A leader always attracts attention, is always sought after and ever in great demand. That's what we justifiably presume about leaders. However, the paradox of the leader being the most feared and first to be shunned prevails in the media, in our AP Media!
Despite enjoying unchallenged leadership position for years now, the largest circulated English daily in mana Andhra Pradesh, is the least preferred work place for journalists. The attrition rates bring this fact to the fore. The Definitely Chilling (DC) paper tops the charts, with its attrition rate being far higher than that of the others.
That’s not all. The scene gets even more chilling when we look at the replacements -- either don’t happen or are invariably filled up by upstarts. The resulting knowledge deficiency in the organisation manifests itself in the overall content and the quality of the newspaper.
Media, especially the print, is no more an attractive career option for today’s young and inflow of fresh talent is fast drying up. There is a genuine dearth of talent in the media marketplace, forcing media houses to focus on talent retention and poaching. Neither happens at our DC! We find too many walkouts and too few walk-ins, unlike any other paper in town.
Indian Express, plagued by indifferent management and cash crunch, should, logically speaking, find it hard to recruit quality people. However, that’s not the case. Vikram Sharma returns from The Hindu. Naga Sridhar is back from PTI. Couple of seniors returned to the profession and the paper from other companies. Undoubtedly, there is something about Express!
What about the leader? We only find desk and reporting personnel deserting it to join competitors like Indian Express, Times of India, The Hindu (oh yes, DNA too) but none joining it from them. Most recent quitters include Mir Ayub Ali to ToI, Sai Gopal to The Hindu and Srini Reddy, who left the Indian shores.
We discussed the replacements in our debut post and nothing has changed since then. The chilling scenario is not limited to Hyderabad. In Vizag, for instance, a good 25 people came in and left in the last three years, where reporting team doesn’t exceed three at a time!
Low and discriminatory salaries, back-breaking work load, unnerving pressure, some ignorant and yet demanding seniors made worse by appalling employee treatment are cited as the common reasons for the exodus. The recent so-called employee friendly measures (like providing them with cars) neither arrested the exodus nor lured talent from competition.
The prevailing predicament is an outcome of long history of ill-treating and humiliating employees. It’s not uncommon to hear comments that the horses in the owner’s stable are better treated and looked after than editorial staff!
No wonder then that none from the existing talent pool evinced interest when the newspaper ran recruitment ads, almost daily. Eventually, when the newspaper proactively solicited a few, they demanded fancy deals – double salary plus promotion – their way of saying “no, thanks”! Further, some reportedly remained cold even when the demands were met!
Those stuck inside seek several ways to distract themselves from the pains at work. One source of guaranteed humour is the response to recruitment ads. Everybody except working English journalists applied; these included software professionals on the bench, customer care employees, college pass outs and, retired employees!
There are several delightful nuggets from their applications. Ask your friends and have yourself in splits!
Despite enjoying unchallenged leadership position for years now, the largest circulated English daily in mana Andhra Pradesh, is the least preferred work place for journalists. The attrition rates bring this fact to the fore. The Definitely Chilling (DC) paper tops the charts, with its attrition rate being far higher than that of the others.
That’s not all. The scene gets even more chilling when we look at the replacements -- either don’t happen or are invariably filled up by upstarts. The resulting knowledge deficiency in the organisation manifests itself in the overall content and the quality of the newspaper.
Media, especially the print, is no more an attractive career option for today’s young and inflow of fresh talent is fast drying up. There is a genuine dearth of talent in the media marketplace, forcing media houses to focus on talent retention and poaching. Neither happens at our DC! We find too many walkouts and too few walk-ins, unlike any other paper in town.
Indian Express, plagued by indifferent management and cash crunch, should, logically speaking, find it hard to recruit quality people. However, that’s not the case. Vikram Sharma returns from The Hindu. Naga Sridhar is back from PTI. Couple of seniors returned to the profession and the paper from other companies. Undoubtedly, there is something about Express!
What about the leader? We only find desk and reporting personnel deserting it to join competitors like Indian Express, Times of India, The Hindu (oh yes, DNA too) but none joining it from them. Most recent quitters include Mir Ayub Ali to ToI, Sai Gopal to The Hindu and Srini Reddy, who left the Indian shores.
We discussed the replacements in our debut post and nothing has changed since then. The chilling scenario is not limited to Hyderabad. In Vizag, for instance, a good 25 people came in and left in the last three years, where reporting team doesn’t exceed three at a time!
Low and discriminatory salaries, back-breaking work load, unnerving pressure, some ignorant and yet demanding seniors made worse by appalling employee treatment are cited as the common reasons for the exodus. The recent so-called employee friendly measures (like providing them with cars) neither arrested the exodus nor lured talent from competition.
The prevailing predicament is an outcome of long history of ill-treating and humiliating employees. It’s not uncommon to hear comments that the horses in the owner’s stable are better treated and looked after than editorial staff!
No wonder then that none from the existing talent pool evinced interest when the newspaper ran recruitment ads, almost daily. Eventually, when the newspaper proactively solicited a few, they demanded fancy deals – double salary plus promotion – their way of saying “no, thanks”! Further, some reportedly remained cold even when the demands were met!
Those stuck inside seek several ways to distract themselves from the pains at work. One source of guaranteed humour is the response to recruitment ads. Everybody except working English journalists applied; these included software professionals on the bench, customer care employees, college pass outs and, retired employees!
There are several delightful nuggets from their applications. Ask your friends and have yourself in splits!
