Privileged among privileged

When I visited the Gujarat State Assembly for the first time as a student of Journalism, it was an enviable awe inspiring experience. Assembly sergeants in impeccable white uniform directing strangers and visitors with a command of authority.And when I visited the Assembly to cover proceedings as a reporter of Indian Express, I had another experience of the Assembly.Even the elite, the media- not a popular term in those days, had to stick to rules.

I distinctly remember my first day. While leaving the gallery, I had left my papers on the writing desk. A senior next to me drew my attention to the papers. He asked me to put all my papers in the desk so that nothing flew away from the desk. He explained to me that if papers flew and got into the House, I would be punished. It amounted to throwing papers into the gallery, common form of protest in the Assembly by outsiders.Such was the sense of decorum of the House and spirit of help of fellow journalists.

Now, the atmosphere in the corridors of the Assembly is more or less same. Strict discipline for outsiders and strangers. MLAs, officers in the officers gallery and visitors in the visitors gallery have to follow the strict discipline. Speaker is the ultimate unchallenged undisputed authority for all. Everyone is conscious of the the omnipresent authority of the Speaker. There is an unwritten dress code. Sober colours and formal clothes are still a tradition followed by all.

Last week, Jagdish Thakore of Congress drew the attention of the Speaker to two senior officers of the Information Department sitting in the visitor gallery.There was nothing wrong in the sense that anyone can be in visitors gallery. But the officers slipped out of the gallery the moment the issue was raised.

But the scenario in the press gallery has undergone a sea change. Journalists talk freely at a decibel that is audible even to some members in House. Frequent movement in the gallery attracts attention of everyone in the House. There is a good number of women journalists. In the last session, Sergeant had found a lady journalist giving a note to a sewak in the House from the press gallery. Proceedings were on. He called the lady and warned her . This was one of the several such incidents which showed changing times in the gallery. This week again a lady journalist was seen sending a note through sewak.

Assembly has audio-visual recording of the proceedings. At certain places like office of the Leader of Opposition, Canteen and press room one can see these proceedings live. Earlier this month, newly elected Speaker Ashok Bhatt found a channel showing the scenes which were removed from the record of the proceedings of the House. He sought explanation from the channel. Top brass of the channel was in the Assembly. They tendered an apology. The issue was settled. However, after two days the Speaker issued a circular which pointed out that recording of the proceedings of the House through the network of Close Circuit TV was not allowed and asserted that there should not be any recording.

The problem is that there is a very wide gap between seniors and juniors. It is quite difficult to meet the challenging attitude of juniors who can question anyone about anything. Who can dare tell them about the decorum of the press gallery ! People in the press gallery are privileged among privileged!!

Mind your language

Language is a tool of communication.But most of us tend to flaunt our vocabulary as a prized possession. In many cases we go for clumsy sentences, cliche and jargon which make our writings and other content expressions weak. This may sound simple, but this is probably the most difficult task we journalists face. We work against time. We have daily challenge of meeting deadlines. Competition stress drives us to short cuts like cut-paste.

If you want to be understood, if you want your ideas to spread, using effective language must be your top priority.
In the modern world this is hardly ever the case. In many instances, imprecise language is used intentionally to avoid taking a position and offending various demographics. No wonder it’s hard to make sense of anything!
This is not a recent problem, and as George Orwell wrote in his 1946 essay, Politics and the English Language, the condition is curable. Try these 5 Rules of Orwell.
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
This sounds easy, but in practice is incredibly difficult. Phrases such as toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, an axe to grind, Achilles’ heel, swan song, and hotbed come to mind quickly and feel comforting and melodic.
For this exact reason they must be avoided. Common phrases have become so comfortable that they create no emotional response. Take the time to invent fresh, powerful images.
What does expressions like inclusive growth or HDI mean. They just mean benefit of development to all. It's so simple.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
Long words don’t make you sound intelligent unless used skillfully. In the wrong situation they’ll have the opposite effect, making you sound pretentious and arrogant. They’re also less likely to be understood and more awkward to read. Faulkner criticised Hemingway for his limited word choice. Hemingway said, Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree. Accordingly, any words that don’t contribute meaning to a passage dilute its power. Less is always better. Always.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
This one is frequently broken, probably because many people don’t know the difference between active and passive . Here is an example that makes it clear:
The man was bitten by the dog. (passive) The dog bit the man. (active).
The active is better because it’s shorter and more forceful.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of its equivalent in your language.
This is tricky because writing now a days can be highly technical. If possible, remain accessible to the average reader. If your audience is highly specialized this is a judgment call. You don’t want to drag on with unnecessary explanation, but try to help people understand what you’re writing about. You want your ideas to spread right?
6. Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous.
This bonus rule is a catch all. Above all, be sure to use common sense.
These rules are easy to memorize but difficult to apply. The key is effort. Good writing matters, probably more than we think.
I hope you find these rules helpful including my bonus rule and through their application we’re able to understand each other a little bit better. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read Orwell’s original essay. It contains many helpful examples and is, of course, a pleasure to read.

