Eziosolution at 14:26, 8 February 2026

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{{short description|Indian businessman and journalist}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Aroon Purie
| image = AROON_PURIE.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Purie in 2008
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1944}}
| birth_place = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], [[British India]]<ref name="Purie">{{cite news|last1=Purie |first1=Aroon |author-link1=Aroon Purie |title=From the Editor-in-Chief |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/editors-note/story/19980615-two-nations-still-warring-when-the-entire-world-is-searching-for-peace-826641-1998-06-14 |access-date=18 January 2017 |work=[[India Today]] |date=15 June 1998 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170118175857/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/two-nations-still-warring-when-the-entire-world-is-searching-for-peace/1/264478.html |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| alma_mater = [[The Doon School]]<br>[[London School of Economics]]
| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman
Journalist}}
| title = Founder of [[India Today Group]]
| children = 3, including [[Koel Purie]]
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]], 2001
| relatives = [[Madhu Trehan]] (sister)
}}

'''Aroon Purie''' (born 1944) is the founder-publisher and editor-in-chief of ''[[India Today]]'', and former chief executive of the [[India Today Group]]. He is the managing director of Thomson Press (India) Limited and the chairman and managing director of ''[[TV Today]]''. He is a recipient of the [[Padma Bhushan]] award.<ref>{{cite news |title=Padma Bhushan for Aroon Purie, Rahul Bajaj |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/padma-bhushan-for-aroon-purie-rahul-bajaj/article27912720.ece |work=The Hindu |date=26 January 2001 |language=en-IN}}</ref> He was also the editor-in-chief of ''Reader's Digest India''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/contactus/contactus.asp |title=Reader's Digest India |access-date=4 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040708055331/http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/contactus/contactus.asp |archive-date=8 July 2004 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>{{dead|date=February 2026}} In October 2017, he passed control of the India Today Group to his daughter, Kalli Purie.<ref name='firstpost'>{{cite news |last=Ray |first=Shantanu Ray |date=18 October 2017 |title=Aroon Purie hands over reins of India Today to daughter Kallie; appoints her as group vice-chairperson |url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/aroon-purie-hands-over-reins-of-india-today-to-daughter-kallie-appoints-her-as-group-vice-chairperson-4155361.html |work=First Post |access-date=5 December 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kalli Purie |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/kalli-purie |publisher=India Today |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref>

==Early life==
Purie graduated from [[The Doon School]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/dame-dilemma-for-doon-president-s-co-ed-suggestion-evokes-mixed-reaction/cid/473014|title=Dame dilemma for Doon - President's co-ed suggestion evokes mixed reaction|website=www.telegraphindia.com|access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.digitalproductionme.com/article-3403-50-most-influential-people--broadcast-channels/5/ |title=50 most influential people - Broadcast Channels | DigitalProductionME.com |access-date=12 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118142812/http://www.digitalproductionme.com/article-3403-50-most-influential-people--broadcast-channels/5/ |archive-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=usurped |df=dmy-all }}</ref> (where his contemporary was [[Rajiv Gandhi]], former Indian prime minister) and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the [[London School of Economics]]<ref>[http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/IndiaObservatory/alumni.htm Fellows and Prominent Alumni] LSE</ref> in 1965. Bollywood actress [[Koel Purie]] is his youngest daughter.<ref>{{cite news |last=Roy |first=Amit |date=17 December 2014 |title=Red Hot |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1041217/asp/etc/story_4127827.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050128231736/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041217/asp/etc/story_4127827.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2005 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=5 December 2017 }}</ref>

