An Interview With Kannada TV’s Most Famous Personality!

 Mr Ranganath Bharadwaj

We want to hear the most important things from the best people when it comes to news & media. I take pride in knowing that I sat down with Ranganath Bharadwaj, Kannada TV’s most beloved anchor and investigative journalist. I wanted to get his opinion about India’s independence and media’s involvement in it and boy was I in for a treat! Here is an excerpt from the interview: 

Naresh: What role did media play in our independence struggle? 

Mr Bharadwaj: There are so many contributions by the media but let me start off by saying that media was not at all strong in those days. If there was electronic media back then, perhaps we could have got our independence much earlier. The major Indian media houses in the 1940s were owned by well-known freedom fighters like Bal Gangadhar Tilak & Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji said that the media can either give people complete light or complete darkness and in this case it was the light. 

The people had nothing else to rely on except for these newspapers. They wanted to believe they could be free from the shackles of the British and this is what urged them on. The messages that the freedom fighters gave out in their newspapers reached millions of Indians. This caused unity at a crucial time in the 1940s. The fact that certain so-called ‘controversial’ newspapers were written and printed without the knowledge of the British is what made media a dangerous in-tangible weapon. After having read a lot about media’s role in our Independence, it is safe to say that media played one of the biggest parts for our Independence if not the biggest. 

Naresh: Let me be very honest here. I know about Honey Singh & Rakhi Sawant but I don’t know the name of one single freedom fighter that is alive. I’m sure this is the case with most of the youth in this generation. Don’t you think this is media’s fault? 

Mr Bharadwaj: I thought we agreed that you would go easy on me! Actually we do have freedom fighters like Doraiswamy sir on our shows. But I agree with what you are implying. I completely agree that freedom fighters are not ‘hot news’ and they would not improve the TRPs of a news channel. Let’s hope at least during August and January, the people who fought to secure our freedom are showcased by the media and felicitated and by God do they deserve it!

In Conversation With Mr Bharadwaj

Naresh: As a prominent T.V personality, what are the major challenges you face? 

Mr Bharadwaj: To be frank, every day is a challenge for me. In fact, you will find many journalists who say the same thing. When you are in this industry, anything can happen. In the morning you get a promotion and in the evening you find out the chief guest has dropped out of a major show in the last moment. What would you do in that situation? I once had tuberculosis and had applied for a day off and it got approved. Luck was not on my side and a co-worker had to attend to an emergency family issue and I ended up being on T.V from 6 AM to 10 PM since it was the election results day. 

There are always challenges when it comes to different authoritative people. As you might know, the TV channel I work for currently is very public-issue oriented and we try to tackle and help the public with their particular issues. This requires us to be bold and demand justice where it is needed. During this course, we might get into a few tussles and might make a couple of enemies. Handling the people who you don’t have a good relationship with will then be your biggest problem. It is very difficult to handle the pressure but you will definitely learn to deal with these challenges with experience. 

Naresh: Wow. Alright, one final question! Tell us how you celebrate your independence day. 

Mr Bharadwaj: My Independence days have become a yearly routine! Every year, I make it a point to hoist a flag either in my own house or attend a flag hoisting ceremony in the neighborhood with my family. There isn’t a single year I haven’t done this! Without family, my independence day would not be the same. I look at my family as the people who gave my personal freedom and that was all I required. 

Naresh: Sir, thank you so much for your valuable insight. It really enhanced my respect for not only you but also for your TV Channel for all the things they have done to our society. Thank you!

Subramanian Swamy: The Un-trumpeted Hero Of Indian Polity

    Subramanian Swamy

The title of ‘Protagonist’ can hardly be attributed to a person with so-called Hindu extremist ideologies. Subramanian Swamy is one such person who is barely in the limelight but deserves to be. Who can get away with calling Sonia Gandhi ‘a fifth-class pass’ or calling Priyanka Gandhi ‘an alcoholic’ without much media scrutiny, let alone having their head held high?

In 2011, Mr Swamy wrote an article advocating disfranchisement of Muslims who were not ready to embrace the fact that both Hindus and Muslims have the same ancestral line. This article caused him a lot of things in life – Harvard dropped the courses he was teaching, media criticized him for communal hate and his personal life was being monitored closely by his detractors, for whom he couldn't care less about. However, this article garnered huge support from the right wing followers and that, along with the intent of the article was his objective.

