WHEN Kalanidhi Maran, son of Union industries minister Murasoli Maran and grandson of DMK supremo Muthuvel Karunanidhi, announced the launch of his private satellite channel in 1993, few were in doubt that it was a logical extension of the DMK's faith—"Medium is the Message." The name, Sun TV, too stood in a direct genealogy with the party's poll symbol, the Rising Sun.