#IamMangroveIamDying: Join our Social Communication Campaign

Financial Stability of journos must for Press Freedom, says Press Council Chairman

•         At RedInk awards, Justice Prasad defends wage boards for newsmen
•         Mark Tully gets of the RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award, says Radio journalism should be resurrected in India
•          Media owners say it is not a great business, but there is money to be made

MUMBAI: To ensure freedom for the news media, it is necessary to ensure the financial stability of journalists, and job security. It is only if a journalist is financially secure that he can do his job with peace of mind, said Justice C K Prasad, chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI).

Giving his closing remarks as the chief guest at the ‘National Red Ink Awards for Excellence in Journalist’ instituted by Mumbai Press Club (www.mumbaipressclub.com) on Friday night, Justice Prasad said it was not fair on the part of media owners to run down the appointment of Wage Boards for media employees. Other industries such as cement and pharmaceuticals are all governed by the Minimum Wages Act, where such law does not exist for newspaper employees, he pointed out.

 “An editor returning to his office only to receive a pink slip does not augur well for the free press,” he said, adding that he had examined the balance sheet of many media groups and found the profits they were making could easily support the payment of Wage Board salaries.

Earlier, he emphasized that the job of the Press Council of India is to ensure the freedom of the press, and “we are not here to regulate the media.”

Sir Mark Tully receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award

Sir Mark Tully, who worked for over two decades as the bureau chief of BBC in the subcontinent, received the RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement’. In his acceptance speech, Tully said he grew up as radio reporter, and he would always prefer radio to television. Radio broadcasts gave a personal touch as “the listener gets the feeling that the news reader or reporter talks to him directly,” he said and recalled how at a village gathering in Uttar Pardesh, people greeted him as “a friend”.

Sir Mark, who was deported during the emergency, said for journalists’ credibility is everything, and in today’s age they must learn to grapple with fake news. Just a small crosscheck and verification of facts would help in giving the right information to the society. He said public service broadcasting was a bolstering factor of a free press. Citing the BBC as an example, Tully said in his 40 years of working for the organisation, he could not recall a single instance where he had been asked to change or drop his news dispatch.

Your editor with Faye!

Faye D’souza, executive editor of TV channel Mirror Now, who was given the ‘Journalist of the year’ Award said her reporting was built on covering the issues that affected the common man. Focusing on credible news without much antics helped her channel stand out in the crowd and make a mark for itself.

“I stick my neck out to report not what politicians are saying but what hits the man on the street, even as the entire media could be busy with irrelevant breaking news,” she said.

A high power panel consisting of Vijay Darda, Chairman, Lokmat Group, Raghav Bahl, Founder & Chairman, Quintillion Media, Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Samir Patil, founder and CEO of Scroll Media, debated the important and relevant issue of: Is there a business in News Media’.  Senior Journalist and Founder of IndiaSpend.Org  Govindraj Ethiraj anchored the panel discussion.

Most of the panellists agreed that news media is not a great business but there is money to be made. Raghav Bahl stressed that as the scenario shifted to digital platforms, a healthy business in niche areas was not difficult. As the business scaled up along with the number of brands, the challenges also increased. He emphasized that the mandatory legal requirement in broadcasting for 51 percent Indian ownership had become a bottleneck to expansion. It was not a level playing field as the law did not apply to other areas like print or digital.

The Secretary of the Mumbai Press Club, Dharmendra Jore, in his welcome speech said this year the RedInk Awards had received a record over-2,000 entries. Gurbir Singh, the convenor of the Awards Committee, said accusing the media of being anti-establishment was foolish as by its very nature news media will always be anti-establishment irrespective of the party in power.

Awards were given away in 11 competitive categories and five special categories. As many as 32 journalists received trophies and Rs one lakh as cash prizes. The RedInk Award for ‘A Media Start-up that is making a difference’ was given to IndiaSpend.org, for its initiative in developing data journalism in India.

Here is the list of RedInk awards winners for 2018:

Business & Economy

Print :         SruthisagarYamunan, Scroll.In

Kabir Agarwal, The wire

TV     :         Sushil Kumar Mohapatra, NDTV India

Crime

Print :         Santosh Singh, The Indian Express

TV     :         DeepuRevathy, Manorama News

Environment

Print :         T. R. Vivek, Newslaundry.com

Aruna Chandrasekhar, The Caravan

TV     :         Sushil Chandra Bahuguna, NDTV India

Health & Wellness

Print :         Menaka Rao, Scroll.in

Human Rights

Print :         Radhika Iyengar, Al Jazeera Media Network

TV     :         Shone Satheesh, Scroll.in

Lifestyle & Entertainment

Print :         Shamik Bag, Mint

Politics

Print :         RikyntiMarwein, Highland Post

TV     :         Jainendra Kumar, ABP News

Science & Innovation

Print :         R Ramachandran, Frontline

TV     :         Jugal R Purohit, India Today

Sports

Print :         Shail Desai, Mint

TV     :         Smitha Nair, Scroll.In

The Big Picture

Winner        :         Vinod Kumar T, The New India Express

Runner up 1          :         Indranil Mukherjee, Agence France Presse

Runner up 2          :         SibuBhuvanendran, MalayalaManorama

Women Empowerment & Gender Equality

Print            :         Leena Gita Reghunath (Surabhi Kanga), The Caravan

:         Shalini Nair, The Indian Express

TV              :         Moumita Sen &Ruchira Sharma, India Today

Media Start-up of the year     :         IndiaSpend.com

Mumbai Star Reporter  :         Yadu Joshi, Lokmat &

                                                Chaitanya Marpakwar, Mumbai Mirror

Journalist of the Year    :         Faye D’Souza, Mirror Now

Lifetime Achievement :         Sir William Mark Tully

#vrplayingwithfire: PRCI launches social communication campaign

MUMBAI: Shocked by the recent fire mishaps claiming scores of lives, Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) has launched a social communication drive, #vrplayingwithfire to focus attention on the appalling lack of fire safety in public places.

