The campaigns against corruption --- whether by Hazare, political yatris like Advani, or other outfits --- may well have taken a leaf out of the method adopted by a villager to tackle corruption in Haraiyan tehsil in Basti district, an obscure place in Uttar Pradesh this past week (November last week). The man finally let the lethal weapon he had with him – hissing snakes!
Reportedly angered by the bribe sought by the revenue staff to clear his paper for an additional land, for which he had appealed to President Pratibha Patil, the man, named Hakkul, thought this would be the best way to get his message across.
The employees scurried for safety taking refuge on tabletops and some ran away fearing for lives. This made up a hilarious scene for a movie!
We wake up from slumber to reality only if something hurts us or threatens our position or existence. This many would frankly admit.
What the snake charmer did was right. But we do not know the full story like why he wanted more land for conservation of the reptiles, etc. But his action would definitely have had an impact on the government servants.
This only shows that the lower bureaucracy must be included in any scheme of anti-corruption measure envisaged. If this is true, how is it fair not to include Group C staff of the Central government and the judges themselves.
If the aim of all is to eliminate corruption, it has to be at all levels – right from the peon to the minister.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Press paints Naxals negatively
“One must know what one is writing about” may not seem to be a far-fetched idea for a journalist. Yet, there are many who do superficial reporting of events and follow them up with analyses that do not present a proper perspective of the issues involved.
This seems to hold true in the case of journalists who write about naxalites and issues that concern them, according to a study of the reports of four newspapers – two in
English, The Hindu and The New Indian Express (TNIE) and two in Telugu (Eenadu and Vaartha). Most of them lacked an in-depth study of the ideology of the movement.
The study covering eight years, from 1999 to 2006, was the basis of a book on “Newspapers and naxalite movement” written by Dr. J. Madhu Babu and published in 2010 by Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi.
The study comes up with some startling disclosures: that the press as a whole has projected a negative image of the naxalite movement by focusing on naxal violence such as blasts, burning of properties, attack on authorities, etc.; that the newspapers ignored tribal welfare questions, the agony of people and their reactions to activities of naxalites and the police.
With the press failing “to focus on the unresolved question of tribal welfare…the tribal uneducated or semi-educated youth are attracted towards the Naxalite movement.”
The press has not analysed the reasons for the failure of welfare programmes to reach the tribal population, it says. This theme received less coverage. The Hindu, for example, did not publish even a single news item on tribal welfare measures during the study period.
The comprehensive study, carried out with tested research methodologies, covered a total of 4,387 news items published, 2,330 photos, 31 edit articles, 74 editorials, 10 editorial cartoons, 55 pocket cartoons and 184 letters to the editor. These were evaluated against a wide range of factors such as category of news, sub categories, and whether they were favourable, unfavourable or neutral.
Eenadu published the highest number of news items (31.8 per cent), followed by Vaartha (31.5 p.c.), The Hindu (19.6) and The New Indian Express (17.1).
The highest number of photos (1,000) was by Eenadu, next Vaartha (892), The Hindu (233) and TNIE (205).
TH and TNIE each published only one cartoon on the issue.
In terms of editorials, Vaartha (74) led, followed by Eenadu (16), TNIE (14) and THE HINDU (8).
During the study period of eight years, there was not a single article on naxalites in The Hindu while TNIE wrote only two; Vaartha led with 20 and Eenadu followed with 9.
The Hindu accounted for the most number of letters to the editor (75) among the dailies.
It also gave more prominence in terms of political parties’ reactions and human rights issues involved. In coverage of peace talks, TNIE put out more stories. All the papers, including Vaartha, gave less coverage to people’s reactions against naxalites and police.
Journalists have become insensitive to the killings of naxalites and police repression. For example, headings of the encounter stories give only the figures. And only the police version is carried.
The Naxlite issue is seen more as a law and order problem and the violence as harmful to society.
In coverage of reactions of political parties to naxal activities, The Hindu gave prominence to the Congress, BJP, Communists and the TDP while The New Indian Express gave priority to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.
The study rightly points out that the newspapers have the onerous task to represent the case of the poor and the voiceless in society. They also should play a positive role in resolving the conflict between the naxalites and the government.
The book also presents profiles of important naxal leaders and the chronological events in the movement, and the profiles of the newspapers covered, which are of research value.
Students and researchers in the field of journalism can benefit by reading the book, especially about the content analysis methods adopted.
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
This seems to hold true in the case of journalists who write about naxalites and issues that concern them, according to a study of the reports of four newspapers – two in
English, The Hindu and The New Indian Express (TNIE) and two in Telugu (Eenadu and Vaartha). Most of them lacked an in-depth study of the ideology of the movement.
The study covering eight years, from 1999 to 2006, was the basis of a book on “Newspapers and naxalite movement” written by Dr. J. Madhu Babu and published in 2010 by Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi.
The study comes up with some startling disclosures: that the press as a whole has projected a negative image of the naxalite movement by focusing on naxal violence such as blasts, burning of properties, attack on authorities, etc.; that the newspapers ignored tribal welfare questions, the agony of people and their reactions to activities of naxalites and the police.
With the press failing “to focus on the unresolved question of tribal welfare…the tribal uneducated or semi-educated youth are attracted towards the Naxalite movement.”
The press has not analysed the reasons for the failure of welfare programmes to reach the tribal population, it says. This theme received less coverage. The Hindu, for example, did not publish even a single news item on tribal welfare measures during the study period.
The comprehensive study, carried out with tested research methodologies, covered a total of 4,387 news items published, 2,330 photos, 31 edit articles, 74 editorials, 10 editorial cartoons, 55 pocket cartoons and 184 letters to the editor. These were evaluated against a wide range of factors such as category of news, sub categories, and whether they were favourable, unfavourable or neutral.
Eenadu published the highest number of news items (31.8 per cent), followed by Vaartha (31.5 p.c.), The Hindu (19.6) and The New Indian Express (17.1).
The highest number of photos (1,000) was by Eenadu, next Vaartha (892), The Hindu (233) and TNIE (205).
TH and TNIE each published only one cartoon on the issue.
In terms of editorials, Vaartha (74) led, followed by Eenadu (16), TNIE (14) and THE HINDU (8).
During the study period of eight years, there was not a single article on naxalites in The Hindu while TNIE wrote only two; Vaartha led with 20 and Eenadu followed with 9.
The Hindu accounted for the most number of letters to the editor (75) among the dailies.
It also gave more prominence in terms of political parties’ reactions and human rights issues involved. In coverage of peace talks, TNIE put out more stories. All the papers, including Vaartha, gave less coverage to people’s reactions against naxalites and police.
Journalists have become insensitive to the killings of naxalites and police repression. For example, headings of the encounter stories give only the figures. And only the police version is carried.
The Naxlite issue is seen more as a law and order problem and the violence as harmful to society.
In coverage of reactions of political parties to naxal activities, The Hindu gave prominence to the Congress, BJP, Communists and the TDP while The New Indian Express gave priority to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.
The study rightly points out that the newspapers have the onerous task to represent the case of the poor and the voiceless in society. They also should play a positive role in resolving the conflict between the naxalites and the government.
The book also presents profiles of important naxal leaders and the chronological events in the movement, and the profiles of the newspapers covered, which are of research value.
Students and researchers in the field of journalism can benefit by reading the book, especially about the content analysis methods adopted.
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
Friday, November 4, 2011
Digital publishing for Indian news media - Part III & last
Integrated Newsroom
The major problem is the integration of the print and online staff – the two poles in an organisation . We may have to take lessons from many organisations that have already done it. In India too, integrated and coordinated newsrooms have come about in the Hindi newspaper majors Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran respectively.
When professionalism was seriously talked about by the media and decisions taken in the 1990s in India, it usually related to the blue-eyed boys and girls, namely the reporters and correspondents. But the western experience of rotation of journalists on the desk and on the field was clearly ignored.
Now the integrated newsroom ought to encourage this in both versions. And only the term journalist would matter more if they are rolled into one and asked to do reporting and editing by turns. This would also the address the problem of lack of special stories and exclusives as all journalists will feel the need for breaking news of all hues.
What will differentiate one paper from another is the publishing of special stories with human interest and exclusive ones across the spectrum. Once this tribe of integrated journalists comes into being, there is nothing that is going to stop them from making their organisations the best ones.
Jakarta Globe
Take the Jakarta Globe online, for instance. The stories that come under the Editors Choice are very interesting and well-written. Recently, there was a story about their Homeless World Cup soccer team members – one of whom walked a long distance to raise funds to enable the team go to France for the cup. He was inspired by his mother’s words to keep promises, something that was ignored by a prominent public personality.
Compare this with some segments of the cricket-obsessed Indian media that chose to downplay the Indian hockey team’s protest over the paltry sum offered to them for their recent victory over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy. All sports need to be encouraged and the media needs to play a larger role in this and derive all advantages that it can get from the youth in this respect.
The Globe also had a story about comics being used by Islamic schools to teach tolerance showed the transparency with which their system works. It received very sharp comments both from a person who opposed fundamentalism and another critical of Christians.
I wonder whether such feedback could be put on any website in India.
The challenge for the Indian media is to be glocal as well as local. Non-news sites are already tapping the citizen journalism front which quenches the thirst for news ignored or not covered by the mainstream media.
The Indian media needs to take all these factors into consideration and launch digital initiatives by playing to their strength and adding new readers through modern methods and devices.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K.Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
The major problem is the integration of the print and online staff – the two poles in an organisation . We may have to take lessons from many organisations that have already done it. In India too, integrated and coordinated newsrooms have come about in the Hindi newspaper majors Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran respectively.