While many people call him anti-Muslim, he asks his critics to stop speaking in hyperbole and argues that all religions in India have the same core values. Although he is a staunch Hindu, his secular credentials are amply exhibited in his marriage to a Parsi woman. He also points to the fact that his own daughter is married to a Muslim man. Mr Swamy has studied law and it shows. He has supported the abolition of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution un-disguisedly. He was the one who submitted a petition against A. Raja in the 2G scam case to the Supreme Court of India. This led to the arrest of A. Raja in 2012 and his subsequent imprisonment for 15 months. This act by Mr Swamy unearthed one of the biggest and most infamous scams of India. While Sonia Gandhi filed a fake affidavit citing a foreign degree to the Election Commission, Mr Swamy filed a case in the High court to impose a fine on Ms Gandhi. Ms Gandhi later admitted that it was a ‘mistake’ and apologized to the Election Commission.

Mr Swamy’s experience with the Planning Commission of India and as a Cabinet Minister makes him an extremely reliable person to his party. When one juxtaposes Mr Swamy and Mr Kejriwal, one can undeniably see that Mr Swamy is the better executor of ideas when it comes to fighting corruption and this has won him many an admirer. If Mr Swamy doesn't merit a place in the Indian political folklore then I don’t know who does.

COMMUNICATE WITHOUT ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING! - Implicit Communication Theory

Communication is not only about words, body language, gestures and expression but also about conveying things without using any of the above methods. At first look, one might ask how a person can communicate to another without using words or expressions. There is indeed a form of communication which we rarely delve into – implicit communication. Researchers love to include this form of communication into the Behavioural Implicit Communication (BIC) theory.

Implicit communication refers to the message(s) we ‘give off’ from our deeds/actions which may or may not be intentional. By simply performing an action, we send a message to our partner(s) in the interaction. This message may be intentional or unintentional, i.e. the sender wants that the receiver knows that he/she is performing that action or not. A classic example of this can be seen in restaurants. A customer orders an item in the menu and the chef prepares it. When the customer consumes the item, the chef, intentionally or not, is communicating with the customer and allowing him to make a positive or a negative judgement on his ability to cook.

After a lot of research and contrastive thinking, I have come up with other scenarios which will act as examples for implicit communication. For better understanding, I will divide the scenarios into ‘intentional implicit communication’ and ‘intentional or unintentional implicit communication’. Also, these scenarios are what one might like to call ‘day-to-day activities’.

Intentional Implicit Communication:

1.   When a person wears a shirt he received as a gift from his friend, he is implicitly communicating with his friend that he appreciates the gift and is grateful for it. This act is intentional because the person wants his friend to know that he is grateful for the gift.

2.   When a person leaves a coat or a hat on his seat while he leaves to the restroom, he is communicating with the people around him that he will be back and the seat is occupied.

Intentional or Unintentional Communication:

1.   When students obtain good marks, the teachers are communicating intentionally or unintentionally about their prowess to the parents. Regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional, the mark that the student obtains is directly proportional to the perceived notion about the teachers by the parents. (Please note, this example holds good mostly in lower grades/standards of school).

2.   When Car ‘A’ moves towards the right (or left) on a highway (without an indicator), it intentionally or unintentionally communicates to Car ‘B’ which is behind Car ‘A’ that the lanes are being changed. (Please note, this kind of indiscipline of not using indicators on a highway can only be found in India!)

Implicit communication theories are often derived from animal communication. This form of communication is also based on ‘signification’ which is ‘the semiotic ability of cognitive agents’.  For example, the ability to take ‘smoke’ as a sign of ‘fire’ or to relate ‘thirst’ with a ‘drinking agent’; these notions are drilled in to us from birth and are signs of communication that goes beyond simple perception. 

