Conventional PR is passe

Public relations can be fascinating for the sheer scope it offers. It’s been a while I moved to this genre of strategic communication, and I must confess I quite enjoy it. I feel happy to be at the fulcrum of what I prefer to call image engineering.

What is distressing is the obsession of many of us with the conventional ways of doing PR. I come across many who still believe getting few column centimeters is the end all of PR. I suspect. With the rise in media platforms and subsequent bombarding of information available to us, we need to look beyond. We need to activate and innovate other tools of image engineering. Media, certainly remains, one of the important tools though.

I have begun, if I may call it, my campaign for making PR more encompassing. I call it Public Affairs Management. The way businesses run today requires that all possible vehicles of image realignment are activated. Hence I would propagate tools like online media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs), public engagements (forums, discussion groups), community outreach, customised social networking and personal rapport for the same. In many cases, effective in-house tools too can be highly effective.

For instance, recently while pitching for a Hospital, I proposed an perception audit using Mystery Customer methodology for finding out gaps and customizing image engineering tools. I also proposed, for instance, that the hospital gives out a rose to family of every woman who delivers a baby. I also proposed Grievance Redressal Window for patient hearing of complaints.

In fact, we can go on innovating as per the need and the nature of business, and it would differ. But the challenge is to change mindsets.

We in India have strong likings and inclinations. Changing habits and hence mindsets require a Herculean effort. PR is no different. But I am sure with passage of time as the irrelevance of sticking to conventional tools becomes apparent, we shall start moving to innovations, and start embracing these.

Political? Nah, A Corpol Scam

The other day when Arun Bakshi, my old friend from JNU days, suggested I write on political corruption, I snapped if it wasn’t too clichéd an idea. He said he did not think so. Days later, I thought he was right. Political corruption in India is one giant insect that refuses to die. And what’s worse, it’s worse than Swine Flu.

Reading about A Raja, the now controversial Union Telecom Minister of India, I feel, and know for sure, there are more to it than meets the eyes. Spectrum allocation is too tricky an issue for a novice like me to comprehend, but it is common sense now there has been hanky panky in allocating this precious national resource to cash-rich telecom giants. It is getting murkier everyday with common men and women like me and you unable to infer the nuances of telecom business and a lexicon which goes far beyond common sense – allocation-auction, Universal Access Services Licence, no-caps policy blah blah.

What is common sense is that few corporate giants have gained out of this “deal”. Those miffed over missing out the booty are rankled and are trying to keep the issue alive as long as it can – the key allegation is that spectrum was allocated to select telecom players (Swan and Unitech) on a first-come-first-serve basis, and at the 2001 prices of Rs 1651 cr, and not “auctioned”.

So if you would believe me, more than political, this is a “corpol” scam or corporate-political swindle that we hapless citizens are meekly witnessing. For the government in power, this surely is akin to a nagging headache.

Little surprise, a battered opposition led by bruised BJP is finding some solace, and possibly, gearing up to create a cacophony in the Parliament which convenes few days from today for the Winter Session. Interestingly, the BJP – which has by some strange calculation termed this a scam worth Rs 60,000 crore -- may find it difficult to answer some questions that are being raised over its own conduct when in power in 1999 and 2003.

The same guys who are asking for the auction route instead of the allocation – and by this I am in no way justifying the present act of Spectrum Raja – smartly sneaked out by engineering a National Telecom Policy (NTP) in 1999 (BJP-led NDA ruled then). The government waived duties of an estimated Rs 50,000 cr across 15 years in licence fees and moved to an easy revenue sharing model. The telecom license also entitles a player for only 4.4 MHz but between 2001 and 2003 – under NDA regime – operators were granted additional 2.2 MHz without any clearance, which has now snowballed into another controversy of “pricing the additional spectrum”.

It is also curious to note that NDA regime, between 2003-04 also doled out 24 telecom licenses to telecom giants, at 2001 prices, and hence the BJP drumming the Rs 60,000 cr scam may not be more than a theatrical rhetoric.