When professionalism was seriously talked about by the media and decisions taken in the 1990s in India, it usually related to the blue-eyed boys and girls, namely the reporters and correspondents. But the western experience of rotation of journalists on the desk and on the field was clearly ignored.
Now the integrated newsroom ought to encourage this in both versions. And only the term journalist would matter more if they are rolled into one and asked to do reporting and editing by turns. This would also the address the problem of lack of special stories and exclusives as all journalists will feel the need for breaking news of all hues.
What will differentiate one paper from another is the publishing of special stories with human interest and exclusive ones across the spectrum. Once this tribe of integrated journalists comes into being, there is nothing that is going to stop them from making their organisations the best ones.
Jakarta Globe
Take the Jakarta Globe online, for instance. The stories that come under the Editors Choice are very interesting and well-written. Recently, there was a story about their Homeless World Cup soccer team members – one of whom walked a long distance to raise funds to enable the team go to France for the cup. He was inspired by his mother’s words to keep promises, something that was ignored by a prominent public personality.
Compare this with some segments of the cricket-obsessed Indian media that chose to downplay the Indian hockey team’s protest over the paltry sum offered to them for their recent victory over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy. All sports need to be encouraged and the media needs to play a larger role in this and derive all advantages that it can get from the youth in this respect.
The Globe also had a story about comics being used by Islamic schools to teach tolerance showed the transparency with which their system works. It received very sharp comments both from a person who opposed fundamentalism and another critical of Christians.
I wonder whether such feedback could be put on any website in India.
The challenge for the Indian media is to be glocal as well as local. Non-news sites are already tapping the citizen journalism front which quenches the thirst for news ignored or not covered by the mainstream media.
The Indian media needs to take all these factors into consideration and launch digital initiatives by playing to their strength and adding new readers through modern methods and devices.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K.Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Digital publishing for Indian news media - Part II
Advice for Indian media
With India and China together forming the third largest Facebook audience segment, it is clear that the Indian media industry should tap the social media tool with focus on the youth.
The remark -- at the September 2011 WAN-IFRA meet in Chennai -- by The Washington Post managing editor Raju Narisetti – an Indian who has reached the top in the newspaper after major stints in the Indian media – can be taken as a piece of advice in the interest of the Indian media. He says “the time is in favour of India to catch up and this needs to be done by measuring up things, setting goals and rewarding the right people.”
These examples showed that an integrated newsroom is the future. The Washington Post had achieved the integration in 2009. It was done by using highly developed software systems that streamlined operations and increased productivity. Raju Narisetti, after becoming the Managing Editor of the Post, revamped the systems and remapped workflows.
Among the software systems for editorial operations displayed at the WAN-IFRA Expo were those of the CCI, 4C plus, and Comyan.
A variety of news websites straddle the virtual world, all with their own USPs. Besides there are MSPs as well – if I may call them the Mass Selling Propositions. Some Indian news sites have already started tapping these MSPs to their advantage. They know precisely what the modern world, especially the vast segment of computer and net-savvy youth want.
What cannot be printed by any decent standards is meat for online audience, or so one is led to believe. It was a shocker to view the pornographic snap of Poonam Pandey on a news website on September 4th. Indian cricketers better sit up and watch it in the pavilion instead of bothering to go out and bat and bowl! And more or less similar pictures and videos are part of the daily staple that such sites offer.
You tap a potential no doubt, but what kind of a moral self-regulation are you are adopting in order to cater to this MSP? And mind you talk about corruption of all sorts except moral corruption and you expect these youngsters to fight!
Vinita Nangia may very well blog on this as she has got a good number of followers who are asking serious questions on societal and individual behaviour. Perhaps, what the youth needed was a link to the inspiring site of India Against Corruption.
This represents a slice of the cut-throat competition that has emerged online. Is it different from the days of sensational journalism indulged in by the Indian magazines in the 1980s?
This takes us to the question of quality journalism touched upon by The Washington Post’s Raju Narisetti. His newspaper has gone public now with the standards adopted by it in regard to digital publishing. It is an interesting document worth adoption with local amendments by other online news sites. The Post’s Ombudsman wrote that the stories are read and cleared by two editors except on occasions when the reporter/writer uploads the story straight into the site.
To the Indian print media, struggling to earn and retain online audiences, these may seem faraway but a beginning has to be made in this direction. After all accountability and transparency are the current rage.
There are many other challenges that the media groups face in their quest for dominance and excellence in online publication.
The first of these may be the required qualified staff to run these sites on a 24x7 basis, something on the lines of the non-stop TV nonsense! While it is a costly proposition to recruit highly qualified and experienced hands for these operations, it’s no less exacting task to fit the already available print media staff into the online ventures – what with their traditional outlook, practices and tired hands, eyes and minds. But there is going to be benefit if they are chosen and trained and encouraged with monetary and professional incentives. They know the USPs better.
In fact, some of the newspapers, we were told at the conference, found that the older staff were able to adapt themselves to the new conditions better than the younger ones. The way out could be a mix of youth and veterans whose experience, loyalty and resilience count.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
With India and China together forming the third largest Facebook audience segment, it is clear that the Indian media industry should tap the social media tool with focus on the youth.
The remark -- at the September 2011 WAN-IFRA meet in Chennai -- by The Washington Post managing editor Raju Narisetti – an Indian who has reached the top in the newspaper after major stints in the Indian media – can be taken as a piece of advice in the interest of the Indian media. He says “the time is in favour of India to catch up and this needs to be done by measuring up things, setting goals and rewarding the right people.”
These examples showed that an integrated newsroom is the future. The Washington Post had achieved the integration in 2009. It was done by using highly developed software systems that streamlined operations and increased productivity. Raju Narisetti, after becoming the Managing Editor of the Post, revamped the systems and remapped workflows.
Among the software systems for editorial operations displayed at the WAN-IFRA Expo were those of the CCI, 4C plus, and Comyan.
A variety of news websites straddle the virtual world, all with their own USPs. Besides there are MSPs as well – if I may call them the Mass Selling Propositions. Some Indian news sites have already started tapping these MSPs to their advantage. They know precisely what the modern world, especially the vast segment of computer and net-savvy youth want.
What cannot be printed by any decent standards is meat for online audience, or so one is led to believe. It was a shocker to view the pornographic snap of Poonam Pandey on a news website on September 4th. Indian cricketers better sit up and watch it in the pavilion instead of bothering to go out and bat and bowl! And more or less similar pictures and videos are part of the daily staple that such sites offer.
You tap a potential no doubt, but what kind of a moral self-regulation are you are adopting in order to cater to this MSP? And mind you talk about corruption of all sorts except moral corruption and you expect these youngsters to fight!
Vinita Nangia may very well blog on this as she has got a good number of followers who are asking serious questions on societal and individual behaviour. Perhaps, what the youth needed was a link to the inspiring site of India Against Corruption.
This represents a slice of the cut-throat competition that has emerged online. Is it different from the days of sensational journalism indulged in by the Indian magazines in the 1980s?
This takes us to the question of quality journalism touched upon by The Washington Post’s Raju Narisetti. His newspaper has gone public now with the standards adopted by it in regard to digital publishing. It is an interesting document worth adoption with local amendments by other online news sites. The Post’s Ombudsman wrote that the stories are read and cleared by two editors except on occasions when the reporter/writer uploads the story straight into the site.
To the Indian print media, struggling to earn and retain online audiences, these may seem faraway but a beginning has to be made in this direction. After all accountability and transparency are the current rage.
There are many other challenges that the media groups face in their quest for dominance and excellence in online publication.
The first of these may be the required qualified staff to run these sites on a 24x7 basis, something on the lines of the non-stop TV nonsense! While it is a costly proposition to recruit highly qualified and experienced hands for these operations, it’s no less exacting task to fit the already available print media staff into the online ventures – what with their traditional outlook, practices and tired hands, eyes and minds. But there is going to be benefit if they are chosen and trained and encouraged with monetary and professional incentives. They know the USPs better.
In fact, some of the newspapers, we were told at the conference, found that the older staff were able to adapt themselves to the new conditions better than the younger ones. The way out could be a mix of youth and veterans whose experience, loyalty and resilience count.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Digital publishing for Indian news media- Part I
Going digital has evolved from just an option to an essential ingredient for news organisations that are trying to integrate their newsrooms and exploit print and online and other media opportunities.
WAN-IFRA meet
Something of a weather forecast was in store for the Indian media companies, especially the print media, at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference and Expo held from September 6-8 in Chennai. It warned of a storm, already blowing across the West dipping circulation figures even for major newspapers, hitting the Indian segment in the not-too-distant future.
If Indian firms are not venturing into the fast-growing digital and mobile platforms effectively, they will be the losers in the highly competitive environment. The competition is not only among newspapers, but non-news players such as search engines and social media sites who are garnering advertisements – an estimated 65 per cent of the advertising on the web.
Thirty per cent of the world’s population has access to news through the Internet, 40per cent read newspapers, and 60 per cent use mobiles. Countries like Indonesia have already tapped the potential offered by the mobile market. While high Internet and mobile growth in India which had the second highest Internet mobile traffic in the world in 2010 --- a mind-boggling 635 million people owned mobile sets in 2010 and 16 million people used mobile to access the Internet in 2009 -- may not mean high intrusion or penetration, the runway has to be prepared for take-off in these segments.
