What it means to be an event-management professional

DIVYA JAISING

Commits alumna DIVYA JAISING (Class of 2008) worked with leading event-management company George P. Johnson (GPJ) in Bangalore for two-and-a-half years before moving to the Brigade Group. Here she provides insights into the challenges of being an event-management professional. She also tells us what event management has taught her and continues to teach her:

e·vent

noun

1. a. something that takes place; an occurrence.

    b. A significant occurrence or happening.

    c. A social gathering or activity.

2. The final result; the outcome.

3. Sports; A contest or an item in a sports programme.

All of us, keeping this definition in mind, have at some point in our lives managed an “event”. A cousin’s birthday party, a friend’s bachelorette or bachelor party, a college festival, a close relative’s wedding, etc., etc. The only difference between managing one of these events and being an event management professional, really, is that you get paid if you are the latter. :-)

So if each of us has done it before, it can’t be rocket science, right? Not that it isn’t stressful, hectic, extremely frustrating at times (the want-to-tear-your-hair-out kind), but essentially it is managing a lot of elements to put together an event, keep the client stress-free, and get paid to do just that.

THE ENTIRE GPJ TEAM AT DIVYA JAISING'S FIRST EVENT FOR IBM AT AAMBY VALLEY.

  

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL EVENT AGENCY CONSIST OF?

From my experience of working with one of the more “corporatised” event agencies, a typical event agency has three essential teams that help to put an event together from start to finish.

• Client Servicing/Business Development
• Creative Department
• Production/Operations

Client Servicing/Business Development: The client-servicing department essentially plays the role of mediator between the client, the creative department, and the production/operations team. They usually bring in the briefs, either from existing clients or after pitching to new clients, and drive the entire event during the planning stage, getting necessary approvals from the client, and passing on changes wherever required

Note: Client servicing also serves as the punching bag for all departments AND the clients. :-)

Creative Department: This team includes graphic designers, copywriters, 3D artists, and the Creative Head. They usually ideate, put together themes for events, and work on the actual creative elements (things like backdrops, invitations, stage design, branding elements, e-mailers, etc.)

Note: The Creative department is usually cribbing about their creative work never being appreciated. :-)

Production/Operations Team:  Once the plans are finalised and creatives are set, the Production/Operations team takes over and executes the event. Which means getting the required vendors, negotiating rates, spending hours on set at the site, and ensuring everything is executed according to plan

Note: These guys are usually the owls of the office, working away at night, and are more often than not the tech geeks using terms only they can understand.

Some agencies are not as streamlined and usually the same people may perform more than one of the above functions.

ANOTHER IBM OFFSITE EVENT, THIS ONE IN GOA WITH A CARNIVAL THEME.

 

WHAT EVENT MANAGEMENT HAS TAUGHT ME

AND CONTINUES TO TEACH ME

1. PLANNING IS KEY: I have learnt that the first step to organising a successful event is good planning. Planning ensures you have covered all grounds. But and always, and I mean ALWAYS, have back-up plans (things don’t always go the way you want them to on events). Plan A, Plan B, and sometimes a Plan C and D will ensure that whatever surprises that might be sprung at the last minute are taken care of. The most essential part of planning, of course, is making those checklists. I’m now so used to making checklists that even in my personal life when I’m planning a trip or a get-together, the first thing I do is put down a checklist. :-)

2. MULTITASKING IS A MUST: When you have a list of a hundred things to do (literally) you have no choice but to multitask. Checking your e-mail while talking on the phone and giving directions, changing channels on television, and eating dinner all at the same time has now become a piece of cake (I’m perfecting the art really).

3. CRISIS MANAGEMENT SKILLS COME IN HANDY: One of the most valuable things I have learnt from event management is how to handle a crisis. Some things are just not in your control and in event management there is no second chance, just like in theatre. When plans A, B, C, or D don’t work and if something goes wrong, a solution needs to be found, however last-minute it is. That’s why it is so important to learn how to handle a crisis, why it is so crucial to understand the situation and look for solutions instead of panicking, which could lead to a nightmarish situation. In my opinion, in most cases the make or break of an event depends largely on the crisis management skills of the event manager.

4. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT SKILLS ARE ALSO NECESSARY: Sometimes in this field, I’m sure like in many other fields, you realise that more than managing the event (which might actually be the easy part), managing the people involved is really the tricky part. Different temperaments, many decision makers, different ideas, different styles of working — sometimes more energy is spent just trying to get the balance right and not rubbing anyone the wrong way. After a bit of practice, though, you get the hang of it :-) (I still have a long way to go on this front). It sure helps in the non-professional field as well.

5. ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS A BIG HELP: Before I got into events, I thought I had an eye for detail. It was only after being thrown into the big bad world of events that I realised just how much I still had to learn. It really is the smallest things sometimes that make the biggest difference. For example, a minute-by-minute flow of the event will actually show you the loopholes that a normal agenda for the event might not. 