I am too naïve to throw enticing lights on this byzantine corpol scam. What I am concerned about is that such controversies reinforces people’s loss of faith in the politics of modern India; their contempt for the politicians of our times.

TITs....If only they were

Ah. I know what you all thought. Perverts! For me, TITs means Typical Indian Traits. And they are in plenty. Some I mulled over this past few weeks, triggered by certain experiences.

If you live in Delhi and if you are driving down the Ashram flyover towards DND Flyway, you can’t miss out two imposing billboards with neon lights. The first one is of Samsung, and few foot away is Tata Indicom’s ‘End of counting minutes’ advertisement. “Call any local network, no matter how long at Re 1” claim is tucked in the right bottom corner, further beneath which lies the now ubiquitous star insert ( means “conditions apply.”

We love to be ambiguous and this advertisement is one sure shot example of this. I wonder why can’t we design ads which are sans this now hated “conditions apply” tag. I think largely because it goes with the spirit of Indianness – hiding the vital from the real, camouflaging, exaggerating. I am afraid it spreads across our personal, professional and cultural domains.

Just when I had crawled past the flyover that evening I saw a car nearly kissing mine and the driver remaining nonchalant. I preferred slowing down than to invite scratches and just when the Indigo had inched its way forward I could not avoid the sight of another brazen Indian trait – a huge board with a Single Star sitting atop the number plate of the car. Ah we love so much to flaunt and as and when possible. Perhaps this is reflected best on our roads.

The Maruti 800 car of a secretary of the youth wing of Delhi unit of Rashtriya Janata Dal flaunts a 3 ft by 2 ft board at the front proclaiming, assumingly, his foray into the power structure. I asked him if it really works and pat came the reply, “Ah it does, and with miraculous effects.” I really suspect his claims, but so much for Indianness. I must confess I have also done this – as a tiny journalist in The Times of India I often thought that sticker atop my windscreen had given me a license to jump traffic lights, if not more. Despite being modest, I did flaunt it on occasions. For I am an Indian too.

Sycophancy too is integral to our culture. Though popularly the political system is notorious for breeding sycophants, it is predominantly found in corporate and bureaucratic domains as well. I have heard numerous stories of how some of the finest professionals and bureaucrats have not been able to escape the trap of this Indian anatomy. One President of an Indian Fortune 500 company in fact has made it a religion to work only with people who would indulge in his exaltation.

Bargaining is another fascinating trait of Indians. You just have to walk into one of the happening market places of Delhi – Sarojini Nagar or Lajpat Nagar – to get a glimpse of what I mean. Women from middle and high income families, with their drivers in tow, would relentlessly haggle with roadside retailers for a Rupee or two. An anecdote has it that an engineer from Bihar on his way to Paris had a brush with Lajpat Nagar market and on reaching Eiffel Tower he argued, and bargained vigorously on the pretext that getting inside the premises of another tall world heritage Qutub Minar was much cheaper!

Tributes to Indira Gandhi

This day 25 years ago...

Igniting authorities: OIC Fire

As a former journalist, I am on the group mail of many people including some well-meaning activists. On Friday I received this email from Lt Col (Retd) Anil Heble, sent to all those who matter including President, Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson et al, and I feel it prudent to put it here.

Dear Sir,

As I write this mail a huge fire of indeterminate proportions continues to rage with the usual band of experts making sweeping statements.

Mr. Murli Deora has gallantly says on TV "Nothing can be done until the fire dies down on its own". Rather comforting words for those around.

Apparently, the cause has for the moment a leaking oil pipe, attempts to repair the leak, an untimely earthquake and heaven knows what else. If there is a human error or callousness its first been buried under the hurriedly mentioned reasons. Not withstanding the Rail Ministry's reaction in West Bengal someone very sensible in the Railways has cancelled many trains on the Jaipur - Kota Rail section.

Many statements tendering excuses and the blame game will soon follow in a style that is quite unparallelled.

Traditionally, in India no one is to be blamed ever. Traditionally also, besides the "AAM AADMI" everyone else is infallible.

