Alakananda of Asianet

[Ullas]

[Ullas]

This is a discussion group on Alakananda, one of the best newsreaders Malayalam Viewers have ever seen. She won the best news presenter last year. This is a group devoted to her and her fans. Only good messages please. I am her sincere fan, being a journalist too. All fans can send in their views.
The news gets life and is felt when it is presented well. The credit to that should defietely go to the News caster. Nidhi Razdan of NDTV is considered the best presenter in the country today.
I am sure Alakananda is equally the best presenter for the Malayalee news viewers all over the globe.
Alakananda is a goddess and a humble lady news caster. I welcome all of your views in this regard.
Ulhas kumar, Bangalore

[Ullas]

The format of news presentation should move from simple newsreading to newscasting. Not everyone can do it, of course.' Rajeswari Mohan


* * *
`Newsreading and news anchoring are two different things. The difference is in the presentation.' Maya Sreekumar


* * *
TIME: 1 p.m. A voice from the TV rings out, Namskaram, Pradhana Vaarthakal ... .

One sits glued to the TV for the next half an hour not only to gauge the latest political manoeuvres of the day or get an update on the latest scam but also to scrutinise the person reading out the news. One does not miss anything -- from their pronunciation and intonation to their sari and hairdo. And how much ever we see them, we never seem to get tired of them.

While names such as Neethi Ravindran, Rini Khanna and Salma Sultan on DD national network evoke nostalgia, the Malayalam media has its share of veterans. Maya of Asianet and Rajeswari Mohan of DD are among them.

An increase in the number of Malayalam channels in recent times has seen the tribe of newsreaders enjoy unprecedented celebrity status. The voice of the channel, so to speak, they, more than any reporter or correspondent, are in the limelight.

And like every other subject of discussion in the State, they arouse a fair share of praise, envy and anger.

Says Maya, a reader with Asianet, "The response of the public is very encouraging. A few years ago, when not many channels were around, we used to get invited to attend public functions and the like. Now, it finds expression in the form of letters. We get all kinds - some commenting on our reading, others about our looks, sari or make-up."

Out on the street, it's not very different. Says Rani of Indiavision, "People walk up to ask how we are doing. At times, they are not able to identify where they have seen us before. There is also a lot of staring and whispering when they spot us."

"The experiences are mostly good. Only in rare cases have things taken a turn for the worse. Some people keep calling up or try to follow you around," says Alakananda, a newsreader with Asianet.

Dinakar, a reader with Kairali channel for the past three years, enjoys being recognised on the road. "I never get irritated," he says.

Says Vinitha, who reads the English bulletins on Jeevan TV, "It is not that we get the kind of adulation that film stars do. People do recognise us but know that we are into a serious kind of job and therefore don't come up to talk."

Says Rajeshwari Mohan, "Since I look different in real life (I don the salwar kameez a lot and also wear spectacles) from how I appear on the telly, not many people recognise me."

Many of the newsreaders did not want to carve out a career in the media initially. Maya was a housewife who chanced upon an advertisement inviting newsreaders for DD. "I had no affinity for this career when I began. But soon, I was hooked and have been doing this for the past 19 years."

Rani, who recently joined Indiavision, used to teach Malayalam in a school but the draw of a permanent job took her to Asianet six years ago.

Renuka Ravi was a programme manager at ACV in Thrissur and used to read the news before she was hired by Kairali channel.

Aiswarya of Asianet was into compering for TV and the stage before making her foray into newsreading.

Once into the job, very few have left it for greener pastures. Says Maya, "I want to go past the 25-year milestone."

Others like Aiswarya are very "interested in what I do" and feel they can pursue their other interests simultaneously.

Alakananda, however, is not sure how long she can continue at the job. "I feel overexposure may harm our career. People do get tired of seeing the same face day after day, year after year. You can do it only up to a limit and no further."

This sentiment is echoed by Renuka, who is a graduate in journalism from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and is pursuing an MBA from the same institution. "I had discontinued my MBA in between. It is too early to say whether I will continue as a reader after I finish the course."

Nisha of Jeevan TV wants to continue reading the news but also wants to pursue academics. A student of chemistry, she says she hopes to pursue her pet subject: microbiology.

Others such as Dinakar have followed it up with journalism courses and are on the desk job. Ditto with Fijy, who works as a sub editor with Jeevan TV and does the occasional reporting. Vinitha maintains that after securing a one-year Advertising and Personal relations diploma, she will go for her post-graduation in journalism and start work with the channels here.

So, does that mean that the newsreader is on his way out, especially since newscasters are the order of the day. Not so, they all say. Says Maya, "Newscasting and newsreading are two different things. The difference is in the presentation. Both should be appreciated."

