Satish K Singh, Editor, Zee News
We will be more aggressive and we will pick up more topics of relevance for the people. We are going to be more insightful, indepth and comprehensive, serious and cutting-edge in terms of reporting and analysing various issues. Apart from that, now on we will be doing more and more campaign-based news content on issues of mass interest.
We will be more aggressive and we will pick up more topics of relevance for the people. We are going to be more insightful, indepth and comprehensive, serious and cutting-edge in terms of reporting and analysing various issues. Apart from that, now on we will be doing more and more campaign-based news content on issues of mass interest.
Q. As we understand, Editors of news channels interact amongst themselves via emails on various issues. Is the process still being followed? Yes, we interact regularly through emails and face to face consultations. However, it depends on the issues, which are sensitive in nature.
Q. But, why did you choose this particular time to launch this campaign? We have always been followers of serious news. Zee News should be credited for having taken up the issue of price rise and corruption much before newspapers or other media reported on it. We started a campaign against corruption in 2007. Now, it is fashionable to talk about corruption. Everybody tries to join the bandwagon as they do not want to be left out. But news channels need to have a sense of the issue to deal with serious issues with seriousness.
I recall that when we were raising these issues through our channel way back, a very senior entrepreneur of the country asked me, “Do you really think these issues will pick up?” I replied, “For sure”. And it turned out to be true established when we saw the spontaneous turnout of citizens at Jantar-Mantar, who are sick of corruption. It was not Anna Hazare who brought the crowd, but the crowd that turned out was frustrated at the prevailing helpless state of affairs.
Q. Many say that the Anna Hazare movement was nothing but media hoopla? What are your views on it? People supported Anna because they were sick of corruption. And on this particular issue, media stood up for the right cause, perhaps, because media understood the common mass better – their aspirations and their problems.
Q. What are your views on copy-paste programming – for instance taking YouTube visuals and making hours of programme out of it? I am not against it. But anything we broadcast should have a perspective, depth, credibility and viewpoint. It should not be sensationalist and trivial. It should carry substance with understanding.
Q. Most of the Hindi news channels give fair space to entertainment content. As an Editor, how do you see this trend? I believe the channels that are showing more entertainment content and less news content lack sense of conviction, knowledge and professionalism. They lack in competence, so for them the easy route is to air entertainment content to attract viewers. They feel that common people do not want to see serious news. They are just taking the viewers for granted, which is not fair at all.
Q. There are many young talents opting for the media profession. Does the kind of talent that media colleges are generating these days for broadcast media match the industry’s expectations? To some extent we see good talent in the industry today. But most of the media colleges are just minting money and cheating students who want to be a part of media.
Q. How do you see the placement of advertorials in news content of any news channel? I think if we are successful in raising relevant issues, empowering the needy and delivering what is expected from us, then I don’t mind if advertorials are being broadcast. Because we are not a government-funded channel, we also have to generate revenue to run our operations. There is no harm in having such properties on the channels from time to time. However, it should not at all be paid news. Advertorials should be relevant, like we do some university surveys, programmes on medical or IIT entrance, and so on – it must give value for money to the viewers. We reject many proposals on advertorials because we cannot compromise on our journalistic ethics or viewers’ trust. We are very cautious before taking any decision on advertorials. And if the parameters are not violated, I have no issues with advertorials occasionally.
Q. In Zee News, in terms of in-house training, what are some of the things that you do? We keep having regular internal workshops. We train raw talent, supervise them and give them the technical training so that they can be well versed with the operation system of any media house.
Q. What are some of your plans for 2011? We will be more aggressive and we will pick up more topics of relevance for the people. We are going to be more insightful, indepth and comprehensive, serious and cutting-edge in terms of reporting and analysing various issues. Apart from that, now on we will be doing more and more campaign-based news content on issues of mass interest like water crisis, river cleaning, environment issues, RTI awareness, etc. We are in the process of introducing some interactive talk shows, and the programming will also focus more on youth centric issues – their problems and solutions. Soon we will have a show which will have only positive news as content. Besides these, we are working on a health show as well.
Q. Tell us more about the content policy you follow in Zee News? The entertainment and sports content in Zee News is much less and proportionate. News channels need to understand that we are news media, when we stick to ‘News’, we have the acceptance, say, credibility and people’s trust with us. But once you deviate from ‘News’ you lose all these components. There are many news channels that have flooded their content line-up with entertainment and ‘touch and go’ news, we don’t follow that.
