A new broom - on most occasions - sweeps clean in most corporations. And Discovery Communications CEO Deepak Shourie believes in this in toto. He has started cleaning up the management within his charge. He has reportedly signed on old hire Rahul Johri, who was earlier with him at Zee News, as his marketing director. Johri was apparently with Shourie even in his days at Outlook.

It is Johri‘s hiring which has led to rumours that marketing director and advertising media whiz Ambika Srivastava has put in her papers. While Srivastava - God bless her - has been denying it to all and sundry, the industry buzz insists that she is just staying out her term at the company. Industry sources point out that she is likely to pitch for the Top Job in mindshare or hitch on to an NGO.

There is also talk that at least two other top executives are planning an early exit from the channel.

Johri‘s last employment was with tehelka.com as vice-president (sales and marketing). Apparently, Shourie is slated to bring many more changes within Discovery. And this has led to some discontent within a company, which has had little of that under the leadership of its former captain Kiran Karnik.

The new initiatives are aimed at helping Econnect tap new business opportunities, even as it serves as the Internet interface of the Zee Group, the release says.

One fallout of the restructuring process has been that close to 60 people have reportedly been asked to leave.