Having worked with George P. Johnson, one of the more corporatised agencies, on events for one of the biggest brands in the world, IBM, for close to two-and-a-half years was one of the best learning experiences of my life. It continues to help me work better in my current job with the Brigade Group where I am working on a project that requires me to not only handle the communication, marketing, and events, but also assist in overall project management of India's first experiential music museum coming up in Bangalore. Incidentally the Brigade Group is celebrating its 25th year and I have been given charge of handling the overall celebrations which started in October and will continue till the end of this month.

Being an event management professional is definitely a challenge; it’s not for the faint-hearted. Working long hours, sometimes for days without sleep, can get quite stressful. But the satisfaction of having completed a successful event is a different high altogether. One thing’s for sure: you work on something different every day, as no two events are the same. It’s one hell of a roller-coaster ride, which you just have to enjoy.

Why the Kindle Fire is the best thing since sliced bread for book-lovers (a Facebook conversation)

Ramesh Prabhu

Friday

What am I reading on my Kindle Fire now?

 ·  · Share

• 
  

  Pritha Ghosh, Sushmita Chatterjee and 5 others like this.
• • 
    

    Sanhita Ghosh Congrats! Party! :D
    

    Friday at 1:50pm · 
  • 
    

    Shiv Sujir So you have moved on to the 'e' side.
    

    Friday at 2:22pm ·  ·  1
  • 
    

    Sharat Sareen is it good to use?? better than ipad for books??
    

    Friday at 4:03pm · 
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    Ramesh Prabhu Well, Sharat, I found the Kindle Fire to be the right size to read books on -- isn't the iPad a tad unwieldy to hold comfortably (like you would hold a book)? As for the reading experience itself, after just a few days of reading books and graphic novels on the Fire, it seems so natural now to turn on the Fire, tap on the image of the work I want to read, and keep tapping pages to move forward or back.
    
    I can choose from a variety of fonts, increase the font size of the text, go to maps (in the book about Cleopatra, for example) and pinch-zoom to view details. And, of course, I can tap on a word to get the definition instantly from the built-in dictionary.
    

    Saturday at 10:52am · 
  • 
    

    Ramesh Prabhu Also, I can highlight text, add notes, bookmark pages. I think all these conveniences truly add to the pleasure of reading a book on the Fire.
    

    Saturday at 10:53am · 
  • 
    

    Sharat Sareen Do the eyes get tired after sometime or is it just like reading a book?
    

    Saturday at 11:30am · 
  • 
    

    Ramesh Prabhu No, not at all, Sharat. I can adjust the brightness to suit the light around me. And I can increase the size of the text to the point where I don't need to wear my reading glasses. Isn't that amazing?
    

    Yesterday at 10:58am · 
  • 
    

    Ramesh Prabhu If you want to read about how the Kindle Fire stacks up against the iPad, here's an illuminating article from the Wall Street Journal: http://goo.gl/NF9Pd.
    

    Yesterday at 11:01am · 

• Also read: How e-readers will make life easy for us readers

UPDATE (June 26, 2013): The Kindle is now available on Amazon's India store. Here are the reviews, from today's Mint, of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FireHD: "Here come the Kindles".

What it takes to be an IT journalist

Commits alumnus Ayushman Baruah (Class of 2008) is the Principal Correspondent of InformationWeek, reporting out of Bangalore. Here he gives us insights into “technology journalism”:

AYUSHMAN BARUAH AT THE ORACLE OPENWORLD CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO IN OCTOBER. YOU CAN READ HIS ACCOUNT OF THE VISIT HERE.

I have been working as an IT journalist with InformationWeek for close to two years now. Prior to this, I was working with The Financial Express, also covering the IT industry. So, since I graduated from Commits, all my experience in journalism has been in covering technology, or, precisely, the business value of technology — which is also the tagline of InformationWeek.

As the Principal Correspondent of InformationWeek India, I am responsible for covering news in the technology sector across South India. As is well-known, Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India and there is no better place to be an IT journalist. Most of the top companies, Indian as well as MNCs, are headquartered in Bangalore.

My regular work largely comprises the following: 

1. Writing news stories for InformationWeek online. 

2. Writing in-depth cover stories, news analyses, and case studies for the print and online editions. 

3. Interviewing industry decision makers: CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and heads of “verticals”. 

4. Covering press conferences and global (overseas) events. 

5. Building and maintaining excellent working relationships with IT decision-makers, mainly CIOs. 

6. Most important, keeping a close watch on all IT companies and IT trends.

How different or similar is IT journalism from mainstream journalism? The basics of reporting, writing and ethics are the same. I guess the core difference lies in the subject matter. Here, you need to have an interest in technology, and you must also understand and appreciate the business aspects involved. Some of it could be inherent; some of it can be learnt. Also, IT journalism requires less legwork and physical labour. In fact, I often term it as “white-collar” journalism. And I love the term as much as I love the profession.

