MxMIndia

Category: MEDIAAH!

Season 3 of Pradyuman Maheshwari’s no-holds-barred commentary on the media

  • The I&B minister is likely to take a final call on digitization today. Pradyuman Maheshwari believes it must be delayed by 2-3 months and subscribers should be incentivised if they switch in this period. And then there should be a final deadline of six months.

    Mediaah: Should Ambika Soni delay digitization?

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Yes, she must. There’s no point making a charade of it when the on-ground reality is not what it should be with just 23 days left for the scheduled compulsory switch to digitally transmitted television in the four metros of Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.  Over the last five months, MxMIndia has been speaking to various stakeholders on digitization. In fact right from the day our countdown started when there were 100 days to go for the June 30 Sunset Date, key stakeholders have been telling us that the deadline is unachievable.

     

    The government has itself to blame. The digitization deadline has been known for a while, and one would’ve expected it to have moved faster if it was serious about the Sunset Date. The tariff order came in rather late, and one would’ve expected the babus to have worked backwards and establish a foolproof schedule.

     

    Now, we have a situation that’s going to embarrass all.

     

    A senior industry professional told me that after the June 1 taskforce meeting it was clear that deadline will be pushed by at least two months, if not three. Some influential cable professionals have been rooting for six months, but I think three months is fair, with a diktat that within six months, it ought to be total.

     

    I also believe that there ought to be a significant incentive for early birds. Those who’ve switched subscribed and those who will in by September 30. The government must cut its levies and ask for these to be passed on to subscribers. Something like: buy a set-top box and get free connectivity for six months! Ensure this offer is only for the first three months, and after that it should be withdrawn. Also, subscribers should be allowed to pay in instalments.

     

    Today, Anil Thakraney’s maid asked him for a thousand-buck loan. I am sure I am going to be asked for the same soon. It’s critical that the lowest common denominator in our country – and there is a sizeable population that can’t make ends meet – is finding it tough to embrace digitization. There’s of course the argument that no one likes to pay for software in India, but there is no denying that the move will impact the household budgets of crores of Indians.

     

    So what’s the solution. Extend the deadline, yes, but just by two or three months. Offer an incentive for this period, and then bring back the taxes. Let this be the first deadline and have a final one of six months and ensure that all comply post that. A ‘Good Night’ date after the ‘Sunset’.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM 23050B5D, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.

     

    Disclaimer: Although he is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of this site, Pradyuman Maheshwari’s views in Mediaah! are not necessarily those of the rest of the team and MxMIndia.com.

     

  • The I&B ministry ought to have known that the June 30 sunset date for the four metros was unachievable, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah! Why Ambika Soni is to blame for the delay in digitization

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    I have been a huge fan of the current information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni. After the likes of Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Anand Sharma, Madame Soni’s tenure came as a breath of fresh air. And a much-needed one, because she didn’t make life miserable for the broadcasters like her predecessors did (and I am told wanted her to).

     

    The I&B minister’s job is a thankless one. Several hundred Parliamentarians and politicians, consumer groups, corporates, lobbies and alert citizens writing to her with comments and requests, and most of which cannot be ignored.  If Colors didn’t face any problems with Balika Vadhu or Star Plus didn’t have to pull out Sach Ka Saamna, it’s thanks to the minister warding off various pressures.

     

    I think just keeping all these complainants at bay and letting the various players do their job is an achievement. She has also gently ensured that news and non-news broadcasters adopt a stringent (and effective) self-regulatory mechanism.

     

    So what’s the problem? Well, part of it is thanks to successive I&B secretaries having short tenures. Uday Kumar Varma, the incumbent, also has a two-year stint prior to retirement or an extension. Mr Varma has the advantage of having worked with MIB in the past at senior positions so he didn’t spend a few months understanding the nuances of the job as a few of his predecessors may have had to.

     

    Over the last few months, several industry captains and observers have told me that the ministry is inefficient which I have vociferously countered by saying Ms Soni’s achievements need to be counted by her proactive opposition to regressive forces. At least one CEO even told that me that I was too pro-MIB. Perhaps, but that’s because she’s not regressive.

     

    However, the fact is that the ministry lacks the initiative to deliver on bold measures. Nothing happened with Doordarshan even as much was promised when it celebrated its golden jubilee in 2009. The radio sector is still floundering: there is still no news on radio even as television stations even in the most sensitive of zones in the country are allowed to air news. The minister wasn’t able to stand up to her colleague in the food and consumer affairs department on ad regulation and more recently it’s made a mess of the entire digitization process.

     

    The Minister and her secretariat were aware of the requirements of the process, so even before accepting the TRAI regulations, they ought to have looked at whether the Sunset Date of June 30 was achievable. It wasn’t as most stakeholders told us.

     

    Even now, as a few of the people familiar with the situation on the ground have told me that October 31 is going to be a tough ask.

     

    It’s critical that the government monitors the execution carefully and ensures that there is no room for any further delays. Care must also be taken to ensure that the respective state governments and municipal corporations are taken into confidence… especially in Chennai and Kolkata.

     

    As to those who raise the bogey that digitization puts television out of the reach of the lowest common denominator, the answer is that they can always access terrestrial transmission. Quality software must be paid for.

     

    Meanwhile, all is not lost for the Honourable Minister. She must get aggressive on digitization and various other pending issues in her ministry. Or let history remember her as one more ineffective I&B ministers that India has had.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.  The views expressed here are my own.

