What it means to be a radio professional

Commits alumna SHILPA DASGUPTA (Class of 2011), a producer with BIG FM in Kolkata, gives radio aspirants a peek into her world:

Radio has been defined as “one of the most difficult mediums of communication discovered till date, but also the easiest”. Difficult because radio lacks visual support and one has to depend completely on audio to build a picture in the minds of listeners.

For the same reason, though, it is considered the easiest medium. Because radio does not have any visual support, one can explain a lot through words, music, and sound effects.

Since many youngsters are interested in radio-jockeying, here’s a perspective on radio from someone who is an RJ.

First, RJ-ing does not mean only doing shows on air. If you want to be a good RJ, you need to understand all the functions of radio, because it is this knowledge that will help you, the RJ, to communicate fluently and efficiently with your TG, or target group. How? Well, you will get the hang of it as you go through this piece.

SHILPA DASGUPTA AT BIG FM KOLKATA.

A private radio station mainly comprises three main departments:

• Programming
• Sales
• Marketing

Programming: The most important part of radio, because all content development — from promo planning to on-air sound designing and ideation, etc. — is done by this department

Sales: All the commercials you hear on the radio are brought in by the sales team, which is responsible for bringing in the revenue. If there was no sales team, all of us would have to work for free!

Marketing: This department works for the promotion and visibility of the station. The marketing people plan different promotional activities such as organising listener involvement games in housing societies; giving out branded merchandise (umbrellas, T-shirts, etc.) to listeners; promotional activities in shopping malls; putting up hoardings in prominent parts of the city; tie-ups with news channels and newspapers to cover important station spikes. (Spikes stand for important events, such as award ceremonies and the like. For example, every year BIG FM, Kolkata, organises the Big Bangla Music Awards, Television Awards, etc.) It is the marketing team that is responsible for creating top-of-the-mind recall for a radio station in any given city.

SHILPA DASGUPTA WITH BIG FM RJ MAHUA BANERJEE

A good RJ needs to understand and take interest in all these aspects in order to frame the show well.

In addition, there are certain creative and practical aspects which RJs must keep in mind while framing their shows:

MOOD STATE — Different radio shows are conducted during different time bands, i.e., early morning, morning, mid-morning, afternoon, evening, night, and late night. And, accordingly, different time bands mean different mood states of listeners. In the mornings, for example, people are mostly in a hurry to get to work; they are usually pressed for time. So if a radio station plays games like antakshari in the morning time band, it’ll never work.

During afternoons, the highest radio listenership is from homemakers because this is the time when they relax. So their mood state is laid-back. At this time, this mood state demands light discussions on topics such as home utility tips, film gossip, etc. (the format can be compared to that of a women’s magazine), and in terms of music it should be light-romantic. Retro works magically in this time band.

NEED STATE — With changing time bands, the needs of a listener also change. In the mornings, as we have seen, people are in a rush to get to work. And, as you must have noticed, during this time, most people listen to the radio in their cars or while travelling to their offices. So they will want traffic alerts, stock updates, news headlines, etc.

Again, the night band will have to cater to a sea change in the need state of listeners. Nights are considered a time for oneself, a time when people want to get nostalgic, think deep, so during this time, most night shows talk about personal problems or relationship-based issues. Late night shows are mostly framed in such a way that the RJ is like that invisible friend to whom one can open up completely.

TARGET GROUP — This is the biggest deciding factor for any show. All show content and, also, the presentation of a show, including the “lingo” used by the RJ, listener gratification devices, contest types, and overall content depend on the show’s TG. If the TG for a particular time band is SEC B, C, and D, then, of course, the content of the show needs to be gossip-oriented and entertainment-based; even the contests and games should be very light and entertaining.

But keep in mind that a station’s positioning also matters a lot when it comes to determining its TG. Radio Mirchi, for example, always classifies itself as an entertainment station. Even their tag line “It’s Hot” very clearly identifies the station as one that gives you “spicy stuff”. Here in Kolkata, there is a station called Friends’ FM. It is owned by the Ananda Bazar Patrika group, which also publishes the No. 1 Bengali newspaper. Their positioning as a station evidently signifies that they are meant only for a niche TG, deeply inclined towards literature. So the station content, RJ talk, the lingo used — everything highlights this fact.