TELEVISION MEDIA BEARS BRUNT IN MCC DISCUSSION

“Public outrage justified, T.V Channels not helping” say panellists in ‘Naming and Shaming: Sexual Violence and Media’ - an informative & slightly provocative discussion on media’s role in the recent anomalous events of rape which was hosted by Mt Carmel College. The event was presented by Media Watch Bengaluru and was held in the Mt Carmel Auditorium on August 1, 2014. The discussion panel included Ravi Hegde, Group Editor, Udayavani; Bansy Kalappa, Journalist, News 9; Ashok Murthy, Managing Partner, CorLit Legal; ML Madhuraveena, SP, CID and Shaibya Saldanha, counsellor and Co-founder, Enfold India. The event was moderated by Media Watch’s very own Ammu Joseph who is also an author and a journalist.

Ms Joseph kicked off the discussion by trying to explain the consequences of sensationalizing incidents related to rape. “News channels obviously want higher TRPs and hence they sensationalize everything” she said. She did agree that news channels could not do much about it because their success is directly proportional to their TRPs.  Ms Saldanha, although critical of T.V, heaped praises on all forms of media for creating awareness about the present situation. She was also of the opinion that the victims be called ‘survivors’ and not ‘victims’ as it looks at things in a positive light.

Mr Murthy, a lawyer, spoke about why the identity of the victim and/or the accused is kept secretive at least until the court has provided a judgement. He said it challenges the mere existence of the victim and that the families will not be spared either. Ms Madhuraveena confirmed that there will be no disclosure of the identity while the case was being investigated. She provided us with a little inside information so-to-speak about how every policeman has to undergo a ‘Gender Sensitization workshop’ which aims at training the police to treat genders in a different manner under different circumstances. She also suggested a spokesperson for the police, who can inform the media about the progress of the case. “This would definitely help to settle media unrest while the case is being investigated” she said.

Mr Hegde, a journalist of print media, had some harsh words for T.V channels and spoke about channels fighting for TRPs and thereby diluting the news. He said print media is much more sensitive when it comes to disclosure of information. He agreed that this is because T.V is real-time and print is not. He also pointed out the fact that the courts are now functioning quicker due to the monumental hype surrounding sexual violence.

Ms Saldanha had a very valid point about online news regarding the recent rape of a 6 year-old in Bangalore. She said the news will remain forever on the internet. “One can only imagine how the 6 year-old will feel 20 years from now when her kids read this news” she said. Ms Madhuraveena also brought up the topic of keeping track of convicted sex offenders in every neighbourhood. She said “India has to adopt the model of U.S.A when it comes to the disclosure of sex offenders in every neighbourhood”. Every panellist agreed with Ms Madhuraveena on this and said this should be made a high priority demand from the public.

When the Q&A session started, Gaurav, a Mass Communication student from Jain University questioned the motives of the recent ‘bundh’ in Bangalore citing lack of public participation. Mr. Murthy responded by saying that this was a start and that the awareness will gradually spread. Shweta, another Mass Communication student from Jain University asked if privatization of radio news has come at the right time. Mr Hegde responded by saying that the privatization of radio news did indeed come at a bad time. He said that the word ‘chaos’ wouldn’t be enough to describe the situation in an already chaotic society if the privatization was successful.

Ms Vasanthi Hariprakash, a very famous journalist who was present at the discussion disagreed with Mr Hegde and said that the privatization would definitely be good for the media as a whole. She said radio has always been the ‘forgotten media’ and is much more than just an item song on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Mr Kalappa who had been unusually silent throughout the discussion, offered his opinion on the matter of pornography being one of the major causes for sexual violence. All the panellists agreed and Mr Hegde pointed out that ‘sexuality education’ needs to be taught from school level. “Sexuality Education is not Sex Education. It is a form of education which instils respect for women and men equally. Kids need to know why it is wrong to do such things so that they can use their better judgement in later years of their lives” he said.

It was very clear that the panellists were open about their opinions. There was no diplomacy whatsoever and points were being made with an open mind and a clear conscious. The crowd was very warming to the people who were brave enough to question the panellists. They also reacted well to the opinions of the panellists. A few people in the crowd may disagree with certain points and opinions but I am sure that nobody will disagree when I say that this event was a grand success, not only in educating the masses but also in inducing passion to fight against sexual violence.