     

  • Pradyuman Maheshwari on India’s poor showing at Cannes Lions, #CannesLions stats and Nikhil Pahwa’s Medianama celebrating its fourth anniversary

    Mediaah! Pathetic performance at Cannes + Twitter stats + Medianama turns 4

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    The Cannes Lions is no Olympics, so if India returned home with no Grand Prix and just three Golds, there is no reason to despair.  Yes, there’s a jury out there, and there are many people comprising each of them, so it’s not easy to please all or most of them. Hence those who have come home with the honours deserve a huge pat on their back since they’ve managed to impress some of the best brains in the business from across the world.

     

    Sad, because India is big news internationally. This is because of our bigness. People know that the real consumers exist in China and India. The one billion-plus population ensures that. The world recognises that being a democracy means that a lot of commerce-friendly measures are tough to implement. So there is much action in China and hence sexier work in advertising. That last bit also translates to more awards in the tally and more attention to that country.

     

    This year’s Cannes Lions has seen a Abby-like controversy. I’m sure the folks at the Advertising Club Bombay will say “See, it happens there too”. While the Cannes Lions organisers aren’t at fault for what could’ve happened, but I guess there’s got to be some action else the festival will not see the 11000+ delegates who turned up for one or more days.

     

    #CannesLions Stats

    I was unable to get to Cannes as there was more pressing work here, but the best way to keep track was decidedly #CannesLions. In fact, as someone said, even if you were physically present at Cannes, it was a great way to get the buzz.

     

    Here are some stats courtesy the Twitter Advertising blog (http://advertising.twitter.com/2012/06/twitter-celebrates-users-and-brands.html):

    • There were 103,389 mentions of #CannesLions on Twitter during the six days of the festival – a substantial increase from the 20,000 in 2011. Over 5,000 pictures were tweeted.
    • That’s 17,232 Tweets a day and 718 Tweets an hour with a peak of 3,000 Tweets an hour during key seminars – up from 40 per hour on average in 2011.
    • The total #CannesLions earned media on Twitter has been calculated at over 61 million impressions.

     

     

    Often, the 3k tweets an hour looked a hundred thousand. They just didn’t stop coming! And even after the last day, there were several tweets on celebrations, discussions and there’s one exceedingly painful on a book written on the future of advertising. Tweets are fun, informative but can also be a pain!

     

    Nikhil Pahwa’s Medianama is 4

    My hearty congratulations to Medianama and Nikhil Pahwa on the popular tech-telecom-media site’s fourth anniversary.

     

    I know there are some who think Nikhil is brash, but that’s only because a lot of people in important offices are used to puffs and plugs from journos and trade sites. Although it may be styled as a blog, I am aware that he follows the same rigour as any journalist ought to.

     

    Medianama went live on June 27, 2008. It’s got a small team and has advertisers on board. So revenues are happening. When I asked Nikhil about revenues, he replied (rather tweeted back): “Healthy. We’re slowly learning to grow. Is tricky, but learning.” Guess I know what he means.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.  The views expressed here are my own

     

  • Pradyuman Maheshwari is upset with the Mint editorial highlighting the 'narrowness' on television news. There are enough malaises that afflict newspapers too, he writes in Mediaah!

    Mediaah! Dear Editor, Mint: It’s incorrect to damn TV news

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Click here for Larger view

    I find the media coverage in the Mint by far the most balanced from the time it started and was quite surprised to see a bizarre second edit in today’s edition titled ‘The Narrowness of TV news’.

     

    Now we all know the problems with the news on television: it’s often sensationalized, it can go and on over an inconsequential issue and do whatever it takes to garner ratings.

     

    While making a case for its argument on the narrowness, the editorial concludes:

    One shouldn’t really be complaining because such coverage ensures the continued relevance of newspapers, which actually cover many more events and issues in, say 20 pages, than news channels do in an entire week, and also provides an opportunity for news websites and news apps to get ahead. Still, such complaints are reasonable because such coverage amplifies the inconsequential at the cost of other, more substantial, stories.

     

    I don’t think there’s anything wrong in what the Mint has said, except that it has made some gross omissions. One, it bases its arguments only on the primetime slots on news channels. For instance, let’s take Times Now among the English. Yes, the 9-10/10.30 blocks are taken up by extended studio discussions on one or two or at most three topics and an end-piece, but at around 8.30 it does carry news snippets from across the country. I must confess I don’t watch enough of news television to be able to give you specific timeslots across networks, but I’m certain every channel has a slot for round-up albeit not at the 9-10pm slot.

     

    Mint’s editorial evidently doesn’t take factor in the news on the Doordarshan channel (DD News) which is possibly more all-encompassing, though the emphasis is more on the ministers and government events.

     

    My peeve against the comment is that it assumes that news in our newspapers is perfect. It may be noted that HT Media, the company that owns and publishes Mint, doesn’t own a news channel, though it actively allies with CNN-IBN for special surveys and events.

     

    The fact is that just as the malaise afflicts news on TV, it also exists in newspapers. In fact there are enough biases in the papers. And these move from news to editorial pages too. A leading national daily who the Mint editors may be familiar with dropped the column of a well-known commentator because he/she had written a slightly negative article on an emerging politician of a disposition that the newspaper group is close to. Then there are cases of paid news and a variety of vested interests at play.