There are problems such as high cost of access to news on the handsets for lower strata of society and marketing of low-end phones that do not have multi-media capacity. However, the PC growth and declining prices for them are good portends.
Real challenge
The real challenge, however, lies in creating online and mobile content that engages and serves the audiences and retaining their interest so that sustainable models could be worked out. Though the media industry in India itself seems to be having a pessimistic and non-chalant attitude relying on the stable markets that anyhow are growing, the warnings by experts in the field from abroad are clear signals for taking coordinated multi-media initiatives. What they are saying is that please do not commit the mistakes we have made, but benefit from them.
There are examples from overseas as well as India to prove that digital initiatives can supplement the print media revenue. Every company will become a media company, said Larry Kramer, founder, CBS Marketwatch.com, U.S. He put it bluntly: “If you are not creating commodity content (what people want) you are dead.”
The successful models showcased at the summit included Jawa Pos and Jakarta Globe from Indonesia and Ringier AG from Switzerland; Malayala Manorama, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran from the home turf.
The digital initiatives need to be based on research and surveys into consumption of different media by consumers, the audience size and behaviour and their specific needs and preferences.
The success of youth-driven Jawa Pos (the group has an astonishing 179 newspapers for different regions and segments and local TV stations), stemmed from not only routine marketing strategies, but also from social media networks, especially Facebook which is a craze in the nation. Small but thoughtful initiatives such as campaigns in colleges and contests with incentives led to a considerable following for the paper on the social media.
The Jakarta Globe, which had just 500 fans on Facebook in May 2009, now has 1,54,646 fans and over 58,000 followers on Twitter. The two social media sites bring between 10 and 15 per cent of web traffic to the newspaper’s site. Though in terms of revenue it did not mean much, its presence on the social networks has been established and this has to be leveraged while making digital and marketing decisions. The newspaper achieved this with dynamic youth ambassadors and a dedicated team of the web edition.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu, Chennai.
WAN-IFRA meet
Something of a weather forecast was in store for the Indian media companies, especially the print media, at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference and Expo held from September 6-8 in Chennai. It warned of a storm, already blowing across the West dipping circulation figures even for major newspapers, hitting the Indian segment in the not-too-distant future.
If Indian firms are not venturing into the fast-growing digital and mobile platforms effectively, they will be the losers in the highly competitive environment. The competition is not only among newspapers, but non-news players such as search engines and social media sites who are garnering advertisements – an estimated 65 per cent of the advertising on the web.
Thirty per cent of the world’s population has access to news through the Internet, 40per cent read newspapers, and 60 per cent use mobiles. Countries like Indonesia have already tapped the potential offered by the mobile market. While high Internet and mobile growth in India which had the second highest Internet mobile traffic in the world in 2010 --- a mind-boggling 635 million people owned mobile sets in 2010 and 16 million people used mobile to access the Internet in 2009 -- may not mean high intrusion or penetration, the runway has to be prepared for take-off in these segments.
There are problems such as high cost of access to news on the handsets for lower strata of society and marketing of low-end phones that do not have multi-media capacity. However, the PC growth and declining prices for them are good portends.
Real challenge
The real challenge, however, lies in creating online and mobile content that engages and serves the audiences and retaining their interest so that sustainable models could be worked out. Though the media industry in India itself seems to be having a pessimistic and non-chalant attitude relying on the stable markets that anyhow are growing, the warnings by experts in the field from abroad are clear signals for taking coordinated multi-media initiatives. What they are saying is that please do not commit the mistakes we have made, but benefit from them.
There are examples from overseas as well as India to prove that digital initiatives can supplement the print media revenue. Every company will become a media company, said Larry Kramer, founder, CBS Marketwatch.com, U.S. He put it bluntly: “If you are not creating commodity content (what people want) you are dead.”
The successful models showcased at the summit included Jawa Pos and Jakarta Globe from Indonesia and Ringier AG from Switzerland; Malayala Manorama, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran from the home turf.
The digital initiatives need to be based on research and surveys into consumption of different media by consumers, the audience size and behaviour and their specific needs and preferences.
The success of youth-driven Jawa Pos (the group has an astonishing 179 newspapers for different regions and segments and local TV stations), stemmed from not only routine marketing strategies, but also from social media networks, especially Facebook which is a craze in the nation. Small but thoughtful initiatives such as campaigns in colleges and contests with incentives led to a considerable following for the paper on the social media.
The Jakarta Globe, which had just 500 fans on Facebook in May 2009, now has 1,54,646 fans and over 58,000 followers on Twitter. The two social media sites bring between 10 and 15 per cent of web traffic to the newspaper’s site. Though in terms of revenue it did not mean much, its presence on the social networks has been established and this has to be leveraged while making digital and marketing decisions. The newspaper achieved this with dynamic youth ambassadors and a dedicated team of the web edition.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
K. Kirubanidhi
Sr. Asst. Editor
The Hindu, Chennai.
The Future of Newspapers
Are newspapers declining? Yes, and No. Is there any scope for preventing their further downfall? Yes.
The decline, seen more dangerously in the West, is threatening the newspaper industry in other countries. In view of different patterns of evolution, development, role, socio-cultural-economic-political environments, the same yardsticks cannot hold true for all. However, there are lessons to be learnt, especially in the new digital era which has thrown up challenges that are common to all -- such as the dominating role of the internet and mass communication devices like the mobile phone. How the West copes up with these challenges is interesting to know. And, there lies the key to saving the newspapers. New challenges also present new opportunities.
Andre Schiffrin in his The Business of Words*, a combined edition of The Business of Books and Words & Money, discusses the future of newspapers in the United States and other countries. In a forthright comment, he says the newspapers are declining, citing the examples of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
It hurts
“Even relatively healthy papers are cutting enormous numbers of staff,” he says citing LAT which cut 500 of 1,100 employees and SFC from 500 to 200. As a result, there is far less coverage of local state legislatures “an area of government known for its high level of corruption” (perhaps we should take heart that even in the U.S. corruption is so much steeped in the local rungs of governance) where the press played the role of a critic and counterforce.
It is shocking to note that even the New York Times had problems after its price increase in 2009 and subsequently it had to retrench 200 people that helped it as a cost-cutting measure.
The decline in readership and fall in ad revenues are in part attributable to the advent of television and the internet.
News magazines like Time and Newsweek also lost readers, but one of the reasons was lack of content with more ads and fluff stuff filling the pages. The Economist, however, is stable because it has fuller information in its pages.
The ad effect also was visible in the electronic medium with evening news programmes in the US. showing a decline in viewership due to increasing number of commercials. People do not want to be continually interrupted while viewing their favourite programmes.
French scenario
In France, leading newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde too faced the heat with readership of the younger ones declining, a trend seen in the United States. While a similar pattern was discernible in the United Kingdom, there was less of a decline in Germany.
The Financial Times and The Telegraph are an exception and they made profits; the FT picked up more readers abroad like The Economist. The Evening Standard, a traditional tabloid, adopted a different strategy and it became a free newspaper; this more than doubled its circulation. The FT too faced a 40 p.c. decline in the first half of 2009, but it decided to charge online readers and it clicked with 117,000 subscribers paying $299 a year each.
While the declining trend for various reasons has been visible for long, newspaper owners and managements have not adopted a heads-on approach. Says Schiffrin: “What is astonishing is that this long-term decline should not have alarmed the press much sooner.”
Cost-cutting by reducing staff -- with journalists covering the local news facing the axe first -- and coverage of news – local and foreign -- is seen as a measure that is bound to lead to further fall in readership.
Asian situation
Newspapers in India and China are benefiting from the rise of a middle class and its income. Most of the Asian newspapers, however, are looking stable as of now.
The threat from the Internet is this: it garners more ads than readers of newspapers – 96 per cent of the time Americans devote to newspapers is spent reading their printed form. An American who is editing a paper in Singapore, said at the WAN-IFRA conference in Chennai in September 2011 (see my earlier blogs for more of that) that he was more comfortable reading the paper in the printed form as most do.
Schiffrin says younger readers, however, seem alienated from the traditional media and are more interested in social media such as the Facebook. They form the bulk of readership of the free newspapers that affect the circulation of paid newspapers.
So it all boils down to this: if they are to survive and continue to make profits, newspapers everywhere have to face new challenges with suitable strategies. These include leveraging their strengths; devising ways to retain younger readers by catering to their livelihood issues; revving up ad revenues from news sites; charging online readers for premium content; and resorting to free issues of at least sections of the newspaper in the worst scenario.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
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* The Business of Words, Andre Schiffrin, Navayana Publishing, New Delhi, 2011 edn
The decline, seen more dangerously in the West, is threatening the newspaper industry in other countries. In view of different patterns of evolution, development, role, socio-cultural-economic-political environments, the same yardsticks cannot hold true for all. However, there are lessons to be learnt, especially in the new digital era which has thrown up challenges that are common to all -- such as the dominating role of the internet and mass communication devices like the mobile phone. How the West copes up with these challenges is interesting to know. And, there lies the key to saving the newspapers. New challenges also present new opportunities.
Andre Schiffrin in his The Business of Words*, a combined edition of The Business of Books and Words & Money, discusses the future of newspapers in the United States and other countries. In a forthright comment, he says the newspapers are declining, citing the examples of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
It hurts
“Even relatively healthy papers are cutting enormous numbers of staff,” he says citing LAT which cut 500 of 1,100 employees and SFC from 500 to 200. As a result, there is far less coverage of local state legislatures “an area of government known for its high level of corruption” (perhaps we should take heart that even in the U.S. corruption is so much steeped in the local rungs of governance) where the press played the role of a critic and counterforce.
