MxMIndia

Tag: Krishna Prasad

  • Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was the Chief Guest at the Red Ink Awards of the Mumbai Press Club

    Press Club Mumbai awards Red Ink Award to Prannoy Roy, others

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    “I have heard a lady anchor on a Hindi channel, twirling her hair and saying, ‘Break kebaad, aapkoek rape dikhaenge’,” Dr. Prannoy Roy, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award said to a stunned audience as he talked about the ghastly tsunami of tabloid journalism that has inflicted the Indian media space. The co-founder of the NDTV Network was speaking at the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards for Excellence in Indian Journalism 2015, where he was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

     

    Often known as one of the most respected and trusted anchors in Indian journalism, Dr. Prannoy Roy blasted the tabloidization of news in India, and put the blame on advertisers. He criticized the journalists that keep their sources too close and hence alter the path of their story and emphasized the importance of maintaining stricter defamation laws so that journalists themselves cannot get away with slack trends in reporting. Talking about the lowering of standards of Indian journalism, Royretorted, “If this decline in quality continues, I believe three years from now, the Indian media will have no credibility left and Sir (pointing to Suresh Prabhu) you know what that means. It happened to politicians a long time ago.”

     

    Roy, however, stressed that the laws of defamation must be governed by the courts and the legal system and that the government must never ever have a say in the Indian media.

     

    Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who was the chief guest at the event after CM DevendraFadnavis was a no show, suggested that media houses should work on ‘Making News’ while chasing ‘Breaking News’. “A lot of positive news is left uncovered in this new trend,” he said.

     

    A panel discussion – Celebrating the Voice of Dissent- was conducted that included senior journalists Shekhar Gupta, former Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express, Srineevasan Jain of NDTV, Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The discussion was moderated by Sachin Kalbag, the Editor of Mid-Day.

     

    The media professionals expressed concern at some politicians turning ‘mini dictators’ and trying to threaten the freedom of speech. They also took a jab at the BJP government for the comment made by a party member that every Hindu woman must have at least four children.

     

    The RedInk Award for Impact Editor of the year went to Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, for his ability to capture eyeballs and expand audience reach with what in his own words is ‘the longest one hour television news debate.’ On being asked what he has to say to those who criticize his form of journalism saying that it has a negative impact, Arnab is quick to respond, “We are in the business of news, not in the business of compliments. So for us criticism and praise in equal measure is okay, as long as we do our job honestly.”

     

    The RedInk Award for Journalist of the Year, instituted for the first time, went to Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV for his consistent investigative work epitomized in his series ‘Truth versus Hype’ and other programmes. Scroll.in was awarded the ‘Best News Start-Up of the Year’ for scaling up its influence rapidly as an alternative source of news and features.

     

    The RedInk Award for business journalism in the print medium went to Dinesh Narayanan of The Caravan Magazine and in the television space went to Dibang from ABP News.

     

    The award for Crime journalism in print was shared by two journalists, Leena Reghunath of the Caravan Magazine and Vinod Kumar Menon of Mid Day. In the broadcast space the RedInk award for excellence in crime reporting went to TarunNangia and Dipu Rai of Zee Business.

     

    Sharad Vyas ofMid Day bagged the award for excellence in Environment reporting, while in the broadcast category, the award was shared byUmeshKumavat from ABP News and Rajat Singh of AajTak.Kumawat’s wife walked up on stage proudly to receive the award on his behalf as he was in Nepal reporting at the time.

     

    In the category of Health and Wellness, the RedInk award in the print space went to Johnson Poovanthuruth from Deepika Magazine and to Nikita Saxena from Caravan Magazine. For the broadcast category, VrushaliPurandare of TV-9 walked away with the award.

     

    The Redink Award for the Human Rights category in print went to SalilTripathi, from The Caravan Magazine and for television to Shams Tahir Khan of AajTak.

     

    The much-awaited RedInk award for excellence in political reportage in print went to Dinesh Narayanan of The Caravan Magazine and in broadcast; it went to Jitendra Dixit of ABP News.

     

    Caravan continued to steal the show as  Rahul Bhatia walked away with the RedInk award for excellence in sports journalism in the print space, whereas Suprita Das of NDTV won the same in the broadcast space.

     

  • It's the season for seminars and conclaves. While a fair bit of time, money and energy is spent on these events, but are they really worth one's while?

    MxM Mondays: How useful are conferences?

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    It’s that time of the year when honchos and executives across industry domains squeeze out time from their schedules to catch up on trends and events. It’s the season for conferences and all-day seminars, especially for folk from Media. After the Indian Magazine Congress 2013 that was held a fortnight ago, delegates will fill the halls at Hotel Renaissance, Powai for FICCI Frames 2013.

