Month: May 2015

Integrated Newsroom

Shabbir Chunawalla

The journalistic equivalent of corporate world’s breakthrough or innovation is the concept of integrated newsroom. These days people browse the Internet, keep news channels running to keep an eye on the flashes/tickers, scan Facebook walls and Twitter timelines and reach the links for interesting news. They also read articles in the magazines and newspapers. All these activities, say a bit of everything ! On similar lines, a newsroom must do a bit of everything if it has to retain its relevance. Instead, it has to do a lot of everything. Traditionally, separate teams were hired to do each of this function. One team to run the print media, another for videos and a third to take care of the websites. This was not economical. These days in integrated newsrooms, there are a few specialists — visual editors, graphic artists who provide specialised services to a large number of reporters and editors, working across the media. A software that seamlessly connects these multiple services and provide files for the print is welcome. These days the stories are broken on the website and are updated constantly. The analysis too accompanies a story. Social media are extensively used. There is widespread use of multimedia, including video. People can access this on muliple devices — phones, tablets through applications and website. A newspaper is an outcome of all these activities in the last 12 hours or 18 hours. All this is done without compromising journalistic integrity.

Integrated newsrooms for both the traditional and new media have been around for quite sometime. News is consumed first on digital devices. Consumer action happens here. Media companies work on mobile first or web first philosophy. Print players have forayed into digital media. The world is changing. Print journalism has to evolve. Writing in real time is couched in different language — different from the language that is used for the next morning reading. It is not just a change in technology. It is a change in working habits and timing too. The newsroom of future will be less and less like the newsroom of the past.

Camel Brand — Camlin

Shabbir Chunawalla

In the 1930s, the Dandekars sold ink and ink powders under the Horse brand moniker. However, while diversifying into fountain pens, the name was not considered suitable. D.P. Dandekar was enjoying tea in an Irani cafe and came across camel cigarettes ad. A camel stores nourishment in its hump, and runs across the desert. So an ideal fountain pen writes for miles once you fill ink in it. He thus selected Camel brand. The ink was called Camlin, a combination of Camel and ink

Screens Multiply for Films

Shabbir Chunawalla

Previously, an analogue print of the film cost anything between Rs. 50000 to 60000. This cost has been brought down by digitisation to Rs. 10000 to 12000 per screen, a reduction by 1/5th. This itself is an incentive to a producer to release his films in more theatres. Accordingg to FICCI_KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report, 2014, approximately 95 percent of commercially viable screens have been digitised.

An analogue print was heavy — it used to weigh 40-50 kg. and was different to transport. These days an entire film can be stored in a pen-drive or downloaded directly into cinema hall’s projection room through satellite. Even storage rooms and trunks are not necessary.

In 2004, Veer Zara was released in 625 screens. Dhoom2 in 2006 was released in 1000 screens. By 2008, Ghajini was released in 1550 screens.In 2011, Ra.One was released in 2900 screens. Dhoom 3 had a release on 3800 screens in 2013. Kick was released in 2014 on 5000 screens. Its a huge rise in the number of screens since 2004 — almost 9 times.

Screens are released across the metros and smaller towns at the same time. It reduces the scope of piracy. It enables a producer to exploit a territory commercially immediately. Previously it took several months to do so.

The role of audience feed back has also reduced along with the simultaneous release.

The digital format made a debut in 2007-08. Dhoom3 in 2013 was not released in analogue format at all.

Four Cities for Clothing Trends

Shabbir Chunawalla

For decades, the world’s clothing trends stemmed from seasonal spectacles in just four cities — New York, London, Milan and Paris. But in recent years, many other cities have launched alternatives to hype local models and retailers. New York Fashion Week generates $865 million for the US. Others too would like to secure a fraction of their revenue. Fashion buyers do go to New York or Europe. But they should now start getting their inventories from elsewhere too.

Retailer’s Brand Image

Shabbir Chunawalla

A retailer’s brand image is made up of the perceptions about its merchandise, customer expectations and experience and the way they distinguish it from other competitions. As the formats are more or less similar, brand management is all about how a retailer makes a significant difference by building up top-of-mind recall and customer preference for itself over others. The customers expect a ‘coolness ‘factor, better shopping experience, connect and quality. The retailer uses tools such as MR, data analytics and consumer behaviour studies in association with merchandising teams to achieve the objectives.

Brand management creates loyalty in customers’ minds. It is a commitment to a particular retailer that survives the test of time, market changes, rising MRPs, competition and occasional quality fluctuations.

Some useful measures for better brand management in retail are:

A Strong Reason to Buy ( RTB ) : It is the proposition of the retail brand. In other words, it offers the projected differentiation, the value promised and the incentive to return on a regular basis.

The Service Quality : The hygiene level, the measures to delight the customer and great service influence the loyalty.

Innovative Schemes :   There are schemes and offers. The products are refreshed periodically. There are discount schemes. All this creates word-of-mouth publicity. All this increases the footfalls.