MUSIC — Music is the “king” of radio. No one is really interested in listening to “jock talk”. People tune in to a particular station primarily for the kind of music it plays. Each station has a particular music policy. We at BIG FM, Kolkata, believe in the melody factor and hence play only melodious songs. On the contrary, Mirchi plays a mixed stack and have a lot of up-tempo numbers in their playlist through the day.

So these are some of the most important factors RJs should think about when framing their shows. Without taking these factors into consideration, a show can never be successful.

Please remember, though, that the RJ is not the only person involved with the show. Each show has got a producer who helps the RJ with scripting, research, promo planning, getting celebrity bites, and in many other ways. So it’s a combination of producer and RJ that makes a show successful.

Having given you all this gyan, let me also tell you that it’s super fun to work in radio if you’re prepared to work 12-14 hours a day, even on weekends. But, ultimately, on Fridays, when the RAM (Radio Audience Measurement) report gives you the news that your show has become No.1, trust me, nothing else matters at that time.

Best of luck… loads of best wishes to all of you. I am really looking forward to seeing some of you working in my audio world.

PS: Those who want to learn more about radio can read the books written by Dan O’Day. He is considered the father of radio and has written books on almost all aspects of radio. Download these two e-books from his site:

• ODayPersonalityRadio will give you an overall account of different aspects of doing a radio show.

• ODayPersonalityRadioVolume2 has some additional information. I think this will help a lot at the beginner's level.

A regular radio day in my life

I reach the station between 10 and 10:30 a.m. though, officially, my work day begins only at 2 p.m. Since BIG is Asia’s largest radio network with 45 stations across the country, we are accountable for all programming to our parent station, i.e. Mumbai. So the first task after getting to work is to prepare a show plan and send it to Mumbai. (Once in a month, our programming team also sits together to prepare the upcoming month’s show plan.)

If we have some special spike coming up, for example, we had the BIG Women’s Achievement Awards at the end of October, we need to plan how we can drive this special content on-air and on-ground. So the day begins with planning and brain-storming. This takes us a lot of time.

The next job on my list is to start preparing for my evening show. Being a drive-time show, this show needs a lot of elements to be incorporated. And being the producer of the show, I need to take care of all these aspects. So I create a regular CLB of the show (CLB stands for Content, Link, and Break). The CLB sheet, which is given to the RJ before the show, contains the details of each RJ link; it also shows how the content flow will be driven throughout the show.

I also use this time to take celebrity bites or fix up appointments with celebrities for interviews or invite them to our studio. Sometimes a lot of show elements are sent to us by the Mumbai station and I edit these elements according to the show.

After I am done with my evening show, preparations start for the night show, in the same way. The only difference is that it’s a late night show so not many elements need to be incorporated. The late night show is all about listener interaction, so we do it live. And I have to be in the studio till midnight to co-ordinate and to filter callers, which is very important.

In addition, I have to prepare the winners’ lists for both my shows and send them across for prize distribution; co-ordinate with the marketing team for OOH (out of home) promotion of my shows; co-ordinate with other stations for some important elements for the show; and, on special days, even do live on-ground shows.

Wednesdays can be difficult because that’s when the weekly meetings with the Mumbai station are scheduled. Which means I have to get to the station even earlier in order to wrap up all my work, besides attending the meeting.

So, all in all, my day starts around 10:30 in the morning and ends around 12:30-1:00 the next morning. Fun, isn’t it? I certainly think so.

• EXTERNAL READING: If you’ve ever dreamt about being a radio star, then why not make it happen? Learn how here: Start your own radio station.

What creative advertising really means-2

Commits alumnus ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA (Class of 2010), a copywriter with Contract Advertising in Bangalore, explains exactly how copywriters and the art guys work their magic:

ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA

SHOW
AND
TELL

When Ramesh Sir asked me to write an article about what copywriters and art guys do, I must admit that I was stumped.

What do we do?

I know exactly what I do. I even know a little bit about what the art guys do (they tend to disagree with me on that, though). But how on earth was I supposed to explain all this in an article? It’s a little like asking a teacher what he does — he teaches, what else!

Then I remembered a piece of advice that my first creative director had given me. He said, “Advertising is simple — it’s all about communicating a message.” So that’s what we do. We communicate messages, from a brand or a product to the public at large and to consumers in particular. That’s it. We communicate.