As an IT journalist, you travel around the world, stay in five-star hotels, and get an opportunity to meet some of your dream corporate honchos. For instance, I have met Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Warren Buffett, Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani… the list goes on. I know many journalists get to meet them and some might also feel it is “no big deal”, but I beg to differ. We are perhaps one of the 0.0000001% of the world’s population getting to meet them. Not everyone gets this opportunity. So I think we should capitalise on this opportunity and try to learn from their ideologies apart from getting the regular news (which everyone gets). I always make it a point to take that extra step and pick up at least one good trait from these great men.

In summary, I feel a business/IT journalist must have or acquire the following skill sets (the basic skills like ability to write and report are a given): 

1. Ability to grasp new technology terms and jargon.

2. Ability to demystify jargon and write in simple English. There is a direct correlation between writing in clear and simple language and a sound understanding of the subject. You can’t explain to your readers what you don’t understand yourself.

3. Ability to analyse numbers (financial statements of listed companies).

 4. Ability to look beyond what is in the press release. Corporate press releases will only provide information the company wants publicised and they will usually hype up the company’s products and services. So one must read between the lines to get more information and ask the tough questions.

5. Be up-to-date with the trends in the market. You must read business papers and technology magazines regularly.

6. Ability to be unbiased when writing about a company that has just taken you on a junket (familiarity trip). 

7. Ability to listen to long lectures about a particular company or product but digest only what is relevant. 

8. Last, I think IT journalists need to develop their own domain expertise and differentiate themselves from the crowd. There are too many people doing too many similar things. You need to be different!

A NOTE ABOUT INFORMATIONWEEK: The magazine, which has been present in the U.S. for about 30 years, is the business technology market’s foremost multimedia brand. Globally, InformationWeek reaches almost 4.5 lakh business technology professionals at more than 2.5 lakh unique locations. Its mission is to help CIOs and IT executives define and frame their business technology objectives. It is published by LSE (London Stock Exchange)-listed United Business Media (UBM) group. The India edition, both print and online, was started in April 2010 and it has gained significant readership already. — AYUSHMAN BARUAH

What it means to be a corporate communications professional-1

TERESA ASHA ALEXANDER

Commits alumna TERESA ASHA ALEXANDER (Class of 2007) has been working in internal communications at Wipro, Bangalore, for four years now. Here she discusses her work and explains what it means to be a corporate communications professional:

First off, let me describe what exactly it is that I’m in charge of. I’m a part of Wipro’s internal communications team called Channel W, which is also the name of our internal portal. I create content for our intranet site, which consists of organisational announcements, “micro” sites managed by the various teams within Wipro, and our online features magazine, Odyssey. My work primarily revolves around Odyssey and the micro site Eco-Eye, which is Wipro’s environmental CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and awareness site.

THE ECO-EYE HOMEPAGE.

ECO-EYE
My work for Eco-Eye includes preparing articles and slideshows on subjects related to the environment. To make my life easier, I’ve created broad topics such as Energy, Water, and Biodiversity. Every two weeks I write, get the articles edited, and then upload an article or slideshow under one heading.

I also talk to people who head Eco-Eye teams across Wipro in Bangalore and internationally and find out what Wipro is doing for the environment. For example, when our Eco-Eye team in Hyderabad cleaned up Manikonda Lake, I created a micro site on Eco-Eye that detailed weekly updates about what was being done, the people behind the initiative, and photographs of the work done.

There are, within Wipro, people who are doing what they can for the environment on an individual basis. I talk to these people and profile the work they’re doing.

If there are environment experts or celebrities in town, I try to schedule interviews with them or have them come over for a talk at Wipro. I also organise film screenings and, to facilitate that task, I’m in touch with various NGOs and filmmakers.

The point of Eco-Eye is essentially to spread awareness about the state of the environment and to keep members involved and motivated by sharing best practices across geographies. Green is the next big thing in the corporate world and Eco-Eye gives Wipro a head start.

ODYSSEY
Odyssey is Wipro’s online features magazine, which is a platform for our techies to learn about the happenings in Wipro and in the world at large, and also take a break.

Big initiatives like Wipro’s annual marathon or small ones like the corporate sports tournaments that Wipro participates in and wins, are written about and the people profiled by me. I handle the interviews, the sports and arts reports as well as the chat sections in Odyssey.

ODYSSEY: THE INTERVIEWS HOME PAGE

INTERVIEWS
We think of people to interview, get in touch with them via their websites or any contact information we might have, pursue them relentlessly, and finally get an interview, either face-to-face, on the phone, or over e-mail. I then edit and upload the text. It can be a long drawn-out process with people taking time to respond or not getting back at all.

