This blog is primarily for media aspirants as well as young journalists. My aim is to provide links to articles that will enhance their understanding of the media and help them to improve their writing skills, broaden their horizons, and expand their worldview. My hope is that The Reading Room will also help them to become good media professionals.
And it comes with a well-written and lively introduction, too.
Here's a sample:
"...whoever said the millennial is fickle or needs constant validation
and expects 'Look maa, I drew within the line!' to be followed by a
treat and a cuddle or that they are as loyal as a mercenary is nucking
futs."
That's not me asking the question (though, I must admit, it has been at the back of my mind for some years now) but a member of Gen-Y himself, someone who is at pains to understand why some young people behave the way they do. Read on...
I was startled out of my early morning reverie today by this Facebook message I received from a young man I admire deeply for his intelligence, his sense of humour, and his abiding commitment to his profession:
Is it just me acting senile or is the level of professionalism among the younger generation reaching appalling depths?
Here is the conversation we had via Facebook later in the day (this is an edited transcript; the young man, who is in his late twenties, shall remain unnamed for obvious reasons. I have labelled him Mr X below):
In the same post, read all the comments, too. By the way, what brought this on? And aren't you part of THIS generation?
Mr X: Hahaha! I meant the men and women a couple of years younger than me...
RP: Ah. Anyway, what brought this on?
Mr X: I've been watching plenty of them trooping in and out of office. All the same. Lackadaisical, lazy... and ARROGANT! I'm sure they're all not like this. But the ones I've seen... shocking.
RP: Do read my "accusations" and the comments in that post. And forward the link to youngsters who might benefit from reading it all.
Mr X: It's stupid little things — bunking work on a Monday because of an upset stomach (read hangover), walking into meetings late, leaving work undone... RP: Yes. Do my "accusations" make sense now? Many youngsters I know thought I was being too harsh.
Mr X: Yes. Just read the article. All your accusations make sense. And yes, when I collared a first year here about this stuff, he seemed amazed. And then he bunked the next day because of a headache. And I think one comment in that article sums it all up. The one about disregarding traffic rules in order to be in class on time! Just one example. Pitch morning. Real pitch. For one of the biggest brands in India. Everyone's been in office all night, for nights on end. Meeting starts at 10. Hardly anyone leaves for fear of being late. Everyone is supposed to be in the office by 8. And everyone is there. Except for one of the newest, most junior employees. He walks in at 9.50. Now no one wants a distraction before the meeting. So nothing is said.
RP: And...
Mr X: Later, in the evening, I ask him about it. His reply, I kid you not: I need my 8 hours! I thought he was joking. But he wasn't. That's like a journalist walking into office late on the day of the election results! Which is exactly what I told him. His reply to that: That's why I didn't become a journalist! Mr X 0, New Guy 2.
RP: Ouch!
Mr X: The sad part is, in a profession like advertising, these guys will get clobbered sooner or later. Because these things get noticed. And everyone thinks advertising is this cool profession where anything goes. Well, that's only if you're brilliant. And these youngsters are nowhere near that yet. It's not like they aren't good at their jobs. But stuff like this takes away from that. I'm sure when you started out, you wouldn't dream of walking out of office before your bosses left.
RP: There was no question of walking out till the job was done. Period.
Mr X: Exactly. And they're dumb! One of them uploaded a picture of a party. On a day when he was too sick to even answer calls!
RP: Is there a solution? Can attitude be taught? What do you think?
Mr X: Hahaha!
Mr X did not want this conversation to be made
public. But he was persuaded by my argument that his comments would be
taken more seriously than mine since he is a member of Gen-Y himself.
Thank you, Mr X.
The reactions came in almost as soon as people received the link via e-mail.
Here's what my 60-year-old brother-in-law, Praful Patel, who lives in England, had to say:
Hi Ramesh,
I can empathise with Gen-Y, so do agree with most of their comments.
The one that I would disagree with is the traffic behaviour. They do have a choice of setting out earlier so that they can minimise risk to themselves along the way. Yes — everyone is young once — but we all want to be able to look back and say that!
