'If you want to be a journalist, you’ve got to love the profession'
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| Receiving the PoleStar awards in Chennai. Flanked by R Gopalakrishnan, chairman, Tata Sons (L) and Arun Jain, chairman, Polaris (R) |
BANGALORE (Dec. 5)—The SoftCopy interviewed Information Week reporter Ayushman Baruah, winner of the PoleStarAward, a prize for excellence in journalism, by email. Following is the interview.
Rashmi Sinha: How does it feel on winning the PoleStar award?
Ayushman Baruah: It’s exciting to win an award of this stature. The PoleStar award was instituted in 1998 and since then it has been recognizing outstanding talent in business and IT journalism. All the earlier PoleStar award winners are doing extremely well in their lives today holding high positions in the journalism industry. I feel honored to be a part of this group.
You are very strict about punctuality and discipline. How have you molded yourself to be so specific?
Punctuality and discipline is usually a function of two things. One is family upbringing and the other is schooling. I believe these are characteristics you pick up early in life and it’s almost impossible to learn them post adulthood. My father who is the mentor in our family has brought us up in such a way that we learnt the value of time quite early in life. So, I think my sisters and my mother are as disciplined as I am. It’s something that comes naturally to us.
My schooling is the other factor that contributed to this. I consider myself fortunate to have studied in St. Edmund’s school under Bro. Eric S. D’Souza. Dasu, as we fondly call him, is a genius who taught us almost all the subjects with innovative techniques that encourage creativity and lateral thinking. He is also perhaps the most disciplined person I have come across so far—if you are late for class by two minutes, he would keep you out for two long days. No one questioned. He made us understand that if you are late, you are out. It’s a fair game. Today, as I look back, I realize that the subjects he taught us were only a small part of his teaching. Most importantly, he taught us for life. He made sure even the quietest and the best student went out of the class once. He wanted the so-called good boys too to come out of their cocoons and experience the real world which might be cruel to you sometimes.
Why did you choose journalism as your career? Did you always want to be a journalist?
If you actually trace back to my college days, I became a journalist more by chance than by choice. I was in the Science stream in class 12 and I too appeared for the typical engineering and medical entrance exams. After all, as per Indian traditions, one is successful only if you are a doctor or an engineer. If you are the only son, you are especially left with no other option. But I wasn’t really interested in either engineering or medicine, instead I enjoyed writing and public speaking and I wanted to do something on these lines. So, I thank my parents for having the vision and the courage for allowing me to study mass communication at a time when media wasn’t a mainstream subject. I did my BA (Media Technologies) from St. Anthony’s College in Shillong which is one of the finest colleges and the first college in India to start an undergraduate programme in media. There has been no looking back since then. As I continued with my classes, I got so engrossed in the subject that I went on to do my master’s in communications from Commits, Bangalore. After that, things started to fall in place and today I am sure I made the right career choice. I always tell the younger generation that it is better be an A-grade journalist than a B-grade engineer or a doctor.
What are the major challenges you face as a journalist?
Generally speaking, media houses today are more revenue driven than journalism driven. They have a revenue target to meet and they chalk out an editorial calendar based on the revenue target. This according to me is ridiculous. It should be the other way round where first you chalk out a relevant editorial calendar or strategy and then build revenues around it. But it’s the opposite that’s happening in most media houses, if not all. So, this is one of the main challenges any good journalist would face as he/she is made to do something keeping only the revenue in mind. I want the business guys in media houses to realize that a good product will always sell. Focus on the product and sales will fall in place. I have said this in several forums and I am saying it again—good journalism is good business.
Why did you specifically choose the IT and business sector?
This again is more by chance than by design. I was given to cover the IT beat and today I think I am best suited for that. My science background, as mentioned earlier, helps me here as I understand the fundamentals well. The rest can be picked up on the job. Additionally, Bangalore is the best place to cover IT and I happen to work right here—in the Silicon Valley of India.