CHAT
My technical team has created from scratch a chat tool that we use to help people talk to employees. Wipro is a huge company and sometimes people have no idea what is happening with top management and vice versa. Our chat tool is a simple way for, say, the CEO to talk online to employees. Even the heads of the various verticals within Wipro use the tool to communicate new strategies and policies. My job here is to be the chat facilitator. So if the head of Information Systems (the team Channel W falls under), wants to talk to all his teams, they come to me with a request, I get the links and pages created, and then, on the day, go over and help them use the chat tool. Once a chat is completed, I edit and upload the transcript, always making sure that the homepage reflects the latest chats.

ODYSSEY: THE SPORTS HOMEPAGE.

SPORTS AND ARTS
This is basically features writing. I come up with ideas for articles, slideshows, and quizzes to be “converted” to features under each section and I’m evaluated on the feedback and footfall each article receives. Accordingly, I need to ensure the section’s homepage is constantly updated with new content, which I need to create.

ODYSSEY: THE ARTS HOMEPAGE.

To sum up, Internal Communications is primarily about employee engagement. It is one of the many tools that organisations employ to keep their employees motivated and connected, especially in a company as large as Wipro.

What I’ve learnt over my last four years at Wipro

1. Know your audience
No matter how well you write, no one is going to read something they are not interested in. Always actively seek feedback because that will give you an idea of who your audience is. The better you know them, the better the ideas you come up with, which means that you get more positive feedback, which ultimately equals a better appraisal session.

2. Learn to listen 
When you have to liaise with various people within an organisation, from senior management to the average Joe, your listening skills are very important. Ask pertinent questions which will come to you if you have been listening closely. You will make a positive impression on the person who will return to you in the future for similar requirements. Remember that you are the spokesperson for your team, so dress well and put your cell phones on silent. Again, positive feedback about you is always a good thing when it comes to appraisal time.

3. Learn the technicalities
All our uploads and the maintenance of the various micro sites are made possible through our Content Management System, Typo3. Jhoomla and Druple are two other CMS tools in the market. I had to learn to use the tool and today I am considered the most proficient among the members of the content team! It is important that you know your CMS tool as that way you have complete control over a written piece of work from start to finish.

4. Take complete ownership
The Channel W team consists of a content team, a design team, and a technical team. If you say you’re going to do something, treat it as your baby; for example, one article needs people from content (we do write the article!), design (to decide the look and feel of the page), and technical to work on it together. Sometimes the design team or the technical team has a heavy workload, so it is up to you to follow up with them and push them to meet your deadlines.

5. Mistakes are inevitable
We all fumble and sometimes we make serious mistakes. Apologise and correct them immediately. While it is easy to get frazzled and not take any action, I’ve learnt that the faster you correct your mistake, the more you will be appreciated. Or at the very least, not yelled at that much!

6. Find out what other companies are doing
I know that Wipro’s intranet is unique as I have friends in Infy and CTS and TCS who talk to me about their work. Through our conversations, we each have learnt what the other company is doing, which is a godsend when you need to come up with that next big idea!

7. Learn how to deal with office politics
Nothing is certain but death and taxes… and office politics! It is a historical fact that when two or more people come together, someone’s always going to say “You’ve got the bigger apple, why is that?” Experience has taught me this about office politics: ignorance is usually bliss. Try to maintain good relations with all around you and when there are conflicts, sometimes just yelling a little at each other helps.

8. Internal Communications is about organising yourself
Sometimes you’ll have a chat, interview, and article deadline all on the same day. I find it extremely helpful to write a to-do list for the week and then one for each day so that you can keep ticking off things that you have completed. Ditto for processes; for example, an internal chat has one set of rules to be followed and an external chat has a different set of rules. If you have two separate checklists, then you minimise your margin of error.

9. Prioritise your clients
You have internal (within your team) and external (outside your team) clients, and you have to prioritise your work accordingly. You will deal with demanding external clients who have no idea about how you do the work you do, and ask for seemingly absurd results. Learn how to placate them and tell them what best you can offer them. Try not to create a situation where your manager has to step in as that usually means that your client has escalated matters because they are unsatisfied.

All-in-all, internal communications can be really interesting as you get to meet interesting people within your organisation and learn about what they do and why they do it. You also have your finger on the pulse of the organisation and are sometimes privy to information before anyone else, which is exciting. You get to explore your creativity and learn about how much you really understand the people in your organisation and their culture, which is essential, after all, to being a good internal communications professional.

• ALSO READ: What it means to be a corporate communications professional-2, by Teresa Asha Alexander's junior at Commits, SUSHMA SHANKAR, who works with IBM in Bangalore.