     

    But while conclaves and industry gatherings do serve a purpose, there have been questions about the quality of discussions and relevance of topics, and whether they have brought about any impact or change. The lack of new ideas at these dos also bothers those who attend the events with the hope of getting something more.

     

    MxMIndia asked industrywallahs what they think of conferences and whether more needs to be done in terms of relevance and generation of new ideas.

     

    Anwesh Bose, Senior VP, DDB Mudra Max

    “Well, the ideas are there but the discussions are not well thought of. What happens at most conferences is that things get left at the discussion stage and it doesn’t go any further. There is no effort seen where it comes to implementing solutions. Also, most of the events are sponsor-driven and are not taken seriously. Even something like Goafest is more of a celebration thing than something that is followed at Cannes. So when organisers send out invites they should be serious about whom they are calling and what they intend to achieve by hosting such seminars.”

     

    Sanjeev Gupta, MD, Global Advertisers

    “The Indian media industry is at a nascent stage in comparison to western countries. We need to continuously improve our methods, approach and strategy. And for that, we need to have common platforms to discuss our challenges and difficulties with industry experts more often. Trade shows, exhibitions of new technology, conferences, workshops all have various topics to discuss including new trends and growth pattern of the industry. We would like to suggest that these conferences should be more interactive, touch new subjects and discuss data from an Indian perspective.

     

    “The numbers of media conferences in India are still very less, we need to organize more such events in future for the betterment of the industry. We would also like to suggest that we need to organize these shows in Tier II & Tier III cities to understand the needs of rural India.”

     

    Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Projects and Programming, 93.5 Red FM

    “Conferences are good platforms for germination of ideas and are good conversation builders. When industry leaders from media sit at a forum together, conversations that get built give fresher and newer perspective to issues being discussed. However it has a fair chance of being repetitive if the topics are the same and the policy has not changed.

     

    “For instance since 2006 of phase 2 of FM radio, the radio players have the same issues and regardless of the event, the same issues become rather boring to the audience. Now with phase 3, we hope to engage people with fresh concerns and celebrations.”

     

    Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-chief, Outlook

    “Trade conferences provide a legitimate forum for networking and schmoozing. But individuals and institutions which organize and take part in them need to jump out of the box of cliches if they have to fulfil their core mandate, which is presumably to inspire and throw new light. In other words, there needs to be more ‘disruption’, rather than everybody nodding their heads sagely between checking their phones and yawning. And there needs to be more intense questioning of the holy cows, rather than blind acceptance of their received and perceived wisdom.”

     

    Prema Sagar, Principal and Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller

    “Conferences in India, trade or otherwise, were deeply boring in the years gone by. In recent times, the subjects are more global in scope with local focus. Every expert, speaker and academician is happy to be part of conferences in India…. there are now better speakers with good content and articulation, there is more learning on new subjects, and networking is always a great takeaway. What needs to improve is better planning and execution of events, follow-up papers on subjects that provide further value to those attendees who value the ongoing engagement.”

     

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, CMD, RK Swamy BBDO

    “Good conferences with a timely and focused theme and a set of good speakers are always relevant. Unfortunately we have too many of these undifferentiated ones. They all have the same topics discussed, the same speakers and more often the same audience! Also in many conferences there is too much selling by the speaker about his company, and that is a put-off for audiences.

     

    “Some introspection is needed before embarking on the next conference on three dimensions: Is the theme addressing the current and the immediate needs of the intended audience? Can we divide this theme into topics that can be looked at closely, multi-dimensionally? Can we get engaging speakers to address the chosen subjects – not something they can repackage from their earlier presentations?”

     

  • Notable panellists from the fourth estate gathered at the Indian Magazine Conress to put forth their views on the topic 'Church vs State: Has the wall between editorial and business breached?

    IMC 2013: Editorial vs business: the debate rages on…

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s been an oft- debated topic at most industry forums but one can be assured of a new twist to crop up each time the subject comes alive. It was no different at the Indian Magazine Congress where notable panellists from the fourth estate gathered to put forth their views on the topic ‘Church vs State: Has the wall between editorial and business breached?’

     

    Flagging off the discussion, Khozem Merchant, India Head at Pearson began by saying that the shape and tone of print media has undergone a drastic shift in recent years with the emergence of paid content. A concept that was pioneered by the Times of India, paid content has changed the way the business of newspapers operate while managing to reinforce the state of the advertisers in this country, he said. While on the one hand it has underpinned the economics of this industry on the other it has subjugated the craft of journalism. The good thing to have happened is that there has been a spurt in the rise of niche magazines; this on the back of the Indian print industry managing to do well in recent times, said Mr Merchant.

