Within Days Of Quitting News18 Tamil Over Allegations Of Partisanship, M Gunasekharan Joins DMK-controlled Sun News As Editor-in-Chief

Within days of his resignation as editor of News18 Tamil, senior journalist M.Gunasekharan has announced that he is joining as the editor-in-chief of DMK family- controlled Sun News channel.

Sun TV Network is owned by Kalanithi Maran, the grand-nephew of late Tamil Nadu CM M.Karunanidhi, the elder son of late Union Minister Murasoli Maran and brother of DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran.

Earlier last week Gunasekharan had quit News18 after his wings were clipped following a controversy that erupted over accusations of ideological bias and political partisanship.

Popular Tamil Vlogger Maridhas released a viral YouTube video hitting out at Gunasekharan for turning the Mukesh Ambani-owned News18 Tamil in to a rabid and partisan ideological platform propagating the worldview of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the Communists.

Gunasekharan is the son-in-law of Peiyarist ideologue and senior DKleader Kali Poongundran. Poongundran is widely tipped to succeed K.Veeramani as the general secretary of DK

Maridhas had alleged that several journalists including those at News18 Tamil were associated with a group called Centre for Media Persons for Change (CMPC), which is said to be at the epicenter of orchestrating and amplifying several media-led campaigns and protests including the one against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019. Maridhas had also alleged that this group operated as a proxy for powerful political groups with an explicit “anti-India and anti-Hindu” agenda.

Maridhas was asked to apologise for his vlog but he refused, saying that not a single query raised by him had got any response. He was also threatened by supporters of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, resulting in police providing protection to the vlogger.

According to informed sources, Network 18 top leadership was taken aback by the extent to which ideological biases played a key role in hiring and programming decisions of its Tamil news platform. While Network 18 is known to be generally non-interfering in editorial decisions of its regional news-channels, News18 Tamil posed an unprecedented challenge. Gunasekharan’s wings were subsequently clipped with the senior editor no more anchoring prime time debates.

Gunasekharan, along with his Group Editor Vinay Sarawagi, had moved Madras High Court against Maridhas claiming Rs 1.5 crore as compensation for defaming them.

In an ex-parte ruling, the High Court Judge C V Karthikeyan while issuing notice to the vlogger asked Maridhas to delete the video on News18. Maridhas is seeking a stay on this order.

In his letter announcing his departure, Gunasekaran had highlighted how he had helped the channel perform well among a slew of Tamil news channels with various coverage of events starting from the Jallikattu protests in January 2017. He also termed News18 Tamil as his “beloved child”. Reactions to the news of his resignation were mixed.