Every product, every service, every brand out there, wants to communicate its advantages and its benefits. Everybody wants to tell the consumer: “Hey, buy me! Use me! I’m the best.” And they all want advertising to make their brands the most used and the most loved. But as advertising legend William Bernbach said: “Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.” That is where the creative team, comprising the copywriters and the art people, comes in. We convey and communicate the messages on behalf of the products.

A picture says a thousand words:

However, as Alex Bogusky, an advertising legend, said: “… so far as I know, they’ve yet to come up with a powerful form of communication that does not at least begin life as words.” And that’s exactly what copywriters do — we provide the words (sounds very very, very important, doesn’t it?). Our job begins when the creative team is sitting down to come up with an idea. And it ends only when that idea has been executed, in print, on television, or on the air waves. Because it’s our job to find the best way to communicate a good (or bad) idea.

Now, it’s a common misconception (only among those who aren’t copywriters!) that all we do is write smart headlines, wacky radio spots, and cool television scripts. Well, on the rare occasion (which presents itself roughly once in a lifetime) that’s all we do.

But there’s so much more.

Just pick up any form of advertising communication around you: a pamphlet at the mall, the product brochures that you leave at the bottom of the box, the e-mailers you keep deleting, the little tags on the clothes that you buy, the labels on the bottles you drink from, the directions on the back of the product boxes, the menu cards at the restaurants — everything is written by a copywriter.

CONCERNED COMMUNICATOR AWARDS: ARPAN'S ENTRY.*

Everywhere you see words (one word or a thousand); if you look deeper, you will see a copywriter hunched over his computer, trying to figure out how best to use them. Sometimes we try to be smart and funny (like the menus and tray mats you see in KFC) and sometimes we need to be as plain as possible (like the shirt tag that says “This product has been handcrafted and tailored to your requirements.” But wherever words are needed, we are too.

Coming to the advertisements you see on television, the ones you hear on the radio, and the ones you see in the magazines and newspapers, everything is written by the copywriters — from the dialogues that the actors deliver and the scripts for the radio voiceovers, to the headlines, the body copy (the other ‘words’ in the print ad) and even the information at the bottom of print ads with the addresses and phone numbers of the company.

In short (it’s already too late for that, isn’t it?), copywriting is all about finding and using the correct words to present an idea, with or without an image. No matter in what form of media — new media, print, television, or radio — every piece of advertising communication needs something to be said, in words. That something is usually said by the copywriter. And as if to make my point, here are some more words to live by, from Alex Bogusky: “Failure in advertising most often comes from the lack of this basic skill of finding the right words.”

Words are all I have, to take your breath away:

Sounds fine in a cheesy pop song but it’s far from true, isn’t it? Because if you want to buy the latest iPad 2 you’ll want to see it before you sell your right hand and bring home the contraption. And sometimes, you will want to see more than just a picture of the product. You might want to see how it’ll help you; you might want to see how it’ll make your life better. And no amount of words will be able to replace a visual representation of all this.

That is where the art guys come in.

WHEN COPY AND ART COME TOGETHER.*

They show you visually what the copywriter has said (or not) in words. Sometimes they use simple pictures that you get immediately. Sometimes, to be different from competing products, they’ll use images that have nothing to do with the product.

For instance, an ad for a telephone service provider might show you a shot of a guy relaxing on a beach somewhere close to where paradise is located. What does that tell you? Probably, that you will be able to stay connected to the world no matter where you are. So here, the picture communicates at once what the words may take a long time to say. ‘You can stay connected even when you’re sitting on a beach far far away from the world.’

Or, a picture of a man on a deserted beach, with the headline ‘Stay connected.’ Which one is better?

As one of the greatest writers in the world, Luke Sullivan, said: “Show, don’t tell. Telling readers why your product has merit is never as powerful as showing them.”

Art often goes beyond just conveying a message. It can make an ordinary advertisement look ‘out-of-this-world’. There are times when an ad doesn’t really say much (could be because the copywriter is a lazy bum or the product is a boring piece of rubbish). That’s when a great art guy can make the ad do so much more than just show you a product shot with a headline that says ‘The Best’.

The art guys also do more than just find the right pictures for ads. They are involved in setting up how a brand or an ad will look — what the logo should be, what colours should the brand associate itself with, what font should be used for the headline; everything that is visually appealing (or not!) is the work of an art guy.

They’ll also design brochures and e-mailers, they’ll lay out the entire print ad along with images, the headline, and all the copy; probably one of the coolest things they do is play a big part in directing the television commercials. That’s where they’ll give their inputs to the production team, they’ll decide, along with the writer, on location, the way the actors are dressed, the way the set looks; basically what you see on TV is the work of the art guy, what you hear is what the writer has written.

