Hands-on training crucial for any profession

“A good journalist is one who can strike a balance between sensationalism and values”, said C Parthasarathy, Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management, while addressing students who passed out of Kausalya School of Life Skills in Hyderabad on Monday.

About 20 students, who underwent training in news reading, voice modulation and news presentation, received their certificates at the event, which seemed as though a new wave of journalists, reporters, news presenters and anchors had arrived in mainstream journalism. That the talented bunch of youngsters received rigorous training on various aspects in television news was obvious when they came on to the stage to present entertaining and thought-provoking skits about the way TV newsrooms function.

The one-month training, which began on December 16, honed the talents of students – a mix of techies, students of arts and a 54-year-old! The training programme was conducted by Kausalya School of Life Skills in collaboration with HMTV.

After awarding students with certificates in the Hyderabad Media House premises, Parthasarathy underscored the need for getting hands-on training and urged students to spend at least two more weeks to get a practical feel at HMTV. He lauded the television channel as one that has carved a distinct identity of being an ethical news channel with sound moral values. He spoke about how the third wave of information revolution is already underway in India.

“As news presenters, you alone can bring in the difference between your channel and the next,” he told the students.

Swapna, renowned TV news presenter and CEO of Raj TV, shared her experiences in the newsroom.

“To be authentic and natural before the camera is important. Also, understand what you know, what you don’t know and make every effort to know what you do not know. Never stop learning,” she urged the students.

Kapil Group Executive Director Venu Gopal told students to work hard to maintain high levels of ethics, regardless of which news channel they choose to work in future.

K Ramachandra Murthy, CEO of HMTV-The Hans India, hoped that both the lessons and values the students learnt in the training will hold them in good stead not just in their profession, but even in their personal life too. He said that giving the right news to the viewer is akin to giving him the power to make the right decisions.

“Before you walk out of here, ensure that you get enriched by hands-on experience that you can gain from HMTV and The Hans India,” he told the students.

Hanumantha Rao, GM (Finance) of the media group, said that the first batch of students should become the brand ambassadors for ethical journalism.

Bal Reddy, Director – Training, Kapil Group, who taught the students during the training programme, said that interacting with the talented and enthusiastic youngsters helped him tide over his personal crises.

Sharing their experiences about the training programme, the starry-eyed students said that they had learnt more in the last one month than they had in the last three years.

T V Ramanamurthy, 54, said that after having worked in a different field for 25 years, he found it refreshing to get his vocal and verbal skills honed during the training. He said that he gained motivation and inspiration from the training.

The students rendered skits, which took a dig at the way some news channels dished out their sensationalizing breaking news to up their TRP ratings.