By Jaisurya Das
Ladies and Gentleman, Hello and Welcome to Dear MxM!
At the risk of sounding like one of those shrill African grey parrots, let me tell you that we are India’s most popular online counsellor for the advertising, media and marketing fraternity. Well it’s a different matter that we are the only ones too.
Well, now that the customary bow has been taken, let me transport you to the India that is..
A few days ago some of us old buddies decided to catch up over a drink.
To be honest, quite a few drinks. Most of us look much weathered by the madness we call life, yet weld 5 TB capacity to banter, cackle and down those silly glasses of ale. Great fun would be an understatement.
And right in the midst of all this intoxicant powered bonhomie, came an interesting realisation. India has changed. To set the record straight, these crazy buddies included two bureaucrats who sat sipping on tomato juice
and virgin mojitos respectively. Whatever happened to those cast iron livers, I wondered..?
We probed till we found the answers. India had moved on from being the eternally lethargic country to a professionally run enterprise styled governance. These poor blighters had to punch in at 9 (bio-metrics and all) and quickly acquaint themselves with all that is to unfold within the next 12 hours,
They shudder when their direct lines ring, for it could be the PM checking on the ground reality. Every single move is monitored be it a file or a thought.
E-Governance is the call of the day. If Amazon can track every stage of delivery, why can’t the government do it? No, am no BJP supporter nor do I know the PM, but it’s important to acknowledge good work.
Apparently, incompetence is dealt with an iron fist and the babus in the plethora of departments return home with no wads stuffed in their pockets
unlike the old times. Some of us take all this with a pinch of salt and pepper knowing what how the propaganda machinery works in every country and yet this was different. These two were great friends and have no reason to lie to
us. Somethings sure happening here.
I have noticed this and written about it in this very column. Now I am convinced that much good is happening. I have since decided to reaffirm my faith in India that is probably now on the brink of becoming a well run super power. Jai Hind!
On that patriotic note, I take you to our interesting bouquet of questions we have from our readers in Gurgaon, Pune, Mumbai and Baroda.
Welcome aboard, Baroda!
Sir, I find that some of the news channels like Times Now are busy drumming away their numero uno status. Do they have to keep doing it day after day? If they are the leader then people know it, so why go screaming and shouting about it?
Simply because channels need money to survive, my friend. Unlike what you may think, media is not in the charity business. Advertisers bring in the revenue which in turn enables the media houses ( TV/ print/ radio/ online ) give its brands at rock-bottom costs to its readers, viewers and listeners.
Hence while you may get your paper at INR 200/month, it actually costs well over INR 500/month to produce and this is subsidised by advertising. Fortunately or unfortunately, advertisers need good numbers to justify their marketing spend.
Now do you see the connect? If you have it, flaunt it! The higher the noise level of metrics the better chance that it will remain top of mind. when media plans are put in place. So give the TV channels a break my friend. They need money as much as we do.
And, yes, before I forget most televisions and DTH remotes are equipped with a mute button. Use it as you please.
What are the career prospects for programming in radio and what should I have done to be able to consider myself eligible. I am a final year BA in literature?
Thanks for writing in to Dear MxM. Yes, the career prospects are decent on the programming side of radio. This is more about creativity and passion for good music rather than degrees and experience.
I have several friends in programming at senior levels who come with diverse backgrounds i.e. advertising sales to engineering etc. It’s greatly dependent on what you bring to the table, especially at the mid and senior levels.
So you could be part of a band for instance and make a great programming lead at a radio station..
There are courses in Radio Jockeying conducted by several institutes in the country. Some from a few radio companies too. They are fairly robust (especially the radio company ones) and work well on the placement front. Armed with that you can make your way up the ladder.
It would be prudent for you to start participating in ‘RJ Hunts’ which could help you get closer to your objective.
The very best to you! Rock on..
Is being ambitious a virtue or a curse? I am asking you this question because my boss recently told me I am too ambitious.
Seriously? He ought to have his head examined !! I seriously wonder how
he got to becoming the boss with such amazing attitude..
Being ambitious is no curse; In fact its a sensible quality to have. Bereft of ambition and objectives in place you can barely get anywhere.
However, getting over-ambitious isn’t advised, as this can be highly demotivating if things don’t work as planned.
Go ahead and keep your ambitions in place. And yes, move on from this workplace as quick as possible. You shouldn’t be  working at a company that has a boss who doesn’t foster ambition.
Sir, why is the news media called the fourth estate? It’s not the case everywhere, but I have heard that corruption is a common practice in journalism. I am in the second year of my two-year specialisation in journalism. If journalism has become so materialistic and like many other vocations, I may as well go into a sales job and make money and profits legitimately?
Let’s be realistic, my friend. Corruption is much like a viral influenza… exceedingly common and highly contagious. India is just one among the various countries that is trying hard to weed out this evil.
Tough call but it can happen. Having said this let me assure you, that what you seem to have heard isn’t really the case. There are a few rotten eggs in the media world too, but as most things rotten they see their logical end in the trash can sooner or later.
There’s a lot happening in this industry and it has over the past decade fostered brilliant minds be it journalism or marketing.
Organisations have got smarter and have created platforms to circumvent truant journalists giving undue publicity using their by-lines. There are transparent methods of buying coverage in such mediums and the concept of having to ‘look after the interests of….’ is now almost redundant.
Hence, if you are really keen on pursuing journalism, my suggestion would be to ignore what you hear and just focus on becoming good with your craft.
That takes a lot of effort, time and diligence my friend. Don’t waste your energies in hearsay.
I wish you luck!
And they lived happily ever after… I just love these happy endings..
Pity that most people have forgotten their Enid Blyton days when every story eventually ended with good cheer…
Maybe it’s time we learn to laugh heartily again. No better time than now what with the wonderfully happy Elephant God Ganapati coming home in the next few days. Resplendent with his amazing appetite for all the lovely things on offer, he is for me the epitome of good cheer.
Much music, dance, food and heady festivity marks Ganesh Chathurthi
year on year. The crescendo is so intoxicating that devotees go into a trance like state forgetting the evils of the world. Quite amazing this Lord Ganesha is.
Have a wonderful weekend and I take this opportunity to wish you and the family a wonderfully Happy Ganeshotsav.
And, yes, keep writing in to us at editor@mxmindia.com with ‘dear mxm’
and your ‘city’ in the subject line. We promise to be quick with our answers as always!
Jaisurya Das, maverick and media evangelist, eats, sleeps and makes love to brands. His consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. For more information on his work visit www.xanadu.co.in
He is also Contributing Editor of MxM India. The views expressed in this column are his own.