First issue of the newsletter gets readers Bear hug

The first issue of the newsletter got great response. It was sent to 285 media persons and other, majority of them from Ahmedabad.Till Wednesday evening I got e- mail response from 87 friends. Phones from 13 and accidental greetings from another dozen or so when they stumbled upon me in the State Assembly in Gandhinagar.

Reports of the Newsletter distribution from my service provider has another fantastice story. In all 1700 plus forwards by friends! In this issue I am presenting verbatim some of the responses. Some have made suggestions also. Of these many were quite particular about the colour scheme of the first issue. They found colours eye straining rather than eye catching. Mihir Bholey of NID also drew my attention to space between News and Letter.

Friends, the newsletter has been conceptualized by me for you.It must have you at the center stage. This is precisely I am trying to do. Changes in the format and presentation reflect my commitment. A commitment to make the newsletter a platform for my friends who craft voice and image of others.

Here are the responses of many friends in the form they sent them, unedited & uncensored.


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Dear Yogesh,Please accept my felicitations on the initialisation of this concept.It was sorely needed,is well thought,and highly appreciable.Ideally this is something that the Media Club should have thought about.Good job,well done.My best wishes.

R.K. Misra
Misra is the founder president of the 120 plus member Gujarat Media Club. A veteran of English journalism, Misra does not need any introduction as such.

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Yogesh, Hearty congratulations...You have unleashed your creative
power....Hope this could be used as "Precision Tool" by
Media....Hope in future you will give "High Quality Content" which
will give good "Professional Result"....
God Bless You
All....Dhiren
This is the remark of Dhiren Avashia, who has been associated with media education for long and has many of his young students in the media.

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CONGRATS YOGESHBHAI...for this very pioneering venture...May it succeed in every possible way as you take a stand for information that is AUTHENTIC,TRUE and JUST..
warm wishes,
Fr Prakash
This is how father Prakash views the venture.

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भाई योगेश जी सादर नमस्कार ।
आपका न्यूज लेटर मिला । काफी महत्त्वपूर्ण जानकारियां हैं इसमें । अपने कई मित्रों को भी फारवर्ड कर रहा हूं इसे । मेरे गुजरात दौरे में भी आपसे काफी मदद मिली । सदैव आभारी रहूंगा । गुजरातग्लोबल.काॅम अक्सर खोलता रहता हूं ।
These are the views of Om Prakash Tiwari,Special Correspondent of Dainik Jagran in Mumbai.

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Dear Sharma ,

It is really a great, brilliant and every exciting idea. Only someone like you could think the way you think and work. I know you a workaholic . ...It is good to be one .... I'm sure everybody likes the concept/ idea of your innovative newslater, specially those newsmakers- shakers and movers ( in Gujarati journalism).
I dying to read something about` Bandmaster` and `Khakor` ( breed of journalists) in the newslater.


All the best

basant
Basant Rawat is state Chief of Bureau of Telegraph


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Here is Deepal Trevedie of the Sambhav Group of publications

dear yogeshbhai

was contemplating to write since a couple of days but was out.
read the media news letter. congratulations, its a refreshing change.
i am sure you must be ovtertaken by a flurry of messages and reactions. here , i add mine!
* good stuff! enjoyed reading it.
* the larning zone is really good but i found it a little too long. i think a more crisper version everytime would attract more eye balls.