And that last point is actually the perfect way to sum up what the creative team does. They work together, writers and art guys, to bring you the ads that you see all around you. The best art guys can think like writers and the best writers can think like art guys. But what is essential for both groups is that they HAVE to think creatively.

And what is even more important is that they need to work together, always. They succeed and fail as a team and the best teams around are those where there is mutual respect between the art guys and the copywriters.

Speaking of which, my art guy has been calling me to fix up a few party plans, so now it’s time for me to go and ‘work’ with my team mate!

*THESE ADS ARE PART OF ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA'S PORTFOLIO. Follow his blog here.

• Arpan Bhattacharyya's Commits batch mate RIGVED SARKAR gives us his views in "What creative advertising really means-1".

• Further reading: "The power of creativity" (scroll down to the piece) by Commitscion AJAY KURPAD (Class of 2011), also a copywriter with Saatchi&Saatchi in Bangalore.

• Also read: "David Ogilvy on why reading is important". And "Bajrangi and the case for brand security".

TV news is young, full of vim, and unafraid...

...says Outlook in its 16th anniversary issue, and I believe it.

Headlined "The under-30 gospel", the article, written by Anuradha Raman, brings us up to date on the current scenario:

News on TV, if you haven’t noticed, is young and restless. Its young reporters are everywhere, demanding answers for everything, 24x7. It’s a world of hysterical PTCS (piece-to-cameras), of soundbite warriors, of cacophonous debate. It takes high energy levels and single-minded professionalism to cope with the rigours of TV reporting. It can be taxing on the not-so-young.

ARNAB GOSWAMI, RAJDEEP SARDESAI: ALL PRAISE FOR GEN NEXT.

There are interesting quotes about the young ones from some of the big guns of television news, including Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai. Arnab is quoted as saying that most crucial editorial positions at his channel are manned by the young and he’s amazed at the passion and enthusiasm they display for news, while Rajdeep "sees enormous energy in young members of his team, combined with the willingness to stalk a story for hours without end".

Read the article in its entirety here.

Is this criticism of Gen Next fair?

I am an old fogey. That perhaps explains why I have certain concerns about the younger generation. Concerns that may be expressed by way of the following questions:

• Why do many young people seem to lack initiative?
• Why are they unable to think for themselves?
• Why do they seem so uninterested in the world around them?
• Why don't they read?
• Why do they find it difficult to write in English?
• Why are they not focused on what it is they want in life?

As a teacher it is my privilege to meet and interact almost daily with students in their twenties, students to whom I pose these questions on a regular basis. I have realised over the years that, to a large extent, the System is to blame. Youngsters today just don't get the right encouragement in our schools and undergrad colleges. They are not taught the benefits of taking the road less travelled. They are not told that, provided work and assignments are not affected, it is okay to be rebellious and individualistic; in fact, the rebels are forced to "fit in".

Give these same young people the productive environment that should be theirs by right, I say, and they are bound to thrive.

I speak from experience here. Here's an excerpt from an e-mail I received not too long ago from a Commits alumna:

Most of us have come from colleges where the teachers themselves have no expertise or there is a complete lowered standard of expectations. My teachers in college barely knew I existed or cared or if I even turned in neat, well-written assignments. Three years went by in a blur and I had a total aggregate attendance of 38% in the first two years. I have always done extremely well in school and college and breezed through to the top of the class every time.

Work, however, was a nightmare; I didn't know how to write or format e-mails, submit detailed and well-written reports. Since I didn't even know what good standards were I would always fall short and I was labelled as 'disrespectful' and 'she has an attitude problem' even though I would spend hours working and put in a lot of effort. I spent two years at work crying every day and have even had a boss throw a report in the dustbin. I would 'hear' what they were saying but never get why.

And that's why I decided to get my Masters, although Commits happened by fluke on the day before the second entrance exam.

At Commits, life changed.

This e-mail reinforces my belief that if we don't overhaul the school and undergrad system, we surely cannot expect to see a change in the mindset of Gen Next.

These thoughts about the younger generation and the System came to the fore when I was reading poet and activist Meena Kandasamy's harsh criticism of Youngistan in the latest (16th anniversary) issue of Outlook.