Share your thoughts; mail us at apmedia@rediffmail.com
12 comments:
Hi! This is one of your fans from Mumbai who also happens to be a journalist. Your blog has begun to be discussed at Press Club Mumbai. Must say that you are doing a great job. There are a few media related blogs being run anonymously from Mumbai. There are mediamamu.blogspot.com, bullshitpress.blogspot.com and warfornews.blogspot.com - a blog on TV news channels, which used to be run from Delhi, but is now run from amchi Mumbai. A gutsy blog called mediamalice.blogspot.com was recently hacked by some vested interests from The Indian Express Group and made to close down. You are doing a great job and we hope you sustain the momentum you have picked up. Your story - "A has-been's diary" was particularly moving. There are several Ram Karans in the newspapers of this country and their stories need to be publicised for the sake of posterity. The new generation which is studying journalism in various universities and colleges is very tech savvy and they have been reading media-related blogs, at least in Mumbai. So, it is up to you to continue this great job that you are doing. However, we have one compliant - you are not naming all the mediocre journalists and villians who rule the roost at Deccan Chronicle and other newspapers in AP. This may be because you may not wish to be accused of personal attacks. However, our experience here in Mumbai is that, such exposures have had a beneficial effect. Therefore, we request you to expose all the crooks, mediocres and PYTs who are playing havoc with our profession. So far, you have been doing a great job. We hope you keep at it and become even more successful. Here's wishing you all the very best in your very noble endeavour.
Dear Vikram, please translate from Telugu for the sake of us journalists in Mumbai. After all, Internet blogs are a global medium and not all of us here, understand Telugu. D N Moorty, a Telugu speaking veteran journalist, who used to come to the Mumbai Press Club is no more with us to translate your reports for us. We are very eager to follow everything that is going on in Hyderabad. One more request - please let us know what are the scandals happening at Hyderabad Press Club. Mediamalice had exposed all the scandals, intrigues, racketeering and politics going on at Press Club Mumbai. You too must try and do this. Regards.
hi, I further wanted to caution on using apmedia@rediffmail.com, it's obviously a small company in USA and most employees are Indian, and easy to influence them to find out your IP address.
Switch over to yahoo.com or gmail.com where such requests will never be entertained.
None dares to go there, it's a club of ball-breakers.
vikram,
a nice post. but, i feel, u've wated the slot as those at dc refuse to accept their mistakes. it is ruled by people who doesn't know the districts, their headqurters and the important places of each district in the state. all that they know is twin cities, its crime, its fashion, its food, its corruption. still they rule the state. speaking about cars to staff was a great idea of the management to hit the stock market and certainly not to share the joy with the staff. they have no love for the staff these days. even some of our guys left after the cars were gifted. (u know, before cars, we were all journalists. now, with cars, we became drivers too for tvrr's cars)we have a bunch of confused people, who keep confusing everyone and finally the seniors walk out (and juniors or freshers walk in!!!) the state's no. 1 is also a confused no.1, ill-treating and harassing the staff. that bunch of confused never realise what they are doing and why people are running away from the organisation. in fact, they refuse to realise this.
Hi'Vikram,
What is happening? I don't see any postings since 25th. Are you all on a holiday or what? I feared the blog has been taken off the air under pressure or something, or you have an innocent explanation of shifting to gmail or yahoo. Tell us soon anf help rid ourselves of this tension immediately
A year back or so writing an obituary the Great "senior"--who never writes anything, except "what the hell are u doing there-- self revealed that she/he knows nothing except English. But still she/he is so called "the senior" who only knows foul mouthing. As if she/he was doing something worthwhile in the "fortress". Coming to stories eveybody knows. We all have seen The Guardians, NYTs, Inside Outside and the "INDIANIZATON".
Srinath is trying to imitate ATJ and is feared by district reporters. The guy demands yearend specials on Dec 26! Forget others, even AB guys planned much in advance. Our man wakes up late and pressures us. Srinath, please change yourself!
That is the reason, Deccan Chronicle is fondly called "Ducan Chronicle". It is run worst than a grocery shop
your piece aplty reflected the reality. But I must bring to your notice one major difference in the tone. Contrary to the personal attack on Ramoji Rao, you have never mentioned those who are responsible for the most horrible work conditions and treatment meted out to DC editorial and reporting staff. Everybody knows, who is responsible but you seemed to have very very soft corner to warrds them. Here a mere 'oberseer' (remember the reference in Alex Haley's Roots?) rules the roost. Here are no journalists worth their salt.
Vikram,
You deserve the best of the New Year celebrations this time. The 2006 had given us this blog, where we could make the bosses understand and realise their mistakes, misdeeds, failure plans and had given them a chance to realise and rectify. Though none of them seem to have relaised and rectified in 2006, we only hope good will prevail on them and they learn to be humans and professionals in 2007. The 2006 had also given us a chance to see the corrupt 'ramojis' and the cunning 'rams' who have been using media to further their interests, self-promotion. We all wish the 2007 will unmask these media mafias and save the state. The man who looted the people of the state violating all rules, is now trying take take shelter in media guise. Let every mediaperson realise the need to drive such mafias from media and strengthen the fourth estate to protect the other three estates of the democracy.
We only wish no journalist should pen his/her resignation because of the mindless plans and harassment by the bosses and no media should try to protect a mafia leader. Just imagine a financial company doing what Margadarsi had done and still try to protect itself from the misdeeds! Don't we all know that Eenadu would have run columns of news about such a financial company and forced its closure? Forced the govt to arrest the head of such a company? Then why not Ramoji? Hope the 2007 would give a chance to see Ramoji behind the bars for two reasons: violating the rules and doing business with people and using media to cover up his misdeeds.
Yes Vikram, there is something about Express.
May be it is the freedom we journalists or the desk people get there or may be the work culture (now and not earlier). As an ex-Express person, I know it better what it is to work there and at other 'corporate' kind of newspaper offices. I think it is the only newspaper office where the seniors value the suggestions of even the junior most person.
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