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Dear Shri. Yogeshbhai,
Thanks for Media News Letter .I congratulate you for this initiative & wish the great sucess . It was much needed as a bridge & wider platform for all media practioners . The word & the world of Media has become very sensitive & complex . we need the viewpoint to understand & interpret it.
Pl. continue its subscription to my inbox .
Thanks again,
meenakshi
Meenakshi is the PRO of the GMDC. She is doing PhD in journalism.

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Dear Mr Yogesh,

Thank you for the mail. I liked your initiative and also the writeup on Wg Cdr Singha. I am sure this initiative of yours will go a long way in binding the journalists here and also bring others come closer to this important state of Gujarat. I wish you all the best.
Wg Cdr Satish Menon.
Satish Menon has joined here as Defence PRO in place of Singha


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Dear Yogesh,

At the outset I contratulate Neha and you for the launch of the Media News Letter, indeed an intitiative borne out of your passion. I also thank you for featuring me in your first issue. It is indeed a great honour for me and I am truly overwhelmed. I suppose it was late last night that you called and I had already hit the sack. But the first thing on waking up that I did was to read your newsletter.

I think it is a magnificent start. I am sure mediapersons also need something like this to circulate among their own and read articles/news other than the routine. I bet contributions will come aplenty. I would be happy to do it myself, rejection slip not withstanding. I would surely pass it around to my friends and media list for others to get to know of the same. I wish the newsletter much popularity and insightful reading.

Thank you once again for being so thoughtful in featuring my tenure here. I cherish each moment spent with each one in the media here in the State. My good wishes remain,

with warm regards and love,

Tarun Kumar Singha
Singha is the first Defence PRO in Gujarat and he has now been transferred to head NCC unit at the BHU.


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Dear Yogeshbhai
Its simply wonderful to have something like this on people like us, who knows almost everything about everyone else but themselves.

I appreciate your efforts and will contribute whenever possible. There is some latest movement in media. If you remember Santosh Chowdhry, who was with IE in Baroda and in Gujarat his last posting was with ET as Rajkot correspondent. Santosh in back in Gujarat. He was with HT Lucknow. He has just joined DNA so still uses his UP cell no here. He can be contacted on 09839539016.
Feel sad about Anubhai. I remember him functioning from a corner desk of Mirzapur office of IE when you were there as Chief Reporter.
Best Wishes
Kamlesh
M:98795 50717
Kamlesh Trivedi is now with Gas-Petro. A veteran in business reporting Kamlesh has worked with number of publications.

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Dear Sir

Thank you so much for the newsletter. It is a beautiful piece of insight into the world of media and its people. Will certainly look forward to upcoming issues.

Warm Regards
Archana
Archana is with Business Standard.

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very nice issue, yogeshbhai. well edited n worded. wonderful contents-particularly 'disastrous reporting of railway disaster' n 'CM in ToI'. thanx. nrb
This is from Nitin Bhatt of Reliance

Great...!!!

Simply great thats the only reaction I can give..

Keep up the good work.....

Regards...

-Soumitra...
NewsWire18
Soumitra Trivedi is the COB of NewsWire18

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Dear Mr Sharma,
I compliment you on your brilliant initiation.......
Great job!!
I convey my heartiest best wishes to you and please do let me know in case I could assist you in any of your further ventures.
Regards
Sanjay Chakraborty
Director:Brand Services
Triton Communications
Ahmedabad
098250-22602

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sharmaji

excellent..i loved the newsletter...and i am sure all others who must have received this, would love it too..once again you have shown that you are a trend setter ..thank you,
hitesh pandya....
Hitesh Pandya is APRO to Chief Minister Narendra Modi

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Yogeshbhai
Thanks you for the newsletter. Will wait for more of it.
This is from Tanvir of Indian Express Ahmedabad

There are many more who have sent their spontaneous response. I have quoted few. Just at random. There are atleast four friends who have made suggestions about the colour scheme of the first issue. Here are they.

