Sharp news for sharp profits

With cut-throat competition among television news channels, the key to success is authentic reportage backed by razor sharp analysis, said participants at a special TV news workshop organised by Channel 7, promoted by the Dainik Jagran group.

"With so many TV channels coming up, media professionals are churned out at an unbelievable speed. Unlike a decade ago, the media scene, especially that of television has become extremely competitive.

"Quality training of newsmen is as important as investments in content development, production facilities and marketing," said Siddhartha Gupta, director, Jagran TV.

Channel 7's team of experts helped the participants understand the finer details of television journalism at the two-week long workshop which came to an end on February 14.

Well-known media personalities like Sanjaya Baru, media advisor to the Prime Minister, Madhu Trehan and cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu addressed the workshop. Arun Bhagat, ex commissioner Delhi Police, and Sachin Pilot, member of Parliament, were also amongst the speakers. They stressed on the need for news channels to act as credible guiding forces for the viewers.

"Most importantly, this workshop was not about teaching what TV news was all about. It provided a sneak preview of standards with which Channel 7 is going to operate," said Gupta.

Channel would be launched next month. This 24-hour news and information channel will be headquartered in Delhi and will begin with a 25-bureau network across the country.

"The emphasis will be to interpret news as it impacts audiences presented in a format, which is both novel and contemporary in its approach and treatment," said Gupta.

"Television journalism should move beyond mere news reporting to in-depth analysis of news. Today's journalists should become the flag bearers of change and bring about a transformation in journalism," said Baru.

Trehan asked anchors to be more persistent while following a story idea. "Sensitivity should reflect in coverage, especially in news related to accidents and other calamities," she said.

"Besides the amount of training we imparted at the workshop, a bit of unlearning was also as nearly 200 professionals came together from varying backgrounds, cultures, ideologies and work ethics," explained Gupta.

During the course of a fortnight, the workshop focussed on coverage related to law and media conducted by Kapil Sibbal; reporting on minority issues conducted by Professor Mushir-ul-Hassan; international coverage by Saeed Naqvi and right wing coverage by Swapan Dasgupta.