It is shocking to note that even the New York Times had problems after its price increase in 2009 and subsequently it had to retrench 200 people that helped it as a cost-cutting measure.
The decline in readership and fall in ad revenues are in part attributable to the advent of television and the internet.
News magazines like Time and Newsweek also lost readers, but one of the reasons was lack of content with more ads and fluff stuff filling the pages. The Economist, however, is stable because it has fuller information in its pages.
The ad effect also was visible in the electronic medium with evening news programmes in the US. showing a decline in viewership due to increasing number of commercials. People do not want to be continually interrupted while viewing their favourite programmes.
French scenario
In France, leading newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde too faced the heat with readership of the younger ones declining, a trend seen in the United States. While a similar pattern was discernible in the United Kingdom, there was less of a decline in Germany.
The Financial Times and The Telegraph are an exception and they made profits; the FT picked up more readers abroad like The Economist. The Evening Standard, a traditional tabloid, adopted a different strategy and it became a free newspaper; this more than doubled its circulation. The FT too faced a 40 p.c. decline in the first half of 2009, but it decided to charge online readers and it clicked with 117,000 subscribers paying $299 a year each.
While the declining trend for various reasons has been visible for long, newspaper owners and managements have not adopted a heads-on approach. Says Schiffrin: “What is astonishing is that this long-term decline should not have alarmed the press much sooner.”
Cost-cutting by reducing staff -- with journalists covering the local news facing the axe first -- and coverage of news – local and foreign -- is seen as a measure that is bound to lead to further fall in readership.
Asian situation
Newspapers in India and China are benefiting from the rise of a middle class and its income. Most of the Asian newspapers, however, are looking stable as of now.
The threat from the Internet is this: it garners more ads than readers of newspapers – 96 per cent of the time Americans devote to newspapers is spent reading their printed form. An American who is editing a paper in Singapore, said at the WAN-IFRA conference in Chennai in September 2011 (see my earlier blogs for more of that) that he was more comfortable reading the paper in the printed form as most do.
Schiffrin says younger readers, however, seem alienated from the traditional media and are more interested in social media such as the Facebook. They form the bulk of readership of the free newspapers that affect the circulation of paid newspapers.
So it all boils down to this: if they are to survive and continue to make profits, newspapers everywhere have to face new challenges with suitable strategies. These include leveraging their strengths; devising ways to retain younger readers by catering to their livelihood issues; revving up ad revenues from news sites; charging online readers for premium content; and resorting to free issues of at least sections of the newspaper in the worst scenario.
(journo1958@gmail.com)
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* The Business of Words, Andre Schiffrin, Navayana Publishing, New Delhi, 2011 edn
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Insight into Media 7 - Jakarta Globe experience
Social media networking – Jakarta Globe experience
Lin Neumann, Chief Editorial Officer of the Jakarta Globe spoke on social networking and the media on September 7, 2011 at the WAN-IFRA conference in Chennai.
The Globe newspaper was launched on November 12, 2008. Neumann, an American, at the outset, said that a foreigner needs to be welcomed in the newspaper industry. He cited the example of Raju Narisetti, an Indian, who has become a managing editor of The Wahsinton Post.
As he found that the web edition lacked interactive features, he started tapping the social media potential, especially Facebook, which he termed “a great leveller.” By May 2009, it had 5000 fans on FB which grew to 10,000 by September. In the next two months, FB fans went up to a staggering 50,000 with 5,000 followers on Twitter;
By January 2010, there were 100,000 fans and 10,000 followers on Twitter; by September 2010, it shot up to 125,000 fans on FB and 24,000 on Twitter. In September 2011, the figures stood at 154,646 fans and 58,721 followers.
FB referrals and Twitter posts brought 10 to 15 per cent of the web traffic for the paper.
This successful presence on the social media, though not revenue generating, was brought about by youth ambassadors --- similar to the strategy adopted with success by Jakarta Pos and Ringier AG. The target was the young audience. There were FB contests with prizes such as copter rides.
Between 10 and 15 stories were posted to FB and almost all stories were given links to the Twitter. This was done by a dedicated team of five persons on the web edition.
The building of the brand, which has been done through these ventures, is likely to have a potential for garnering ads later.
The Globe plans to launch Sunday Globe in October 2011.
He said there was no big change as such in the journalism practised, but “we no longer publish into a black hole.”
Lin Neumann, Chief Editorial Officer of the Jakarta Globe spoke on social networking and the media on September 7, 2011 at the WAN-IFRA conference in Chennai.
The Globe newspaper was launched on November 12, 2008. Neumann, an American, at the outset, said that a foreigner needs to be welcomed in the newspaper industry. He cited the example of Raju Narisetti, an Indian, who has become a managing editor of The Wahsinton Post.
As he found that the web edition lacked interactive features, he started tapping the social media potential, especially Facebook, which he termed “a great leveller.” By May 2009, it had 5000 fans on FB which grew to 10,000 by September. In the next two months, FB fans went up to a staggering 50,000 with 5,000 followers on Twitter;
By January 2010, there were 100,000 fans and 10,000 followers on Twitter; by September 2010, it shot up to 125,000 fans on FB and 24,000 on Twitter. In September 2011, the figures stood at 154,646 fans and 58,721 followers.
FB referrals and Twitter posts brought 10 to 15 per cent of the web traffic for the paper.
This successful presence on the social media, though not revenue generating, was brought about by youth ambassadors --- similar to the strategy adopted with success by Jakarta Pos and Ringier AG. The target was the young audience. There were FB contests with prizes such as copter rides.
Between 10 and 15 stories were posted to FB and almost all stories were given links to the Twitter. This was done by a dedicated team of five persons on the web edition.
The building of the brand, which has been done through these ventures, is likely to have a potential for garnering ads later.
The Globe plans to launch Sunday Globe in October 2011.
He said there was no big change as such in the journalism practised, but “we no longer publish into a black hole.”
Insight into Media 6 -- Leadership in newsroom
In an interesting talk on leadership in newsroom (at the WAN-IFRA meet on September 6, 2011 in Chennai), Dr. Dietmar Schantin, Executive Director, WAN-IFRA, Germany, detailed how to prepare the newsroom for the impending change.
In such a scenario, there were many who messed up opportunities, each displaying a different trait; ultimately, none of them won. There is the case of those who ignore changes and those who press the panic button. Both of them found nothing had changed by their behaviour.
The challenges came on many fronts:
Ideological, first. Here there were misconceptions about what to do with the old employees and the role of specialist newcomers. It turned out that the older staff were relevant and needed to be protected and that no one was special.
The cognitive challenge was seen in the arrogance displayed in the printing and broadcasting segments. It was realised that it was easier to get older people change – they wanted to beat the boredom over the years -- instead of the younger ones who were scared about it. There were political challenges too as exemplified by an influential person with political links.
The strategic challenge signified that short-term solutions worked only in some cases. The brand and the audience need to be integrated.
Strong leadership is needed to trigger changes. Old and news skills and technology need to be fused. New ways of working in the editorial routine have to be found.
The signs of vital leadership include the following:
Cultural leadership -- (to win) hearts, minds and souls; leading by example is vital here.
Strategic leadership – (in the areas of ) Audience, content and production.
Operational leadership – Roles, workflows, structures.
Performance leadership – Education and motivation of the target audience.
The stages in bringing about change are: Unfreeze, Move and Freeze. It has to begin with a positive perception of change.
When I asked him about the challenges on the Indian front such as cultural and social biases, vested interests blocking leadership chances, he said there was no prescribed solution for these.
In such a scenario, there were many who messed up opportunities, each displaying a different trait; ultimately, none of them won. There is the case of those who ignore changes and those who press the panic button. Both of them found nothing had changed by their behaviour.
The challenges came on many fronts:
Ideological, first. Here there were misconceptions about what to do with the old employees and the role of specialist newcomers. It turned out that the older staff were relevant and needed to be protected and that no one was special.
The cognitive challenge was seen in the arrogance displayed in the printing and broadcasting segments. It was realised that it was easier to get older people change – they wanted to beat the boredom over the years -- instead of the younger ones who were scared about it. There were political challenges too as exemplified by an influential person with political links.
The strategic challenge signified that short-term solutions worked only in some cases. The brand and the audience need to be integrated.
Strong leadership is needed to trigger changes. Old and news skills and technology need to be fused. New ways of working in the editorial routine have to be found.
The signs of vital leadership include the following:
Cultural leadership -- (to win) hearts, minds and souls; leading by example is vital here.
Strategic leadership – (in the areas of ) Audience, content and production.
Operational leadership – Roles, workflows, structures.
Performance leadership – Education and motivation of the target audience.
The stages in bringing about change are: Unfreeze, Move and Freeze. It has to begin with a positive perception of change.
When I asked him about the challenges on the Indian front such as cultural and social biases, vested interests blocking leadership chances, he said there was no prescribed solution for these.
Insight into Media 5 -- Integrated Newsroom
Peter Wolf of Ringier AG, Switzerland, showed (at WAN-IFRA meet on September 6, 2011 in Chennai) how an integrated newsroom was evolved in his news media group. It all boiled down to adjusting workflows for creating digital content and keeping up with the changed user behaviour.
The Blick sent its technical and editorial staff on study tours to learn from successes and failures and adapting them to the home environment. It also involved logistics such as bringing all the newsrooms into one huge building and constructing bridges to get more open space for discussions among the CEO and four Editors-in- Chief.
