The offer was too good to refuse. A senior journalist who had been a familiar face at a major Malayalam news channel for years received a call late last year from a channel that did not yet exist. Big TV, an upcoming Malayalam news channel, wanted him in a leadership role.

The package on the table: a salary more than double what he was making. He had watched so many channels come and go that he had learned to be cautious. Then came the sweeteners: a substantial joining bonus running into seven figures. And then a car with a driver. He stopped being cautious.

Across Kerala's television newsrooms, the story is the same. Anchors, reporters, and technicians are leaving established channels for Big TV, lured by salary increases of 50-100%, signing bonuses that would have seemed fantastical months ago, and benefit packages that include unlimited medical insurance extending even to in-laws.

Sujaya........

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