What it takes to be a TV news anchor

FAYE D'SOUZA

Commits alumna FAYE D'SOUZA (Class of 2004) is the assistant editor of personal finance at ET Now in Mumbai. She also anchors the "Investors' Guide" show on the channel. Here she gives television news aspirants helpful advice on what it takes to be a news anchor:

I will not pretend to know how to become an anchor on a television news channel; I am just a product of a series of events in my life that brought me here. Even so, I don’t consider myself an “anchor” as much as I consider myself a journalist — presenting the show I work on is just one part of the job I do.

Nevertheless, I have put down some pointers that I hope might help those of you who see anchoring as a career choice.

There are two parts to being an anchor: content and presentation. Let’s start with the former.

CONTENT
There are several people who might lead you to believe that looking good is enough to become an anchor, and it probably is, but it’s not enough to keep the job. If you watch television news regularly you will know that the strongest and most respected anchors are those who are experts in their respective fields, specialists. Looks fade, knowledge and experience don’t.

READ at least seven newspapers every morning and scan updates on the internet right through the day. There is no excuse for being ill-informed in this business. Other than news, it helps to read whatever you can get your hands on. History, literature, the classics, the contemporary, art, music, even culinary books. It helps tremendously to be well-informed.

WRITE: Make a habit of writing your own scripts and run-downs. It will build your credibility as an anchor.

RESEARCH: Always be prepared. Find out everything there is to know about the guests on your show, about the stories you lead into, and the subject matter of your show.

PRESENTATION
Don’t confuse presentation with good looks. As I have noted above, looking good is temporary. But diction, clarity, and enunciation are not. Thankfully there are some tricks you can use to work on your presentation:

READ OUT LOUD: When you are reading those seven newspapers every morning, read them out loud. Become comfortable reading aloud in front of other people. If you are embarrassed by the sound of your own voice or you have trouble reading fluently, then anchoring is not going to come easily to you.

RECORD YOUR VOICE: We all think we know what we sound like, until we hear our voices played back. Make notes of the areas in which your voice falls short, the words you are having trouble pronouncing, and the problems you have with breathing while you read. Once you have a handle on your problems, speak to your teachers about them. Commits has the good fortune of having an accomplished voice trainer in none other than Ranita Ma’am, the dean, who can work wonders in this area.

WATCH YOURSELF: Make many tapes of yourself anchoring, watch them later when you are free to be your greatest critic. Make notes of the problems with your body language, facial expressions, and posture. Remember: an anchor needs to build a relationship of trust with viewers; a fidgety, nervous anchor will have no luck.

BE WELL TURNED OUT: Make sure your hair is always done, your face clean, and your clothes neat. Especially when you are not in the studio. You have to see yourself as on-air material before anyone else does. Start to look after your appearance now.

UPDATE: On November 1, 2015, Faye D'Souza launched a new channel for the Times Group, "Magic Bricks Now".

FAYE D'SOUZA IN ACTION ON MAGIC BRICKS NOW.

UPDATE (December 13, 2017): Earlier this year, Magic Bricks Now was rebranded as Mirror Now, a general news channel helmed by Faye D'Souza, who has been drawing praise from all quarters for her superb performance as journalist and anchor. Yesterday TV news legend Barkha Dutt tweeted this photo (see below). Her post read: "One for the album. I brought together Salma Sultan, Dolly Thakore, myself and @fayedsouza at @WeTheWomenAsia #WeTheWomen."

THE PHOTO BARKHA DUTT TWEETED ON DECEMBER 12.

Also read:

• What it takes to be a TV news reporter-1

• What it takes to be a TV news reporter-2

• What it means to be a sub-editor at a TV news channel 

• Want to know how to have a successful internship at a TV news channel? Read this post.  

UPDATE (May 4, 2015): Veteran journalist Aakar Patel wrote an interesting piece recently in Mint Lounge on TV anchors he has interacted with. Read the article here: "The art and whimsy of being a TV anchor".

How to get people to read — and appreciate — your Facebook posts

• Make every word count.
• Keep it simple.
• Provide context.
• Lead with the good stuff.
• Write killer headlines.
• Graphics expand the story.
• People make things interesting.
• It’s OK to use first-person.
• Consider your audience.
• Be polite.

These guidelines come from an enlightening slide presentation titled Social Media 101: Tactics, tips for beginners by Robin J. Phillips.

I would add one more tip:

• Write captions for the photographs you post on Facebook and Twitter.

Many young people I know disagree on this point. "Our pictures don't need captions," they insist. "They speak for themselves." How? I am unable to understand why anyone would go through an album-load of, say, holiday photographs, when there's no incentive to pause and think about each photograph.

The job of a caption is to tell viewers what they are looking at and why. The caption also reveals details that are not immediately apparent to viewers. And the caption helps to tell a story.