     

    Terming the debate an irrelevant one, Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India said, “In my opinion, the debate is not a valid one. Where we are concerned, we are not influenced at all by the advertisers. We have moved to an era today of high cover pricing and still have audiences who read us. We will in way allow our practices to be compromised.”

     

    But while maintaining editorial integrity remains a priority, for Mr Sorabjee there was a need to reach out to the advertising community as well. “We need to offer advertising solutions that have a reading value. While we do need advertisers to sustain the business the editorial-advertising division cannot be breached.”

     

    Taking off from where Mr Sorabjee left, Krishna Prasad, editor-in-chief of Outlook said that according to him, the Church vs State wall had been breached the reason for that was due to content. While everybody was focusing on the business side of the trade, Mr Prasad highlighted that nobody cared to talk about the core of the business – training journalists in mastering the art. “The fact is that content and journalism are two key facets that we need to focus on. But in India, the market leaders have played a damaging role in getting the toothpaste out of the tube. It is essential that we do not continue to dabble in business beyond a certain limit.”

     

    According to Indrajit Gupta, editor, Forbes India his magazine has always tried to provide journalism that is respected. But he cautioned that it was necessary for editors to see business realities as well. “Before we launched our magazine we spent a fair amount of time researching and understanding what the market reality was. If the focus for magazines happens to be content, then you have to keep the consumer at the centre. The onus lies on both the editors as well as advertisers to make this a reality. But it is essential that instead of reach magazines should be sold via engagement,” reasoned Mr Gupta.

     

    Answering a question on whether editors needed to play multiple roles, Mr Sorabjee said that it was essential for editors to be seen as well-rounded figures. Where his magazine was concerned, it shared a close association with the advertisers as it was a niche offering. After all we are being measured by our readers, which is good but the business reality is that we need to have innovation to enhance value.”

     

    Mr Gupta said that most brands do not carry the conviction that is desired out of them. Adding he said: “While most editors are reluctant even business managers have failed to show creativity. This may lead one to be held ransom by the advertisers. This is the case especially with Events and other such offerings that lack differentiation. At the end, it has to be an editorial-driven activity.”

     

    Adding on to his earlier point, Mr Prasad stated that the troubling part with India’s media growth investment has been its investment in journalism that has been abysmal. “While it’s a fact that owners are making revenues they need to plough it back in the business.”

     

  • Presenting the first of our half-yearly reviews where we asked industry captains to tell us how the first six months of 2012 have been

    The Half-Year That Was

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s July 2 today, and the first six months of the year have passed. While the slowdown has impacted spends in a major way, most of the 182 days from Jan to June have been eventful. On the positive side: new television channels, new agencies – media and creative, consolidation, people and account movements, government issues, digitization, awards… the list could go on. And on the negative: a channel being shut, pink slips, pay cuts, appraisals deferred, digitization delayed… the list could go on here too.

     

    We have already embarked on the second half of the year, but as we do that, here’s a quick look at how industry captains review the half-year. We present you the half-yearly review in two parts… the first today and the second mid-week… on Wednesday.

     

    As you would gather, there is much gloom in the industry, though no despair. Not yet.

     

    ADSPENDS:

     

    Nagesh Alai, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) & Executive Director, India Operations, Draftfcb Ulka Group

    Nagesh Alai

    If I were to summarize the indications of the economy, then one has seen softness beginning last November and December leading to a situation of downturn. The macro-economic indications like rupee falling, impact in production and fall in demands have also reflected in the consumer behaviour in a negative way. The last quarter of 2011-12 (Jan-March) has seen a fall in GDP to 5.3 per cent. All this have impacted the manufactures as well as service providers, with the mood being that of postponing a decision. While some would have thought that the situation would not impact FMCG, but that one has seen a resistance from that sector too.

     

    So in terms of advertising, the impact being in terms of ad outlays and remuneration; while the latter has been up for constant negotiation and any further would only impact the quality of service being provided, it’s the latter that is being hit now. I think this year one would see a growth of maximum 10-12 per cent as compared to 14-15 per cent in the past. While print and TV still comprise 80 per cent of the spends, but advertisers are looking at newer mediums, where the spends is not high and get better mileage for monies being spent.

     

    I personally believe that even if government were to take corrective measures, one will only begin to see the recovery by mid-2013. The mood can be aptly summarized as being that of cautious approach.

     

    PRINT:

     

    Narendra Kumar Alambara, COO, Thanthi Group

    Narendra Kumar Alambara

    In terms of the regional publications, I would say that the past six months have been good and bad. If one looks at readership and circulation, the regional dailies have seen an increase vis-à-vis the English language publications. However, there is a need to be bold and unconventional when it comes to regional publications, both by those selling this space and advertisers themselves. In today’s time when every paisa has to be accounted for in terms of returns, I think regional publications would have been an excellent answer to have targeted reach because of the value they provides for the money and reach.