==Career==
He started his career in 1970 at Thomson Press as Production Controller and continues to be its guiding force even though he handed over to his son Ankoor Purie.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomson Digital :: Leadership |url=https://www.thomsondigital.com/leadership.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726051805/http://www.thomsondigital.com/leadership.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 July 2016 |website=www.thomsondigital.com }}</ref> With five facilities across India, it has a national presence. He began the India Today Group with an eponymous magazine in 1975.<ref name='firstpost'/> Today the group is India's most diversified media group with 32 magazines, 7 radio stations, 4 TV channels, 1 newspaper, multiple web and mobile portals, a leading classical music label and book publishing arm.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aroon Purie |url=https://www.dailyo.in/user/12589/aroonpurie |website=www.dailyo.in}}</ref>

===''India Today''===
Vidya Vilas Purie, Aroon Purie's father, launched the fortnightly magazine ''India Today'' in 1975, with his daughter [[Madhu Trehan]] as its editor and Aroon Purie as its publisher.<ref name="HT">Bhandare, Namita. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120602062512/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Brunch/Brunch-Stories/70-s-The-decade-of-innocence/Article1-700294.aspx 70's: The decade of innocence]. ''Hindustan Times''. Retrieved 29 July 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/india/slideshow_indias-top-50-influentials_1218058-32#top India's Top 50 Influentials]. [[Daily News and Analysis]]. Retrieved 29 July 2012.</ref> The magazine was born during the [[The Emergency (India)|Emergency]] declared by Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]]. With ''India Today'', Aroon tried to "fill the information gap which exists amongst persons interested in India residing abroad".<ref name="HT"/> With editions in five languages, it is the most widely–read publication in India – a position which, as of 2006, it had held for over a decade – with a readership of over 11 million.<ref>NRS 2006</ref>

He also set the journalistic style for the 24-hour news and current affairs Hindi news channel [[Aaj Tak]] and English news channel [[Headlines Today]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/5933307 |website=www.bloomberg.com |title="Profile"}}</ref> In 2025, at the FICCI Frames conference, Purie commented that artificial intelligence poses an “existential threat” to the creation of credible journalism, warning that AI-generated content could erode trust in news media.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2025 |title=AI an existential threat to the very creation of credible news: Aroon Purie |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ai-an-existential-threat-to-the-very-creation-of-credible-news-aroon-purie-ficci-frames-2025-2799379-2025-10-07 |access-date=9 October 2025 |website=India Today}}</ref>

==Awards and associations==
He was conferred the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2001, the third-highest civilian award of the government of India, for his contribution to Indian journalism.<ref name="tp">[http://www.televisionpoint.com/lounge/lounge.php?id=1176397777 Aroon Purie Profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512015339/http://www.televisionpoint.com/lounge/lounge.php?id=1176397777 |date=12 May 2008 }} Television Point</ref> He has received other honours, including the B.D. Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism (1988),<ref>{{cite web |title=Deputy Commissioner Of Income Tax vs Aroon Purie on 8 April, 2002 |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1403189/ |website=indiankanoon.org}}</ref> 'Journalist of the Year 1990' award by the Indian Federation of Small and Medium Newspapers,<ref name="tp" /> the G.K. Reddy Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism (1993–1994), the Hall of Fame Award from the Advertising Club of Kolkata (2002) and the NT Award for Lifetime achievement from www.Indiatelevision.com (2008).<ref>{{cite web |title=enba 2011: Lifetime Achievement Award for Aroon Purie - Exchange4media |url=https://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-news/enba-2011lifetime-achievement-award-for-aroon-purie-43284.html |website=Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media |language=en}}</ref>

He is associated with several councils, including the Council of Management, Audit Bureau of Circulations (Chairman, 2000–2001).<ref name="tp" /> He is on the Executive Committee of The Editors' Guild of India,<ref name="tp" /> Council of Management All India Management Association (Special Invitee). He was Chairman of the CII National Committee on Media (2001–2002).<ref name="tp" />

He is currently the chairman of [[FIPP]] (Federation of International Periodicals and Publications).<ref name="fipp">[http://www.fipp.com/News.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=14845 New FIPP chairman Aroon Purie elected] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123120853/http://www.fipp.com/News.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=14845 |date=23 November 2010 }} FIPP</ref> Aroon Purie is a board member of the [[Global Editors Network]] since its creation in April 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globaleditorsnetwork.org/board-members/ |title=Global Editors Network board members |access-date=19 June 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624172532/http://www.globaleditorsnetwork.org/board-members/ |archive-date=24 June 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref>
In March 2022, he was bestowed with the ABLF lifetime achievement award for his contributions in the field of Journalism.<ref>{{cite web |title=India Today Group Chairman Aroon Purie honoured with ABLF lifetime achievement award. |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-today-group-chairman-aroon-purie-honoured-with-ablf-lifetime-achievement-award-1926185-2022-03-16 |website=India Today |access-date=January 6, 2023}}</ref>

== Litigation ==
‌In 2007 a criminal [[defamation]] case was filed against Aroon Purie over a report titled ''“Mission Misconduct”'' published in ''[[India Today]]'' in April 2007. According to the article, three Indian officials posted in the UK were “recalled in quick succession following serious allegations of sexual misconduct, corruption in issuance of visas and sale of Indian passports to illegal immigrants”.<ref>{{cite web |title=Supreme Court quashes defamation case against India Today's Aroon Purie. |url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/10/31/supreme-court-quashes-defamation-case-against-india-todays-aroon-purie#:~:text=The%20case%20pertains%20to%20a%202007%20report%20in%20the%20magazine.&text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20today%20quashed,in%20the%20magazine%20in%202007 |website=Newslaundry | date=31 October 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref>

The [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] quashed the case against Aroon Purie in October 2022 over the article published in 2007 by India today. Though Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, Justice Ravindra Bhat, and Justice Bela M Trivedi quashed the case against Purie; they did not grant relief to the author of the news article.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Debayan |first1=Roy |title=Supreme Court quashes criminal defamation case against India Today chairperson Aroon Purie. |url=https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/supreme-court-quashes-criminal-defamation-case-against-india-today-chairperson-aroon-purie |website=Indian Legal news |date=31 October 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Aroon Purie defamation case: Supreme Court grants relief to India Today Chairperson over news article against Indian diplomat in Edinburgh |url=https://www.indialegallive.com/constitutional-law-news/supreme-court-news/aroon-purie-defamation-supreme-court-india-today-op-bhola/ |website=India Legal |date=31 October 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref>

==Plagiarism==

A media watchdog, CounterMedia, found the opening two paragraphs—the first 250 words—of Purie's 400-word editorial of 18 October 2010 on the Indian actor [[Rajnikanth]] to be identical to those in an article by [[Grady Hendrix]] published on 27 September 2010 in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', a US-based online magazine.<ref name="indslt">{{cite news |last=Purie |first=Aroon |title=From the Editor-In-Chief |url=http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/2187915/2239663/2270073/101019_CB_IndiaTodayLetter.pdf |access-date=5 December 2017 }}</ref>

Purie apologised for the mistake, suggesting that it had resulted from [[jet lag]] and claimed that "a couple of sentences lifted from another article were sent to me." In response, Hendrix wrote in ''Slate'': "The jetlag apology wasn't meant to be taken as a serious statement, it was more of an old school attempt to make the problem go away with a silly, 'Whoops, I'm tired!' shrug." Hendrix also wrote that he considered it "a satisfactory closure to the matter."<ref name="Grady Hendrix blog">{{cite news |last=Hendrix |first=Grady |date=20 October 2010 |title=Great Writers Steal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2010/10/great_writers_steal.html |work=Slate |access-date=5 December 2017 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purie, Aroon}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian accountants]]
[[Category:Indian magazine founders]]
[[Category:Indian magazine editors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:Indian publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Indian mass media owners]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:The Doon School alumni]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:India Today people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Writers from Lahore]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Lahore]]

Aroon Purie - Revision history

Eziosolution at 14:26, 8 February 2026