Kandasamy's article, titled "All aboard the slave ship" and written in the form of an open letter, takes Gen Next to task for a multitude of deficiencies. Every paragraph shimmers with resentment, it seems. Here are a few excerpts:

You are a student. You seek to be highly educated, but you turn a blind eye to the academic terrorism that routinely cripples and kills poor students in universities. You never acknowledge the privilege of exclusivity. You strut about with the confidence that you will never slip below the poverty line. You never know the pain of exclusion. You would have never lost your home in a slum demolition drive.

***

You also think that India’s biggest problem is a boatload of terrorists from Pakistan. You have not heard of Khairlanji or Gadchiroli or Koodankulam; they are multi-syllable names of places that have never managed to sneak into your sublime conversations. Ultra-ambitious, you only enter lands that require your passport, your visa and your commercialised skill-sets. You are India’s shining, swaggering export. You have sold your soul for a song. You have sold your song for a sophisticated accent. You have sold your sophisticated accent for a sanitised silence.

***

You cannot make up your mind, NDTV and CNN-IBN do that for you. Therefore, you bleed before every heart-breaking, hair-splitting reality show and news bulletin. You cheer for Anna Hazare and glorify every Gandhian impostor. You are a self-anointed crusader against corruption. Your militant attire is Fabindia chic. Your deadliest weapon is candle-light. Your agenda is available online. You want to bring back the black money your politicians made, but you lack the guts to permanently put them out of business.

To her credit, Kandasamy understands that we are all in this together. Towards the end, she writes:

I writhe in guilt as I write to you. My searing anger at you is merely an exercise in self-flagellation; I lay no claim to a moral high ground. Sometimes, I am afraid that I am you. My dreams explode but my callousness kills me. I see in you every weakness that shows up in me. I write to you because I believe that you could be the stronger one.

Kandasamy's open letter prompted young journalist Rito Paul to publish a stinging rejoinder in DNA yesterday. "Spare me your sanctimony, your misplaced righteousness, and most of all the spasms that are making you writhe in guilt," Paul writes in his open letter to Kandasamy. He continues:

Yes, a certain section of the youth is certainly apathetic, as you write. And they shouldn't be. They should be more aware, and be more empathetic. I agree with that too. But what I disagree with is this: "Perhaps you will heed the call to arms, some day you will don combat gear. Some day you will step out of your selfish skin and speak up for the people. Some day you will wage war against every injustice and uproot every oppression. Some day your sacrifice will set us free."

How would you feel if someone wrote a piece addressing the men of this world saying, "Someday your sacrifices will set women free?" Would you not think it is sexist?

Paul then offers his defence of Youngistan's stance:

You know who'll help the oppressed? Well, they will, themselves. Just like they did in Kudankulam by going on a hunger-strike and forcing the government to reconsider its nuclear plans. And just like they did by protesting against the Khairlanji massacre in Azad Maidan and making sure the ones responsible were sent to jail.

This is a debate worth taking part in. Read Paul's open letter here (go to Page 8) and decide for yourself which side of the fence you want to stake out.

• Illustration courtesy: Outlook

***

Curiously, the image and main headline on the magazine's cover appear to praise the achievements of Gen Next. So is Meera Kandasamy's open letter an attempt to redress the balance, so to speak? Or is it meant to provoke and get a buzz going?

Good ideas and good writing need to be backed up by good design

In this month's first anniversary issue of Fortune India, editor D.N. Mukerjea looks back at the cover stories and features of the past 12 months and, more important from the media student's point of view, explains what it is that helps these stories to grab attention:

[It] is not just how they are written but also how the pages look. Design, which includes photos, graphics, fonts, colours, and the overall layout, has always played a significant role. As I often remind myself, and tell whoever cares to listen, Fortune India stands on four pillars editorially — reporting, desk, photo, and design. Magazines are meant to be visually rich and, I dare say, Fortune India is the richest of them all. Our pages have won international design awards from the Society of Publication Designers and IFRA, and private art collectors are forever after me to sell them some of our images. (So far, I have resisted the temptation.)

Mukerjea's thoughts on the importance of design should find resonance with production journalists everywhere.

THE COVER OF THE LAUNCH ISSUE.

Fortune India does not have a website, sadly, so you will have to study the magazine itself to understand what Mukerjea is trying to say when he writes, and I agree with him, that Fortune India "is the richest of them all" in visual appeal.