LESSON TO LEARN & POINT TO MAKE

1. For the support of commercial air operations in Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport, both domestic and International, two (2) major oil depots are located at Village Shahabad Mohamadpur and Village Bijwasan.

2. Reportedly, the two major ATF oil depot's at Village Shahabad Mohamadpur and Village Bijwasan hold Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) in the region of 600,000 litres each.

3. Photography in close proximity of these depot's is "Strictly Forbidden", yet these two depot's are loud and clear on Google Earth and all other maps freely available accross counters in appropriate shops. They are openely visible from all roads passing by.

4. Situated in geometric centre between these two depot's and not more than 500 metres away from either of the two ATF depots, DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY'S MASTER PLAN 2021 has reportedly located the Metro Rail Terminus, three metro rail stations, at least two Indian Railway stations besides the broad gauge lines themselves, land space reserved for a Railway Terminus, an ISBT, a 5-Star Hotel, an international convention centre and rather thoughtlessly a host of other infrastructure projects.

5. In the event of an unfortunate event at any one of these two oil depots, sympathatic involvement of the other is inevitable due to its close proximity.

6. In Delhi and with IGI Airport very very close the National Capital of Delhi will is apt to grind to a complete halt, if not its Southern part. Almost all the neighbourhood stands to be exterminated because of this amazing planning to locate ATF Depots not only so close to each other but also in one of the most densely populated area.

7. Besides, in extremely close proximity around these two depots include the rich and high profile Pushpanjali Enclave, parts of high profile sub-city of Dwarka Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 23, many Villages such as Bijwasan, Bagdola, Shahabad Mohamadpur, Palam and other sattelite colonies.

8. The ongoing Sitapur fire has made life impossible within a radius of 5 kilometres all alround with half of tonnage of oil.

9. As a conservative guess, population in the Bijwasan and Shahabad Mohamadpur area exceeds 5 Lakhs and in terms of infrastructure valued more than a few thousand crores.

10. As a gentle reminder its appropriate to mention of Delhi being prone to earthquakes and placed in a high zone for that reason.

11. The present levels of security, most unprofessional chappal-clad security staff and questionable adequacy, state of existing fire-fighting equipment and generally lax state of minds are perfect ingredients to a lethal brew.

12. For a start will someone in authority please visit the two sites and assess preventive measures immediately, please.

Lt Col (Retd) Anil Heble

Mobile: 9899629598

A published paper on metamorphosis in journalism

A paper published by RIND Survey in its October Issue (2009), a publication of Research Institute for Newspaper Development (Chennai)

The pen rules, but ...
The effect of editorial competition on newspaper circulation – a journalist point of view
Dr Navneet Anand
Former journalist and media commenter

For decades good stories and the hunt for these were the only worries for journalists, who were paid like peanuts, pamperedlike pygmies. Hassle-free, journalists of the 1970s and 1980s thought only of their sources and stories, and were accountable only for thelatter. Things took a turn by the late 1990s when newspapers went in for a metamorphosis – their DNA changed owing to a variety of extraneous factors including liberalization and opening up of markets; which meant marketers needed to reach out to consumers through advertising.There was also a paradigm shift in the way journalists thought about their roles. More compelling realities including commerce and competition got entwined with the practice of journalism. Journalists soon began to empathise with owners – or were rather indoctrinated to do so – what sold more became more important than what was a good story.

It became imperative for print journalists to mull on how to ensure that advertisements, and hence circulation, remained on the upswing.All this surely had a bearing on what made news, the way they were treated, and in many cases their display as well. There was an undercurrent of competition, and editors and journalists began constructing and comprehending news with a new dynamism, so long missing from the newsrooms. While it would be difficult to confirm if these changes had an effect on newspaper circulation, it certainly brought in a new sense of news engagement.

Before we go on to list some examples to illustrate the above, it would not be out of context to mull a bit on an academic perspective to unravel the changes that have surfaced in Indian newsrooms beginning late 1990s. As an academic, who has also dabbled in mainstream media, it becomes inevitable for me to blend the academic with the professional perspective.

