With my tongue firmly in cheek and fingers crossed, here is what I wish would happen in the Rs 83,000-crore Indian media and entertainment industry in 2014.
* In the interests of improving the standards of journalism in India, I wish media owners and publishers decided to invest at least 10 per cent of their revenue in training their editorial staff - reporters, editors, subeditors and others. Can they set out norms that ensure every staffer on the content side spends a certain number of days training? Almost every major news organisation globally - Reuters and the BBC, for instance - has great training programmes and schools. Why not get trainers from there? The large global media bodies - WAN-IFRA, Poynter and the Society of Publishers in Asia, among scores of others - offer training programmes, many of which are funded by them. Can owners and editors nominate staffers - or encourage them to apply - for such training programmes?
An army of well-trained journalists will do a world of good not just to the quality of journalism in India but also to the nature of debates. For instance, a crash course in basic economics will help journalists question decisions by the judiciary, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), or the government or any other body with greater effect. The lack of economic understanding and the stamp of suspicion on any policy mean that anybody who says the word "scam" is heard, which harms the sectors and companies concerned and, most of all, the economy. For example, the fallout of the 2G scam could have been contained if media were more economically literate and questioned the CAG's calculations - ditto for legal or social literacy. If journalists are well trained, their reliance on experts for panel discussions or otherwise reduces drastically. And their questioning of the experts improves too. It sounds simple, but it is doable only if media owners put their mind to it and editors take their ego out of the equation.
* I wish the ministry of information and broadcasting thought hard about its role in an industry that is growing across segments and markets, and which is operating in a world very different from the one envisaged at the time of Independence. The ministry of information and broadcasting is currently both policymaker and regulator, an anachronism that does not exist in most free media markets. More importantly, the government is one of the biggest advertisers through its Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity. The conflicts these three roles involve play havoc with media policy in India, which has not outgrown the ad hocism and moods of the government of the moment. My vote for the information and broadcasting minister of the century will go to the person who has the gumption to change this by setting in motion the process for creating an independent-of-the-government media regulator a la Ofcom (United Kingdom) or the Federal Communications Commission (United States).
* I hope 3D technology dies or fades out. Those 3D glasses are hateful to wear, blur your vision, and give you a headache, watery eyes and nausea. In order to know how much people hate watching films in 3D, just type "I hate 3D" on Google and watch the results. Incidentally, 3D has simply not worked as a consumer-friendly technology for over 50 years. The only reason film companies and multiplexes keep hawking 3D is that it pushes up ticket prices by 50 to 100 per cent. So the trade ensures viewers have no option but to watch films in 3D, by screening the 2D versions on faraway screens or in other languages. For instance, the only way I could have watched Avatar or Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2D was in Hindi or at a theatre 25 kilometres from my house. I wish theatres and studios made 2D and 3D versions available at an equal number of screens and the same price, so that it is a win-win situation for everyone.
* I hope all the online evangelists will relax a bit. Digital media is mainstream; advertising rates and traffic are going up; and most mass media companies are getting the big picture. Could the digital types, then, get rid of their sneery attitude towards all the other media? At every conference and in every discussion or workshop that I have been part of, there is no exchange of ideas with anyone who works in the digital business. There is only an us-versus-them debate. All the problems with newspapers and television channels are listed against the advantages of digital media. But the fact remains the most successful and profitable companies online - T-Series, Hungama or Shemaroo - are firms that have learnt to mix the old and the new. Eventually, more successes online will come from companies that are hybrids between technology, content and platform firms. Can the digital guys just relax and enjoy the ride?
There are several other wishes. But here is the one I will end the column with - the wish that you have a very happy 2014.
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