What do you think is the position of India in terms of business and economy?
India is in an enviable position in terms of its business and economy. Though the GDP has slowed down relatively in the past few years, the future seems to be bright. The World Bank has ranked India as the 10th-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $1.84 trillion in 2012. The U.S., at $15.6 trillion, is the largest economy. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission recently said that by 2030, India will have the third-largest GDP in the world, the largest being China and the second being the U.S. India is also one of the fastest growing countries with an emerging young population who speaks English and understands technology. So, the scene is bright.
Online media is getting more popular and handy than other forms of news. What do you think is its take in India?
One can write a book on online versus print and many people have said many different things. So, let me be focused and precise to simplify things in my own perspective. I think globally online media is picking up based on two main factors—reach and measurability. In online, you can measure the number of times an article has been viewed or an ad has been clicked on. So, it’s more measurable and quantifiable. In print, this is just not possible. Its reach is evidently wider because the internet has no boundaries. But in a country like India, where internet penetration is still limited, online media will take time to scale up. Having said that, the dynamics are fast changing with the coming of mobile devices. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the number of internet subscribers in India stands at 164.81 million as of March 31, 2013, with seven out of eight accessing the internet from their mobile phones. But again, I personally don’t think it will be a rip and replace kind of a thing. Both print and online will coexist.
What does it take to be a good IT and business journalist?
The fundamentals of journalism are same regardless of the beat you do—be it IT, business, crime or page 3. You got to have your fundamentals right. Have the courage to say and do what is right and the rest will fall in place. A basic understanding of finance and technology will be an added advantage if you are covering IT and business.
How is IT and business journalism different in India from other countries?
I have been traveling to quite a few places around the world over the past few years. So, I have taken this opportunity to observe what you are asking me today. Technology is universal and needs to be communicated in a universal language, which is English. So, this is where English speaking countries like India has an advantage over other Asian countries like Malaysia or China. There are terms like the CIO, server, storage and networking—that you just can’t translate into your local language. In the U.S., most tech journalists are from a technology background and I could sense they have deep domain knowledge. India is still evolving as far as technology journalism is concerned.
Would you ever like to work in any other profession?
My father, who’s retired now, was the director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Meghalaya, which is under the police department. And, as I child, I grew up with IPS officers and used to be thrilled with their power and uniform. So, my childhood dream was to be a police officer. But, that’s an old story and now I am happy to be a journalist. Moreover, I don’t think any other profession can give you as much satisfaction as journalism can give.
You come from the Northeast and you are now based in Bangalore. Did you ever think of working as a journalist in the Northeast?
I would be happy to work as a journalist in the Northeast because there are so many untold stories out there. The region is untapped not only in terms of its beauty but also in terms of its news worthiness. I hope, the region will provide enough opportunities for us to go back and work there. If not, maybe I would have to create those opportunities on my own.
What are your future plans?
When I am talking about the future here, I am speaking with a long-term perspective. I would love to start a form of media where journalism is put first. As I said earlier, I will build the editorial strategy first and then build revenues around it. Not the other way round. I am also not sure about the form of media, whether it is print, electronic, online, or something else, as the world is fast changing and so is the consumer behavior.
What would you like to say to the young journalists of the country?
If you want to be a journalist, you’ve got to love the profession. I have seen many journalists who are in this profession just for the sake of it. They talk the same language as the business or marketing guys. It’s sad to see many senior journalists and editors who don’t have the spine to stand up for the journalistic ethics. If you are one of them, don’t join the profession. There are plenty of other jobs out there that would pay you better. The current trend is that media houses are driven by revenues and it’s the business guys who call the shots and this will continue unless young journalists who join the profession stand up for journalism. You must be able to say no when you need to and stand up for what you think is right. Never succumb to external pressures.
(Views are personal)
OTHER INTERVIEWS AND NEWS REPORTS BY VARIOUS MEDIA
The Shillong Times
The Meghalaya Times
The North East Today
India North East