     

    The primetime slot on television news is like the front page of the newspaper. Just as you’ll not get a hundred news stories on Page 1, the same holds good for television news.

     

    So to damn the content mix of one medium on its editorial page is not on, dear editors of Mint. The decay is huger in print – in the big and small cities. The narrowness exists in newspapers too — on the news pages and beyond.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach Mediaah!: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, BBM 29FEA79C. Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.  The views expressed here are my own.

     

  • Fareed Zakaria's act of plagiarising from a New Yorker article is unfortunate, though not the first by a high profile editor

    Mediaah! History will also record Zakaria as a plagiarist

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    As a term, Indian media loves to define copyright as the right to copy than a protection of the intellectual property of a body of work. Under the garb of inspiration, many of our films are ‘lifted’ from their international counterparts without permission. Television is a nicer place with channels paying fair monies for formats of popular shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati, Indian Idol, Bigg Boss, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, etc. Radio has had its issue on copyright for payments for airing of songs, but not for filching ideas.

     


    Fareed Zakaria’s apology (and comments):
    http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com /2012/08/  10/a-statement-from-fareed/

    The article with the plagiarised text:
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,2121660 2,00.html

    The original New Yorker article by Jill Lepore:
    http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04 /23/ 120423fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=all

    The Economic Times Code of Conduct
    http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-09-18/news/27597028_1_editors-confi dentiality -church-and-state

    The MxMIndia Code of Conduct
    http://www.mxmindia.com/code-of-ethics/

    The Slate controversy
    http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox /2010/10/great_writers_steal.html

    For many years, a majority of Indian print media editors have condoned plagiarism. In fact, many encourage it, some even indulging in them. News reports – in full or part – are often copied without permissions or attributions and no one really appears to worry about it much.

     

    When Mediaah! ran as a standalone blog in the early 2000s, it wrote about how a reporter with a business daily had plagiarised from a report on the website of a rival paper. My attention was drawn to the apology that appeared.

     

    At that point, my contention was while the reporter was to blame, her team leaders were equally responsible as they ought to have been more vigilant and tracked what immediate competition had written.

     

    The reporter went on to work at various workplaces later, and I haven’t really tracked whether she has repeated the act or not. At another former workplace, I was faced with a situation where a columnist confessed to plagiarising. The column was dropped with immediate effect.

     

    Many years back, a Hindustan Times editor also disgraced himself (and the paper) by plagiarising. His services were dispensed with after a furore over the issue.

     

    Plagiarism – in any form is a crime – and it’s critical that organizations adopt strict rules. At the Economic Times and ET Now, for instance, it’s a “firing offence” as per the code of conduct.  At MxMIndia too, we have a no tolerance policy towards plagiarism and it could mean an immediate termination of employment, regardless of the utility or seniority of the journalist. However, as we figure, not all organizations have stringent standards on plagiarism. Some just let it be.

     

    If it was easy to escape plagiarism a decade back, the wide use of the internet and social media in particular will ensure that those caught in the act will not be forgotten in a hurry.

     

    For instance, I am sure India Today group chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie had no role to play in his signed editorial picking up generously from a Slate.com article two years back. Sadly, whenever there is a discussion on plagiarism, his name will surface in the list of well-known Indian editors indulging in the act. In fact, a Wikipedia entry on the media baron has a fairly visible mention of the Slate case.

     

    I guess the same would hold true for Fareed Zakaria. This is what Zakaria’s bio reads on the homepage of his website (fareedzakaria.com):

    Fareed Zakaria hosts CNN’s flagship foreign affairs show, is Editor-at-Large of TIME Magazine, a Washington Post columnist, and a New York Times bestselling author. Esquire Magazine called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”

     

    The Wikipedia entry on Zakaria already highlights the plagiarism case.

     

    Books on media history and ethics will now have one more way to describe Fareed Zakaria: great mind, writer, TV host, author and a plagiarist.

     

    Sad.

     

    Mediaah! is written by Pradyuman Maheshwari, senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief and CEO, MxMIndia. He can be reached at: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, BBM 29FEA79C. Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • The crisis thanks to NDTV taking TAM and its principals to court is the biggest that Indian commercial television has faced thus far. The six action points are too little, too late, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah! | Ratings controversy: Too little too late

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    That the meeting last week where the ISA and AAAI met with TAM did not have the IBF in attendance made one wonder whether all was still not well between the three bodies on the constitution of BARC, and perhaps television measurement itself. This despite the fact all key officebearers from the three apex bodies of advertising, ad agencies and broadcasters have been working overtime to make it happen.

     

    The controversy that’s erupted thanks to NDTV taking TAM and its principals to court is the biggest that Indian commercial television has faced thus far.

     

    And the governmental threat of setting up a TRAI-like Broadcasters’ Regulatory Authority of India is for real. Ideally it ought to be a Media Regulatory Authority of India which will also include newspapers, radio and the digital media in its fold, but successive governments and bureaucrats are too scared of taking on newspaper barons and editors. It’s the threat of a government-imposed regulator that got warring Hindi news channels Aaj Tak and India TV to smoke the peace pipe. If a TRAI-like regulator happens, all media entities know that could face a tough time.

     

    I don’t want to get into the merits of the NDTV v/s TAM, etc case. The matter’s sub-judice and discussed to death.