Communicators and people in general must raise their voice, use the powerful tool of media and social media to work on mass awakening about the death traps that we encounter daily, said PRCI national president and veteran media professional B N Kumar.

“Don’t we see that the restaurants, hotels, multiplexes etc that we visit have narrow passages that could be death traps in case of accidents?” asked PRCI Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor M B Jayaram.

The tweets being posted PRCI read: #vrplayingwithfire Do our homes, eateries, cinemas, offices, clubs, Rly stations, airports etc have fire safety norms? Raise ur voice, ask questions, post here & other platforms. No lessons learnt from past disasters? Act now, else repent later. Join @PRCINOW campaign.

Apart from various influencers, media houses and professionals, PRCI has also tagged the PMO with a plea to Mr  Narendra Modi to look into the disaster-prone areas.

“It is the duty of all of us to keep raising questions about safety of our places of work, residential and commercial complexes and so on, “ Kumar said and pointed that the interior roads of many swanky complexes in several places of Mumbai are narrow.

“Yes, everyone talks about safety at the time of disasters and forget after that. That is the tragedy of our lives,” Jayaram said expressed the hope that at least the communication fraternity would keep the issue alive and keep tweeting.

PRCI has recently conducted much appreciated social communication drives such as #missionmumbailocal to focus on the plight of suburban commuters and #IamParsikHill-IamDying for environment safety and protecting the hills on the outskirts of Mumbai

PRCI is the pan-India body of public relations, media, social media, advertising, HR, marketing professionals and mass communication academicians and students with chapters across 30 cities. It recently floated a global platform called World Communicators’ Council (WCC) with chapters in UAE and Sri Lanka.

Global PR Summit, PRCI tie up for unique Knowledge Platform

·         World-class event to take place in Mumbai on April 21 & 22, 2016

MUMBAI: Premier PR event – The Global PR Summit – is coming to India in association with Public Relations Council of India (PRCI).

PRCI will be the Communication Partner for the two-day event beginning on April 21, 2016.

The Global PR Summit has so far been held in 16 countries since its launch in 2010. Some of its previous venues were: Turkey, Russia, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Oman, etc. Over the years, 1,892 brands have sent delegates to the various summits with more than 6,100 attendees.

The Indian edition will focus on the latest trends and challenges in the ever changing global PR and marketing world with a special focus on reputation management in the social media era. The event will feature a presentation on the new rules of reputation management by Mary Jo Jacobi, one of the world’s leading PR professionals and Former VP Communications at BP America.

Speakers at this content-centric event include Thierry Nicolet, SVP (Global Press Relations), Schneider Electric, Aliza Knox, MD (Online Sales), Twitter APAC, Colleen Harris, Former Press Secretary To Princes Charles, William And Harry and Official Spokesperson for Wiliam and Kate's Royal Wedding, Richard Stephenson, Communications Director, Civil Aviation Authority, Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications, Visit Britain, Jesse Ringham, Digital Communications Manager, Tate Museum and Patrick Jephson, Former Chief of Staff To Princess Diana, New York Times Bestselling Author, Shadows Of A Princess

Kosta Petrov, Chief Experience Officer, P World that owns the event brand, said: "We are very happy to bring the Global PR Summit to India as the nation has made giant strides in a cross-section of fields, including mass communication. We are equally happy to partner with PRCI which is focusing on creating knowledge platforms across the country. We eagerly look forward to meeting the great Indian PR professionals."

Acknowledging the association, B N Kumar – President, National Executive, PRCI – said: “As PRCI has begun to spread its wings globally, the Global PR Summit offers us all a great opportunity to work together to establish a World Communicators’ Forum, cutting across geographical boundaries. We all have a lot of insight to gain from each other’s experiences and work in the interest of societies around us. Let’s go beyond networking and contribute to the society in a meaningful way.”

M B Jayaram, Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor of PRCI, said: “PRCI has emerged as a truly pan-India PR professionals body with close to 30 chapters in as many cities. We look forward to gaining from the knowledge that will flow from the Global PR Summit.”

Deepak Menon, Business Strategist associated with the Summit said: “We are glad to note that PRCI has been holding its Conclaves. I am now excited to bring the Global PR Summit with its truly international perspective to India. Such a workshop offers the rare experience and insight into care-taking of top brands that directly influence consumer perception and in turn sales. This experience will be a win-win for all of us.”

The delegate fee for the two-day event is fixed at $350 per head and the registrations close on March 25, 2016.

For details: http://www.thepworld.com/pevents/event/117/global-pr-summit-india.

Or Events page on: http://www.publicrelationscouncilofindia.com/

Do read PRCI e-mag for updates: http://prapport.blogspot.com/