MxMIndia

Category: MxM @ 1

  • First person accounts on 'The Year That Was' from Team MxMers

    First Person Team accounts by: Alok Kapuria, Tuhina Anand, Vidya Heble, Johnson Napier, Shruti Pushkarna, Ananya Saha, Meghna Sharma, Akash Raha, Robin Thomas, Shubhangi Mehta, Insiyah Rangwala, Rafiq Barak & Kishor Kate

    While some of those who were part of our founding team have moved on, we value their contribution in helping MxMIndia attain the success that it has.  Presenting Team MxM accounts on ‘The Year That Was’:

     

    Alok Kapuria: A superb innings

    We have been able to achieve what we aspired to, and that is gaining editorial trust and respect from everyone from the industry. All one needs is clarity of thought. I feel proud to say that we at MxMIndia have managed to keep our environment clutter- and confusion-free.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30606

     

    Tuhina Anand: Giving something more… &more!

    MxMIndia has always been about pushing boundaries, it’s about giving an edge to our coverage, knowing that when people will read the same stories on different media the next day, they will realize that we have gone that extra mile to give our readers something more meaningful.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30623

     

    Vidya Heble: A year of living excitingly

    Getting the story, ensuring it is accurate, telling it well… we do it all in a sort of measured frenzy, and though we have moments when we think we’re going to fall short, it somehow all comes together

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30624

     

    Johnson Napier: Daring to dream

    Though it has turned a year old now, MxMIndia’s story is one that could easily be referenced by aspirers or businessmen as a model to go by when launching a venture of a similar kind in future.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30609

     

    Shruti Pushkarna: A year of learning happily

    When I look back now, I can say I got a chance to do a lot of other stuff that I wouldn’t have done in my conventional role as a TV producer. But back then, the first time I was writing and reporting a story, the idea seemed ridiculous!

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30627

     

    Ananya Saha: Short but sweet

    I have not been a part of this journey for long, but it looks promising. It has been a good month chasing crazy stories, always-tied-up in-meeting people, and just-do-or-die deadlines.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30607

     

    Meghna Sharma: Happy to be here

    We are small team; some work from home; but somehow, the office never feels empty. We discuss work, industry trends and ideas. And of course, have our share of fun too. Who doesn’t love a little office gossip?.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30625

     

    Akash Raha: Being different

    What makes me proud is when I see a media house reports fearlessly on issues. There are obvious disadvantages of doing that. Losing friends in the industry is one, and if I may, even losing an advertiser.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30690

     

    Robin Thomas: The journey has just begun

    Despite the tough competition in the market, brand MxM has already created positive vibes, not just among the media industry but also with advertisers and agencies.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30626

     

    Shubhangi Mehta: MxM’emoirs: An experimental voyage

    The admirable element of working with MxMIndia has been that whether one is a beginner looking to express one’s own voice or someone experienced looking for inspiration, there has been room for it all.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30628

     

    Insiyah Rangwala: Breaking through the comfort zone

    MxM for me personally has been a great experience. It has been a fantastic stepping stone in the media field, as well as just a great place to start one’s working life.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30608

     

    Rafiq Barak: Getting the picture

    Of all the tasks, the one that is the most challenging but also fruitful for me is preparing imagery for the Big Story.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30629

     

    Kishor Kate: High on feel-good factor

    One of the best things about working with MxMIndia is the fact that I am constantly learning new things, and the exposure it offers me to various multinational companies and big media houses, many that I have only heard about.

    http://www.mxmindia.com/?p=30610

  • As we celebrate our first anniv, our resolve to offer a credible & honest source of information stays. Many thanks to all those who've helped us reach thus far

    One Year & Counting: MxM@1

    Design often drives content. Every morning (or the previous evening), we set ourselves thinking on the Big Story image. It isn’t easy. An Amitabh Bachchan or Yuvraj Singh pic that you saw last week is a luxury we don’t have every day, One needs to think up ideas for themes like jobs, slowdown or how agencies have fared at the Cannes Lions.

     

    Our trusted lieutenant Rafiq who works on the Big Story images faces another handicap. MxM rules clearly disallow what’s a common practice amongst many publications – Google an image, right-click and copy! If there’s a watermark, it’s Photoshopped. Sad. This policy to be legit also has an impact on our bottomline… recently when we did a special booklet on the Hindi hinterland, all the photographs were legally sourced and paid for.

     

    On Friday, when we were sure to have an emblem as our main image, we set ourselves thinking on what should be our credo to be inscribed within the media or plaque.

     

     

    First Person Team accounts on The Year That Was by

    Alok Kapuria, Tuhina Anand, Vidya Heble, Johnson Napier, Shruti Pushkarna, Ananya Saha, Meghna Sharma, Akash Raha, Robin Thomas, Shubhangi Mehta,
    Insiyah Rangwala, Rafiq Barak & Kishor Kate.
     

    Anil Thakraney: Behind the interview

     
     

    Ranjona Banerji: End to innocence

     
     

    Our galaxy of weekly and other regular columnists and contributors to write and/or reminisce. By Invitation

    Peter Mukerjea, Jaisurya Das, Sundeep Nagpal, Deepa Gahlot, Paritosh Joshi, Shailesh Kapoor & Sorbojeet Chatterjee.

     
     

    The Anchor: Ajay Kakar on 10 reasons why the Ad & Marketing world needs independent publications like MxMIndia

     

    Journalism with integrity & credibility? MxMIndia will eventually be more of an information repository than just journalism, so that was out. Image, Integrity, Innovation was a suggestion. We cover and uncover all, a third. Or a flip Hinglish: Hum Honest Hain.

     

    It’s sad that we need to underscore the fact that we are honest, credible and do whatever we do with integrity. Shouldn’t all of this be par for the course? A given that if you are in the business of news, you need to do so ethically.