     

    The action points that TAM came up with on Friday may buy some peace for the moment, but it’s a case of too little too late (link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/08/tam-offers-6-action-steps-in-meeting-with-isa-aaai/). Ensuring security measures and an internal audit team are measures that ought to have been taken (and insisted on) from Day 1. The communiqué quoting Messrs Bharat Patel and Arvind Sharma says: “We look forward to speedy implementation of the six action steps outlined by TAM. With the formation of Broadcast Audience Research Council-BARC on the anvil, it will be appropriate for us to request BARC to review if these steps are adequate.”

     

    Note the statement says the formation of BARC is on the anvil. Given the extent of time the print readership council took to happen (note the appointment of the research company/alliance awarded the contract has still not been announced), my guess is that it will take it around 12-18 months for any alternative to be set up.

     

    None of the stakeholders – at last week’s meeting or outside of it – have announced stopping their subscription to the current system. So if they haven’t done it, and in fact still sport TAM numbers whenever the ratings are favourable to them, isn’t it time that stop having double standards?

     

    Already the ownership structure of BARC is not a healthy one. Advertisers ought to be paying the lion’s share since any research will help their money being better utilised. The broadcasters could’ve contributed to the corpus that will facilitate the operations of BARC and the research process (the boxes et al). But now all of this is history. Broadcasters will own 60% of BARC, and advertisers and ad agencies will own 20 percent each.

     

    Thankfully for the broadcasters, the I&B ministry is busy elsewhere (Assam, social media etc). One wrong move, you can be sure that the government will flex its muscles.

     

    My guess (and information) is an announcement on BARC will happen sooner than that.

     

    Mediaah! is written by Pradyuman Maheshwari, senior journalist and Editor-in-chief, MxMIndia. He can be reached at: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, BBM 29FEA79C. Twitter @pmahesh.  The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • While the former I&B Minister was successful in warding off complainants of television content, there were various measures that didn’t happen in her tenure

    Mediaah Report Card on Ambika Soni: 7/10

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Although I would hold her responsible for the mess that we have in digitization, Ambika Soni was among the better I&B Ministers we have had in the last decade.

     

    In my report card, I would give her a 7 on 10.

     

    In fact had it not been for digitization and the lack of gamechanging vision, she’s could’ve scored higher.

     

    Remember she took over from Anand Sharma and earlier Priyaranjan Dasmunshi who had made life tough for industry practitioners.  Ms Soni’s tenure came as a breath of fresh air. Reportedly, the advisory she received from her predecessors was that she shouldn’t go easy on media biggies, but she would’ve none of that.

     

    Everyone has a view on the content dished out on television and in the print media. Parliamentarians, legislators and politicians of all hues, consumer and advocacy groups, corporate, citizens, et al would engage with her to act on their demands. For instance, Balika Vadhu in Colors was found by some to be glorifying child marriage or Sach Ka Saamna and Bigg Boss were found to be unfit for family viewing. Ms Soni heard the complaints and kept the complainants at bay. The general entertainment channels must thank the former minister to ward off a variety of pressures.

     

    I think just letting various players do their job with a nudge here and there was an achievement. Ms Soni also ensured that entertainment and news broadcasters work out an effective self-regulatory mechanism. This had had its share of hiccups in the past, but in her tenure it happened.

     

    Ambika soni

    But though her progressive outlook ensured that the industry benefitted, various factors pull her down in this appraisal. In fact, according to one magazine study a few years back, she was judged to be a non-performer.

     

    Let’s look at the areas where Ms Soni failed:

     

    1. Doordarshan. The pubcaster had turned 50 in 2009 and there was an opportunity to make it a more professional BBC-like body. Didn’t happen.

    2. Radio. News on FM radio is not allowed due to some silly Home Ministry objections even as there are several cable channels in every nook and corner of the country.

    3. Paid news. If paid news is being discussed much it’s thanks to the Election Commission and a section of the fraternity. The minister had an opportunity to cleanse the system, but she didn’t want to upset the holy cows in the business

    4. Tougher on measures: Had she adopted a sterner stand and asked the industry to act faster, we wouldn’t have seen an NDTV taking TAM to court as BARC would’ve been set up and offered the necessary guidelines.

    5. Digitization. Agreed it’s a bold measure and it’s in her tenure that it gained momentum and was being executed. But the fact that it didn’t was all thanks to the way her ministry went about the task. Even as there are just two days to go, 100 per cent digitization will take another two or three months to happen in the four metros.

     

    Could this embarrassment have been avoided? Yes, of course.

     

    I am also shocked at how and why she quit less than a week before what was decidedly the biggest thing in Media and Entertainment in the last decade. Bigger than DTH and other policy initiatives. Yes, it’s a good idea that a senior political leader goes back to help the party in the run-up to the elections, but why do it when the Sunset Date is just a week after?

     

    Why did the Prime Minister allow her to do so? Why did the UPA chairperson allow it?

     

    This, I guess, is the reality check for all of us in the media. The powers that be don’t really care.

     

    As for Madame Soni’s score in my report card. 7/10. And a red line for being irresponsible and leaving the ministry a week before her biggest project was being executed.

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari is Editor-in-Chief, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own. Inbox him at pradyumanm@mxmindia.com or use the messageboard below

     

  • While Arnab Goswami may still be big on English news TV, he has stretched his nationalistic debates a bit much, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari.

