Kalli-ing the Shots: Kalli Purie Talks Legacy, Leadership & the Media’s Next Act at Oxford

India Today Group Vice Chairperson and Executive Editor-in-Chief Kalli Purie delivered a strong address at the Oxford India Forum 2025, the largest university-hosted India-focused platform in Europe. During a sell-out session "Bridges Across Centuries: Leadership Lessons for the Algorithm Age," Purie addressed the eternal value of institutional legacy, true leadership, and the irreplaceable role of human beings in an AI-driven media landscape.

 

Key Highlights:

 

Legacy & Core Values: Contrasting and comparing Oxford's tutorial model with India Today Group's storytelling DNA, Purie emphasized that as platforms and tools keep evolving, sticking to core values is the secret to resilience and continuity.

 

AI and Human Judgment: She cautioned against uncontrolled AI, stating, "AI is largely trained on historical data, which is full of biases we've spent decades trying to dismantle." Human judgment, she argued, is needed to offer ethical and objective coverage.

 

India's Promise: Purie enumerated India's young workforce, stable government, robust culture, and creative problem-solving as reasons to be optimistic, teasing the country's pace with "7-minute Coke deliveries.".

 

Global Academic Presence: She urged India to improve its global academic links and create a stronger global presence.

 

Prospects: Kalli Purie's reflections affirm the need for media leaders to innovate without sacrificing their fundamental purpose. While AI transforms the newsroom, her call for authenticity, adaptability, and people-centric leadership gives journalism a path ahead.

 

Sources: India Today, Aaj Tak, Exchange4Media