreekandan Nair talks about hardships he faced after joining Asianet

NIRMAL YESODA

Sreekandan Nair is one of the unquestionable names in the Kerala media sector, and through out his career spanning over three decades, SKN has affirmed himself as a dedicated journalist and host who always brings a humane touch to his shows. SKN is now the managing director of Flowers and 24 News, and under his leadership, both  have tasted success from the very first day of its launch.

Before becoming the managing director of Flowers and 24 News, Sreekandan Nair had worked with Asianet for several years, and it was during those times that he hosted the popular talk show ‘Nammal Thammil’ which crossed 750 episodes.

In an exclusive talk with The Gulf Indians, Sreekandan Nair shared his memories working with Asianet, and why he decided to launch 24 News, a news channel that uses several innovative techniques to provide a value-added service to its viewers.

Recollecting his old days, Sreekandan Nair revealed that Asianet was a company that was under the loss of Rs 15 crores when he joined. It should be noted that Sreekandan Nair was working with All India Radio at that time, and he faced severe criticisms from his father when he decided to resign from that job. However, Sreekandan Nair believed that people who are not ready to take risks will not reach anywhere in their lives, and finally, he decided to join Asianet.

In his initial days, Asianet was not a favorite channel among Kerala audiences, as programmes in Suriya TV dominated the TAM rating chart. Later, musical programmess, reality shows and debates were added in the Asianet programmess list, and it slowly became one of the most-watched television channels in Kerala.

In the interview, Sreekandan Nair talks about his bad days in Asianet, and the memories he wanted to forget. He also revealed that his family life was also affected very badly at some point in time, and he did not get sufficient time to take care of his children.

Talking about the news programme in 24 News, Sreekandan Nair revealed that he wanted to host news shows in such a way that every common man can relate to it.

“I wanted to host news shows in an informal manner. Audiences should feel that news is being presented by someone in their house in a very casual way. The news should be presented from the heart. I have used the same technique in Nammal Thammil, and was a success,” said Sreekandan Nair, as translated from Malayalam.

For full interview,  click here