    Mediaah!: What’s not right with Arnab Goswami

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Many months back, even ahead of the November 26 terror strike in Mumbai which transformed the English news television landscape entirely, I had written that Arnab Goswami was the best anchor on primetime news TV.

     

    He was different from Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt who were stars of the nightly bulletins. He was direct, he asked the tough questions and didn’t let his guests get away easily.

     

    In many ways, just as Angry Young Man Amitabh Bachchan mesmerized the nation in the 1970s, the Angry Young Man Arnab Goswami grew big on television. Rajdeep and Barkha (and Prannoy Roy etc) were journalists… this guy was like one of us.

     

    November 26, 2008 onwards was when he was at his peak. Some may say he took the easy (and if one may add uncharitably: safer) option of being in the studio as his reporters went closer to the hostage drama. But it was a wise decision. While it’s good to have your trump cards in action  – whether they should be on the field or off is a call that’s got to be taken. By staying in the studios, Arnab ensured that the 60+ hours of the hostage crisis was covered the best on Times Now.

     

    Arnab Goswami

    It’s been no looking back thereafter. He took the nationalistic line and the longevity of the terror discussion ensured that he would go on and on and on. Then there were border concerns in China and immigrant problems in Australia and wherever there was an issue where there was an Indian case to be fought for, Superman Arnab came to the rescue.

     

    A variety of political scandals and multiple scams ensured that there were enough ratings for news on television. Plus a packed sporting season.

     

    However, Arnab appeared to have got greedy. Or was forced to not see reason and hold back. He stretched his nationalistic debates a bit much.

     

    Agreed the nation wants answers and is happy that Arnab asks for them too, but the shrillness with which he goes about his task makes it a charade. There is a hardly a night when there is peace among his his panelists.

     

    There are other problems with the Arnab we see on Newshour and beyond. His body language as he faces the camera shows that he gets in with a view. And he wants to lead the discussion as per that.

     

    He gets carried away. Like he failed to see reason when Anna Hazare was at his peak. Like he did last Sunday as anchored a newsroom discussion through the day for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s funeral procession. While one didn’t expect him to damn him, the death of a political leader like Thackeray offered enough reason for a debate on his policies and style of functioning.

     

    Arnab’s ‘Frankly Speaking’ with Raj Thackeray may have seen him raise some probing questions, but he let him get away. Raj even had some fun at Arnab’s expense.

     

    Last night (on Tuesday, Nov 20), we had a discussion on the two girls in suburban Palghar being arrested over a Facebook comment. The arrest as well as the vandalism thereafter must be damned. Those who committed both the crimes ought to be taken to task.

     

    I hold no brief for any of the three Mumbai women guests present, but Arnab was being offensive. At least allow Shaina NC to speak and move on if she’s not making a direct reference to the Sena, though later she did make an oblique reference!

     

    Arnab is fortunate that his competition, save Rajdeep Sardesai’s CNN-IBN, is not formidable. The NDTV 24×7 coverage of the Bal Thackeray death and funeral procession was pathetic. Sreenivasan Jain is poor with live news TV. His performance has been consistently below par: he was no great shakes when he was the Mumbai bureau head some years back, on Profit and now with the Thackeray coverage. Yes, on-off documentaries are great as are his exposes.

     

    As for Headlines Today, I think I have the solution to how it can be a force to reckon with. Let Rahul Kanwal be around for interviews et al, but get another primetime anchor-editor.

     

    Since I don’t have NewsX piped in through my digitized signal, I don’t watch the channel, but to my mind, CNN-IBN is by far the best English news television channel.

     

    Mind you, Rajdeep also gets shrill at times and Sagorika Ghose is a dozen times his decibel levels, but what makes the channel stand out is that it’s got multiple faces.

     

    Times Now appears happy to have not created a face beyond Arnab. But that’s their internal policy, though I am not sure if it’s a wise one.

     

    As for NDTV 24×7, it’s sad to see a wealth of talent often being wasted. Although I didn’t see much of the channel after a point last weekend, perhaps getting Barkha Dutt on would’ve been better with the Bal Thackeray coverage.

     

    Back to Arnab. If he really wants the viewing masses to find him spending their primetime with, he must switch tracks, get less combative and chill.

     

    A 10-day Vipassana course perhaps?

     

    Mediaah! Is written by Pradyuman Maheshwari, Editor-in-Chief, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own. If you don’t want to use the messageboard below, inbox your comments to him at pradyumanm@mxmindia.com. Or BBM 29FEA79C.

    File Photo: Fotocorp

     

  • The Dubious Achievement Awards… for work done in the year that few others could manage to do

    The Mediaah! Dubious Achievement Awards 2012

    Twenty-twelve is just behind us and as you would expect from MxMIndia, we bring you the Mediaah! Dubious Achievement Awards 2012.

     

    Before we set out to presenting them, a request: these ought to be taken in the right spirit and wherever required as indicators for improvement

     

    The Colgate Sensitive Award

    to the UPA government

    for pouncing on to the news channels whenever it gets a lashing from them

     

    The King Dasarath Award

     

    to the IBF, ISA and AAAI

    to banish TAM for 9 weeks on a whim

     

    The Tu Tu Main Main Award

    to WPP and NDTV

    for fighting each other over viewership ratings via press communiques

     

    The Manoj Kumar ‘Mera Bharat Mahaan’ Award

    to Arnab Goswami

    for boldly asking questions for India when nobody really cared (including many of us in the news media)

     

    The Chandni Bar Award for Prostituting Journalism

    to news media houses across the board

    for selling their souls (and reader/viewer rights) for more money and less credibility. If Bennett Coleman gets the Lifetime Achievement award for introducing Medianet, many others sell or barter news for advertisements or for money, whether it has to do with a film release, a skin cream, a new soap or an election.