Says Rani: "While newscasters are more involved in what is being presented, rarely can they present it in the way a newsreader does. News reading needs an entirely different skill. It is also wrong to think newsreaders are not good at interaction. A degree in journalism is not mandatory. A idea of things around can give you the confidence to ask questions, if need be."

Renuka says that newsreading has become more casual than it was. "A journalism degree need not help. What is required is a journalistic bent of mind. One should make an effort to read newspapers, watch other channels and not solely depend on the copy."

Says Rajeswari Mohan, "The format of news should move from simple newsreading to newscasting. Not everyone can do it, of course. But I feel confident. With my kind of experience, I may be able to do it."

There's a flip side to it, they say. Unlike media north of the country, channels here still prefer the old format that involves presenters reading out the news. Says Rani, "The moment you try to relax and make things casual, people raise a hue and cry. I don't say that we should go overboard, but one can look casual and yet be one's natural self."

Agrees Nisha. "I don't like news being read in a mechanical manner. Things don't have to be so stiff. But Malayali viewers don't like the casual presentation."

The work, though interesting, has its share of difficulties. The pressure and tension can get difficult to handle. All admit the first few times were very hard but that things gradually improve. A little tension is nonetheless always present, they say.

Technical advances have done their bit to ease the pressure. "When I started 11 years ago, we used to have just the scripts in our hand. We would have to look up at intervals; this necessitated that we mug up at least a part of the sentence," says Alakananda.

"Even today, things are not easy. The teleprompter may get stuck, or there may be a typing error or a line may get cut. At such moments, it's your presence of mind that will save the day," says Maya.

Humourous instances in the studio are many.

Says Fijy, "Our reporter was covering a meeting recently and there was a live phone-in from the spot. But instead of addressing him by his name, I called him Fijy. This was a real slip of the tongue."

Once, while Alakananda was reading out a news item about the Prime Minsiter's visit to Russia, the prompter got stuck and the script given to her did not have the story.

"I managed to go on and said the PM had reached Russia. But he was to reach there only that evening."

Says Dinakar, "Once, I committed a faux pas by addressing scholar-poet Dr. K. Ayyappa Panicker as a tavi instead of kavi."

Rajeshwari Mohan confesses to have committed "a lot" of mistakes while reading out news.

"Once, I simply could not pronounce the word, orthodontics, for all I tried. Another time, a slip of the tongue occurred. I referred to Usha Krishnakumar as Ushna."

Most have managed to escape without blunders except when the prompter gets stuck occasionally or when the camera catches them chatting with a fellow newsreader or "combing the hair and applying last minute make-up", as Maya says.

Be it the veterans or the new crop of 20 somethings, all have idols when it comes to newsreading.

In the English media, the old brigade of DD ranks high in esteem. So does Prannoy Roy of NDTV. When it comes to the Malayalam media, Rajeshwari Mohan is thought very highly of by most newsreaders. Pramod of Asianet also has his fans.

Ask Rajeshwari whom she likes best and she replies, "There was a reader in DD earlier called Santhosh whose reading I used to like."

Today, newsreading cannot be further away from the drabness traditionally associated with the job. There have been changes in the format of the presentation. For better or for worse, they promise to keep things exciting.


Graphics: Manoj

[Ullas]

Television and Dark Ages Ahead
R.K.Ullaash Kumar
Television boom started with the Benson and Hedges
World Series Cup in Australia in which Ravi Shastri
got the Man of the Series and an Audi Car, way back in
1985. The Reliance Cup followed this.
Then came the Gulf War `Operation Desert Storm' in
1991. CNN broadcast the scuds and patriot missiles
live from Baghdad. This was the beginning of a new age
in Television with the birth of Cable Television and
Satellite Channels. Star TV was soon in the scene and
then came Asianet, Sun TV and then joined a band of
other channels.

The serials and soaps came in with the birth of these
channels. Today, people might find more relation with
the characters in Soaps and Serials than their own
relations. What was once a wait to see `Chitrahaar' or
`Oliyum Oliyum' has become a 24-hour activity on all
channels, thus making it a boring affair.

The Idiot Box Making A Bunch of Idiots
One must remember that by just watching the idiot box,
we can become an idiot since we do not have
interaction with fellow human beings and nature around
us. Most of them are glued to their Televisions on all
days, even on holidays or festive occasions. The
channels also say they have some super duper film for
a festival day. Well the focus of the channels are to
keep the viewer glued to his channel since he depends
on advertisements. What I feel is the Television is
also part of the Globalisation agenda of the west to
make a section of population on Earth as idiots,
robbing them of their sense to think and act, thereby
making use of them for a much bigger agenda. For
example: The Bold and Beautiful which was shown on
Star Plus was a mega hit in India, but was only seen
by boring house wives in America. Today there are
hundreds of Bold and Beautiful type soaps on all our
channels, which keep Indians indoors. At the same time
the intelligent guy from the west can make use of this
lethargic nature of us to market our own natural
resources like water by robbing us of our right to own
our property. Nothing wrong! It is because we are lazy
and not thinking. So I think this is part of the Big
Global Agenda to create a bunch of idiots. Television
is also part of Globalisation, there is no doubt about
that.

