By Jaisurya Das
Ladies and Gentleman,
Sometimes silence speaks a thousand words….
Dear MxM salutes the spirit of the brave officers and jawans who have laid down their lives for our safety and peace. May God give them eternal peace.
This isn’t the time for ramble. Join me in praying for their families who have sacrificed their loved ones for our cause, our India.
Jai Hind. Jai Jawan.
Our Q&A for the week :
I will be graduating in journalism this year, and I am told that I must learn touch typing and shorthand. Is it really that important?
Oh boy! This is a new one. Is that your institute diktat? If so, feel happy you’re graduating and will soon will be out of their hallowed corridors.
No, my friend. Be rest assured that the lack of knowledge of these skills is not going to slow down your journalism career. Journalism is about creating and disseminating quality content, and has little to do with how it was put on paper/ screen.
Don’t ever waste your time acquiring these skills now. Focus on your core craft and get that to be formidable. Nothing else matters. I have always believed that craft will always find its space.
Nothing can ever stop that. Not even shorthand or typing ignorance.
Welcome to the wonderful world of media! Own it my friend. God bless.
Am adding this with permission from our dear Contributing Editor: While it’s not that you can’t be a journalist without the knowledge of touch typing, you’ll experience the difference when you can type with all your fingers (and thumbs) without looking at the keyboard. I often give the example of driving a car looking at the steering wheel as against looking at the path ahead. Well, that’s an incorrect comparison – no lives will be lost if you don’t know touch-typing, but I would strongly recommend that you learn it. As for shorthand, you can develop your own short forms etc. I see many journalists using digital recorders/mobile phones to record statements even at routine press conferences. It’s a pain to transcribe, and easier to look at your notes when filing the report. I still remember being able to record longish court proceedings thanks to a basic knowledge of Pitman’s shorthand. – Editor
One of the big problems in television news media today is that they take sides in stories. Now there is nothing wrong if you openly admit that you are Pro-Congress or BJP. So why don’t our newspapers do that?
True that, but it’s quite upfront with quite a few newspapers isn’t it? Some take the neutral stand more often but that’s more for commercial interest I would imagine.  Governments also power revenue for the newspapers, be it in the form of advertising or political advertising during the elections or paid editorial. It’s important to realise that newspapers have to be profitable too and it’s not just about delivering news to its readers.
Whether it’s the Congress or the BJP, the newspaper has to do its job, both as an entity to deliver news and analyses as well as to be a commercially successful venture for the principal shareholders.
Hence, take these things with a pinch of salt my friend. Don’t forget life is all about ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours’ and hence it’s important to remember that life is to be celebrated and not wasted on editorial analysis.
In the financial services sector, many firms insist that many employees take 15-odd days compliance leave. Why don’t we have this in all streams of media?
Hello and thanks for writing in to Dear MxM!  This is news to me ! I didn’t know of a statute that rules management staff having to take 15 days compliance leave. In this sector like most others, long leave is in literal terms ‘earned leave’ and is credited to the employees leave account after each year of service.
Having said that, I more than agree with you that a decent break is important for media professionals too. More than the system, I would set the onus on the heads of departments/ editors etc since it’s for them to realise the importance of giving an annual vacation to members of their team.
This, contrary to popular belief actually, does invigorate the individual to perform better on their return. It’s a different matter that in a lot of corporates (more so in India unfortunately!) leave means nothing more than staying away from the office premises. The employee is made to be on call 24/7 and to answer queries ranging from ‘ By the way where is the key to the file cabinet?’
to ‘Hey! How’s your break man… Have fun buddy. Incidentally, do you by any chance know when the appraisals interviews are happening?’.
So, to answer your question in one line: question the people, not the system!
I was reading the Madison forecast recently on your site. Print is doing very well as per that report. So why do people say that print is dying?
Good question, my friend! Â The answer is simple. We ape the west in more than one way, and unfortunately even their fears are passed down to us. No, print isn’t dying that easy in our country.
Long way to go! I am not suggesting that print will survive any tide but it’s sure going to weather the next few decades well. India is one country that still believes in its roots.
Strange as it may sound, the newspaper is part of the Indian fabric and no other media can deliver this quality of weave. Yes, I am biased. I am an Indian and proud to be one! Print penetration has a long way to go and we are only going to see higher growth in the smaller markets in proportion to increase in literacy. Don’t forget, literacy is still measured by the knowledge of the alphabet. Print.
Yes, print will die, but not before 2050. I am ready to stake my life on this, and believe me I am going to be around for a very long time!
Ladies and gentleman, in true western spirit it’s time to say Au Revoir! Have a splendid weekend and take good care of yourself.
And if you haven’t figured the importance of eating two nice carrots every morning, then you haven’t figured a thing yet! Carrots are good and they have beta-carotene and stuff which are good for your eyes…..!Â
Reading this column week after week may result in undue corneal stress. The consumption of foodstuff high in beta-carotene is recommended. This communication is brought to you by ‘ The World Carrot Federation ‘ .  While you’re at it, do mail us your questions on editor@mxmindia.com with Dear MxM in the subject line.
Yes, Dear MxM is now open to ‘in-column’ advertising and promotion. Mail us for further details. As you can see, we get carried away by trends ! It may however be noted, that our soul isn’t for sale. Dear MxM; Truthfully yours week after week. Sweet nothing will contain our candidity. Amen.
Jaisurya Das, the maverick media-evangelist, eats, sleeps and romance’s brands. His cerebral consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. He is also the Contributing Editor of MxM India. The views expressed in this column are his own.