     

    The Standard Chartered Marathon Award for Extra-Long Journalism

    to Caravan

    Although revived a few years back, it was kinda forgotten in the media until the December issue had its focus on The Times of India group, Arnab Goswami and other media biggies and issues. The Arnab piece is some 6000 words, the Samir-Vineet Jain story is 16,000. The story on the Jains took some eight months to write and the writer’s notes ran into over a hundred pages!

     

    The Sachin Tendulkar ‘Never Say Retire’ or ‘Retire Till You Are Damned’ Award

    to various media executives in advertising, journalism and the media sector…

    People who ought to move out and making way for younger talent, but aren’t.

     

    The Ghar Aaya Pardesi Award

    to Joy Chakraborthy

    for finding in alma mater BCCL a benefactor when he realized the TV Today Network was not the place for him as CEO

     

    A Rolling Stone gathers More Moss Award

    to biggies changing jobs

    To all those who have changed jobs more than once in the last 12 months and still have the apetitite for more

     

    The Pot calling the Kettle Black Award

    to The Times of India and Zee News

    For fighting over whose version of paid news and Medianet is worse in the Jindal case.

     

    The Love to Hate and Hate to Love Award

    to Barkha Dutt

    for getting repeatedly accused of irresponsible journalism and generating far too much hot air on Twitter for her and our own good

     

    The Kaju Feni Award for Promoting Goa

    to the one million and 79 thousand advertising and PR awards ceremonies

    … All held held in that state. Not to mention “think fests” and other such journalistic ego boosters.

     

    The One Slap Award

    to Idea

    for getting the whole country going “Honey Bunny Pumpkin Dumpling” against its better wishes

     

    The Rupert Murdoch Award for Media Moghul in the making

    Kartikeya Sharma

    for acquiring NewsX and Sunday Guardian. In the run-up to the 2014 elections, the Piccadily group managing director is stocking up his media empire. And how!

     

    The Flop Show Award for the TV gimmick that didn’t get ratings:

    to The Ram-Priya marriage consummation on Bade Achhe Lagte Hain

    Sex in the living room – even married sex – doesn’t work. We’re Indian, have you forgotten?

     

    The Red Bull award for Reality Show Fatigue

    to all Hindi GECs

    The low ratings that high spend reality shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Bigg Boss and Indian Idol and Sur-Kshetra may well bring the cost-effectivness debate to network boardrooms. How much do you pay for buzz?

     

    The Kingfisher Lifetime Achievement Award

    to AAAI and Advertising Club

    We don’t know what the real reasons are for the apex advertising agency association to hold the annual adfest in Goa in the summer. Goa is fine, but can’t we do it in a better month.

     

    The Kahaan Gaye Woh Log Award

    to Dr Prannoy Roy

    Possibly the first election results after many, many years when we didn’t see the NDTV bossman doing the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results analyses. Hope all’s well!?

     

    The WTF Were You Doing All These Years Award

    to Hindi GECs

    by bringing us shows like Aamir Khan’s Satymev Jayati and Yuvraj Singh’s Zindagi Abhi Baaki Hai, Hindi GECs have show that there is space for meaningful content on entertainment channels

     

    and finally:

     

    The Arnab Goswami award for the Most Sound News TV Editor

    to Arnab Goswami

    Can an Arnab Goswami award go to anyone else?! But this is for the man himself, for having some special finger-on-the-pulse machine that makes other journalists cry.

     

    Contributed by Pradyuman Maheshwari, Ranjona Banerji and Vidya Heble

     

  • The Indian bosses at Ford and JWT may have tendered their apologies, but is that enough? Not everyone thinks that justice has been done. Meanwhile, what about our own Markandey Katju? Time to send him packing?

    Mediaah! Should Ford sack JWT India for ad mishandling? + Cut the Katju!

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Harsh headline? Should JWT indeed be crucified or should we let the agency off by allowing it to nail a few bachchas and then let the whole thing be forgotten?

     

    Yes, before we have someone saying that MxMIndia is shying away from taking on the high and mighty of advertising and marketing, here’s our two-bit, laced with comments from the Twitterati across the world.

     

    If the work of posting unapproved ad creatives is the handiwork of some upstart blokes – creative, client servicing whosever – then they ought to be asked to play Holi for the rest of their lives.

     

    For those not in the know, BusinessInsider broke the story of ad creatives posted on adsoftheworld.com one of which saw former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi with a set of gagged, wailing women in the trunk of a car. The creatives have since been withdrawn from the creative showcase.

     

    The apologies handed out are mere words of regret. It smacks of a cover-up. Ask anyone working in an agency of moderate size and you’ll be told that work such as this can’t not be seen and approved by the client and must have the blessings of the seniors.

     

    Okay, so it’s not that people don’t make mistakes. They do, and it would be nicer if the biggies involved were to own up to the act rather than blame kids at the agency.

     

    What they haven’t bargained for is that if there is indeed some funny stuff happening, it won’t take too long for it out to be on the social media.

