Newspapers have a shelf life of 12 hours, while TV channels are history in 10 minutes. People have a very short memory, specially when it comes to politicians. Don’t make things worse by talking about news. Just ignore it!It was during the last year of CBN's rule that YSR undertook a padayatra that captured the imagination of the citizenry of the state that was getting jaded with a stoic-looking economics-student-turned-politician from Kuppam. Two and half years later, the people of Andhra Pradesh are getting bored of YSR. Not that YSR has overreached or underdone himself. It's more to do with his obsession on what the media thinks of him and how people of the state perceive him.
Small mis-steps have led to huge conflagrations all of which have led to the government putting one after another. Handling media is a fine art, and one has to learn that from the people who have mastered it. Handing out plots at dirt cheap rates to so-called journalists of shady media houses helps only those in the bottom of the chain. These are people who work for yellow rags and can do little to help YSR with positive news. At the end of the day, it has been proved by media surveys that people read top three newspapers of every genre. Going by this logic, YSR needs to be worried about what gets written in Deccan Chronicle, The Times of India, The Hindu among the English language dailies Eenadu, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi in the vernacular media. What appears in other newspapers is of little consequence.
The British media, specially the tabloid newspapers are considered the scum of earth and have tested the patience of the royalty and the political elite. Rupert Murdoch's raunchy Sun competes with other rags like News of the World to come up with the gutter news about the rich and famous. But the strict libel laws in Britain, have often deterred these tabloids from publishing news that would have otherwise found their way in Ripley's 'Believe it or Not'. Over the years, thick skinned British politicians have found a way to survive the muck that is dredged up by the tabloid journalists. Pamper, Pester and Plaster is the dictum, and YSR can learn from that to keep himself on the right side of the media.
First, don’t antagonise the press. Today, YSR has achieved the impossible in the media industry in the state. By targeting Eenadu and Ramoji Rao, he has united the disparate elements in the state media into one single unit. The botched up GO seeking to gag the news media has made things worse. Even those who hate Ramoji Rao, are today forced to side with him in what is seen as a blatant attempt to muzzle the negative publicity that is hounding the YSR government.
It’s here that YSR needs some education on how to handle media. To start with, you cannot stop people from talking bad about you. It happens in our personal lives and so will it happen when you are the head of a state. By reacting to a negative news, you only give it more publicity. Newspapers have a shelf life of 12 hours, while Television channels are history in ten minutes. People in our country have a very short memory, specially when it comes to politicians. Don’t make things worse, by talking about news. Just ignore it, and it will die a natural death. Obsession with what is written in the media borders on paranoia, and one would need a Joseph Goebbles to counter that.
Cultivate the media. When you do good things talk about it. Not at press conferences, which are often attended by good-for-nothing unemployed reporters, who will write anything for a cup of tea. Talk one to one with senior reporters. Call them to your Begumpet residence individually and treat them like a king. The guy will go ballistic and talk about YSR being akin to Jesus Christ. Talk only to major newspapers, nobody reads the chota-mota newspapers. Stamp out a bad news before it gets to the airwaves. Television is a great medium to have instant nirvana. Don’t wait for the television guys call you for a news bite. You call them instead.
YSR can start off by scrapping the Directorate of information and public relations (DIPR) and put in a professional PR outfit to handle his image. The babudom at DIPR has over the years become inefficient and corrupt. They will tell the CM what he wants to listen, and that’s the first sign of sycophancy. Scale down the operations at the DIPR, and eventually shut it down. It will do a world of good for YSR’s image.
Small mis-steps have led to huge conflagrations all of which have led to the government putting one after another. Handling media is a fine art, and one has to learn that from the people who have mastered it. Handing out plots at dirt cheap rates to so-called journalists of shady media houses helps only those in the bottom of the chain. These are people who work for yellow rags and can do little to help YSR with positive news. At the end of the day, it has been proved by media surveys that people read top three newspapers of every genre. Going by this logic, YSR needs to be worried about what gets written in Deccan Chronicle, The Times of India, The Hindu among the English language dailies Eenadu, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi in the vernacular media. What appears in other newspapers is of little consequence.
The British media, specially the tabloid newspapers are considered the scum of earth and have tested the patience of the royalty and the political elite. Rupert Murdoch's raunchy Sun competes with other rags like News of the World to come up with the gutter news about the rich and famous. But the strict libel laws in Britain, have often deterred these tabloids from publishing news that would have otherwise found their way in Ripley's 'Believe it or Not'. Over the years, thick skinned British politicians have found a way to survive the muck that is dredged up by the tabloid journalists. Pamper, Pester and Plaster is the dictum, and YSR can learn from that to keep himself on the right side of the media.
