NEW DELHI: That Sri Adhikari Brothers, promoters of Sab TV, are serious about their news channels --- or at least increasing the news content on the existing channel --- is evident from the fact that senior print media journalist, Harish Gupta, is slated to join the company.

Contacted by indiantelevision.com, sources close to Gupta admitted that he would be joining Sab TV as director of news.

Gupta, who is the Delhi editor for Dainik Bhaskar, would formally join Sab TV in April, a month when the general elections dates would have drawn nearer.

However, the sources did not elaborate on the reason behind Gupta quitting Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi language daily that has made immense inroads in recent years outside home state Madhya Pradesh, to join the TV bandwagon.

Still, it would be worthwhile to mention here that Gupta, during earlier interactions with indiantelevision.com, had always maintained that one should be on TV catering to the Hindi-speaking audience and writing in English for 
the print medium.

In Sab TV, Gupta may find the right mix if the Adhikari brothers allow him to push his pen occasionally for some English newspapers.

Gupta has spent a sizeable number of his journalistic years in organizations like The Indian Express (under both Prabhu Chawla and Shekhar Gupta as editors) and India Today.

At present, he hosts a studio-based talk show on Sab TV, which is primarily political in nature.

Gupta joins the long list of newspaper editors and senior journalists who regularly appear on TV on various channels. Few such people include The Indian Express CEO and editor- in-chief Shekhar Gupta (on NDTV 24x7), Hindustan Times' editorial director Vir Sanghvi (on Star News and Star World), Hindi Outlook's editor (on Zee News) and The Pioneer's owner-cum-editor Chandan Mitra (primarily on DD News).

The most recent editor to join the TV show host brigade is the Times of India's consulting editor Dileep Padgaonkar who hosts Question Time India on BBC Worldwide.