Q. How do you see the different approaches of reporting in English and Hindi news channels on global events like the Middle-East crisis or the Osama killing? Are Hindi news channels relying more on agency news? I do not agree with this. We have our representatives abroad and we report from there. We have a representative in New York; many Hindi channels sent their reporters to Japan (the earthquake and blast in the nuclear plant) and Egypt (the uprising) as well. Yes, the English audience is perhaps more global than the Hindi audience. So they have more footprints outside India. English news channels perhaps spend more money for newsgathering offshore comparatively, but we have the services of global news agencies like APTN, SNTV and Reuters, so we do not suffer.
It must also be understood that English viewers are more educated while a section of the Hindi viewers are not yet ready to consume ‘global’ news. Perhaps, the news consumption and news expectations of the viewers of Hindi heartland differ from the English ones.
Talking about English news channels, they are more interested in discussions, particularly during prime time. But I think chit-chat and talk shows are not enough in themselves. We comparatively got higher ratings in the recently held State Assembly Elections in India several times over and above the English channels, which can easily be seen as proof of what the viewers like and it will keep on changing. So, we can’t impose content as we think.
Q. Apart from the national channel, Zee Network also has several regional channels. How does the network of channels help you? It helps a lot. It is a two-way process. Inputs from these regional sister channels get space in national news, while regional channels get national news. The network helps in leveraging manpower, machine power, expenditure, logistics, infrastructure, and so on.
Q. Zee News has recently launched a campaign aimed at bringing back the ‘seriousness of purpose’ in dissemination of news. We would like to understand from you the thought process behind this campaign and your channel’s stand on this? Yes, we have launched this campaign to bring back the seriousness in news. Through this campaign, we are referring to news that really matters. News that make a difference to someone’s life, aspirations, advancement and growth. Also, news that ensures accountability of people who are in power.
We can’t call everything news – as most of the channels believe these days. We can have a bit of entertainment and sports in our news line-up, but it does not form the core of our news. When we talk about news, it is not only about reporting something superficially, but going into the depth and width of the issue. But, this is not as simple as it sounds. The ‘fast news’ concept – which is being followed by many channels – is just information which can be covered by the ticker space of any news channel. Hence, news channels need to understand that news is a serious business. News should be aimed at making the people of the country better citizens as they can fight for their rights. They (citizens) should be aware of their basic rights – from voting to the use of RTI (Right to Information) – they should know how to exercise it. And, in terms of getting all these information, viewers expect a lot from us. They watch us with hope as they consider us as their representative watchdog on their behalf.
Satish K Singh has been leading the editorial team at Zee News as its Editor since 2007. He has over 15 years’ experience in journalism. Prior to joining Zee News, Singh was with NDTV India (2005-07) as Senior Editor, Output. His earlier assignments include Input & Output Editor at Zee News (2002-05), Chief of Bureau, Zee News (1999-2002), correspondent with APCA (1995), and reporter with Nalini Singh Associates (1994).
Singh specialises in Indian polity and society, international relations, domestic policies and macro issues, besides national and international economy and sports and health news.
He is a frequent public speaker on various forums relating to social and political issues, including human development, cultural and media matters.
In conversation with exchange4media’s Nitin Pandey, Singh speaks at length on Zee News’ content strategy, bringing back seriousness of purpose in news, nurturing talent and more...
Q. As we understand, Editors of news channels interact amongst themselves via emails on various issues. Is the process still being followed? Yes, we interact regularly through emails and face to face consultations. However, it depends on the issues, which are sensitive in nature.
Q. But, why did you choose this particular time to launch this campaign? We have always been followers of serious news. Zee News should be credited for having taken up the issue of price rise and corruption much before newspapers or other media reported on it. We started a campaign against corruption in 2007. Now, it is fashionable to talk about corruption. Everybody tries to join the bandwagon as they do not want to be left out. But news channels need to have a sense of the issue to deal with serious issues with seriousness.
I recall that when we were raising these issues through our channel way back, a very senior entrepreneur of the country asked me, “Do you really think these issues will pick up?” I replied, “For sure”. And it turned out to be true established when we saw the spontaneous turnout of citizens at Jantar-Mantar, who are sick of corruption. It was not Anna Hazare who brought the crowd, but the crowd that turned out was frustrated at the prevailing helpless state of affairs.
Q. Many say that the Anna Hazare movement was nothing but media hoopla? What are your views on it? People supported Anna because they were sick of corruption. And on this particular issue, media stood up for the right cause, perhaps, because media understood the common mass better – their aspirations and their problems.
Q. What are your views on copy-paste programming – for instance taking YouTube visuals and making hours of programme out of it? I am not against it. But anything we broadcast should have a perspective, depth, credibility and viewpoint. It should not be sensationalist and trivial. It should carry substance with understanding.
Q. Most of the Hindi news channels give fair space to entertainment content. As an Editor, how do you see this trend? I believe the channels that are showing more entertainment content and less news content lack sense of conviction, knowledge and professionalism. They lack in competence, so for them the easy route is to air entertainment content to attract viewers. They feel that common people do not want to see serious news. They are just taking the viewers for granted, which is not fair at all.