Television Means to Demean
The non-stop serials on all channels are just doing
damage and nothing else. The sounds from these serials
are even more serious since it spoils our body rhythm.
It has an effect on the vastu of the place too. I feel
things like serials and soaps served by the media
moguls are taking us to a Stone Age era. Also the
soaps are known for degrading the Indian Women than
presenting them better.
I believe that television demeans and trivializes
everything and everyone connected with it. I feel that
the TV is going to be the cause for the downfall of
civilization-in short, it is the advent of the Dark
Ages. This Dark Age has been brought about, not by
suppression of knowledge and information, but by its
dazzling assault on our senses. The result is nothing
short of a catastrophe. For all practical purposes,
everything in Indian Society has become a branch of
entertainment- business, news, politics, religion,
sports, culture, you name it. Why? Because people can
no longer make sense of their own world; they are fed
with an overwhelming volume of `information'. This
mysterious `information' and the sheer complexity of
it is bombarded every day into the minds of eager and
yielding recipients. The information encourages all
those along their pursuit in front of their idiot
boxes. But do they find a coherent image? I would say
it is a definite, `No'.

TV responsible for state of society
The fact is that we no longer choose to confront
reality directly, for reality has become unmanageable.
Instead, we have turned our energies to the
proliferation and production of endless amounts of
unreality to soothe our tired and aching eyes. I hold
television responsible for the state of affairs today;
the death of civilization could also be due to this
main culprit, for it has become a role model for all.
Today all programmes are caricatured from television,
television itself is a caricature of everything around
it. Television has not only distorted our ability to
deal with complexities, it has also altered our desire
to confront reality.
Television personalities do not portray reality but
they are the `new realities'. Like we can see on the
Internet a yahoo group entirely for news anchor Nidhi
Razdan of NDTV and Alakananda of Asianet.
Television laws & flawsThe 21st century law of communication states that the
length of a sound bite is inversely proportionate to
the complexity of the world and the overload of
information to which we are exposed. An American has
rightly said that "Television is democracy at its
ugliest".
There is no incentive for Television to do its best
when it can make so much money by doing its worst. The
hunger for something better is directly proportional
to the constant banality that we are fed. Don't you
think that we are entitled to more than what the media
moguls give us? Don't we deserve better

=====
Ullaash Kumar.R.K,
Freelance Journalist, Wildlifer.
26, 14th Cross, Vignan Nagar,
New Thippasandra Post
Bangalore- 560 075.
Mobile: 94484-94703
Landline: 080-30906804

[menonmoh]

Alakananda is India's most presentable newsreader.


manoj

[menonmoh]

she is most watchable and alluring tv reader.


manoj

[menonmoh]

ALAKANANDA OF ASIANET IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NEWSREADER IN INDIAN TELEVISION

MENONMOH

[menonmoh]

we have to start a web page on alakananda

[Ullas]

We have to have a Webpage on Alakananda definetely.
Right now we have a yahoogroup dedicated to Alakananda
alakananda_asianet@yahoogroups.com

please join the group
ullas

[Ullas]

Newstime is Celebrity Time

News is a high status TV genre-perhaps the most privileged and prestigious media genre. Evidently, it is much above in status when compared to `low status’ genres like soap opera and game shows

.

TV News has increased its output over the past years, to the extent that news programme are among the most popular in the ratings; with declining newspaper readership, people now get more of their news from television and people tend to `trust’ television news more than other sources because of the perceived veracity of the pictures.



As news-viewers, we become familiar with the codes and conventions of news. We also familiarize ourselves with newsreaders and develop a liking towards some of them. Through them, we recognise the familiar cast of actors like newsreaders, on the spot reporters, experts etc. The language and dress of the newsreader, the special effects, graphics, music, etc contribute to the overall meaning of news in the same way as costume, direction and other aspects in other staged events.

If we look at the News we can see that various political, social and cultural factors do impinge on the version of `reality’, which the News presents to us. Our TV news programmes are bound by legal and political constraint, as regards questions of taste, decency, balance etc. Various events have, in recent years, demonstrated the conflicts of interest which can arise here, as for example occurred in the recent `Tsunami’ and its aftermath, or more recent coverage of the high-voltage `ice cream parlour case’ and such political dramas. Because of the nature of the patterns of ownership, and mechanisms of control and moderation which govern news broadcasting, the balance and fairness of news broadcasting , the balance and fairness of news broadcasting has come under question in recent years. TV news is, naturally, very different from the news in newspapers, the medium is different, the style is different, a different set of audience in being addressed, the conventions are different.