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Yogesh,

Very nice and perfectly conceived.But an advice -------------there is no need of using a plethora of goddy colours, cluttering of shades of colour for various items.It can be shown in fonts and sizes of words with bi-colour backdrop to make it more appealing.You can add social stories of neglect and deprivation----all not catching the attention but surfacing visibly in street corners and paltforms etc everywhere.Even women safety and nari shakti issues are going overboard after one glances the crime data and the position of the women in employment, or intheir struggle to earn bread or careers.

sk ( This is S K Nanda IAS )

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My dear Yogesh,
Your Media News Letter is a bold attempt.
However, the letter could do with lighter shades. Fluoroscent colours like deep pink strain the eyes.
And why grudge journos getting fat pay packets? This should have happened long ago. Better late than never.
Regards,
Rajiv Saxena
Rajiv Saxena who has worked with Indian Express for several years is now with Birla group as VP Corporate Communications in Delhi.

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Dear Yogesh Sharmaji,

Received and read your new e-magazine. My
congratulations for this new endeavour! The idea seems
to be quite interesting. It will be useful not only
for the journalists but also for the entire
communication fraternity. Few suggestions; please
write Newsletter as one word and not separately and
avoid using dark colours in the background of the
text. Photograph should be clear to recognize the
face. With the CM it's Bharat Desai I presume. I am
attaching my article recently published on the edit
page of Hindustan. Hope, you'll find it interesting.

Thanks for updating

Mihir Bholey
Mihir looks after Communications in the NID

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Dear Yogesh.
I have gone through the newsletter. It is interesting
and excellent compilation of currents prevailed in
gujarat's journalism. I would like to make little
suggestion about the colour combination of the
newsletter. I Find that fast below and Pink colour is
not impressive. The light colour combination would
have better for reading the contents of newsletter.
Thanks.
Bharat Lakhtariya

Hello Friend where are you

If you happen to meet a journalist friend in Gujarat after couple of months, please do not ask him how are you? Just ask him where are you. There are all the chances that your friend may give you a new visiting card with new office address. And he would not mind boasting about the hefty pay packet he is getting.

Media scene has changed a lot in the last four years. The arrival of Divya Bhaskar in 2003 and new channels has sent employment Index of media persons here sky rocketing. Whether you know a language or not, you should have either a tag of journalist or a professional qualification. You can easily get five digit salary. It may happen that from the day one you get a chance to saunter in the corridors of power in Gandhinagar.

The upward movement of journalists got great boost with the arrival of Divya Bhaskar. Gujarat Samachar and other leading newspapers got a big jolt because of the exodus. ETV, TV9 and several other channels attracted quite young boys and girls. Three UK based weeklies developed Ahmedabad as their main office.

Recently, Times Launched its midloid Ahmedabad Mirror . It recruited 53 . Naturally all were from Ahmedabad. The management made it clear that knowledge of English is not must. Even if you do not know English, no problem. People who were slogging for Rs.5,000 a month have been recruited for Rs.25,000 a month. Without much knowledge of English. Middle level staff got a package of Rs six lakh plus a year.

This month Business standard launched it Gujarati edition. It recruited more than 20 journalists. Here the situation was different. Reporters were told that knowledge of Gujarati was not must. You can write in English. The management has others to translate in Gujarati. Not a bad idea. Even otherwise management has to have someone to translate English news in Gujarati.

These major developments have chain reaction. There are vacancies in other newspapers. They have to offer higher pay packets to attract staff. Never in the past, professional rivalry and cut throat competition among newspapers and others in media made Journalist the King !

So friend days of Jholawala patrakar are now laid to rest in the history. Now we have laptopwalas with plastic currency .

Do not worry. There are some more publications in the pipeline. So keep on asking where are you friend.

News of newsmakers

This is a blog about those who craft voice and image of people in the society. It is a different thing that rarely we find news about these persons and their profession-media.Even at the time of their death professional rivalry comes in the way. Hardly anyone writes that a media person died.
The profession has its own quote of problems. Lack of learning facility, abscence of inservice training are the basic one.The newsletter is to make up for all this.