Q. There are many young talents opting for the media profession. Does the kind of talent that media colleges are generating these days for broadcast media match the industry’s expectations? To some extent we see good talent in the industry today. But most of the media colleges are just minting money and cheating students who want to be a part of media.
Q. How do you see the placement of advertorials in news content of any news channel? I think if we are successful in raising relevant issues, empowering the needy and delivering what is expected from us, then I don’t mind if advertorials are being broadcast. Because we are not a government-funded channel, we also have to generate revenue to run our operations. There is no harm in having such properties on the channels from time to time. However, it should not at all be paid news. Advertorials should be relevant, like we do some university surveys, programmes on medical or IIT entrance, and so on – it must give value for money to the viewers. We reject many proposals on advertorials because we cannot compromise on our journalistic ethics or viewers’ trust. We are very cautious before taking any decision on advertorials. And if the parameters are not violated, I have no issues with advertorials occasionally.
Q. In Zee News, in terms of in-house training, what are some of the things that you do? We keep having regular internal workshops. We train raw talent, supervise them and give them the technical training so that they can be well versed with the operation system of any media house.
Q. What are some of your plans for 2011? We will be more aggressive and we will pick up more topics of relevance for the people. We are going to be more insightful, indepth and comprehensive, serious and cutting-edge in terms of reporting and analysing various issues. Apart from that, now on we will be doing more and more campaign-based news content on issues of mass interest like water crisis, river cleaning, environment issues, RTI awareness, etc. We are in the process of introducing some interactive talk shows, and the programming will also focus more on youth centric issues – their problems and solutions. Soon we will have a show which will have only positive news as content. Besides these, we are working on a health show as well.
Q. Tell us more about the content policy you follow in Zee News? The entertainment and sports content in Zee News is much less and proportionate. News channels need to understand that we are news media, when we stick to ‘News’, we have the acceptance, say, credibility and people’s trust with us. But once you deviate from ‘News’ you lose all these components. There are many news channels that have flooded their content line-up with entertainment and ‘touch and go’ news, we don’t follow that.
Q. How do you see the different approaches of reporting in English and Hindi news channels on global events like the Middle-East crisis or the Osama killing? Are Hindi news channels relying more on agency news? I do not agree with this. We have our representatives abroad and we report from there. We have a representative in New York; many Hindi channels sent their reporters to Japan (the earthquake and blast in the nuclear plant) and Egypt (the uprising) as well. Yes, the English audience is perhaps more global than the Hindi audience. So they have more footprints outside India. English news channels perhaps spend more money for newsgathering offshore comparatively, but we have the services of global news agencies like APTN, SNTV and Reuters, so we do not suffer.
It must also be understood that English viewers are more educated while a section of the Hindi viewers are not yet ready to consume ‘global’ news. Perhaps, the news consumption and news expectations of the viewers of Hindi heartland differ from the English ones.
Talking about English news channels, they are more interested in discussions, particularly during prime time. But I think chit-chat and talk shows are not enough in themselves. We comparatively got higher ratings in the recently held State Assembly Elections in India several times over and above the English channels, which can easily be seen as proof of what the viewers like and it will keep on changing. So, we can’t impose content as we think.
Q. Apart from the national channel, Zee Network also has several regional channels. How does the network of channels help you? It helps a lot. It is a two-way process. Inputs from these regional sister channels get space in national news, while regional channels get national news. The network helps in leveraging manpower, machine power, expenditure, logistics, infrastructure, and so on.
Q. Zee News has recently launched a campaign aimed at bringing back the ‘seriousness of purpose’ in dissemination of news. We would like to understand from you the thought process behind this campaign and your channel’s stand on this? Yes, we have launched this campaign to bring back the seriousness in news. Through this campaign, we are referring to news that really matters. News that make a difference to someone’s life, aspirations, advancement and growth. Also, news that ensures accountability of people who are in power.
We can’t call everything news – as most of the channels believe these days. We can have a bit of entertainment and sports in our news line-up, but it does not form the core of our news. When we talk about news, it is not only about reporting something superficially, but going into the depth and width of the issue. But, this is not as simple as it sounds. The ‘fast news’ concept – which is being followed by many channels – is just information which can be covered by the ticker space of any news channel. Hence, news channels need to understand that news is a serious business. News should be aimed at making the people of the country better citizens as they can fight for their rights. They (citizens) should be aware of their basic rights – from voting to the use of RTI (Right to Information) – they should know how to exercise it. And, in terms of getting all these information, viewers expect a lot from us. They watch us with hope as they consider us as their representative watchdog on their behalf.
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