I must add here that the magazine is also home to some brilliant story ideas that, thanks to the editors, have not just remained ideas; they have been executed so well that it is an undiluted pleasure to leaf through the magazine even when the articles, because of their business orientation, may not truly interest the general reader.

• Undoubtedly, Fortune India is the best-designed magazine in India. What would be the newspaper equivalent? My vote goes to DNA. As for the general interest magazine with the most intelligent writing, I think Time Out Bengaluru would win hands down if there were a contest.

What creative advertising really means-1

Commits alumnus RIGVED SARKAR (Class of 2010), a copywriter with Saatchi&Saatchi in Bangalore, gives us the lowdown on how to take A SHOT AT CREATIVITY:

Noun: Creativity; Latin: creō, "to create, make".

Creativity could be anything. It is this article/note/self-help guide/comic relief. Yet it would never have seen the light of day if not for this little Calvin & Hobbes strip. Last-minute panic translated: RP Sir’s knock-knock e-ssage.

But, actually, a wonderful insight into what creative advertising is like. In reality, what it should never be like. In short, a whirlwind ride no one/no course can ever prepare you for — briefs, round-table-conferences, scribbles, scratches, re-scribbles, scripts, layouts, storyboards, deadlines, selling, hits-and-misses, artworks, late nights, too tired to even appreciate your hard work, the proud feeling with which you tell someone else that that was your ad.

Welcome to the world of creative advertising.

Ever seen an ad you wish you had made? Ever wondered how the whole idea came about? Ever envied those who did it? Ever wished you could be “creative”? Of course you have. So why aren’t you doing it? The common mistake people make is to assume that they can’t because they are not creative.

RIGVED SARKAR: "An idea can come from anyone/anywhere."

I beg to differ.

It’s all in the head. Ask yourself: “Am I not?” Creativity is in anything that we create — a product, a service, an ad, a work of art, a solution, a joke — which adds value in some way or the other to your life or anyone else’s. Thinking already? Then ask yourself: “Why am I creative?” Everyone will have a different answer, none wrong. Creative advertising is just a means of expressing that creativity — in writing or in design.

IN THE BEGINNING COMES THE BRIEF
So where does it all begin? With the brief: a document that contains one thing the client says his product has/does that sets it apart from the rest. Without a brief there can be no creative. It is the what, why, to whom, how, with what benefit, in-a-language-they-understand of any creative process. Understand the brief well and always remember: God is in the details. Once you are clear, write down the proposition in five words. If you can’t write it, you can’t create it.

Once you have your proposition it’s time to bring that ad to life. This usually means cracking heads in a brainstorming session with your design partner (art director) and team to arrive at a possible route/way in.

Food for thought: Never believe you, as a creative person, are the sole custodian of ideas. An idea can come from anyone/anywhere. What sets you apart is the skill to know which idea to use and the craft to frame it. There can be a hundred great ideas but not a single right one. Learn to keep yourself open to everything around you. And that means reading a lot, observing a lot, and asking lots and lots of questions (yes, you can Facebook too; surprisingly it does spark many an idea). Only then will you be inspired.

BRINGING YOUR IDEA TO LIFE
Do not be afraid of a blank piece of paper/art board. View it as a window to a world of possibilities. As a writer, don’t just pen that one great headline. Visualise it. Read it out to yourself. Read it out to others. Does it make sense? Everyone may not have your vision so never assume one’s job is done after simply putting the copy together. See the complete picture in your head. If you can’t how do you expect your partner to?

The art director is your partner in creativity. And you need your partner to bring your idea to life. Share thoughts, brainstorm together. We all have our limitations — a writer’s when it comes to visualising, an art director’s when it comes to writing. But that’s the hallmark of a great team — the ability to step in where the other’s horizon ends. To jazz up a layout is as much a conscious decision as it is to keep it simple and clean. To use a font-based visual is as much a conscious decision as it is to use a stunning visual/scene/model. But try not to over-art direct. Some of the greatest ideas in the world are the simplest ones.

And always, always, create two options. One, which the client wants, and two, the one you think fits the brief and works best creatively (and two options do not mean one with a blue background and one with yellow).

Value-add wherever possible but, remember, the client is the custodian of the brand, and so may know it better than you do. Accept the client’s ideas, find worth in them, and then build upon them. If the client still persists, give him what he wants. But never stop trying. If you submit good work, he WILL see value in it and you’ll be the one smiling at the end of the day. That is the greatest reward.