The project schedule was conducted in five stages and it involved all departmental staff overcoming their biases and strained relationships.
A web traffic study changed the content for different timings with three deadlines and its success showed. Information was scoured on even what to publish on different days.
The Blick sent its technical and editorial staff on study tours to learn from successes and failures and adapting them to the home environment. It also involved logistics such as bringing all the newsrooms into one huge building and constructing bridges to get more open space for discussions among the CEO and four Editors-in- Chief.
The project schedule was conducted in five stages and it involved all departmental staff overcoming their biases and strained relationships.
A web traffic study changed the content for different timings with three deadlines and its success showed. Information was scoured on even what to publish on different days.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Coorg visit
It was with a sense of longing and big expectations we undertook the trip to Coorg: longing because it was our first break after three years – we are a busy family with three working persons and a serious student of engineering – and big expectations as it was a destination beyond our State, and that too a hill station.
The run-up to the tour was quite hectic and tense. While the preparations were progressing satisfactorily, there was tension till a few hours before the start as Shilpa, the second daughter, had to write the last examination of the fifth semester. Thanks to the providence, everything went on well and we hopped on to the train half hour before its departure from Chennai Central at 9.30 p.m. on December night.
Shilpa’s grouse that we had to travel in night trains both ways was understandable. She couldn’t sleep well as the chill was a bit too much for her despite the warm clothing provided by the railway. Her upper berth position contributed to it. But the overall comfort of journey by AC coach compensated for it. As the weather was cloudy, we could not see the early morning look-outs from the train.
Around 7.30 a.m. the Chennai-Cauvery Express reached Mysore station. The station was small and not to our expectations. Even before we could leave the platform, an autodriver approached us and talked in Tamil. When told of our destination Madikeri, he took us to the bus station. He also guided us to a hotel where we had our breakfast.
Real picture
We were lucky to get a bus around 8 a.m. to Madikeri. The road to Madikeri was good. It took about three and half hours to reach Madikeri after about six stops. Websites would make us believe the journey will take two and half hours. If you go by car or cab that may be a possibility. Contrary to our notion of climbing up a hill by bus, this route had only minimal curves and no hairpin bend. It was a mix of plains and hill route, that too after Kushal Nagar. Once we reached the top, it was slightly colder but not biting. We managed to reach the Hill Town hotel just after 12 noon. Steep ups and towns, decked-up houses on hill slopes, narrow alleys, and small shops dotting the roads --- it all looked like any other hill town. But it is a city and the capital of Coorg or Kodagu district.
Coffee and Cariappa
A historical place, no doubt. Two things come to one’s mind when one thinks about Coorg --- coffee plantations and war-famed General Cariappa. He is deified there with a statue on the main road leading to the heart of the place. There was no problem spotting the Hill Town Hotel which is closer to the main bus terminus. It took just about five minutes to reach there by auto. As only three persons are allowed in an auto we took two autos. It was a decent hotel for family stay. Hot water 24x7 is a main feature. After refreshing, we started out to see the main places of tourist interest in the city.
We had lunch at Krishna Bhavan , a small but busy hotel that attracts vegetarians. We were lucky to find a cab driver who spoke in Tamil. Our first stop was at AbbeyFalls, a scenic beauty just 8 km from the city. It was thronged by students who had escaped their half-yearly examinations and were lucky to have embarked on an enjoyable tour, thanks to their sacrificing parents and thoughtful teachers who designed the programme.Their giggles and excitement matched the roar of the falls on the slopy path to the falls.
Nestling among coffee plantations, the falls are a great treat to the eyes. My wife Amudha was so excited about the plantation that she spoke to the plants asking questions like “How did you come into being and how you are catering to the masses?” I picked a few seeds which were green in colour. After a couple of days, the seeds became blackish brown and dried up. Me and Amudha drank the pure coffee available there. And it tasted a bit sour. The taste lingered for some time.
Raja's Tomb
The next stop was at the tombs of the Raja of Mercara and his wife as well as those of his devoted minister and his wife. The raja’s tomb is also a place of worship and had a lingam atop true to his name Lingaraja. That showed Lord Shiva has been worshipped for centuries in this part of India apart from elsewhere. While the outer part of the monument looks ancient and dilapidated, the interiors were well maintained and retained the historic ambience.
The lack of a guide who would know English and some lanuguages of India was felt—the only guide of some sort being the few lines of history written on a board outside, and definitely one felt this was not the way history could be bottled up. The cab took us to the next halt also on the fringes of the city – the Fort of the rajas. \
The historic building houses the offices of the collector who is called the Deputy Commissioner in this State of Karnataka – coincidentally a seat of power the rajas would have liked that of bureaucracy that looked after the commonweal. This seat of power also has a historic hall that was later converted into a church by the British. It now houses a museum which has artefacts, chiefly arms of the warrior times such as pistols and guns, apart from idols and statuettes of gods and Buddha found in the region. The highlight of the museum is a small place devoted to General Cariappa, the modern warrior who brought fame to the country and the place Coorg. It has mementos and gifts presented to him which he had donated to the museum. Usually, museums are boring to many tourists who just skip it and are too tired and disinterested to know history, but this one, though small, attracts many inquisitive tourists and quickly gives a peep into history.
The memories that arise from the visit are as fresh as the flowers that line up the small garden outside the museum. I was happy my family just enjoyed both. I recollected our visit to Srirangapatna and other historic places in Karnataka about two decades ago when we brought Sindhu as a toddler. Whenever we visit such historical places we do seem to imbibe what our immediate ancestors taught and lived for. However, we do tend to forget historical facts, so it is better to recollect them later whenever one finds time and opportunities. For example, parents should encourage the children to write about their visits and remind them about history and its charm when opportunity arises.
History becoming history?
Unfortunately, we lack TV serials about royals and their lives – if only this topic is broached and worthy serials taken our interest in history will be revived as any amount of teaching may not be that effective. It is pathetic that the subject of history has conveniently been buried by our folk. Not only are there few teachers who could teach the subject with passion, but there appears to be no tours designed for students of history even at the collegiate level, leave alone the dry manner in which it is taught in schools.
Raja's Seat
The next halt was Raja’s Seat, a highpoint atop the mountain from where the rajas, and the British of course, viewed sun going down distant mountains in all its splendour. The beautiful surroundings with a small garden is an ideal place for relaxing in the evening. The Raja’s Seat offers a wonderful kaleidoscopic view of the region with undulating mountains with greenery and curves of roads. We weren’t lucky to get a view of the sundown as it was cloudy though we could see streaks of the Sun’s rays glistening up the holes in the clouds. Abutting the park is a small rail station that hosts a toy train for children. It’s certain to entertain the young and the old too. Groups of schoolchildren thronged it when we went round the park in the train. The chorus of the students rent the air as the train took two rounds.
We preferred to walk down the road – a 2-km stretch – lazily to the hotel even as it got dark. On day two, we got up early and, before we took the cab, went to Krishna Bhavan, a small vegetarian hotel -- one of the few vegetarian hotels in the place where a majority of people eat non-vegetarian food including beef. Though Krishna Bhavan has a basement hall for lunch, in the mornings food is supplied in the small place on the main road. It was an entirely novel sight to watch people just streaming in to get a berth in the popular restaurant. The main person in charge of the preparation and supply was a nice gentleman whose dynamism is unmatched. Even as he would be enquiring what the customer wanted, his hands would be busy preparing tiffin. And he would serve tiffin and sambar pipehot, with such quickness and accuracy that newcomers would be awe-struck. Despite his fast service, he would cater to each individual needs with aplomb. And, his mind calculated the bill even faster. It was an unforgettable experience.
Tala Cauvery
Our itinerary was packed for the day. First we decided to go to Tala Cauvery, from where the river Cauvery originates. The road from Madikeri to Tala Cauvery was good except for bad stretches. The hilly route was lined by coffee and pepper plantations. The ride was most enjoyable as we could see beautiful scenes of curved and slopy roads, huge trees, ornamental shrubs with various hues, and lovely estates. On the way we stopped at the confluence of three rivers – the Cauvery, -- and enjoyed standing in crystal clear waters which are considered sacred.
The Bagandeshwarar temple nearby is an excellent place of worship built in Kerala style. Cleanliness is next only to godliness, we are told and we can experience that here. Lord Ganesha stands opposite the sanctum sanctorum, something we have not seen elsewhere. The next day, at Tala Cauvery, we are made to realise how water is a gift of God that belongs to everyone. Though territorial narrow considerations borne out of politics and greed of people are responsible for water disputes, nature will have its way when God seeks to provide for all.
The unpolluted waters are given a sacred status in Karnataka, something akin to the status given to the Ganga in the North. Poojas are conducted to the river god at its point of origin both to the god and people’s welfare. The hilltop at the place gives a panoramic view of the verdant surroundings with cool breeze blowing from all sides rejuvenating one’s systems. The sceneries are straight out of an artist’s impression of hills and surroundings and sketches by schoolchildren. Bus services from Madikeri to Tala Cauvery are limited.
After returning to Madikeri , we had a small break and continued journey to the other side – that is to K. Nagar, about 20 km. We had lunch there and proceeded to the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe where the Buddhist Golden Temple is situated. It’s a wonderful place for prayer and meditation and learning the Buddhist way of worshipping and praying.