For example, the evening news on our Malayalam channels. These have certain conventions and styles. After the opening headlines, we have news stories arranged in a hierarchy of `importance’. These headlines give attention-seeking snippets of information about the news items, although the main treatment of the item follows later in the broadcast. After this introduction to the News, including welcoming and familiarizing the viewer, individual news items are presented as stories with pictures ( and on TV news pictures are everything!), with different allocations of time and depth to the news stories. At the end of the broadcast there is generally a “mood-lightening” story, and the programme ends with a repetition of the main “news headlines”.

Newsreaders – they form the integral part of every news telecast. Their narrative conventions govern the programme as a whole, and the treatment of individual stories within the programme. It is, for example, only at the end of the programme that we the viewers know that the “news reader” knew at the very beginning-we have been kept in the dark by the tactful handling by experts at the TV newsroom. Here, the newsreader plays a crucial role. They make the stories interesting , while attempting to be balanced, fair and accurate, because News programmes are designed for a mass audience and so have to attract that audience. On most occasions, this may mean that important stories are downgraded to minor items, whilst major controversies are exploited to the full. It is a good exercise to see how each news reader presents “News” using various conventions, styles and methods of story telling.

NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan is very popular among most of the Indian audience due to her style, and emotive presentation. Now that Rajdeep is out, Pranoy is preserving her for special programmes. Nidhi even has an e-group dedicated to her by her fans.

Indiavision’s Nikesh, popular among the people, if we notice, reminds one of Larry King of CNN. The occasional stooping, along with typical cynical breaks and pauses in-between, reminds the viewer of the subtle Larry King show. If we look back, we can see that most male newsreaders have adopted similar mannerisms. None has taken pains to at least to imitate their better and impressive counterparts in other parts of the world. The voice of Balakrishnan of Doordarshan has a style which reminds one of the olden days when All Indian Radio, Trivandrum, had a newsreader Ramachandran, who made an impact on the audience. Sashi Kumar, Neethi Ravindran, Rini Simon, Sunit Tandon, Minu etc all were very good English News Readers in the 80s and early 90s when only Doordarshan was present. Shoba Ravi and Fatima were also very good with Tamil News on Madras Doordarshan. Same was the case with Manjari Joshi who used to read Hindi News on Doordarshan. Manjari had a great style of reading the hindi news.

A further complicating issue is what goes on in the reader’s mind when s/he watches a news item, and the extent to which s/he processed the programme in terms of individual preferences, prejudices, outlooks and interests.

Rajeshwari Mohan of Doordarshan looks typically `Malayalee’ and has got an impressive presentation style. Same is the case of Hemalatha, she also is a typical mallu, but has a high speed diction.

Alakananda ofAsianet has a style that makes one feel the she was at the place where the news happened. This makes the news livelier. Also it is to the delight of the reporter, since she can add that extra tinge to the news. To her credit Alakananda also has a fan following on the e-group. Previously, it was thought that women were not suitable to convey the seriousness of news. The new genre of newsreaders has proved it wrong, one can say.
Maya of Asianet, with years of experience in TV newsreading, performs well and delivers news with due seriousness. Reshmi of Surya is another celebrity newsreader whom the viewers, both young and old, like. Its noteworthy that, except in one TV channel (which tries to imitate many foreign TV channels, in vain) all female newsreaders of Malayalam channels adopt a very decent, traditional dress code.

“There seem to be only two “speeds” in local television newsrooms- too slow and too fast. For example, the very popular Newsreader of Kairali, seems to rush a lot, and make an otherwise decent newsreading, cluttered” according to Satish Melath, a software professional.

“On slow news days we’re looking for stories which wont drive viewers to push the button on their remotes. But when there’s breaking news everything speeds up and almost everyone drops anything else they’re working on and concentrates on the big story at hand. On such occasions, its Nikesh who comes out well, interacting well with the live reporters”, comments Swetha Nair, a known travel writer.

Newsreader work in pairs often a male and a female, the mature male and the young attractive woman. Although this was first adopted in regional TV news by Doordarshan, its Surya, which still uses the combination effectively. Even the supposedly `serious’ News at 7 (the most prestigious of the TV news programme, with its longer coverage of the main stories, in depth analysis and probing interviews) uses this format, older male opens the news and reads the main stories, the younger, attractive female follows up with the `less heavy’ items.

In short, the Malayalam TV channels, and the Malayalee as such is always rich with an abundant presence of quality News-readers. It is astonishing to see the drive and enthusiasm of this breed of professionals, to even outshine each other, on venues outside the format of Television, in cultural and social programmes, and the like. We shouldn’t be surprised if one of them becomes another Larry King or a Tim Sebastian in a more `decent’ and better version of these shows, some enterprising pressman would venture into.