Do I practise what I preach? Take a look at my Darjeeling album — there are 83 photographs, each with a caption that, I think, helps to tell a story, sometimes with a touch of humour. Here's an example, a picture taken by my wife, Chandrika:

These monks appear to be in a hurry to get to the Ghoom Monastery. Note the one doing the herky-jerky on the railway track as he uses his mobile phone to explain to the abbot why he is late for Buddhism class.

Here's a picture from my Mobile Uploads album on Facebook:

YERCAUD, April 2010 — At sunset this little spider would wake up and begin merrily spinning its web. By the time the sun had disappeared it would be ready for dinner. Bon appetit, Spidey!

And here are a couple of great examples from a feature about "superclimbers" in National Geographic magazine (both photographs are by Jimmy Chin):

Barely holding on with a hand chalked for a better grip, Cedar Wright ignores burning muscles to pull himself across the roof of Gravity Ceiling, a route on Higher Cathedral Rock. "I'm giving it 199 percent," he says. "But I still thought I was calm and cool."

You need training to boost finger strength and a mountain of determination to grip the teeny holds along this mostly blank expanse of El Cap. Even though Kevin Jorgeson has been climbing parts of the route for three years, he was amazed by this photograph: "There's so little of me touching the wall."

Sure, these pictures are a treat in themselves, but just think how much more context the captions provide, helping viewers to understand the story behind each picture and, at the same time, making them pause longer on each picture.

Don't you want your Facebook friends to react in similar fashion to your pictures?

What it means to be a newspaper sub-2

In What it means to be a newspaper sub-1, Commits alumnus Debmalya Dutta (Class of 2011) offered personal insights into the duties and responsibilities of a newspaper sub. Here, his senior, SHERRY-MARY JACOB (Class of 2007), who is a senior sub with The Times of India in Bangalore, writes about the most vital part of the job:

SHERRY-MARY JACOB

If you thought subbing is easy, think again. We all know that one of the responsibilities of subs is to act as gatekeepers. But there's more to “gatekeeping” than just publishing authenticated news. The challenge begins with us trying to figure out what a reporter is trying to convey. This is the most vital part of our job; after all, it is the sub who acts as a conduit between the reporter and reader.      

To understand better what it is we do, I have given below two versions of a crime story. The first version is the report that was submitted to the news desk; the second version is the edited story that was published in the paper. (I should make it clear here that it's the reporter's job to get us the right facts — the news reports do not necessarily have to be written in flawless English. At ToI, we have some of the hardest-working and most intelligent reporters in the city who submit the best newsworthy stories every day, which is reflected in our daily editions.)

RAW VERSION
Mandya: In an allegedly intentional fire happening, miscreants set a gift shop ablaze at Sangam, a tourist place on the banks of Cauvery river near Srirangapatna town on Friday night.

According to SI Ramesh, a gift shops belongs to the one Ajay who was gutted in the fire. Ajay in his complaint alleged that three known human beings to him set his shop ablaze as they developed a grudge behind him. Ajay said in his complaint that items worth Rs more than Rs 2 lakh also destroyed.

Based on complaint, we arrested Naveen, Paramesh and Krishna. We are interrogat the arrested persons also calculating the actual loss occurred to complainant, Ramesh said.

A case has been registered in Srirangapatna police station.

EDITED VERSION

Miscreants set gift shop ablaze

Mandya: A few miscreants set a gift shop ablaze on Friday night at Sangam, a tourist spot on the banks of the Cauvery near Srirangapatna.

Sub-inspector Ramesh said the shop belongs to one Ajay. In his complaint, Ajay has charged three persons, who are known to him, with committing the crime. He said the three men were nursing a grudge against him. Gift articles worth over Rs 2 lakh have been gutted, he said.

Acting on the complaint, police have arrested Naveen, Paramesh and Krishna. Ramesh said they are interrogating the trio. A case has been registered at the Srirangapatna police station.

This is just one of the stories that landed in my lap the other day. Of course, I have seen worse. There was one which began with this killer line: "A case of forceful enjoyment was filed." What the reporter meant to convey was that a case of rape had been filed.

We generally get 20 to 30 such news reports (each could be 800 words long), which have to be edited in two hours. Sounds bad? You think our job sucks? Well, it certainly doesn't! We wait to get our hands on such stories so that we can bring some sparkle to them.

In conclusion, let me say that subbing is more than just knowing how to use QuarkXPress, placing words on the page, and writing a few headlines. It's like solving a puzzle. It's interesting, challenging, and, in many ways, a stress-buster.

• Also read: Why subs are the lifeblood of a news organisation.