Namdroling monastery
The Namdroling monastery looks like a university busy with religious students of an order – it is the monastic institution called Sera. The huge statues of Buddha, the second Buddha Padmasambhava and Sakyamuni ---- are grand and exquisite with gold embellishment and colourful paintings. The massive hall has portraits of followers of the Buddha. The Tibetans could be seen in all areas around the temple and they have mingled with the locals. A shopping complex near the temple sells products associated with Buddhist life as wells as dresses and fancy items.
We had to rush to the last point of our trip – Dubare forest -- a nice picnic spot with boats taking one to the forest-end area on the banks of the Cauvery where elephants are fed during the day before they are sent back to the wild. Unfortunately for us, the time was just up and the boatmen refused to run a trip. We saw rafting by a group of people, who had paid heavily for the venture. From there, we took the route of hills to reach Madikeri. It had just got dark and there was poor lighting on the way – which we were told is sometimes visited by wild animals chiefly the elephants -- leading to anxiety and a bit of tension on our part. On some of the forlorn stretches we even had prayers on our lips. The crackling noise of insects that reverberated through most of the stretches added to the suspense. It was a thriller kind of thing, but the driver was sure of where he was heading and taking us.
We heaved a sigh of relief on reaching the main road that led us to Madikeri. The long and zigzag route was verdant with tea plantations of the Tatas and we were simply astonished at the vast expanse of the estates. The following day we bid adieu to Madikeri and the Coorg region, taking with us tea packets, honey, and not the least memories of good relaxing times. We reached Mysore in time for a short visit to the industrial exhibition before boarding the train to Chennai.
The run-up to the tour was quite hectic and tense. While the preparations were progressing satisfactorily, there was tension till a few hours before the start as Shilpa, the second daughter, had to write the last examination of the fifth semester. Thanks to the providence, everything went on well and we hopped on to the train half hour before its departure from Chennai Central at 9.30 p.m. on December night.
Shilpa’s grouse that we had to travel in night trains both ways was understandable. She couldn’t sleep well as the chill was a bit too much for her despite the warm clothing provided by the railway. Her upper berth position contributed to it. But the overall comfort of journey by AC coach compensated for it. As the weather was cloudy, we could not see the early morning look-outs from the train.
Around 7.30 a.m. the Chennai-Cauvery Express reached Mysore station. The station was small and not to our expectations. Even before we could leave the platform, an autodriver approached us and talked in Tamil. When told of our destination Madikeri, he took us to the bus station. He also guided us to a hotel where we had our breakfast.
Real picture
We were lucky to get a bus around 8 a.m. to Madikeri. The road to Madikeri was good. It took about three and half hours to reach Madikeri after about six stops. Websites would make us believe the journey will take two and half hours. If you go by car or cab that may be a possibility. Contrary to our notion of climbing up a hill by bus, this route had only minimal curves and no hairpin bend. It was a mix of plains and hill route, that too after Kushal Nagar. Once we reached the top, it was slightly colder but not biting. We managed to reach the Hill Town hotel just after 12 noon. Steep ups and towns, decked-up houses on hill slopes, narrow alleys, and small shops dotting the roads --- it all looked like any other hill town. But it is a city and the capital of Coorg or Kodagu district.
Coffee and Cariappa
A historical place, no doubt. Two things come to one’s mind when one thinks about Coorg --- coffee plantations and war-famed General Cariappa. He is deified there with a statue on the main road leading to the heart of the place. There was no problem spotting the Hill Town Hotel which is closer to the main bus terminus. It took just about five minutes to reach there by auto. As only three persons are allowed in an auto we took two autos. It was a decent hotel for family stay. Hot water 24x7 is a main feature. After refreshing, we started out to see the main places of tourist interest in the city.
We had lunch at Krishna Bhavan , a small but busy hotel that attracts vegetarians. We were lucky to find a cab driver who spoke in Tamil. Our first stop was at AbbeyFalls, a scenic beauty just 8 km from the city. It was thronged by students who had escaped their half-yearly examinations and were lucky to have embarked on an enjoyable tour, thanks to their sacrificing parents and thoughtful teachers who designed the programme.Their giggles and excitement matched the roar of the falls on the slopy path to the falls.
Nestling among coffee plantations, the falls are a great treat to the eyes. My wife Amudha was so excited about the plantation that she spoke to the plants asking questions like “How did you come into being and how you are catering to the masses?” I picked a few seeds which were green in colour. After a couple of days, the seeds became blackish brown and dried up. Me and Amudha drank the pure coffee available there. And it tasted a bit sour. The taste lingered for some time.
Raja's Tomb
The next stop was at the tombs of the Raja of Mercara and his wife as well as those of his devoted minister and his wife. The raja’s tomb is also a place of worship and had a lingam atop true to his name Lingaraja. That showed Lord Shiva has been worshipped for centuries in this part of India apart from elsewhere. While the outer part of the monument looks ancient and dilapidated, the interiors were well maintained and retained the historic ambience.
The lack of a guide who would know English and some lanuguages of India was felt—the only guide of some sort being the few lines of history written on a board outside, and definitely one felt this was not the way history could be bottled up. The cab took us to the next halt also on the fringes of the city – the Fort of the rajas. \
The historic building houses the offices of the collector who is called the Deputy Commissioner in this State of Karnataka – coincidentally a seat of power the rajas would have liked that of bureaucracy that looked after the commonweal. This seat of power also has a historic hall that was later converted into a church by the British. It now houses a museum which has artefacts, chiefly arms of the warrior times such as pistols and guns, apart from idols and statuettes of gods and Buddha found in the region. The highlight of the museum is a small place devoted to General Cariappa, the modern warrior who brought fame to the country and the place Coorg. It has mementos and gifts presented to him which he had donated to the museum. Usually, museums are boring to many tourists who just skip it and are too tired and disinterested to know history, but this one, though small, attracts many inquisitive tourists and quickly gives a peep into history.
The memories that arise from the visit are as fresh as the flowers that line up the small garden outside the museum. I was happy my family just enjoyed both. I recollected our visit to Srirangapatna and other historic places in Karnataka about two decades ago when we brought Sindhu as a toddler. Whenever we visit such historical places we do seem to imbibe what our immediate ancestors taught and lived for. However, we do tend to forget historical facts, so it is better to recollect them later whenever one finds time and opportunities. For example, parents should encourage the children to write about their visits and remind them about history and its charm when opportunity arises.
History becoming history?
Unfortunately, we lack TV serials about royals and their lives – if only this topic is broached and worthy serials taken our interest in history will be revived as any amount of teaching may not be that effective. It is pathetic that the subject of history has conveniently been buried by our folk. Not only are there few teachers who could teach the subject with passion, but there appears to be no tours designed for students of history even at the collegiate level, leave alone the dry manner in which it is taught in schools.
Raja's Seat
The next halt was Raja’s Seat, a highpoint atop the mountain from where the rajas, and the British of course, viewed sun going down distant mountains in all its splendour. The beautiful surroundings with a small garden is an ideal place for relaxing in the evening. The Raja’s Seat offers a wonderful kaleidoscopic view of the region with undulating mountains with greenery and curves of roads. We weren’t lucky to get a view of the sundown as it was cloudy though we could see streaks of the Sun’s rays glistening up the holes in the clouds. Abutting the park is a small rail station that hosts a toy train for children. It’s certain to entertain the young and the old too. Groups of schoolchildren thronged it when we went round the park in the train. The chorus of the students rent the air as the train took two rounds.
We preferred to walk down the road – a 2-km stretch – lazily to the hotel even as it got dark. On day two, we got up early and, before we took the cab, went to Krishna Bhavan, a small vegetarian hotel -- one of the few vegetarian hotels in the place where a majority of people eat non-vegetarian food including beef. Though Krishna Bhavan has a basement hall for lunch, in the mornings food is supplied in the small place on the main road. It was an entirely novel sight to watch people just streaming in to get a berth in the popular restaurant. The main person in charge of the preparation and supply was a nice gentleman whose dynamism is unmatched. Even as he would be enquiring what the customer wanted, his hands would be busy preparing tiffin. And he would serve tiffin and sambar pipehot, with such quickness and accuracy that newcomers would be awe-struck. Despite his fast service, he would cater to each individual needs with aplomb. And, his mind calculated the bill even faster. It was an unforgettable experience.
Tala Cauvery
Our itinerary was packed for the day. First we decided to go to Tala Cauvery, from where the river Cauvery originates. The road from Madikeri to Tala Cauvery was good except for bad stretches. The hilly route was lined by coffee and pepper plantations. The ride was most enjoyable as we could see beautiful scenes of curved and slopy roads, huge trees, ornamental shrubs with various hues, and lovely estates. On the way we stopped at the confluence of three rivers – the Cauvery, -- and enjoyed standing in crystal clear waters which are considered sacred.
The Bagandeshwarar temple nearby is an excellent place of worship built in Kerala style. Cleanliness is next only to godliness, we are told and we can experience that here. Lord Ganesha stands opposite the sanctum sanctorum, something we have not seen elsewhere. The next day, at Tala Cauvery, we are made to realise how water is a gift of God that belongs to everyone. Though territorial narrow considerations borne out of politics and greed of people are responsible for water disputes, nature will have its way when God seeks to provide for all.
The unpolluted waters are given a sacred status in Karnataka, something akin to the status given to the Ganga in the North. Poojas are conducted to the river god at its point of origin both to the god and people’s welfare. The hilltop at the place gives a panoramic view of the verdant surroundings with cool breeze blowing from all sides rejuvenating one’s systems. The sceneries are straight out of an artist’s impression of hills and surroundings and sketches by schoolchildren. Bus services from Madikeri to Tala Cauvery are limited.