MATHIKERE TURNS INTO ‘GARBAGE’KERE

(The road connecting Mathikere to MSR Nagar is a nightmare to commuters. The benches built by BBMP on this road show the very irony of the situation.)          

It would be an understatement if I said that Bangalore faces a garbage disposal problem. Bangalore generates around 4000 tons of garbage every single day. There is a place, preferably a corner, where garbage is dumped in piles in every area of Bangalore; none more so than the one in Mathikere Extension. The surprising fact is that the road where the garbage is dumped in Mathikere Ext. is the focal point or the bridge between Mathikere and MSR Nagar. It is a road of importance and one of the very few with a public toilet. The garbage piles are cleared only once every week. This road is every commuter’s worst nightmare as it stinks of excreta, urine and rotten garbage (Yes, ‘rotten’ garbage).

I have been living in the area (albeit 5 streets away) all my life and this particular road has never seen cleanliness. Keep in mind; we are talking of 2 decades here. I have personally written 2 letters to BBMP requesting them to act immediately but they have taken their own sweet time and have done nothing. Consider yourself living in the adjacent road or the road leading to this one. The unbearable smell not only leads to a loss of appetite but also increases the chance of ‘catching on to a virus’ so to speak. I spoke to a resident Mr. Murali who lives on the adjacent road and he is not happy about this situation at all.

“My son is in 8^th standard now and is sick every other month. He always talks about how dirty our country is and he curses the government officials all the time” he said.

Cursing the government officials is one thing but having such a strong opinion about one’s own country at such a tender age is poisonous. It is quite clear that the kid has been affected by this and it is very unfair to him.

Mrs. Kamalakshi who lives on the same road has a similar opinion. “They (The Government) just don’t understand our problems. We have to live in a surrounding with flies and other insects all the time. It is a big nuisance. We have tried to complain but there is only so much we can do” she said.

The irony in all this lies in the fact that BBMP have built benches for people to sit on next to the garbage pile! When I rang the BBMP office to ask for the Mayor, the person who answered the phone kept saying the Mayor was unable to comment and to write a letter addressed to him (which I had already done twice). I fail to understand if there is a lack of knowledge on BBMP’s part or if it is just pure laziness. Whatever it may be, they have certainly failed on their part.

All of us hope for a better India but this has to start at the grass root level. Helping keep our neighborhood clean is the least that the government can do.

An interview with a P.R professional.

Before I start off with the write up/essay, I would like to state the fact that I have spoken to a lot of people in the Public Relations industry and all their viewpoints are more or less, similar. The most elaborate explanation about the Public Relations industry was provided by Mr Manish Thirumulpad of Adfactors P.R. Here are some excerpts from the discussion:

Naresh (Me): So Manish, What is the practice of Public Relations all about?

Manish: The practice of Public Relations is an important tool to help achieve the business goals of a company. The business goals may depend on whether it is revenue generation, recruitment of talent or the dispelling of a myth. Any PR campaign which is not aligned to the company’s business objective will effectively fail in the practical world.

Naresh: One of the major parts of PR is Image building or in Mr Rahul Gandhi’s case, damage limitation of image. Don’t you think public perception is very important?

Manish: Yes, indeed it is. The public perception of an object or a person is very important to the company (the clients) because this is directly proportional to the amount of sales they make. One has to keep in mind that when I say ‘public’, I mean the end user of the product or the service.

While a poor PR campaign may result in loss and/or stagnation, an effective one will make the reputation and the image of the person or the object perceived positively by the public. A good example of an effective PR campaign is the Pepsi Halloween 2013 stunt. The Halloween costume of a Pepsi can was a Coca-Cola cape which was created by ‘Buzz in a Box’. It cleverly utilizes the rivalry between the two brands to its advantage. Pepsi was applauded for its humour and playfulness and it non-offensively got one over Coca-Cola.

Another example is the Cadbury PR Campaign. This campaign was launched because a consumer had found worms in a Cadbury chocolate bar. This PR campaign was very successful in not only limiting the damage that Cadbury suffered but also to re-invigorate the perception of Cadbury and what the company actually stood for. They roped in Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador and they were back in business.

 Naresh: What role does ‘target market’ have to play in public relations?