What it means to be a newspaper sub-1

DEBMALYA DUTTA

Commits alumnus DEBMALYA DUTTA (Class of 2011), who is a sub-editor with The Statesman in Kolkata, offers personal insights into the duties and responsibilities of a newspaper sub: 

SCENE 1
R: You [expletive deleted], what did you do to my baby yesterday? Do you know how much I had to work to bring it to shape? And you just deformed it at will!
S: But it just couldn't be helped. Do understand. There really wasn’t enough room to fit it all in.
R: I don’t give a damn about your room. I’m going to speak to the boss; I’ll make sure you lose this room of yours!
S: But… Well, wish you all the best.

SCENE 2

S: Sir, the whole body won’t fit in the box!
E: Hack off the parts that are not useful, my son. Do I now have to teach you how to do the job? Give me a break….
S: Okay, I’ll make sure the task is carried out without a hue and cry.
E: That’s my boy! But do take care not to kill it.
S: Aye aye, Captain.
E: By the way, great job on R’s baby yesterday. Cheers!

No, this isn’t the script for another gore flick. Neither is the setting some gothic dungeon, and nor are these men spellers of doom (although they are quite capable of spelling doom. But that’s another story). The conversations were taking place in the editorial department of a newspaper. And the men? The Holy Trinity comprising the pugnacious reporter R, the dynamic editor E, and the durable sub S. Welcome to the life of a newspaper sub!

THE EFFECT (OR IS IT AFFECT?) OF A MISPLACED A/E
No doubt basics are boring, in which case subs must first change their middle name to “boring” (just kidding). Clearly, the basics — spellings and grammar — have to be spot-on. One doesn’t have to be a Formula 1 ace in the language, but one must make sure there aren’t too many pit-stops (as in mistakes). Over-confidence, trust me, is the bane of a deskman or -woman, and one must learn to fully use the three boons one always finds at one’s disposal: the good old dictionary, the new age internet, and the reassuring newsroom senior. No one is infallible but it’s heart-wrenching to see the newspaper apologising to the public because you made a mistake. All ye aspiring sub-editors, believe me, a rejoinder is the last thing you’d want to place on your page!

I WISH TEN SYNONYMS FOR ‘GOVERNMENT’
WERE ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE
Although we can always consult Mr. Page and Mr. Brin, deadline pressures often do not allow us that luxury. Knowing your synonyms (some basic ones, at least) is a big help, especially when writing headlines and captions, because we subs are always battling against time and for space (thanks, respectively,  to the circulation and advertisement departments about whom we crib often, though we all know that without these worthies there would be no newspaper in the first place. After all, it is the ad revenue that brings in the money and it is the circulation people who send out the paper to readers).

Aspiring subs will want to know: Is there a sure-to-work mantra that will help you achieve the unachievable? Yes, there is… reading! Reading not only newspapers, but also books. My vote goes to non-fiction, though I must say I admire the immense talent involved in referring to a vampire or a werewolf by an unthinkable number of synonyms. Indeed, the dawn of literature is breaking, it seems. Anyway, even if you know a limited number of words, try to know their correct usage and never ever, I repeat, never ever use fancy figures of speech (you don’t want to end up looking like a moron because of a misused oxymoron).

A SCYTHE OR A SCALPEL?
Remember, the scythe is for communists. For us journalists, the weapon of choice (not of mass destruction) is always the scalpel. Or chisel, because I like to compare my job to that of a sculptor.

The reporters present you with just the frame (no offence intended, friends). It’s up to the sub to mould it into a desirable piece of sculpture by, where necessary, chiselling away the unwanted parts. The frame-maker might not be happy with the end result, but it is understood that the sub is the last watchdog; as such, it is the sub’s prerogative to tweak a story keeping many factors in mind: the readers, the newspaper’s image, the page deadlines.

Having said that, subs must curb the tendency to rewrite everything that comes their way. Sure, it may feel good to leave your signature on the copy, but, first, time is not on our side, and, second, a good sub’s work is, by definition, supposed to be invisible. So whenever you feel that urge to make things exceptionally better, just remember the words of wisdom offered to John Lennon by Mother Mary.

There might be times, though, when you are forced to resort to a lawnmower because even a scythe won’t help when you have to fit a 700-word story into a modified single column. On such occasions, quickly identify the news point. What will be relevant for your readers? Keep those portions intact. And the rest? Hail to thee, O Delete Button!

NO RESERVATIONS FOR TECHTARDS
You have to know QuarkXpress inside out. Not only should you know the shortcuts, which will be of immense help, but you also have to be up-to-date on the different tricks and cheats of this ubiquitous software. Most of the work a sub does involves the computer; no matter where you stand on the issue of “this wretched life dominated by machines”, you have to absolutely dote on your computer.

Learning the correct and intelligent use of the internet is a must (keep in mind, though, that websites that come with the prefix “wiki” are not completely reliable). The internet can be a saviour at times, but it can also trap you in a web of no-return.