Loyalty Programmes : These programmes reward the loyal customers. They are a reason for them to return to the shop again.

Communication : A retail  brand must know when and how to communicate its proposition, loyalty programme updates and the schemes.

Rajesh Kumar — Star Writer of Tamil Pulp Fiction

Shabbir Chunawalla

Rajesh Kumar (60 ) is short statured bush-shirt clad spectacled man based in Coimbatore. He worked full time on a job, and still found time to write novels–almost 5 novels a month .Each book sold more than a lac copies. He started this journey in 1968, when he was a student at a college studying Botany. His first contribution was to the college magazine. It was a short story. He has written so far more than 1500 novels. His novels consist of 100-150 pages. It costs just Rs. 25 today. In the 1980s it used to cost Rs. 2. So far he has not diversified into screenplay writing. Libraries charge Rs. 2 as rental for reading a Kumar novel. The retail shops in Tamilnadu hang books along with the shampoo sachets. That is a matter of pride.

The other pulp fiction writers are Suresh and Balkrishnan. There are 10-12 pulp publishers. They also issue reprints of the old novels. On an average these authors earn Rs. 30000 per month, and an established author like Kumar even more.

Kumar has slowed down now. Even then he writes 10-12 pages everyday in longhand. He completes a novel in a month at this pace. His previous works dwelt at length on events and nature. There were lengthy descriptions. These days he straightway jumps into the action. He aspired to be a Guiness Book record  holder as the world’s most prolific author.

His books can be called short novels or novellas. These novels are the companions of people when they travel in buses and trains.

He used to travel to his office on a scooter. Once the scooter broke down and a shepherd boy directed him to the nearby mechanics, assuring him that he would take care of the machine while he fetched them to fix the scooter. From a distance, Kumar could identify the novel he was reading sitting near the scooter. It was written by him.

Development Communication

Shabbir Chunawalla

It is communication targeted at bringing about social change. It has a very broad ambit and can be applied to the traditional fields and the new fields. The traditional fields are agriculture, health care, nutrition, education etc. The new fields are citizen empowerment, gender rights, governance, urban and rural development, environment etc. It equips you to apply theories of development media and communication to design effective social campaigns. It makes you a good planner, manager or implementer in the development sector. While applying communication theories, the prevailing socio-economic, cultural and political scenarios are kept in mind.

Traffic Signal Selling

Shabbir Chunawalla

Jeffery Archer, the celebrated British author, visited India in May 2010 to inaugurate Landmark, a bookstore at Palladium, Parel and also release his latest book on short stories. He was interviewed by the DNA reporter, and he enquired politely about the booksellers at traffic signals. He feels that they should stay. He saw them selling his book a couple of years ago. It is his greatest thrill about the city of Mumbai. He pleads that the authorities should not remove them from the signals. Apart from books, at traffic signals various eatables, toys, mopping clothes, incense sticks, newspapers and magazines are being sold. Some sell lottery tickets too.

Jeffery Archer, the famous novelist, in his recent India trip recollected that in his last trip a little boy at a red traffic light tapped his window and said, ‘ Get the latest Jeffery Archer.’ Jeffery said, ‘ I am the latest Jeffery Archer.’

Photography Courses and Careers

Shabbir Chunawalla

Many certificate courses in photography range from one to six months duration. They help students to learn the basics before they chose to specialize in a particular genre. Those who want to specialize in a particular genre can opt for a diploma course. A professional photographer does a lot more than just taking pictures . He manages artists-products, set lights, manages the time and creates quality images.

The genres range from candid, product, food photography and photojournalism to wildlife, car, interior and fashion photography.

Candid photography: Here there is no stage set. It is impromptu. It is the art of capturing the right moment at the right time. It aims at capturing things or moments differently. He captures the image before it is too late.

Wildlife photography : They click animals in their natural habitat. It requires detailed knowledge of wild animals and their behavior. It also requires an understanding of their natural habitat. The buyers of wild  life photography are the media and wild life enthusiasts.

Photojournalism: A photojournalist capture events and evidence through pictures which are  later published with relevant information. It  requires understanding of journalism along with alertness. It also requires willingness to work at any time.

Bharati Vidhyapeeth, Pune runs a School of Photography which offers a 2 years course in Creative Media with optional one year specialization. It also offers Diploma courses in Advertising and Commercial Photography, Fashion and People Photography and Photojournalism. The courses are of 18 months duration.

Though photography was once considered to be elite and expensive art form, it has now become a common man’s medium.It can have the smallest thing as its subject.

The techniques have undergone a huge transformation, and that has affected the style and aesthetics of photography. Every new technology has affected the imagery  — from black and white to colour negative, to chrome, to digital, to photoshop and now to cell phones. The factor that has remained constant is the use of light and the content. Its basic ability to document something with candid honesty has remained unchanged.