Category: DAS KA DUM

We do know that we have a bias towards print and digital and television media. But it’s not that we aren’t concerned about the others. So here’s a question on radio in Das Ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Most of our questions have been around digital, television and of course print, what is your outlook for radio in the post-Lockdown media order?

A. Any media whose business model have been over  skewed towards advertising would suffer whenever economic turbulence affects the life of advertisers. Advertisers are also continuously exploring routes to optimise investment in an infinite media environment. Consequently, media planning and buying are undergoing inter-format reallocation of monies. Radio, being one of the formats of delivery of content, is also expected to be affected by this volatility. I am sure respective media owners would be able to recalibrate their business model to meet the unfolding reality.

Okay, one more question on radio as part of Das Ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Here goes…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Sorry for putting you in a spot by asking you a pointed question: but given your response of yesterday, do you think there is any scope of revenues from the way the FM and non-FM radio is currently?

A. I am conscious of the regulatory challenges that might be a roadblock for alternative sources of revenue, as of now. But being an incorrigible optimist, I think that if one plays an infinite game, whether by company or sector, one can come out with alternate realities. I know it’s easier said than done. But aren’t we exploring alternate realities of working in view of Covid-19? Could we even contemplate the way the world has started embracing the new normal?

Welcome to an all-new week of Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Questions of the week are mostly lockdown-related. So without further, here’s today’s Q&A.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Unlock 1.0, Mission Begin Again… the governments of the day have also caught on to the hashtag culture. Comments?

A. When society adopts a culture, all institutions start reflecting it in their behaviour. This is how culture syncs. The purpose of hashtag is to draw attention (remember it started with Twitter, if I recall it right), organise expression and promote conversation. Governments of the day would also prefer such objectives. Hashtag is serving that instant objective.

So we are back with another ‘achche din’ question. Or is it spelt achhe din? We don’t spelt it that way coz it reads like a misspelt ache. Anyway, so the question that everyone’s asking is: with Unlock 1.0, will the economy open up. We know that the skies are surely threatening to do so, but will the media make more monies is the million dollar worry. We asked our Wizard with Words the all-important question. So without further ado: Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. With the Lockdowns easing, do you think Achche Din will happen soon for the media economy

A. Given that media is a dominantly derived business, any fluctuation of fortune of advertisers and the economy affects its business model. It’s also an unwritten practice that when adverse business environment creeps in, the first thing to be curtailed is advertising/ marketing expenses and when the economy revives, it’s the last thing to be revived. After all, it’s also a middleline item and need to be optimised, like staff cost (Please refer to Q&A tomorrow – Ed). Now, the lead time might differ from one slowdown to another. So I can’t generalise. But arrival of achche din takes time and the slowdown this time is more complex due to its unprecedented armageddonish catastrophe on every aspect of human life.

This is a question which a lot of people are asking, and we think we’ve also asked this at least once earlier. But in the light of what’s been happening over the last few days, we thought it would be good to ask our Wizard with Words this question all over again. So without further ado: Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. There is a near-blood bath in the print media media with pink slips and salary cuts. Do you think it’s fair that even profitable companies are doing this and are not absorbing losses for at least two to three months

A. Your question is confusing. Are you asking the ethical side of the decision or the business side? Since I don’t want to comment on ethics, let me delve on the business rationale of your question. See, any business enterprise has to evaluate its options for running the enterprise by balancing the revenue and cost side. Any unfavourable skew of the balance has to be corrected so that the business doesn’t bleed. I presume staff costs would be an important component of the cost line. Rightsizing, automation, outsourcing etc are routes to optimise costs. These become an imperative when the topline of a business doesn’t grow at a faster pace than the cost line. With the headwinds of the current business environment, the response pattern is expected to be to remain afloat. It must be tough for an organisation too , but to save the enterprise, is there any other practical option?

Hmmm. We asked this question to BD as a business strategist first and a news media person later. Seriously, there is no hidden agenda. Without further ado: Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. How much should news media content get influenced by the mood of the masses? For instance, if the sentiment is towards the Congress even though it may be doing some regressive acts, should one have a pro-Congress outlook? Ditto with the BJP and other influences?

A. Mass media is ideally expected to reflect the mood of the masses and not the other way round. Convergence of mood in favour of one party or the other is a mere coincidence. Also what do we mean by “mass”? Mass can start with  an individual narrative and then gets viral. Arab Spring started as a small movement and then became so, so strong that the ruler got dethroned. Mass is a hysteria. But it’s all related to an internal narrative of an individual or a group of individuals, getting converged with the demagogy of populism. But discernment can’t be a homogeneous virtue of a population at large. And no media can exhaustively reflect the complete tapestry of national mood of every narrative prevailing in a country.

Why do you think we’ve not been doing webinars? Coz there’s an overkill. But we wanted to know from our own dear BD babu. Without further ado: the Friday, June 5 edition Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. A Friday question: Do you think we’ve seen an overkill of webinars in the Lockdown?

A. I may not be the right person to answer this question as my optimism quotient on technology would not match that of a post-1995 born. Webinars are functional no doubt in the current context. But it can be exhaustive too as they are an addition to the range of videoconferences that one has to undergo in the age of WFH. Hence,  cumulatively the surfeit of virtual interaction can be quite draining. After all as human beings, we still prefer face-to-face interaction and display of emotions. In a virtual world there is some short supply of the same. But one has to get used to the new normal for one’s own safety. The need for social distancing have forced us to adopt this new behaviour, but it need not make us emotionally distant.