     

    However, we have failed to do that. Today when most media houses are not restricted to being uni-dimensional and have different platforms for advertisers be it television, print, digital and even regional newspapers and channels under their umbrella; I think the solution lies in integrating various offerings, including the regional to get a better value and growth.

     

    Krishna Prasad, Editor-Outlook

    It’s difficult to put a number as yet on the kind of growth that has been witnessed, but you will always see print being challenged by television and other mediums. As far as the past six months are concerned, I would say the growth of print has been at par. By this I mean that even though most advertisers have huge monies, they are shying away from advertising with this medium. This is somewhat similar to what was observed during 2008, where companies didn’t have any reason to opt for cost-cutting, but were up for it. Many advertisers are seeing this downturn as a reason to go easy with their spending and not be too extravagant.

     

    Most newspapers today, especially in Delhi like Delhi Times, Hindustan Times and others appear chunky in their appearance, which gives you a sense that all is well but that may not necessarily be the case. Most of them are actually going slow with their spending and are trying to play it safe. I expect things to look better from October onwards – around the festival period. So largely, the growth of media will be dominated by how the economy transforms itself; it’s not operating in a vacuum. That’s the best case scenario.

     

    But the worst case scenario is that it may take a little bit longer for things to get better; perhaps with the elections coming up soon, with the country seeing a new Finance Minister and the markets going topsy-turvy, the print industry may still take some time to stabilise itself.

     

    RADIO:

     

    Prashant Panday

    Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi

    The radio industry has been hit just as hard as any other segment. Maybe a little less than print and a little more than TV. The economic slow-down and the policy freeze has made advertisers a little wary. They are not exactly cutting spends, but they are demanding more from broadcasters. A broadcaster can either cut prices or offer more for the same. In some sectors, the advertising cut has been more severe like telecom, real estate and so on. But there are other segments that have done better – like core retail, and even auto.

     

    Given the economic conditions, and the lack of new frequencies, radio has done as well as it possible can.

     

    Rabe T Iyer

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, BIG FM

    The last financial year was alright, but the last three months have been pretty flat. The reason for that is because categories like BSFI, Auto and some of the campaigns of the usual summer categories were a bit slow. Nevertheless, we expect the next three to six months to be a good run. This is because people ultimately want to keep their goods moving, and hence the next three to six months are going to be good. The last three months were flat for the industry because the dollar exchange hit the sentiments and some categories which were expected to fire up in the month of May-June have taken some more time, mainly because of the overall economy conditions and the sentiments attached to it, and also because of the fluctuating dollar prices. This has directly impacted the ad spends, not just on radio, but across the portfolio on media brands.

     

    Ashit Kukian

    Ashit Kukian, COO, Radio City

    The last six months has been very good for the radio industry. One of the reasons I would say is because the core advertising categories in radio namely: Telecom, FMCG, and Entertainment channels to name a few, had increased their advertising spends on radio.

     

     

    DIGITAL:

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer, CEO and MD, BCWebWise

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

    More and more brands are getting ready to seriously look at digital media and those who have been using it already, are increasing their spends. Digital is expected to deliver more cost-effectively. Amazingly, even production charges of films are expected to be cheaper, if they are being produced by digital agencies. It would help if brands which see real value in digital and see it delivering, also realize that results won’t come if they tighten their purse strings so much. Fortunately, there are a few clients who have realized the quality v/s quantity value and are waking up to the real digital age and extending their budgets.

     

     

    Rajiv Hiranandani

    Rajiv Hiranandani, Co-founder and Executive Director, Altruist, Mobile2win

    I think the mobile industry has underperformed in last six months, as per the overall outlook was supposed to be, in terms of number of handsets sold and amount of value-added services (VAS) consumed. Mobile industry has seen its slowest growth, and this has been also because of the negative outlook in the economy. Some of the reasons have been people waiting for better handsets models, the overall mood of economy not being good, and mobile VAS seeing a lot of restrictions in terms of TRAI guidelines.

     

     

    OOH:

     

    Noomi Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, Selvel One Group

    Noomi Mehta

    The last six months have not been good for the out-of-home (OOH) industry. The month of June, however, has seen a significant improvement, which is perhaps because the IPL campaigns in the months of April and May have fructified. Otherwise, I believe, the industry figures have been down. The markets, by and large, seem to be in a depressed state, along with the economy. Going forward, one of the basic steps needed to improve the industry’s performance is the need for a common currency for measurement. OOH is part and parcel of the country’s economy, and hence it will also be subject to the same pressures as the economy.

     

     

    Image: Rafiq