After returning to Madikeri , we had a small break and continued journey to the other side – that is to K. Nagar, about 20 km. We had lunch there and proceeded to the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe where the Buddhist Golden Temple is situated. It’s a wonderful place for prayer and meditation and learning the Buddhist way of worshipping and praying.
Namdroling monastery
The Namdroling monastery looks like a university busy with religious students of an order – it is the monastic institution called Sera. The huge statues of Buddha, the second Buddha Padmasambhava and Sakyamuni ---- are grand and exquisite with gold embellishment and colourful paintings. The massive hall has portraits of followers of the Buddha. The Tibetans could be seen in all areas around the temple and they have mingled with the locals. A shopping complex near the temple sells products associated with Buddhist life as wells as dresses and fancy items.
We had to rush to the last point of our trip – Dubare forest -- a nice picnic spot with boats taking one to the forest-end area on the banks of the Cauvery where elephants are fed during the day before they are sent back to the wild. Unfortunately for us, the time was just up and the boatmen refused to run a trip. We saw rafting by a group of people, who had paid heavily for the venture. From there, we took the route of hills to reach Madikeri. It had just got dark and there was poor lighting on the way – which we were told is sometimes visited by wild animals chiefly the elephants -- leading to anxiety and a bit of tension on our part. On some of the forlorn stretches we even had prayers on our lips. The crackling noise of insects that reverberated through most of the stretches added to the suspense. It was a thriller kind of thing, but the driver was sure of where he was heading and taking us.
We heaved a sigh of relief on reaching the main road that led us to Madikeri. The long and zigzag route was verdant with tea plantations of the Tatas and we were simply astonished at the vast expanse of the estates. The following day we bid adieu to Madikeri and the Coorg region, taking with us tea packets, honey, and not the least memories of good relaxing times. We reached Mysore in time for a short visit to the industrial exhibition before boarding the train to Chennai.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Insight into Media 4 - The changing face of newsrooms
In the session on “The changing face of newsrooms” at the WAN-IFRA meet on September 6, Larry Kramer, founder of CBS Marketwatch.com, U.S., emphasised the four Cs of the media world.
As detailed in his book C-Scape, which he distributed freely (a copy of which is with me for reference by my close colleagues), the pivots of the changing face of newspaper and media business are: Consumers, Content, Curation and Convergence. Consumers, the kings, cannot be ignored. So, listen to the consumers; how they use the products, what they think of you, and engage them in making you more relevant.
In content creation, the ultimate person is the one who produces content which can be got from anywhere and in whatever medium. “If you are not creating commodity content, i.e. what people want, you are dead,” he said.
As content is king, distribution systems are being usurped by digital platforms. As content will win out, it has to be refined based on changing consumer habits.
Curation is a process of filtering from the mass of information on various subjects according to the wants of the consumers and offering the same quickly. Online news aggregators like Huffington Post, Answers.com, Wikianswers.com, and other alternative news sites such as blogging sites are the curators.
“News is combination of words, audio and video.” In the area of convergence, tablets are currently the preferred way to get information. More people learn about earthquakes from Twitter rather than the regular sources. Consumers converge with producers; companies invite customers to create content for commercials and news, and even products.
Every company will become a media company.
New competition has emerged from businesses like Bestbuyon.com, Starbucks and Fandango.
The newsroom of the future will be built around target audience, NOT a medium; businesses not newspapers; sports, not TV. The key tasks will be controlling delivery of content to all possible outlets; having revenue models; and curating outside sources of valued content.
The Politico is a great example of a curator whose website, newspaper, email and new media sources earned a big influence in the U.S. – its 4.30 a.m. political bulletin was eagerly read in New York. It has an editorial staff of 150. The printed paper was delivered free of cost to select influential people who numbered about 30,000. But it had a digital publishing revenue of $3 million to $4 million with its site recording 5 million hits.
As detailed in his book C-Scape, which he distributed freely (a copy of which is with me for reference by my close colleagues), the pivots of the changing face of newspaper and media business are: Consumers, Content, Curation and Convergence. Consumers, the kings, cannot be ignored. So, listen to the consumers; how they use the products, what they think of you, and engage them in making you more relevant.
In content creation, the ultimate person is the one who produces content which can be got from anywhere and in whatever medium. “If you are not creating commodity content, i.e. what people want, you are dead,” he said.
As content is king, distribution systems are being usurped by digital platforms. As content will win out, it has to be refined based on changing consumer habits.
Curation is a process of filtering from the mass of information on various subjects according to the wants of the consumers and offering the same quickly. Online news aggregators like Huffington Post, Answers.com, Wikianswers.com, and other alternative news sites such as blogging sites are the curators.
“News is combination of words, audio and video.” In the area of convergence, tablets are currently the preferred way to get information. More people learn about earthquakes from Twitter rather than the regular sources. Consumers converge with producers; companies invite customers to create content for commercials and news, and even products.
Every company will become a media company.
New competition has emerged from businesses like Bestbuyon.com, Starbucks and Fandango.
The newsroom of the future will be built around target audience, NOT a medium; businesses not newspapers; sports, not TV. The key tasks will be controlling delivery of content to all possible outlets; having revenue models; and curating outside sources of valued content.
The Politico is a great example of a curator whose website, newspaper, email and new media sources earned a big influence in the U.S. – its 4.30 a.m. political bulletin was eagerly read in New York. It has an editorial staff of 150. The printed paper was delivered free of cost to select influential people who numbered about 30,000. But it had a digital publishing revenue of $3 million to $4 million with its site recording 5 million hits.
Insight into Media 3 - Trends in publishing
Talking on “Trends in publishing”, Christoph Riess, CEO, WAN-IFRA, Germany, said at the WAN-IFRA meet on September 6 that evolution of newspapers was different in different regions.
Asia had emerged as the powerful media region even outwitting the United States. Every two of three copies of newspapers sold in the world came from Asia. Though the penetration of newspapers was comparatively low in India, there was a great potential for increasing the circulation. Actually, media consumption increased by 40per cent in the last two years.
An analysis of the Indian media showed television, newspapers and radio were growing faster than other media.
Asia only garnered one-third of revenue from advertising in the world. The average circulation of newspapers in India was 11,000 only while Japan had an average of half-a-million.
While advertising on the Internet was progressing fast, it was not affecting the circulation of newspapers. Indonesia had a high Internet growth as well as high circulation of papers.
Newspaper circulation was down in countries like New Zealand and Pakistan.
New intermediaries are also garnering ads. These are: search engines, free online news sites and social media sites. As much as 65 per cent of the ad revenue on the net are garnered by the search engines like Google and Bing.
The growth of mobiles is phenomenal and the focus needs to be on developing content for mobile systems.
Asia had emerged as the powerful media region even outwitting the United States. Every two of three copies of newspapers sold in the world came from Asia. Though the penetration of newspapers was comparatively low in India, there was a great potential for increasing the circulation. Actually, media consumption increased by 40per cent in the last two years.
An analysis of the Indian media showed television, newspapers and radio were growing faster than other media.
Asia only garnered one-third of revenue from advertising in the world. The average circulation of newspapers in India was 11,000 only while Japan had an average of half-a-million.
While advertising on the Internet was progressing fast, it was not affecting the circulation of newspapers. Indonesia had a high Internet growth as well as high circulation of papers.
Newspaper circulation was down in countries like New Zealand and Pakistan.
New intermediaries are also garnering ads. These are: search engines, free online news sites and social media sites. As much as 65 per cent of the ad revenue on the net are garnered by the search engines like Google and Bing.
The growth of mobiles is phenomenal and the focus needs to be on developing content for mobile systems.
Insight into Media 2 - Strength of print media
The WAN-IFRA 2011, began on September 6, 2011 at the Chennai Trade Centre with a welcome address by Mr. K. Balaji, Managing Director, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., & Chairman, WAN-IFRA South Asia Committee.
President of WAN-IFRA, India, Jacob Mathew, in his address, said the print advertising revenue was likely to touch $136 billion by 2013. Seventy-five per cent of India’s population is literate and the print media has a 20 per cent of the adult population as audience. The print media is trusted more in India and access to online news is costlier.
The newspaper industry felt that there is scope for increasing the price of products as there is increasing demand for them. Distribution, however, posed a major problem.
“It will be ages before other new media could challenge the print media,” he said. Credibility for media is very important, he said citing the crisis spawned by a scandal in the an ageold newspaper in the United Kingdom.
President of WAN-IFRA, India, Jacob Mathew, in his address, said the print advertising revenue was likely to touch $136 billion by 2013. Seventy-five per cent of India’s population is literate and the print media has a 20 per cent of the adult population as audience. The print media is trusted more in India and access to online news is costlier.
The newspaper industry felt that there is scope for increasing the price of products as there is increasing demand for them. Distribution, however, posed a major problem.
“It will be ages before other new media could challenge the print media,” he said. Credibility for media is very important, he said citing the crisis spawned by a scandal in the an ageold newspaper in the United Kingdom.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Insight Into Media - 1 Washington Post
Hi everyone
I am starting a series of writeups -- kicking off with this one -- on how newspapers and media houses in different parts of the world are facing the challenges posed by new technologies and using them to their advantage
These points and projections emerged at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference held in Chennai from September 6 to 8.
Of special interest is the way in which the new media are tapped to give the new generation of readers added values that supplement newspaper efforts – and fetch the media revenues.