***
And here's the response of a twentysomething management professional, Ankita Maurya, who lives in the U.S. (she is the daughter of a good friend):
You sure are tough on them! Millenials/Gen-Y are getting a really bad rap these days... in the US and in India, too, by the looks of it... a lot of the criticisms are true... but I just think our priorities are shifting... we have seen our parents go through the grind... we are now trying to figure out how to not do that and work smarter!
Ankita also shared this link to a YouTube video:
***
My 14-year-old nephew, Vinay Pai, with whom I play squash, echoed Ankita's sentiments. "Your accusations are too harsh," he told me. :-)
Well, you succeed in holding the interest of youngsters, which is fantastic!
About Point #1, the Internet has loads of stuff by people who mistakenly think they are journalists, and then you have impressionable minds (can’t generalise, though, because there are also the discerning), who take almost everything that’s published there as gospel. Sifting through is an important skill, but what is the baseline? Also, the Internet is filled with a mish-mash of opinion that is passed off as news.
B Surendar
Editorial Director & Associate Publisher
CPI Industry, Dubai
***
Great comebacks, except for No 13. Guilty as charged! Love your students.
I just might steal this idea; in fact, I am wondering if I can actually do that and give Commits the credit. Let me know. If yes, you will have to send the text in Word format.
I love it!! Both sides have made their point well. But I love the comeback in No. 4!!!! :))
Nadia Michael (Patrick Michael’s older daughter,
who also lives in Dubai)
***
Loved this! I'm a fan of # 1...!
Nastassia Michael (Patrick Michael’s younger daughter,
who lives in Toronto, Canada)
***
Hi Ramesh,
Fun feature! Who asked us to score higher than Lakshmi aunty's daughter, indeed! However, in solidarity with people of a certain age, I never asked my kids to match the scores of other kids so long as they were achieving their potential and I don't know any crusty journalism teacher. Do you??
Thanks! Interesting read. The Gen-Y answers do come across as a bit rude and cynical. I wonder if it's the Buddha himself because he or she seems to have understood everything of the human condition and world matters, not just of what relates to this generation, but even the previous ones. And not even one instance of "You're right, and I agree, and this is what we can do to co-operate to achieve betterment together." Which is a bit sad.
There is some cynical anger there, which is fine I guess. It does define this generation. Including me, as you can read ;)
Arjun Chauhan, a twentysomething TV
production professional who lives in Mumbai
***
COMMITS ALUMNI ALSO WEIGHED IN (NOT ALL COMMENTS WERE COMPLIMENTARY, THOUGH):
From Shreya Dutt (Class of 2010)
Reading The Chronicle cover story I couldn't help but smile. It reminded me of how I used to think even a couple of years ago. But as you evolve in your career and your personal life you learn to distinguish between the idealist answer and what really works for you.
What struck me was the career-goal bit. You will be stretched at work, you will be pushed against the wall sometimes, and you will want to be in a position when you listened even half-heartedly to those who have more years to you on possible situations you will encounter along the way.
If you are to deliver a presentation at the end of the day, your boss will not be interested to know about all the ad hoc work you were given through the day. If you have a wide range of projects that don't hold your interest, complete those projects anyway. You never know when you will need to step up to do that same job you absolutely detested in college. And I assure you there will be many times like that.
The workplace of today is evolving at a rapid rate. Though there is value for people who have defined skill-sets, there is greater value for people who are equipped with multiple skills. If you want to be a copywriter, you should know how print, television, social media, and digital media function. This is applicable to all disciplines in media.
As for sucking it up, I groaned every time I heard the phrase. I groan even today. Only difference is, I know that it is a reality that isn't nice, but, a reality nonetheless. The world doesn't stop if you're unwell, or if you have suffered a personal tragedy. Neither does business.