     

    One industry captain texted us last evening to ask if there was a Chapter 2 to the Ford story? And added an extra-large smiley. We don’t know, but what we do know is that it could well be the beginning of an all-new story.

     

    Meanwhile, check this:

    1. The BusinessInsider.com story with the offensive creatives and the apologies from Ford and WPP: http://www.businessinsider.com /awful-ford-figo-ad-silvio-berlunsconi-gagged-women-2013-3 and http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-wpp-apologizes-for-offensive-car-ad-2013-3

     

    2. Since it’s not just about Silvio Belrunsconi but also about Paris Hilton and the Kardashian sisters, it also features in Hollywood chroniclers: http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/03/24/ford-kardashians-ad-leaked-poster-paris-hilton/

     

    3.  The much respected Slate.com had this damning comment titled ‘Ford India needs to fire its advertising execs’: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/03/22/ford_india_should_probably_fire _its_ad_execs_for_depicting_bound_and_gagged.html

     

    4. On Twitter, reactions bordered from the extreme to the moderate. Sample this:

    Tom Becktold ‏@becktold: With the Ford/JWT India debacle, check your partner contracts to make sure spec creative cannot be shared. Shouldn’t need to, but..

    Louise Ridley ‏@LouiseRidley: JWT India taking serious action after ads featuring Silvio Berlusconi with gagged women in a car boot appeared online http://bit.ly/14jwKYP

    Seth Cargiuolo ‏@carge77: RT @rachebrun: Dear @Ford, you have no excuse. your ad is inexcusable: http://mashable.com/2013/03/25/ford-apologizes -for-ad-in-india-kardashians/…

    << Ford should sack JWT India, no question.

     

    5. There was also some debate. Like this one:

    Piyush Pankaj ‏@piyushpankaj: @sshibad u can’t hold agency responsible for this as ad would have passed through various brand managers at Ford India as well

    Sunil Shibad ‏@sshibad: @piyushpankaj I think some juniors did it for ad awards. I doubt Ford India even saw it.

     

    So did someone say Goafest 2013 is going to be a li’l dry this year given the absence of Ogilvy at the creative Abby? Well, now, there’s going to be a fair deal of action. And we’ll be waiting for that someone to get plastered and talk. Wicked us.

     

    Cut the Katju!

    Over the last two years, Markandey Katju has become a household name given his various outbursts, all of which have provided much fodder to us in the news media. Often, we’ve even been happy with what he’s said. For, Katju can be expected to shoot his mouth off on anything… and until now he appears to be getting away with it.

     

    But, remember, he’s also the Press Council of India chairman. And although the organization has got no teeth and the only print journalists who care much about it are those on its committees, it’s an important position and the Press Council’s role is quasi-regulatory.

     

    His appeal to the Governor to let Sanjay Dutt off is bizarre, his arguments are outlandish. Apart from serving the needs of the government to needle journalists and media organizations and providing some comic relief, Katju has done precious little as Press Council chief.  I think his time is up. He ought to go. Doesn’t any little country in South America or wherever need an Ambassador?

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari can be reached at @pmahesh on Twitter and 29fea79c via BBM. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • Haridwar, April 1: The Times has decided to drop its controversial Media net practice, Mediaah! learns from a reliable source. It appears the management took this decision after a round of discussion and finally issued this statement after the board issued the diktat

    Mediaah! Breaking! Times stops Media net, controversial practice killed overnight 🙂

    HARIDWAR, April 1: The Times has decided to drop its controversial Media net practice, Mediaah! learns from a reliable source. It appears the management took this decision after a round of discussion and finally issued this statement after the board issued a diktat*.

     

    At what may have been a customary dip on Holi, a senior company honcho took a deep dip in the Holy waters and then got out looking at the skies and told one of his aides: “I dived in to find that the water is crystal clear. There were no impurities.” “Yes, sir, that is so true, sir,” the aide said. “So, if the water can be clear, why can’t our newspaper also be clear of impurities,” the guiding light said.

     

    “Let’s just stop this Net practice,” he said. “But, Sir, how can we reverse it when it’s making good money for us,” asked Aide #2. “No impurities. We will make more money. People will pay more for a purer paper.” “Yes, sir, just as we  all pay more for bottled water,” said Aide #1 with a chuckle.

     

    One of the aides wrote to all the managers and relevant editors announcing them of the decision.

     

    There could be no discussions on the issue, just as there couldn’t be when the net practice was started. And, as it happened, despite wide-scale condemnation, the scheme not only worked but turned out to earn the entire news media sector revenues in the region of around Rs 500 crore.

     

    Meanwhile, it is learnt that Caravaan magazine is planning a 20-page cover story on how Times has cleansed itself. The story will appear in the December 2013 edition of the magazine.

     

    It is likely that other publications which had started a content-for-cash practice may now drop the policy of charging for editorial content. It is hoped that with this, editorial content on the entertainment and party pages will become more meaningful. For instance, a restaurant will be named in the news of its opening and logos and brand names will not be blanked out from photographs.

     

    The Mumbai and Delhi hotel and restaurant association has welcomed the decision and is contemplating a felicitation of all newspaper publishers and owners.

     

    Hey guys, no such luck as yet. It’s April Fool’s Day… Cash-for-content flourishes, and how! Not just in politics, but for entertainment, fashion, events. As we know, the cash-for-content policy is no longer practised by just one news media company. It’s across various newspapers, magazines channels, FM radio stations, websites. Sigh.

