Veterans from the media industry shared their knowledge and experiences with SCMC students, while answering their doubts related to their respective fields on the first day of Anukram 2020. Five eminent personalities addressed the aspiring media professional and gave them a sneak peak into the world of communications at the annual Media Seminar of SCMC.
Mr. Anant Rangaswami, the first speaker, addressed the long standing dilemma that many in the world of Journalism are grappling with- ‘Journalistic duty vs content for audience. Is there a line to draw?’ Drawing from his over two decade of industry experience, he emphasised on maintaining the rigour and integrity of the print era in the age of digital.
“Digital enables you to reach more people at scale and speed. Digital has broken the “Editor is God” scheme – the reader is the curator and the editor,” Mr. Rangaswami said.
Mr. Amitabh Sinha, the Editor of the Indian Express Pune, spoke on ‘How to break the news and attract audience in the age of immediacy?’ In this candid interaction with the students and faculty, Mr. Sinha spoke about the role of a Journalist- they act as filters to check and verify newsworthy stories. He addressed the issue of Fake News and how prospective journalists should aim to prepare themselves for the career ahead.
Addressing the consumer behaviour of the millennials from the point of view of the media, Amanat Khullar, News Curator and Writer for Quartz; enlightened the audience by putting forward some bold points. She said, “The media industry needs to stop being scared of millennials and stop clinging to traditional forms of storytelling.”
Siddharth Sikchi, Associate Director of Dentsu Webchutney gave a witty, interactive presentation on the ‘Power of Influencer Marketing.’ He spoke about how they pioneered the trend of Influencer Marketing and the importance of investing in professional relationships among other topics.
The last speaker for the day was Parthip Thayagarajan, Co-Founder and CEO of India’s leading Wedding Media Company, Wedding Sutra. Addressing an enthusiastic audience, he spoke about how wedding planning now revolves around the social media of the bride.
Adding some entertainment to the deluge of information in the seminar, SCMC’s theatre society, Raahi, performed a play in which they re-created characters from the ‘70s hit- Sholay and talked about the intrinsic issues faced by people in Journalism and Public Relations.
Anukram Day 1 ended with an enlightening Q/A round with the audience and a thunderous applause from the students, who were now eagerly waiting for Anukram: Day 2.
Abhinav Singh
(Batch 2021)
