There could be several reasons for individuals and organisations being keen on editorial coverage. Trust and awareness remain the two major factors traditionally associated with editorial media. You tend to believe more when you read something in a newspaper or watch it on television than when someone tells you something or it is out on social media.
Media Coverage bug hits a 11-year-old
The Republic Day on Sunday, January 26, 1986 will forever remain etched in my memory. It was the day my name appeared in a newspaper for the first time…in a leading national daily from the Eastern part of the country. I was only 11 and lived in Jamshedpur back then.
Sometime towards the end of December 1985, there was an announcement in the newspaper requesting children aged between 8 and 15 to send in their thoughts on Republic Day in less than 50 words. It also mentioned that the best letters will be published in the newspaper edition dated January 26, 1986. I got very excited at the thought of my name appearing in a newspaper.
I immediately tore out a page from my rough book and started writing. The first draft did not come out well…and I tore out another page…then another…and another. After 7 – 8 drafts, I felt that it had come out fine. I quietly took an envelope and stamp from a box where my father used to keep these. I didn’t want to let even my parents know what I was doing…my intent was to pleasantly surprise them with my name in the newspaper on Republic Day.
I put the letter in the envelope, affixed the stamp, sealed it and posted it. After posting, I prayed…everyday till Sunday, January 26, 1986.
Those days, copies of national newspapers used to come to Jamshedpur from Calcutta, and were delivered in the afternoon…generally between 12:00 noon and 1:00 P.M. On Sunday, January 26, 1986 too, it came within the same timeframe…but for my eagerness, the wait seemed to be too long.
It was also a time when newspaper delivery boys / men had an impeccable aim. They would tightly roll the newspapers into a tubular form and throw them from their moving bicycles towards the intended balconies, verandas and doors…and the dailies would land perfectly at those very balconies, verandas and doors.
That day too, as soon as the newspaper came, I picked it up, flattened it, smoothened it, opened it and scanned thoroughly and eagerly…and there it was.
“I want to do something brave and get the bravery award from the President of India Giani Zail Singh at the Republic Day parade in Delhi. I also want to meet our Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and do shake hand with him.”
Underneath was my name printed in bold letters; and the next line had my school and city names in italics.
The editorial desk had made a few small changes to what I had sent…they corrected ‘Gyani’ to ‘Giani’ and changed ‘marchpast’ to ‘parade’. But they were generous enough to let me ‘do shake hand’ with Mr. Rajiv Gandhi.
This small snippet of a coverage made me quite a celebrity in the neighbourhood for close to a week.
It was indeed a Republic Day to remember.
The lure of Traditional Media
In my 25+ years of experience as a PR / Communications professional, I have been part of several conversations about PR now shifting from Traditional to Digital, with the growing importance of social media and the digital medium. And people always seem to be impressed and bought-in. But somewhere down the line, it’s back to the good old traditional PR demands of ‘Where’s my coverage in Hindustan Times / The Times of India / The Hindu / The Telegraph / Deccan Herald?’ (depending on the region) and so on and so forth.
There are also instances where someone is very digi-savvy, but still wants to see himself in a print media, just because ‘his mother reads that particular newspaper, and he wants to be there so that his mother can feel more proud of him’.
One thing is clear…however much we talk or act digital, traditional media is not going to go anytime soon.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Vijay likes to watch old Hindi classic films and listen to old Hindi film songs, and has an enviable collection of both of these. He enjoys reading autobiographies and biographies, and also short stories, his favourite authors being R. K. Narayan, Munshi Premchand, Leo Tolstoy and Guy de
Maupassant. Vijay also has a hobby of collecting news clippings (from newspapers and magazines) of important events across the globe…events that can be truly classified as ‘Breaking News’ or ‘Front Page News’.
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