Kalli Purie on leadership, legacy and future of media at Oxford India Forum

India Today

03-07-2025

Opening with characteristic candour and humour, Kalli Purie, Vice Chairperson and Executive Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group, quipped, "Being on this side of the conversation is a refreshing shift, especially since I'm usually the one steering the questions. It's a rare but welcome reversal of roles.""It's nice to be back at Oxford," she added with a smile, admitting, though, that being at the Forum felt more like a tutorial. "I feel like a student again!"advertisementOXFORD AND INSTITUTIONAL RESILIENCECiting Oxford's tutorial system as its enduring "nucleus," Kalli Purie explained how centuries-old institutions survived by staying true to their core. "Oxford has held on to what makes it unique," she said. "Even in the age of ChatGPT, it is AI-proof because you still have to sit across from your tutor and explain your ideas. No AI will do that for you."
She drew a parallel with the India Today Group: "The tools have changed. The platforms have exploded. But the DNA is intact: We are still storytellers at the very core."She emphasised that innovation in tools should not dilute the core: "We must innovate in all the tools available to us as technology moves, to tell that story the best we can. And I think that's one of the reasons we stand here today, as a media organisation, still delivering impact because we stuck to that basic DNA."advertisementShe extended this lesson to personal leadership: "A successful person has to understand their core. If you don't understand your basic core and protect that, and be authentic to it, then you cannot really be successful in anything that you do."ON AI AND THE RISKS OF REINFORCED BIASESKalli Purie didn't mince words about the risks of artificial intelligence. "I feel AI today is mostly trained on data from the past. And the past is full of biases we've spent years trying to dismantle."Even as the India Today Group explores newsroom automation, AI anchors and synthetic pop stars, she insisted that human guardrails remain essential. "To me, the problem with AI is that, because we have no transparency on the data sets that it's being trained on, we don't know what biases it's coming in with. And more often than not, my suspicion is that it has been trained on data sets of the past. Past, which means it's a world that was. It's not the world that we want."Despite the flux, she remains optimistic, especially about India's place in this shifting landscape. She believes three groups will thrive: "People who love change and hate monotony, Indians because we thrive in chaos, and women, because they are biologically trained to rely on intuition."advertisement"I've said this often: people who love change and hate monotony look at change as a way to write a new story, as a new opportunity. By the way, journalists love new things. They love change. They want to go out and explain that unanswered story or question that is out there, come find an answer to it."She added, "So if you look very closely and carefully, you'll see that me - an Indian newswoman - is very well set to deal with this reality. I love that!"JOURNALISM AND 'FRENCH-FRIES-BROCOLI' PHILOSOPHYTurning to the challenges of modern media, Kalli Purie described her editorial strategy in simple terms: "You have to give audiences both the French fries and the broccoli." That means offering both content that grabs attention and content that fosters thought."One way is to create a democratic newsroom. So, we go out and effectively look for journalists and anchors that widely differ in their views. And by the way, if you ask any journalist, they all think they're balanced. Nobody thinks they are aligned on one side or the other, right? It's only when you look at it from the outside, you can see it. So putting them in the same newsroom to debate a story - leads to very fiery debates."advertisementShe said her newsroom feels like a "giant tutorial," one where disagreement is encouraged. "Old-fashioned, balanced journalism may not be commercially rewarding, but it's essential."Among the innovations she cited were Candid Constructive Conversations (CCC) - face-to-face debates between opposing views - and Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB), an index that measures civic behaviour, bias, and diversity alongside GDP. "We need to nurture better citizens, not just better economies," she said.INDIA: THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY (AND 7-MINUTE DELIVERIES)When asked about India's trajectory, Kalli Purie offered four people-driven reasons for optimism: "A young, driven workforce that doesn't clock off at 5 p.m., a democratically elected and stable government, deep rootedness in ancient culture, and a uniquely Indian way of creatively solving problems - jugaad at its best.""I used to travel abroad and dream of staying," she said. "But now, I can't wait to get back. India is where the action is. And yes, you can get a Coke delivered in seven minutes! Even that says something about the pace and possibilities of our country."advertisementBRIDGING INSTITUTIONS: FROM OXFORD TO INDIAHaving studied at both Oxford and Harvard, Kalli offered an insightfully humorous comparison: "Oxford is classic, understated, and exclusive much like Britain. Harvard is loud, open, and over-marketed much like America."She noted that both institutions prize dissent but express it differently. And she called for stronger academic diplomacy: "India needs to build its academic voice globally. Unlike China, we haven't fully leveraged these partnerships."ATTENTION IS A CURRENCYAs closing remarks, Kalli Purie offered a reminder: "Our attention is the most precious thing we have. Let's spend it on things that make us better not just things that make us click."And with a grin, as she exited the stage to a round of applause, she left the audience with one final aside: "And yes, India has air conditioning too."- EndsTune InTrending Reel