First, don’t antagonise the press. Today, YSR has achieved the impossible in the media industry in the state. By targeting Eenadu and Ramoji Rao, he has united the disparate elements in the state media into one single unit. The botched up GO seeking to gag the news media has made things worse. Even those who hate Ramoji Rao, are today forced to side with him in what is seen as a blatant attempt to muzzle the negative publicity that is hounding the YSR government.
It’s here that YSR needs some education on how to handle media. To start with, you cannot stop people from talking bad about you. It happens in our personal lives and so will it happen when you are the head of a state. By reacting to a negative news, you only give it more publicity. Newspapers have a shelf life of 12 hours, while Television channels are history in ten minutes. People in our country have a very short memory, specially when it comes to politicians. Don’t make things worse, by talking about news. Just ignore it, and it will die a natural death. Obsession with what is written in the media borders on paranoia, and one would need a Joseph Goebbles to counter that.
Cultivate the media. When you do good things talk about it. Not at press conferences, which are often attended by good-for-nothing unemployed reporters, who will write anything for a cup of tea. Talk one to one with senior reporters. Call them to your Begumpet residence individually and treat them like a king. The guy will go ballistic and talk about YSR being akin to Jesus Christ. Talk only to major newspapers, nobody reads the chota-mota newspapers. Stamp out a bad news before it gets to the airwaves. Television is a great medium to have instant nirvana. Don’t wait for the television guys call you for a news bite. You call them instead.
YSR can start off by scrapping the Directorate of information and public relations (DIPR) and put in a professional PR outfit to handle his image. The babudom at DIPR has over the years become inefficient and corrupt. They will tell the CM what he wants to listen, and that’s the first sign of sycophancy. Scale down the operations at the DIPR, and eventually shut it down. It will do a world of good for YSR’s image.
Media is like a horse, handle it well and it will trot along. Mishandle it, and you will be thrown off the saddle and be trampled.
Courtesy: Pix from net editions of The Hindu & Business Line
Write to us at vikram.apmedia@gmail.com
14 comments:
Kindly consider the fact that media in Andhra Pradesh devoid of "Objective Point of View".
I would propose a "Media Rating Service" similar to CRISIL in financial industry.
The Media Rating Service should rate media in order to "stop propagating sarcasm and hypocrisy" in the society.
Kindly poll your opinion here
Sincerely,
Jawahar Mundlapati
Hey man, why dont you join as the media advisor to the govt of YSR.It looks from your article you mastered the art of hatred for those people who are at power positions in AP media.
Web2.0 gives the power to people to be independent on internet. That does not mean you abuse your power.
Initially I thought you are good, unbiased and non partial. But slowly and slowly it is turning out that you are pro to one section of the media as well as siding with one section of political party which is uncalled for in journalist profession.
Dude, remember one thing when it hit hards it hurts...that is what is happening to YSR now. He by his nature will keep looking for revenge and this is not we look for in a leader who leads from the front for development.His love for farmers is a big farce...his partymen accumulated wealth that is there for everyone to see.
CBN is no exception for this. But attitude and body language speaks a lot when it comes to perception.
It does not require couple of news to see how corrupt the government is. It just requires some common sense to understand.
good advise
Vikram,
It seems you are very much worried abt YSR. Why dont you try a post..ala...A MEDIA WATCH incharge.
A correction in your lines...News is history...history never dies..pl. remember.
vikram,
Ramachandra Murthy deserves a pat on his back for his two pieces in the edit slot on Margadarsi-YS-Eenadu episode. We know he has been impartial on the issue, but for the AJ bosses. Like majority of the journalists in the state, Murthy too is clear though he sits in the top seat. But what is happening to his counterparts, including those in the mainstream English media? Why are they trying to mislead the readers about the freedom of press being attacked? We all know that they, including N Ram‘oji’ of Hindu, are doing it for a cause of their own. N Ram-oji wants to fight DC using Eenadu in Andhra Pradesh. Eenadu has provided a better cushion on the advt front for Hindu, while DC and Times are left alone. Well, we can understand why and how Ram had become Ram-oji. Of course, people too have understood the nexus, which made Ram to cry for the freedom of press.
Talking about the debate on freedom of press, I wish to congratulate Srinivas Reddy of IJU for having understood the thin line between the freedom of press that is being talked about these days and the actual freedom of press. Srinivas Reddy, a couple of days ago, had made it very clear during the channel debate. After several years in press and politics, Srinivas had realised that Ramoji Rao has been the first person in the country to seal the journalists lips on rights, wages and everything. Thank you Srinivas Reddy. Cho Ramaswami, a well-educated, is also mislead by these bunch of self-interested, business oriented media managers. Perhaps, the 'GO' must have made him to understand it in the wrong way. Wish he too will realise the game that Ramoji and Ram are playing to protect their own managerial interests. Just take a look at the reports in the Eenadu and ETV about the Supreme Court verdict. There is no mention of the words by the honourable court drawing line between the business and media. Can anyone justify such reports and still support the media. One more thing, when the search committee visited Margadarsi office, was the media allowed inside by the same management, who talk about freedom of press? And why only their own reporters were posted inside the building to record every action? Come on Ram, open your eyes and see what is business and what is freedom of press.
