Mariam Mammen Mathew, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Manorama Online, will take charge as the Chairperson of the DNPA (Digital News Publishers’ Association), on April 1. She replaces Tanmay Maheshwari, who completes his two-year term as DNPA Chairman this month.
She served as the Vice-Chairperson of DNPA during Maheshwari’s Chairmanship. Maheshwari, Managing Director of Amar Ujala Publications, was appointed DNPA Chairman on April 1, 2022.
Puneet Jain, CEO, Digital, HT Media, continues as the DNPA Treasurer; while Puneet Gupt, COO, Times Internet; is the new Vice-Chairman.
"Having served as DNPA Chairman for two stimulating years, I was pleased to contribute to the endeavour of democratizing India's digital news landscape. I am confident that Mariam Mathew will bring valuable insights to our shared mission," remarked Tanmay Maheshwari.
DNPA serves as an umbrella organization for digital media units. DNPA has been taking proactive steps in recent years to restore equality and fairness for all news publishers. The association, to be chaired by Mariam Mathew, represents 18 media houses, including prominent names such as Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, The Indian Express, Malayala Manorama, ETV, India Today Group, Times Group, Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times, Zee Media, ABP Network, Lokmat, NDTV, The New Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, The Hindu, Network 18 and India TV.
During Maheshwari’s tenure, the DNPA made significant contribution to the country’s digital news media landscape. It successfully organised various editions of the DNPA Dialogues and two editions of the DNPA Conclave & Awards while Maheshwari was at the helm.
The DNPA’s flagship events saw stakeholders and experts in the digital news media ecosystem come together, exchange ideas, and discuss the road ahead. In the past few years, the DNPA made efforts to constructively seek more collaboration between Big Tech platforms and India’s digital news media organizations.
The DNPA’s efforts in democratising the digital news space comes at a time when India’s regulators, led by Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, are seeking to bring fairness in how Big Tech platforms operate in the country.