Your valuable comments and suggestions are welcome so that these could be taken up by the media owners and journalists at meetings or conferences in future.
Kirubanidhi
Senior Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
Cellphone: 0(if calling from outside Chennai) 9281342829
***********************
Insight into media 1
How The Washington Post meets challenges
Washington Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti, in his September 7 speech at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference, gave a brief overview of how the newspaper’s 24-hour integrated newsroom is meeting the challenges daily.
The key challenge for him, when he took over the top post, was tackling mismatched skillsets. He revamped editorial systems and streamlined workflows. Some job cuts were inevitable. There was a need to popularise the editorial team with search, social media and web traffic experts.
Information relating to news stories were made available to all journalists on hourly, mid-day and real time alert basis. These included page views of visitors to the news sites and time spent on stories by them. This helped more engagement of audience.
Training and re-training of the journalists happen on a continual basis.
Blogs are used to build off stories. The blog about an Obama impersonator at a party meeting was a huge hit and about 10 million people read them.
The Post realised that it is not enough to publish news but you have to make it more engaging by good packaging. They were happy to note that there was more feedback with one story garnering 3,000 comments.
Personalisation of news is important to engage the audience. The Post embraced Facebook and Twitter and now had 800 million fans on FB. Newsletter emails are sent to 1.5 million readers.
The revamping helped the Post to get back their readers and occupy the number two slot in terms of readership. The time spent on the news site improved and it occupied the number slot now.
The good news for India, Narisetti said, is that time is in its favour to catch up and they need to do this by “measuring things up, setting goals, and rewarding the right people.”
Kirubanidhi
Senior Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
Cellphone: 0(if calling from outside Chennai) 9281342829
I am starting a series of writeups -- kicking off with this one -- on how newspapers and media houses in different parts of the world are facing the challenges posed by new technologies and using them to their advantage
These points and projections emerged at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference held in Chennai from September 6 to 8.
Of special interest is the way in which the new media are tapped to give the new generation of readers added values that supplement newspaper efforts – and fetch the media revenues.
Your valuable comments and suggestions are welcome so that these could be taken up by the media owners and journalists at meetings or conferences in future.
Kirubanidhi
Senior Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
Cellphone: 0(if calling from outside Chennai) 9281342829
***********************
Insight into media 1
How The Washington Post meets challenges
Washington Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti, in his September 7 speech at the WAN-IFRA 2011 conference, gave a brief overview of how the newspaper’s 24-hour integrated newsroom is meeting the challenges daily.
The key challenge for him, when he took over the top post, was tackling mismatched skillsets. He revamped editorial systems and streamlined workflows. Some job cuts were inevitable. There was a need to popularise the editorial team with search, social media and web traffic experts.
Information relating to news stories were made available to all journalists on hourly, mid-day and real time alert basis. These included page views of visitors to the news sites and time spent on stories by them. This helped more engagement of audience.
Training and re-training of the journalists happen on a continual basis.
Blogs are used to build off stories. The blog about an Obama impersonator at a party meeting was a huge hit and about 10 million people read them.
The Post realised that it is not enough to publish news but you have to make it more engaging by good packaging. They were happy to note that there was more feedback with one story garnering 3,000 comments.
Personalisation of news is important to engage the audience. The Post embraced Facebook and Twitter and now had 800 million fans on FB. Newsletter emails are sent to 1.5 million readers.
The revamping helped the Post to get back their readers and occupy the number two slot in terms of readership. The time spent on the news site improved and it occupied the number slot now.
The good news for India, Narisetti said, is that time is in its favour to catch up and they need to do this by “measuring things up, setting goals, and rewarding the right people.”
Kirubanidhi
Senior Asst. Editor
The Hindu
Chennai
Email: journo1958@gmail.com
Cellphone: 0(if calling from outside Chennai) 9281342829
Friday, October 7, 2011
Anna Hazare's relevance
He’s not a Gandhi (by his own admission); he’s not a politician in the usual sense of the term (he has given enough indications of it); he’s not a VVIP with wide connections; he’s not a rich man either. Yet he counts. He has not only reinforced that it’s people’s power is the ultimate in Indian democracy, but the democracy which may be ripe for a revolution.
Mr. Hazare has emerged as a leader in his own right, trying to achieve the dreams of the ordinary Indian --- the foremost being the removal of corruption from top to bottom and across institutions.
His relevance to modern India --- despite his adoption of the traditional satyagraha --- and its people cannot be doubted. His peaceful agitation has ignited the minds young Indians whose conscience had already been tweaked by the former President Abdul Kalam. Dr. Kalam too had tried to band together the youth of the country for developmental purposes. His action plans and vision continue to guide the youth but on a different plane.
What the country needed was a spark for national-level action programmes and that came in the form of Mr. Hazare’s steadfast agitation against corruption – an issue that struck the right chord with all.
The people now realise that they need not feel helpless in challenging the monster of corruption. With able support from similar socially conscious people, Mr. Hazare took the centrestage and was the cynosure of all during the campaign that has reached greater heights.
He has sown the seeds of fearlessness, cooperation, and social dynamism among the people – the participation of lakhs of people in the movement vouches for that.
With the present government caught in a vortex of scandals and seen to be a face of corruption , the political course of the country is set to change drastically. Mr. Hazare and his team have revived the nationalistic fervour of the pre-Independence days.
If political intrigues succeed in stifling the people’s movement, it will be the saddest chapter in modern Indian history. If, on the other hand, people continue to support Anna and help achieve success in the fight against corruption and other ills of society, it will be the golden era for India.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
THE MARATHON MAN
A man of measured words and action
Albert showed us what discipline and courage mean
In his own inimitable style
He struck a middle path
Knowing the glowing and burning ends of sides
His spirited defence of what’s right
Always earned him praise
His track record has been excellent
Both in work and on field
He sprinted, leapt and crossed
Hurdles a many, set records a many
He’s changing tracks and gears now
We’re sure he’ll ever be steady
And light up the path ahead
Alby, the Marathon Man
How can we not clap and pray
For you and your family
K. Kirubanidhi
30 June 2011
Albert showed us what discipline and courage mean
In his own inimitable style
He struck a middle path
Knowing the glowing and burning ends of sides
His spirited defence of what’s right
Always earned him praise
His track record has been excellent
Both in work and on field
He sprinted, leapt and crossed
Hurdles a many, set records a many
He’s changing tracks and gears now
We’re sure he’ll ever be steady
And light up the path ahead
Alby, the Marathon Man
How can we not clap and pray
For you and your family
K. Kirubanidhi
30 June 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Roshini
I will have named you S. Roshni
Because you are
Sensitive and sensible in work
Soft-spoken in dealing with others
Straightforward in approach and attitude
Smiling even in stressful times
Service-minded in nature
Selflessness being part of it
Supersub in the making
In all
Simply Superb
Lack of your hospitality
Will make us sick!
You have given a peep into your art
For a journalist-artist in the making
I wish you all the best
Because you are
Sensitive and sensible in work
Soft-spoken in dealing with others
Straightforward in approach and attitude
Smiling even in stressful times
Service-minded in nature
Selflessness being part of it
Supersub in the making
In all
Simply Superb
Lack of your hospitality
Will make us sick!
You have given a peep into your art
For a journalist-artist in the making
I wish you all the best
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Call from mother
As the 18th death anniversary of my mother, K. Gnaneswari, drew closer, I had enough indications that mother is still with us, guiding us and showering her affection in many different ways. A few days before, one of her close friends and colleagues, Mrs. Achamma Jacob, called me, through my sister, and asked me to come for a prayer- cum-meditation at a place of worship and talk to a group of senior citizens about my work.
I was pleased and took it as a call from mother and promptly accepted the offer and went there. I made it a point to mention this at the short talk that I gave. The family friend also gave me a small memento, which I took it as that given by mother.
Then during my work I came across, in the past two days, words and phrases that made me remember her and the job she did – Central Statistics Office, for example. She retired as an Addl. Director of Statistics, Tamil Nadu government. Then on March 27, a day before, she came in my dream as a slightly younger person and I was telling someone, after briefly seeing her in close quarters and following her, that she remains very much with us. And, even as I finished writing this small piece, a colleague of mine gave me and others at work some sweet and chips saying her mother brought it for her. Mothers have a hold on us as long as we live.
I was pleased and took it as a call from mother and promptly accepted the offer and went there. I made it a point to mention this at the short talk that I gave. The family friend also gave me a small memento, which I took it as that given by mother.
Then during my work I came across, in the past two days, words and phrases that made me remember her and the job she did – Central Statistics Office, for example. She retired as an Addl. Director of Statistics, Tamil Nadu government. Then on March 27, a day before, she came in my dream as a slightly younger person and I was telling someone, after briefly seeing her in close quarters and following her, that she remains very much with us. And, even as I finished writing this small piece, a colleague of mine gave me and others at work some sweet and chips saying her mother brought it for her. Mothers have a hold on us as long as we live.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Straussed Out
Come on, I have my own headings or comments for the 2011 World Cup
Cricket matches; it may or may not reflect the ones you find in the
Paper or aired on TV. But believe me its my own.
Here goes the first one: when India and England drew the match on Feb 27
I had in mind this heading which I haven’t seen in popular English
Dailies the next day. “Straussed out India manages a draw.”
Cricket matches; it may or may not reflect the ones you find in the
Paper or aired on TV. But believe me its my own.
Here goes the first one: when India and England drew the match on Feb 27
I had in mind this heading which I haven’t seen in popular English
Dailies the next day. “Straussed out India manages a draw.”
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