     

    This is an argument which I have kind-of figured is soon going to be as outdated as M K Gandhi’s call for non-violence. Okay, the comparison to Bapu’s ahimsa is a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean. The fact is that some of Indian media’s best brains turn a blind eye to some regressive (and reprehensible) acts.

     

    But we aren’t here to change the world. We can’t do it, though we keep trying.

     

    What we have done though is ensure that we don’t indulge in the same. Trade or B2B media has got a bad name for cash-for-content deals. Before we set out to build MxMIndia, we formulated a Code of Ethics which each of us have resolved to follow.

     

    I am not going to go on and on about the MxM philosophy – you need to track it for over a week or so to know what it’s like, and I have also written about it in the past: here and here.

     

    ~~

     

    By around June last year, we were sure we wanted to build MxMIndia. Once we had a core team in place, we set out with the task of getting a web developer and an office. Work started in right earnest around July, and while the list of people who I would like to thank is rather long, there are some without who MxMIndia wouldn’t have been around: above all: my friend Prashant Basrur and the Deadline team in Mumbai and Bengaluru and all his friends who I have leaned on – Shree, Pandian, Radha and more.

     

    Thanks to: our web partners – Mediology with Manish Dhingra, Gaurav Bhatnagar plus Arun Nair and his team. Our landlord in Mumbai – Turakhiabhai, our CA – Deepak A Joshi and his team, our legal advisor – Nandita Saikia (Saikrishna & Associates). Our printing and email co-partners – Spenta, Advantedge and Netcore. Our syndicate partners: Times Syndication and Fotocorp. A variety of friends – very many of them who have guided and helped us – that list is endless.

     

    Huge thanks to all those who reposed the faith in us by way of revenues. To the various people whom we are speaking to for our funding process. To all our columnists – thank you for accepting our invitation to be part of the MxM family.

     

    And, last but not the least: to all my colleagues – present and past, their families and my own family: eternal gratitude. Yes, MxMIndia couldn’t have attained these heights without your active contribution. Often long hours, hardships, sacrifices… Salute!

     

    ~ ~

     

    So where do we go from here? Those who have tracked us closely would be aware that we have missed out on a few self-promoted projects: the print edition being the foremost. Well, we did produce six fully sponsored magazines, but a regular print edition requires surer revenues and/or deeper pockets. We’re in the process of licking this with some benefactors on board, but it’s taking its time. Suffice to say we’ll be there in print soon.

     

    To start with, we are looking at beefing up our sales team. Build a marketing team. On the content front, we are trying to expand our coverage, be even more on the ball, and have more commentary.

     

    What will stay unchanged, I can assure you, is our commitment to the cause and our ethical standards. Our allegiance is essentially to you as a reader.

     

    Best wishes,

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Email pradyumanm@mxmindia.com

    Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com

    BBM 29FEA79C

    Twitter @pmahesh

     

  • Now, I'm top of the pops when it comes to TV news. I watch it all day. I watch it all night. I can tell from a lift of an eyebrow or the curl of a lip if an anchor is going to mess it up or burst into bombast.

    Ranjona Banerji: End to innocence

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Watching TV news every day was never on my list of must-dos. I laughed at my friends and relatives who were addicted to news on an endless loop and TV debates full of bluff and bluster. Working in a newspaper, who needed so much TV news anyway? You could easily find out what was happened from other sources.

     

    Enter MxM and an end to my life of carefree innocence. Now, I’m top of the pops when it comes to TV news. I watch it all day. I watch it all night. I can tell from a lift of an eyebrow or the curl of a lip if an anchor is going to mess it up or burst into bombast. A glance at a guest on a TV debate and it’s clear whether they’re going to shine or sink tonight.

     

    I now have extensive knowledge of the boundaries of human ingenuity, especially when it comes to grammar and spelling. I thought newspapers were running downhill fast when it came to standards, till I started watching TV news.

     

    If the star anchors are bad enough when it comes to their egos and their often shifting quality, it is the guests who give you a delightful idea of how petty, daft, small-minded and badly behaved Indian society can be. There is also a refreshing sense of honesty at work. Almost never do you see a TV guest who feels he or she has to put on an act because they are on a show. They are incapable of masking their true feelings and so eagerly expose their shortcomings – whether in the art of making a logical argument or the bigger challenge of civilised behaviour.

     

    But I also discovered what a terrible job it is, working in television. Waiting for hours outside a gate or a door, hoping the studio will come to you for a one minute at least. Or the opposite can happen – an anchor come to you over and over when you really have nothing new to say from what you said five minutes ago. The anchor then asks you impossible questions: “Have your sources told you exactly how many toes have been injured in the train accident?”

     

    I have also learnt that newspapers are also on a slippery slope – especially when it comes to paid news and ethics but they still have a superior understanding of newsgathering than TV. Hard to see why news channels don’t hire more print journalists for general “gyan” and that other word so popular these days, “mentoring”.

     

    The past year with MxM has also forced me to look at the media far more critically than I ever did before because, if nothing else, distance lends perspective.

     

    But I’ve also had the chance to reconnect with the advertising industry, where I worked for a short while at the beginning of my career. I’ve also learnt how much the media has grown. I’ve read Anil Thakraney, Peter Mukerjea and all the other guest writers who share their insights. I’m enjoying Vidya Heble’s new column on language. And of course, Pradyuman Maheshwari’s insights into the media.

     

    And I’ve poked a little fun at ads. Which in many ways has brought me so much more joy than making chutney out of journalism – schadenfreude anyone?

     

    That’s one year of MxM. Can’t wait to see what the next one brings!

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and editor. A commentator with Mid-Day and various other publications, she is Contributing Editor, MxMIndia.