01. Mr Das, I want to be a business journalist? Should I do a course in journalism, an MBA or become a CA?
Learn to write well my friend , have your ears to the ground when it comes to business, build on your business acumen and get the analytical streak in you and you can be a good business journo.
So essentially go ahead and do the course in journalism , think like an MBA and work like a CA , poking your financial nose into every little detail . Cheers and all good wishes.
02. I just heard about Dear MxM and it’s an excellent utility. Why is it that individual media organisations do not really do any counselling and human resources development. Most of the ones which exist are glorified personnel and admin departments or at most handle salaries and leaves?
Simply because mentors are vanishing . I wonder if its the lack of time or inclination but the truth is that we see loads of leaders but none of them become good mentors. In fact DearMxm took birth on this premise since we decided to be different and give back to the industry and its younger future constituents . There are companies that do focus on this , but the number is coming down unfortunately since its so people related . Its a collective responsibility . Hence each of us in the indsutry must commit time to building faith , being there as a shoulder and to spend time mentoring . Try taking time off to involve yourself within your company in this role . Am sure it will make a difference to a lot of people.
03. Since a lots of people especially the young get most of their news and information from the various social networks do you expect that in the years to come people will stop reading newspapers and watching television?
I certainly think newspapers and TV would lose their news value since it would be stale most often , but stopping i doubt since there is still a huge curiousity level in our country and hence some of these things are habitual . But the formats would certainly change and one would see more gimickry in news . Packaged much like entertainment , news would be more human based to keep interest alive . Even today i doubt if the newspapers ( especially in the metros ) are read for their news.
04. I feel that I am being subjected to a very low degree sexual harassment in my ad agency. My colleagues tell me that it’s rampant in media organisations especially advertising and I should ignore. I had once heard of a Court ruling that every company must have a sexual harassment committee… is this true?
Oh . Am sorry to hear this though i disagree that this is very rampant across media and advertising. It does exist across organisations who havent taken steps to handle this efficiently. Yes , large companies do have their HR teams geared to monitor and handle such situations.
Personally i dont think this is something which you should ignore at all since it may just go on and get to a situation when it becomes tough to handle . Hence be diplomatic and firm and if that doesnt work then report it , even at the risk of having to resign. Any organisation which condones this or allows this to happen in my mind isnt the place to make a career with.
I do not recollect the court ruling you mention but there have been a few cases where the courts have ruled that its important for all companies to have strict monitoring and employee redressal policies.
05. Â Dear Sir, I am an MBBS and am interested in advertising copywriting. What are the career prospects for healthcare communications and advertising?
I presume you have weighed your options before leaving the active profession .. You would have been in major demand am sure if the doctors were allowed to advertise 🙂 .. But to answer your question , indeed the prospects are good in healthcare advertising and you must zero in on leading agencies with strong healthcare divsions.
The healthcare industry is probably the safest bet since nothing affects them , be it a slowdown or a recession… hence its a great option for you to pursue your passion as well as keep in synch with your medical education . Mumbai would be the place for you and most of the big agencies have a good boquet of clients in pharma and healthcare .