     

    The names and entities mentioned in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to any individual or organization is coincidental and in jest. Dil mein mat lena. Don’t take this to heart 🙂

     

     

     

  • It's vital to exert all possible pressure to get Ogilvy back to the Creative Abby, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari. An Ogilvy not participating in the Creative Abby is like a China or USA not competing in the Summer Olympics!

    MxM Comment: Sad to see an Abby minus Ogilvy… Time to ‘lagao’ pressure to get ’em back!

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Doom in the world outside almost always rings music to the newsperson’s ears. So, while it was heartening to have scooped the news on Ogilvy choosing to skip the Creative Abby at Goafest 2013, we were saddened by it. Deeply.

     

    This is not the first time that an agency is boycotting the Creative Abby. Lowe/Lintas has been doing it for years. R Balki has his reasons, which some believe are valid. Every year, there are stories of agencies not sending in any entry – many essentially because they don’t believe they’ve done awardwinning work in the year and some because it’s a drain on resources.

     

    This is also not the first time that Ogilvy is threatening a skip. It took all of Colvyn Harris’s persuasive power to convince a Piyush Pandey in 2009. I still remember giving the headline ‘Please Piyush, Please’ to an Impact magazine cover carrying Colvyn’s interview around that time.

     

    The JWT (then-also-Goafest) boss was lucky that Team Ogilvy agreed to participate, but Ad Club prez Shashi Sinha, AAAI chief Arvind Sharma and Goafest committee chair Nakul Chopra haven’t been successful in winning them over.

     

    The reason that Abhijit Avasthi gave my colleague wasn’t convincing. There’s obviously a lot more that he’s not telling and is perhaps being polite on record. This is what he told us: “We won’t be entering in the awards as we have felt that they were not energizing our people as they used to earlier. So we decided to take a break and may be see later what happens.”

     

    A Goafest grand prix or gold not energizing employees enough! Wtf!!!!! The cheers from the team every time a winner is announced, the run to the stage and the final group picture with everyone yay-ing (and not to mention the various interviews given after the wins) are testimony to the sentiment in the Ogilvy camp after every Goafest. Look at the picture alongside… this is at the Creative Abby last year. No energy?

     

    It’s evident that there’s more to this boycott. I am told one of the issues is that Team Ogilvy believes there’s not much done to ward away scam ads. I agree that there are many ads which are made-for-awards. But, there’s little that the Ad Club can do, especially when an entry is found eligible as per rules. If a well-known agency and hotshot creative guru have no scruples and aren’t embarrassed about sending a scam ad, the best deterrant is exposure. Let them get exposed! And I am sure they will – over time – stop sending scam work.

     

    The Advertising Club is not the personal property of any individual or group. It’s a body of elected members from within the fraternity. Madhukar Sabnavis, Vice Chairman and Country Head, Discovery and Planning, O&M India and recently appointed Member of the Worldwide Board of O&M is Treasurer of the Ad Club and member of the 13-member managing committee. Let me repeat this: The #3 honcho of Ogilvy India is one of the five big officebearers of the Advertising Club.

     

    Couldn’t he have done something to avoid this from happening? Whatever happened to the meeting of Creative Directors?

     

    Goddammit, an Ogilvy not participating in the Creative Abby is like a China or USA not competing in the Summer Olympics! Or an IPL without Chennai Super Kings. Or idli served without chutney or sambar.

     

    Okay, comparing an adfest to the Olympics or even an IPL is stretching it, but you get the sentiment?!

     

    When I spoke with Shashi Sinha yesterday and asked him to react to the fact that it’s a huge, huge setback, he said setback is too strong a word. He did admit though that it will affect the Abby. Sinha is a pragmatic man. He has successfully managed to clean the Creative Abby judging process and the awards have been happening without a hitch (or a leak) over the last few years.

     

    Most people my colleague spoke with were shocked to hear the news. And all those who I interacted with unequivocally said that the Abby this year will lose its sheen. “The credibility of the awards takes a major blow, as will the attendance at Goafest,” commented Anant Rangaswami on Facebook.

    So will we now have a Balki participate in the Creative Abby? I don’t think Lowe will this year, because his peeve is with the process followed.

    There’s a belief that it’s the participating that’s critical, not the winning. That’s good to say and hear for losers, but, remember, it’s all about winning.

    It’s critical that the advertising fraternity gets together to work on a solution. And it’s important for the Advertising Club to effect these in doublequick time.

    From what I am told, Ogilvy’s absence this year is a done deal. No comebacks. Sad, as we’ll now also have cynics making remarks that one of the reasons why Ogilvy isn’t participating is because it doesn’t hope to win much this year.

    I still think another attempt should be made. Push them hard! Do it via the clients, do it via Miles Young or Sir Martin Sorrell. Lagao all the pressure!

    It’s not a Fevicol ‘jod’ yet… and am sure the impossible can be achieved.

    In the interests of God, awards and advertising 🙂

     

    As for the energy, let’s send the Red Bull kids!

     

    MxMIndia believes that the advertising fraternity must get together and ensure unity. Forums like Goafest and the Abby must not be allowed to fade in importance and/or value.

     

    See link:

    Advertising Club mancom: http://theadvertisingclub.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234&Itemid=77