One Jacqui Ewart, in his academic paper on ‘How regional media define a community’ in Transformations (No 1, September 2000) contends that studies in journalists’ construction of readership have revealed that journalists “know very little about their readers or publics.” “The dominant factor influencing journalist’s perceptions of the public is the ‘presumed’ readership. That is, journalists make a number of presumptions, based on their own experience and that of their friends and colleagues, about the readership, and by extension, the public.” Certainly, there is an element of truth in this proposition and as someone who has spent considerable time in newsrooms; I have little hesitation in endorsing this view. As journalists, we do have a presumed notion of our readership, of their predilection, and priorities. This in turn has a bearing on the filtering, selection, construction and display of news and this is especially true of events which are either sensitive, sensational or affect the daily lives of our readers, as the following three illustrations depict.

It was a dull Saturday of October 29, 2005 and we were in a jiffy to wrap the city edition as Sunday Times of India team was different and we merely had two pages to contribute. Saturdays used to be a light day for us in the City Bureau, but that was a different day. By about 7 pm we were shaken by news of a “powerful” bomb blast in Sarojini Nagar market, a bustling shopping hub in South Delhi. For next many minutes a volley of news – of multiple blasts, mayhem, chaos, and tragedy – continued to overwhelm us all. Being human, our throats choked, minds numbed, but then we had to move on.We had to construct news.

The news that were displayed that day was pretty much predicted – even though I had argued vigorously for considering treatment of our stories which went beyond what TV would already have shown whole of night. Subsequent days we saw churning out of stories, which subscribed to the theoretical line posed above – we imagined our readers to be carrying a certain set of ideas which in turn determined our sense of what made news. There were stories which spoke of human tragedies, colossal security lapses, how families were shattered, economic and livelihood losses, terrorist groups’ fascination with Delhi, intelligence gaffe, interagency coordination blues and so on. As initial euphoria subsided, newsroom meetings started to focus on the stories in other contending publications, notably Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. One thing was clear – and this was the feedback that I hauled out on my own – our stories were good and equally good was their treatment. Some however rued, and I would not dispute these, that despite the humongous tragedies that the incident spilled out, newspapers including The Times of India left little to sensationalise the content. But we as journalists knew, or imagined, at the core of our hearts, that sensationalism was after all at the core of human psyche and predilection and however contradictory the stated posturing, readers eventually wanted to sniff sensationalism.

A gruesome case that surfaced a year later, and its portrayal in media, proves this further. Within cycling distance of New Delhi is a tiny village Nithari. Large migrant daily-wage earning labour class of this village, lying within whispering distance of one of Noida’s elite residential localities, work in this and other colonies and, live by the day. On December 29, 2006, 15 human skulls, skeletal remains and fragments of clothes stuffed in gunny bags were found in a drain behind bungalow number D-5 in Noida’s Sector 31, adjacent to Nithari village. Noida police arrested businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surender Koli on charges of rape and murder. What followed was a mindless brouhaha, followed by reckless strings of reportage, and all this with a clear effort to gain eyeballs, or as marketers would have us believe spice to spike competitor’s circulation.

As a Chief Reporter of a newspaper which was not into circulation frenzy, I did manage to retain some sense of sanity in my stories, but individual reporters did fall prey to the compelling trends of the day. Among other, like it is fashionable in media to grab the big by their collars, a young and humble IPS Officer Piyush Mordia was pulled and maligned in the ensuing controversy. It was alleged he had conspired with the accused and a series of stories attributed to grave-resting “sources” surfaced all over. TV channels, which thrive on everything, scandalous and scary,made Mordia a villain of sorts, along with some other officials. Upon requests of some common friends when I met Mordia and put the pieces of the puzzle together, I realized, more than anything else he was a victim of immature and slipshod journalism, of journalists who thought by demonizing an IPS officer in their constructions, they could get the admiration, and attention, of readers and possibly in turn help impact the circulation. If not the circulation,the journalists were certainly guided by the principle that readers would like stories around this demonization of a senior police officer. We at The Pioneer bucked the trend and carried a series contradicting the popular view, which was upheld subsequently, and the officer was exonerated of all charges.