Ramoji has become kind of itchy thing. Dr.Reddy has no option to scratch it and it replicates with more vengeance.
Looking at the things, Dr.Reddy has damaged his image considerably and recent inflation would certainly is a backburner.
But nonetheless, Dr.Reddy should start taking things light with the media and rather look into multitude of issues he is aware of.
I have read Ramachandra Murthy's piece in sunday's AJ. I think hewanted to make one point that No court form Nampalli to New Delhi hasgranted relief to Ramoji and that all of them cannot go wrong.To cushion this fact , he has needlessly praised Ramoji rao , to the sky.
Every Congress man, mainly YSR has only contempt for Media. It is born out of the fact that by and large media's honey moon with Chandra Babu has never ended.It continues to this date. Is it not a fact that YSR achieved all his poll successes , particularly the Assembly poll in 2005 , with the whole media ranged against him. This man will never cultivate Media like CB naidu did. That is quintessential YSR.
the reader who spoke( wrote) before me is genius.What an interpretation.I really like your comments.Very good job.
Good job Mr Vikram too.I always wonder why people consider it an attack on Press Govt tries to punish Margadarshi.This proverb applies true to Ramoji
"Cheppavamo SriRanga Neethulu kani dooradhomo ......" You know it.
For the first time a CM has courage to fight with a corrupt Media moghul who used to rule the state as defacto CM!!!
Vikram,
Your article is a "prescription" for the Doctor and not a diagnosis.
The prescription sounded like a politician's palliative--akin to advising dysentary hit slum dwellers to drink boiled water, conveniently ignoring that they are supplied with contaminated water. Your diagnosis ignores the context, the highly polluted media environment that led to the conflagarations.
The main culprits Eenadu & Andhra Jyothi indulged in competitive anti-establishment reportage. The unhealthy competition had them take an aggressive ANTI-Government stance without realising that media has to be CRITICAL not PRO or ANTI.
(Long ago) Jyothi had a story. The owner of a resort that YSR used to stay during weekends is a tax evader. So, the paper acused YSR of sheltering him because he is using his guest/farm house. It just doesn't matter that he has been evading tax since years, even during TD regime. The list of such skewed, malicious reports in Jyothi is long. In the case of Eenadu, the less said the better. You know the Puttaparthi report and also the distortion of YSR's election campaign speech (Eenadu reported YSR ADMITED CORRUPTION IN IRRIGATION PROJECTS!).
REWIND to TDP RULE: Janmabhoomi programme, the novel and laudable concept, lost direction even by the fifth round and became a mere ritual, executed perfunctorily by officials. It was not before the 18th round (and with elections on the horizon)that Eenadu thought it fit to analyse the failure of CM Babu's pet programme. The SAME paper was too eager to write off YSR's pet programme, free power to farmers, in the beginning itself. EVER WONDERED WHY, as a responsible media, neither Jyothi nor Eenadu carried a meaningful report, advising farmers on how they can take advantage of free power scheme and not kill it by misusing it? What double standards! Eenadu wanted the scheme to fail so that what their fav leader CBN said about wires-without-power would come true!
Your comparison with the scene in UK is silly. You can't equate mainstream media (Eenadu, Jyothi) with the tabloids (Sun). You can't follow the same 3P principle here, because unlike in UK, readers take media reports more seriously and media does influence public's thinking. So, our media has to be doubly responsible AND if it errs, it has to be disciplined. You can argue on the methods of displining it but not on the need.
TELUGU MEDIA IS POLLUTED AND SOMEONE HAS TO FUMIGATE. JUST DO IT. Don't lecture.
'EVER WONDERED WHY, as a responsible media, neither Jyothi nor Eenadu carried a meaningful report, advising farmers on how they can take advantage of free power scheme and not kill it by misusing it?'
anonymous (last),
and how is the media supposed to do that?
Kuffir, check Eenadu reports on key welfare schemes of CBN, starting with Deepam.
I see lot of love to Mr.Reddy from a hard hitting critic like you..
This blog has lost its sheen. It got its brand built up by attacking TOI and earned some credibility. It had bowed its head before some guy and thus has last what it earned. Now, what is left to see on this blog is only ego clashes, affections and avertions of one or two or a few. No point in coming here.....anymore. ..( I am sure you would not publish this comment. I don't balme you, for after all you too should carry your own survival kit)...Ta...Ta...
guys,
have a look at these
Devil's Advocate 1
Devil's Advocate 2
Devil's Advocate 3
i am leaving no comments, but left every1 2 draw their own conclusions (hope there will b no 2 ways after watching these).
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