Manish: Different products and services have different target markets. For example, the ideal target market for Mercedes-Benz cars from a PR standpoint is people who play golf. It is highly important that PR agencies or Corporate PROs identify the correct target market for the product or the service.

Now, to put it in a nutshell, improving the reputation of a client and generating a positive perception to the public while carefully considering the company’s general objective and the target market is what PR agencies mostly do.

Naresh: What is the practice of Corporate Communication all about?

Manish: Corporate Communication is functionally considered as the father of Public Relations, in the sense, Corporate Communication encompasses a wider role in the market. The academically accepted view is that Corporate Communication is the ocean and Public Relations is just one of the seas that join the ocean. Corporate Communication not only involves Public relations but also horizontal communication with other companies, setting up events, internal communication, branding, etc.

Naresh: So then is Public Relations a part of Corporate Communications?

Manish: It may be so on paper but I actually see it the other way around. I think Public Relations is the larger umbrella here and Corporate Communication and even to some extent, Marketing, comes under Public Relations.

Naresh: What are the typical activities that a trainee does in the 1^st year of work in a Public Relations Firm?

Manish: Typically, a trainee is provided 18-24 months to pick up the nuances of the job. This is because PR feels quite different from what is taught in a theoretical way in Institutions. Ideally, a trainee will be a ‘foot soldier’ in the company as he/she learns documentation, research, different processes of PR, conceptualization, how to pitch in stories and ideas and creative writing. The first 4-6 months will be only about documentation and research and this is the grass-root job role of every trainee initially. The second part of the year will be spent on doing media rounds and participating in press conferences. This will help in meeting people in the media and building one’s own contacts.

During the second year, the trainee will be asked to make market analysis reports and competitor analysis reports for him/her to better understand the vibe of the market. Eventually, the trainee will have to perform all these functions on a day-to-day basis and he/she will be fully equipped for the same.

Naresh: What skills are required to be a successful P.R Executive in a Public Relations company and career?

Manish: The first and foremost skill that is required to be a successful P.R Executive is the art of Speaking and knowing when to listen. This will help an executive succeed in his/her campaign and/or to get out of a bad situation if need be.

A P.R Executive also needs to be a voracious reader with the constant quest of acquiring knowledge. This is because P.R is extremely diverse in nature. A P.R executive will meet a lot of people (clients and potential clients) in his/her lifetime. This essentially means thousands of different personalities to be dealt with. He/she needs to know how to deal with a situation and this can be done only by reading and practising. This is similar to software. Without a software update, after a few years the program will be redundant and will be outclassed by better software.

Another important skill required for a P.R Executive is writing. Writing not only involves columns and editorials but also involves business reports, creative writing, story writing and general writing. Throughout the P.R Executive’s career, writing will play a major role in determining his/her success.

Other important traits to be a successful P.R Executive are Patience, Leadership skills, Non-Verbal Communication, Professionalism and Charm.

Reservation System in Education - Podcast. Listen Now!

A Discussion and an interview regarding one of the most frequently asked questions by the common man. Why and for what use is the current reservations system in place?

Please click on the below link to download the podcast:

http://naresh-mp.podomatic.com/enclosure/2014-04-19T20_13_36-07_00.mp3

Please click on the below link to listen to the podcast:

http://naresh-mp.podomatic.com/entry/2014-04-19T20_13_36-07_00

Is traditional reading losing out to E-Books? Will technology take over Book Shelves?

‘Traditional’ reading is the art of reading print books (tangible) and not the ones on the internet. Those are E-Books. We have seen over the past few years, this last decade in its entirety perhaps, that slowly but surely technology is performing its magic in the field of reading too. Make no mistake, technology is a beautiful form of easy and effortless work in all fields and it most definitely is taking over the reading sector. But is it really a bad thing for book readers that technology is replacing traditional reading? Let’s get into stats: The cost of production of 1 single book is somewhere around Rs. 250 while the cost of production of an E-book is around Rs.25. This stat is directly proportional to the cost of 1 book for the buyer. The same book that costs Rs. 250 to produce can be sold anywhere between Rs. 300 to 1000 (based on the reputation of the author). The E-Book that costs Rs. 25 to produce is being sold between Rs. 100 to 200. So this clearly shows that E-Books cost less and attract readers who do not want to spend Rs.1000 for a book that they have access to (via computer and internet) at Rs. 200.