ORIGINALITY IS AT A PREMIUM
It is said that there is nothing in this world that is an original idea. And it’s probably true. Something you thought of might have been executed elsewhere already. You might even see it in your own backyard. But if it fits your requirement, why not? Of course, don’t copy blatantly.

Food for thought: Do watch the “Everything is a remix” films.

Creative advertising. There is no starting point. But there is a finishing one. The challenge is in how you reach it. Defining one’s thought process is very hard. Everyone has their own way but there are some commonly acquired skills that are definitely beneficial. Finally, practise, and always keep some sheets of paper on you. You never know when you might have to scribble a thought. Now go on and give your creativity a shot!

• Rigved Sarkar's Commits batch mate ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA gives us his views in "What creative advertising really means-2".

• Further reading: "The power of creativity" (scroll down to the piece) by Commitscion AJAY KURPAD (Class of 2011), also a copywriter with Saatchi&Saatchi in Bangalore.

• Also read: "David Ogilvy on why reading is important". And "Bajrangi and the case for brand security".

Mint shows the way by not kowtowing to advertisers

As far as I know, Mint is the only publication in India that makes it a point to not genuflect before advertisers. For Mint, readers come first, not advertisers. Which is as it should be.

Some well-meaning people may argue that newspapers and magazines will die if advertisers pull out. True, advertising revenue plays a huge role in the financial health of both print and electronic media, but I believe that it is a good editorial product that attracts readers and viewers in the first place, which then helps to draw advertisers. Which is as it should be, but is often not.

Back to Mint and its stringent policy with regard to advertisers. On October 13, the newspaper distributed a four-page supplement on the royal wedding in Bhutan along with the main section. This supplement was clearly labelled "Mint Media Marketing Initiative". Even so, the editor published this note on Page 1 of the main newspaper:

This is the first time I am reading such a note in an Indian publication. All credit to Mint editor R. Sukumar for taking a bold stand at a time when the line between editorial and advertising appears to be fast blurring (read "Paid news and the influence of newspaper owners").

Why did Sukumar feel the need to write that note? He explains in his regular column in Mint:

A Media Marketing Initiative [MMI] is essentially an advertorial, but both advertisers and publishing firms prefer more ambiguous terms. MMI is one such. Then there are others including special feature, special report, and the like. Some publishing companies prefer to use their own coinages — the India Today Group used to prefer the term Impact Feature when I worked there (I have no idea what it uses now because I don’t read any of its magazines); and the Outlook group uses Spotlight. Then, there are other publishing firms that choose not to say anything at all, leaving it to the reader to figure out whether a report on Sudan or Russia is an editorial feature, advertorial, or, still worse, a paid-for editorial write-up.

Sukumar also explains later in his column that, apart from warning readers, he also hopes that this message "will dissuade at least some advertisers from asking for advertorials in Mint, and some basic reporting and research I have done over the past few days makes me believe they will".

All journalists, and media students, will do well to read Sukumar's column in its entirety: "The inviolable line".

• Also read: R. Sukumar on Mint's response to being blacklisted by companies — "Dealing with thin skin". And on the separation between news and opinion — "The authoritative voice".

•  You can read a few of the many pertinent points in Mint's Code of Conduct here.

A bizarre encounter with Gaddafi

...if I refuse to accept your Jamahiriya [congress of the people], what will you do to me? Will you arrest me, shoot me, hang me?

ORIANA FALLACI

This was the audacious question thrown by Oriana Fallaci, one of the world's most courageous journalists, to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi when she interviewed him in Tripoli in 1979.

The Libyan dictator replies: "But you cannot refuse it! Jamahiriya is the destiny of the world! It's the final solution!

Fallaci presses on relentlessly:

The forty officials that you had shot last year refused it. The other fifty-five that you had shot in 1977 refused it. The ten students who you hung publicly in a square in Benghazi a few months ago refused it!

Gaddafi counters: "Lies. Slander from the West. These are the things that make me lose faith in you. Why do you say these things about me?"

Fallaci's response is laden with sarcasm:

Because we are envious, I suppose we say them out of jealousy. Anyway, tell me one thing: are you really sure that your little book will change the world?