And as for advice, I am all for learning the hard way, but a little flag-off from time to time never hurt. :)
***
From Sushmita Chatterjee (Class of 2008)
Hahahaha...wow! I loved this. Great going, Ramesh Sir. :)
***
From Tapasya Mitra Mazumder (Class of 2013)
I am wondering, how did you let that pass under your nose?
The copy's rudeness is quite appalling, but I'm sure your "accusations" won't change a bit in spite of all that rudeness.
What's the point then, may I ask?
***
From Noyon Jyoti Parasara (Class of 2007)
Fun read, but I am not sure if I would have accepted this as the lead of The Chronicle.
This could be in another designated section. No?
About the answers to your accusations... the cycle goes on. Not all accusations are correct, neither are all answers!
***
From Sherry-Mary Jacob (Class of 2007)
Wow! What a way to lighten my Tuesday brain. I have saved the link in my drafts folder. The next time my dad lashes out at us with his favourite emotional dialogue, I know where to fetch my answers from. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, Ramesh Sir. :)
Thanks!
***
Faye D'Souza (Class of 2004) shared a link to a Huffington Post article on my Facebook wall with this comment: "This answers a lot of the questions you've been asking."
After reading the piece, I commented on Facebook:
I was especially struck by the soundness of this comment:
"Gen
Y has 'unrealistic expectations and a strong resistance toward
accepting negative feedback,' and 'an inflated view of oneself.'
"[Paul Harvey, a University of New Hampshire professor] says that 'a great source of frustration for people with a strong sense of
entitlement is unmet expectations. They often feel entitled to a level
of respect and rewards that aren't in line with their actual ability and
effort levels, and so they might not get the level of respect and
rewards they are expecting."
And I also wrote that I agree 100% with the advice provided at the end of the article: 1) Stay wildly ambitious. The current world is
bubbling with opportunity for an ambitious person to find flowery,
fulfilling success. The specific direction may be unclear, but it'll
work itself out — just dive in somewhere. 2) Stop thinking that you're special. The fact is,
right now, you're not special. You're another completely inexperienced
young person who doesn't have all that much to offer yet. You can
become special by working really hard for a long time. 3) Ignore everyone else. Other people's grass
seeming greener is no new concept, but in today's image crafting world,
other people's grass looks like a glorious meadow. The truth is that
everyone else is just as indecisive, self-doubting, and frustrated as
you are, and if you just do your thing, you'll never have any reason to
envy others. Afterwards, I wrote to some young people I know, asking them if they thought that this advice is helpful for those who are about to begin a career. Here is the response I received from Ankita Maurya's younger sister, Shweta, who is a college student in the U.S.:
Ankita and I were just talking about this article a few days ago! I
think the first two points are meaningful to me. Just because reality
does not meet my expectations doesn't mean I should lessen my ambitions —
I still want to aim high!
But the reality of not being as special as we
think is important — I know that my friends and I have left school with
inflated images of how unique each of us are. It's not just that we
think we are unique, but we think that we can skip hard work and
immediately obtain our dreams once the world learns about our uniqueness — as if these things will be handed to us because we are as special as
we believe.
The second point is a good reminder that we must still earn
our place in the world and at work and leads back to the first point: stay
ambitious.
And there were comments by Commits students, too.
From Sneha K. (Class of 2014)
That was some pretty awesome advice! Especially, "to dive in somewhere."
Just what I needed to hear today!
Thank you. As always. :)
From Diyotima Sinha Roy (Class of 2014)
I agree with the second point. You are not special; you have to work and gain experience to be special! :)
I have more than 20 years' experience (1981 to 2003) as a journalist in India and Dubai, specializing in selecting and editing news reports and features. From 2003 to 2019, I taught journalism and writing skills to master’s students at Commits, a media college in Bangalore.
I joined Cactus Communications ("Serving Science Worldwide") as a copyediting freelancer on October 1, 2019. From the very beginning, I have enjoyed the challenge of working on a new assignment each day. I like to think of every article as a daily crossword puzzle that I need to solve by examining the clues closely. And, finally, when I submit the article that I have tended, I like to think, with love and care, I feel deeply satisfied.