In addition to knowing Quark inside out, a sound knowledge of Photoshop will also come in handy. The designers will work on the layout but it is the sub who approves the final page design. Believe me, a sub who has drunk the cocktail of news sense, alertness, precision, and aesthetics is a rare expert of the highest quality. Newspaper editors are perennially on the lookout for such subs.

LOCK, STOCK, AND SIX SMOKING BARRELS

• The much-famed Carl Bernstein once said, “The pressure to compete, the fear somebody else will make the splash first, creates a frenzied environment in which a blizzard of information is presented and serious questions may not be raised.” If you read between the lines, it becomes clear that the ability to work fast and with the utmost possible precision is much-sought-after. This ability comes with confidence, and confidence comes with practice.

• In any creative field, hierarchies are more or less flat. There’s no wondering, “Am I the right person to say this?” If you spot a mistake on your senior’s part, you should point it out. If there’s scope for improvement, do make the suggestion. If you think a news item is worthy of mention, do recommend it.

• Your primary responsibilities may be editing and rewriting, but make time for writing, too. In addition to earning you a byline, it’ll also help you improve your editing skills. Start a blog and write comment pieces on any topic under the sun. If you have a story idea, approach the news editor or the features editor for a discussion and if the articles you submit are good, they’ll be published. A sub who can write is like a pilot who can also work as a makeshift steward.

• In the office, try to be cordial with everyone. Right from the boss to the attendant. Not for the pleasure of being altruistic, but for those extra cups of coffee, those instant inset stories that you so-desperately need to fill up some awkward space on your page, or for that helping hand on those dark days when your work is too much to handle alone. Diplomacy is the key in this business and there’s hardly any lock this key doesn’t open. Even the door of the grumpy deputy editor!

• A questioning nature is very important if you want to be a good sub. Good subs know there is no such thing as a stupid question. They question everything. Subs know that if they have doubts, so will the reader.

• “Attitude” — be it deserved or undeserved — is totally undesirable. You might have to hear words that aren’t enlisted in any dictionary and face situations which you never dreamt you’d be in. You might have to face a severe tongue-lashing for a not-so-severe mistake. But that’s the nature of this business and those are the professional hazards. To borrow a certain man’s words, you must “suck it up”!

A PERSONAL POST-SCRIPT
I don’t know if I have been able to market the job of a sub well, but I have tried to ensure that my friends don’t remain ignorant of the role of the unavoidable alter-ego of the “world’s best profession”.

All said and done, to enjoy the work of a sub-editor one must possess one of the deadly sins in abundance: Pride. The pride that comes from making things better, being relied upon, and feeling at home in a madhouse.

I must also mention the huge advantage of possessing a Press card: a single flash of this card can help you in unthinkable ways. So, for all those who are romantic enough to have allowed the bug of journalism to lay eggs inside their cerebrum but are too realistic to find solace in pursuing Advani’s chariot or keeping a check on whom Kalmadi is drinking tea with, the news desk beckons.

A PROFESSIONAL POST-SCRIPT
To once again borrow the words of that certain man, a good sub is worth his or her weight in gold. And, to add my own, good subs are as endangered as the wild ass of Kutch (hope you understand why I chose this particular animal for the comparison). Nevertheless, supply of fresh blood is a necessity and all donors will be duly rewarded. Certainly in kind, if not in cash!

Also read:

• What it means to be a newspaper sub-2

• Why subs are the lifeblood of a news organisation

• 10 quotations from writers and editors on the importance of editing (or revision)

• FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES: What We Talk About When We Talk About Editing 

• Cartoons courtesy: CartoonBank, CartoonStock, and Hearst Newspapers

How to avoid "speed bumps" when including designations in your stories

Here is a quote from the latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek:

“Right-of-way policies are just convoluted,” says Kunal Bajaj, director for India at Analysys Mason, the London consulting and market research firm. “You have to speak to between 10 and 20 different agencies for every route.”

In many Indian publications, that quote would be written in this fashion:

“Right-of-way policies are just convoluted,” says Kunal Bajaj, director, India, Analysys Mason, London. “You have to speak to between 10 and 20 different agencies for every route.”

Notice the difference? Aren't the "speed bumps" in Kunal Bajaj's designation in the second instance enough to give readers a headache? Will they then continue to read the story?

Something to think about, I hope.

*

Here are more "designations" from the Economist:

David Johns, chief information officer at Owens Corning, a building-materials maker, is full of praise for TCS....

Jagdish Rao, a technology chief at Citigroup, says most of the consulting work TCS has done so far has been on systems TCS had built or implemented itself. Tom Rodenhauser of Kennedy Information, which studies the consulting industry, agrees that it has yet to make a breakthrough in high-end work.

Amar Naga, the boss of the Milford facility, admits that consulting proper is so far just 2.6% of TCS’s revenue.

Read the Economist story on TCS in its entirety here: From Mumbai to Midwest.