Fallaci continues:

The rope gave a final, definitive jerk. [Fallaci had written earlier, after one session with Gaddafi, that her aim was to give him, in the form of her questions, "enough rope to hang himself".] And while his sick brain hung down above the cord and his lifeless body, the delirium exploded again: this time so tremendous and so terrifying that the crisis of the previous day seemed like a sneeze by comparison. He got up slowly, he slowly raised his linen-wrapped arms and in a thundering, Messiah-like voice, he began to yell his answers directly in English.

What did Gaddafi begin to yell? And what was the dramatic conclusion to a bizarre interview? To find out, read the 56-page article in Oriana Fallaci's superlative book, Interviews with History and Conversations with Power. In addition to the interview with Gaddafi (who was killed in Libya by rebels two days ago), Interviews also features Fallaci's encounters with a host of world leaders, famous and infamous, including Ayatollah Khomeini and the Dalai Lama, Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Fallaci, who died in 2006, had a reputation for being fearless and for asking the most probing of questions, questions that were a reflection of her chutzpah. Here, for instance, is Fallaci's opening gambit when she met Indira Gandhi, who, at the time, was the all-powerful prime minister of India:

Mrs. Gandhi, I have so many questions to ask you, both personal and political. The personal ones, however, I'll leave for later, once I've understood why many people are afraid of you and call you cold, indeed, icy, hard...

This is a book no journalist, or aspiring journalist, can afford not to read.

• Another must-read: Oriana Fallaci and the Art of the Interview: In a eulogy written for Vanity Fair, Christopher Hitchens recounts "his last visit with the tempestuous Italian journalist, and her last — never published — scoop, a sit-down with the Pope".

Lengthy. Reliable. Talented. Influential. Tremendous.

MATTHEW ENGEL

Did you know all five words in the headline are American in origin? I had no idea. Not until I read a feature on Americanisms by veteran British journalist Matthew Engel on the BBC website.

American culture is ubiquitous in Britain on TV and the web, Engel writes in the article. He continues:

As our computers talk to us in American, I keep having to agree to a license spelt with an s. I am invited to print something in color without the u. I am told "you got mail". It is, of course, always e-mail — never our own more natural usage, e-post.

Don't we grapple with the same issues here in India, too?

There's more:

In many respects, English and American are not coming together. When it comes to new technology, we often go our separate ways. They have cellphones — we have mobiles. We go to cash points or cash machines — they use ATMs. We have still never linked hands on motoring terminology — petrol, the boot, the bonnet, known in the US as gas, the trunk, the hood.

(In some respects, at least, the English spoken in India and that spoken in America are coming together in the form of "mobile" and "ATM".)

Engel then gives us examples of "ugly and pointless new usages [that] appear in the media and drift into everyday conversation:":

• Faze, as in "it doesn't faze me"

• Hospitalize, which really is a vile word

• Wrench for spanner

• Elevator for lift

• Rookies for newcomers, who seem to have flown here via the sports pages.

• Guy, less and less the centrepiece of the ancient British festival of 5 November — or, as it will soon be known, 11/5. Now someone of either gender.

• And, starting to creep in, such horrors as ouster, the process of firing someone, and outage, meaning a power cut. I always read that as outrage. And it is just that.

Read Mathew Engel's piece in its entirety here: Why do some Americanisms irritate people?

Also read readers' reactions to the article: Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples.

• Thank you, Swagata Majumdar, for the tip-off.

Top 10 reasons why EDITING is cool

(10) It's like solving a puzzle.

(9)  You find a whole world of other people who go crazy over the "10 items or less" sign in the grocery store. (Or, as one new editor put it, "I can constructively satisfy my obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive
tendencies and get paid for it.")

(8)  Your job changes constantly; you're never bored.

(7)  You become a more interesting person. You can talk about Arafat, Albright, Agassi or Aguilera and sound like you know what you're talking about — because you do.

(6)  You have responsibility and power. You decide how readers will perceive the news, how they'll perceive the world.

(5)  Catching a dumb mistake before readers see it is a rush. Helping someone make a story better is the best drug there is.(Or, as one person wrote, "It's as close as an English major can come to being a doctor, or God.")

(4) Newspapers never ask writers to edit, but they love it if editors write.

(3)  You could be the world's best quiz show contestant because you're a dictionary of useless information.

(2)  You can move anywhere and find a job.

(1)  You never have to wear decent clothes.

• Compiled by Jane Harrigan, University of New Hampshire (Courtesy The American Copy Editors' Society)

• Also read: Why subs, or copy editors, are the lifeblood of a news organisation.