While journalists are certainly alert to the presumed likings of their readers, I would be hesitant in believing that there has been an equal alacrity about increasing the circulation figures. Very recently, however, in my interaction with journalists at Hindustan Times at New Delhi, I have come to realize that eventually they are also thinking about circulation numbers and how news could affect a desirable change in these. In its new incarnation, the Delhi edition of Hindustan Times has been vigorously trying to create emphatic connects with small communities – there has been a series on how civic woes or crime rates have affected different neighbourhoods across the city. I am not aware if the feature centric news treatment has been able to impact the circulation, but what is important from my perspective is that journalists are predisposed to an idea like this.

As we come close to the century, we seem to have come a full circle – journalists who till early 1990s only cared for good news, subsequently started to empathise with management’s notion of newsworthiness and how it was linked with commerce. The trend continued through this whole decade, and now we have what we may call a metamorphosis of role of journalists.

Other than factoring in what will sell, today he is also bothered about how this in turn will translate into circulation. And why not for unlike his predecessor, he is today paid like a prince.
I would refrain from commenting good or bad – but journalism that we knew or subscribed to certainly no longer remains.

Blow the bluff of anti-cracker campaign

The brouhaha over crackers around this time of the year proves one thing for sure, yet again – we in India love to be pretentious. Also, a tiny group of opinion makers determines what we can and can't do.

Till date we have seen numerous advertising splashes all over asking us to desist from burning fire crackers. Reason: it causes pollution.

TV and newspapers are agog with stories on Diwali Sans Crackers. My about-to-turn-5-year son Akshat is adamant, he doesn’t want to crack crackers for his Mam has asked him not to do so. People have been sermoning each other with unmatched élan – don’t pollute, don’t burn crackers. Government agencies, I am certain, have spent crores issuing advisories.

We in India love to be pretentious. Diwali is one of the most elegant and delightful festivals in India. It cuts across regional, religious and cultural diversities, age, sex and triggers an amazing aura of joy and love.

Families spend weeks preparing for Diwali; corporates are busy reinforcing their relationships; for small artisans like potters and candle makers this is time to earn a fortune which helps them feed their constricted tummies for many weeks; friends find time to get-together; there is a sense of thrill and fervour all around, all over.

Remove crackers from all of these and much of the fun is lost. For there is a logical connect among the various rituals associated with this festival of lights; there is a strong mythological connect as well. I remember as a child we were informed, using worldly wisdom, how after Diwali due to the smoke all the insects including deadly and whining mosquitoes born in abundance during preceding Monsoon season.

And there are so many other apparent and obnoxious reasons of pollution we conveniently ignore: we just have to look around us and we find almost each and every comfort goods around us are causing pollution -- each day, every minute – the enormity of which we often don’t assess. Why don’t we shun these small luxuries of life, beginning with our refrigerators, cars, air conditioners and even television sets. Why doesn’t the government launch a campaign to save electricity in its sprawling office complexes; why can’t it make it mandatory for babus to travel a-day-a-week in a public transport; why can’t ministers set examples; why can’t members of environmental advocacy groups, available in a dime a dozen in Delhi’s dubious institutional areas, stop cooling their heels and hips in swanky air conditioners.

How can they, or for that matter all of us, for we love to be pretentious.

Shun-a-cracker is a fashion statement that got intensified in the late 1990s when some funky, westernized NGO-wallahs suddenly realized the perils of pollution. They had to, for they had to find a reason to be in the business. Soon the fashion caught on and in no time grabbed the fancy of us all. Today it has reached an idiotic proportion and concocted data of all kinds are flashed to support their cavernous clamour.

Guys, Diwali is a wonderful festival. It lights our souls, purges us of all darkness and rekindles joy, love and affection all over. Crackers are very integral to this festival of human bonding and love. Let not some jokers hijack it and rid this beautiful festival of its sparkle. We shall be morons if we allowed that to happen.

Stop getting pretentious and burn crackers to the hilt. I shall, you too.

Happy Diwali.