According to a survey conducted by a reputed E-Book publisher Bookboon, the units of E-Books sold will encompass the units of printed books by the end of 2015. However, India is still catching up to the E-Book wave in the world right now. Only 0.7 % of the people in India have E-Book readers or have ever bought an E-Book. This is minuscule compared to USA’s 30.7%. Indian E-Book readers are projected to increase by 2 % by 2015 which is around 2.5 crore people who have purchased an E-Book.

Kindle – produced by E-Commerce giants Amazon has the biggest share in the E-Book market, having 62% of the E-book readers on their side. Many celebrities who were initially skeptics of the E-Book readers have now turned Pro-EBooks citing 'time saving' as the reason for their turn.

Having spoken to a couple of hardcore print book readers, I feel that books will remain a source of history and will attract people who are quite nostalgic in nature. When asked why they are hesitant to switch to E-books, they said they cherish the 'feel of the book' and the 'aroma of the paper'. They also said they like to admire the beauty of the book shelves once filled. Listening to them describe how reading a print book made me think about whether books themselves have a personality. The general consensus among these people was that E-Books will never replace print books but I offered them facts. People said that CDs will never trump vinyl, then they said MP3s were no match for CDs and now they are saying music streaming cannot surpass MP3s. These readers then started to throw traditional and some religious values of a print book to me and then I thought that was the end of a sane conversation and I moved away.

I just want to point out that as per the current trend and the wave, E-Books will most definitely encompass print books in the next decade. But I just hope that print books are not reduced to the level of postal letters. Nowadays sending or writing a letter to a loved one is considered special whereas communicating through technological means is the norm and no special feelings are attached to it. Postal letters are left in a state of ‘oh-it-was-but-isn't-anymore’ and it cannot be re-done, it’s too late for that.  All in all, E-Books are our new ‘Books’ and the sooner the people get used to it, the better.

Can Short Movies grow in India?

Let me start off by defining or making the reader understand what I think is a short movie. Any movie or video which has a message in it via make-believe characters which is far less time consuming to the audience than a regular Bollywood or Hollywood film is a Short Movie. The run-time for a short movie can range anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes where a Bollywood movie runs from anywhere between 2 hours to 3.5 hours.

Bollywood movies generated $1.7 billion from 3 billion tickets in the year 2013. The number of tickets sold is twice as much as Hollywood but the revenue generated in Hollywood is $10.8 billion. This might seem like a shock to most of us but the Bollywood’s revenue has improved drastically year on year from 2007 and will keep improving. The reason for this is that, let’s face it, movies are made for money. The cash flow in movies is too big to ignore and people with the talent in the industry are cashing in on it. On the other hand, short movies are not made for money. They are made in order to act as a stepping stone to the major leagues. This is the problem short movies face. The cash generated in Bollywood cannot be compared to the cash generated in short movies. There is too big a difference. Another important thing that I would like to bring up here is that people buy tickets to watch Bollywood movies. Unfortunately there is hardly a theater which sells tickets to run a short movie. A typical Indian movie-goer would expect nothing less than a 2.5 hour movie for the Rs. 100 or so he pays.

This brings us to a question. Why can’t theaters run short movies for lesser prices? The main reason for this is Indians are money minded above everything else and they would earn 100 times the money if they run a Bollywood movie instead. This might seem sad but it is the truth. I personally would not start or run a theater to help improve short movies when I know for a fact that Bollywood movies offer so much more money.

Right now, short movies are seen as either a hobby or a path to Bollywood. I think if we need to improve the standards of short movies then we will have to do it for the right reasons. A right approach and a stable government is also required if we decide to seek the state’s help. I’m sure political parties will be open to this idea at first to attract supporters/voters in the field of arts but I see this idea fizzling out if there is no conviction and determination among the people who want short movies to grow.

Having said that, in the present government and the economy, I do not see short movies growing much as an entity of its own. It will always be overshadowed by Bollywood in India and Hollywood in the US. This is the way it always was and will remain unless and until the mind-set of the masses change (which, mind you, does not change overnight).