Tips
on what’s the Indian media like – is it different from the UK media?
Well,
yes, to a large extent. While media anywhere in the world likes a good story,
the one difference of the Indian media is that we are not as specialised as the
UK media.
So, while
in India there are technical, automotive or healthcare publications, they are
not as widespread as in the UK. On the other hand, in India we have seen a
media explosion and that explosion actually means that we have a resource
crunch. Sometimes, rookie reporters meet you, leading to mistakes in the articles.
Delhi
media has numerous newspapers, television channels and radio stations. There
are several popular TV channels operated out of Delhi such as NDTV, India TV
and Doordarshan. The newspapers that enjoy high readership in Delhi are The
Times of India, Hindustan Times and Indian Express. Hindi dailies such as
Dainik Jagaran, Amar Ujala, Hindustan and Punjab Kesri are some of the other important
ones.
According
to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), Hindustan Times tops the readership in
Delhi, while Times of India dominates in Mumbai. While speaking to journalists,
overseas companies venturing into the Indian market must talk about innovations
and out-of-the-box ideas that it has implemented. They should also bring out
the technology aspect of the idea and talk about the USP or how is it different
from other companies and start-ups in the same sector. This will help in
generating interest of journalists towards start-ups.
Delhi
media would love to know how the mission companies will support the political
initiatives of the government. They will be interested in knowing how
technology interventions can support meeting some of the socio-economic
challenges of the country such as education, healthcare, mobile commerce etc.
While
speaking to the journalists it is very critical for the spokesperson to stick
to key messages that needs to be sent to stake holders. This should be
preferably backed by statistics and figures of the relevant industry. ‘Off-the-record’
statements should be completely avoided. There is no off-the-record scenario
with any journalist at any point of time. One can stick to simple statements
and avoid jargons. And, if jargons are used, it is important to explain.
That’s
why business communication organisations like Avian Media are there to help the
journalists write the right things or at least give them the right material so
that they can write correct stories and consequently help clients to achieve
their objectives.
Below is a video clip:
