DGMC hosted the 1st National Media Conclave (NMC) titled ‘Revolving Doors’ on November 30, 2016. National Media Conclave is an annual event where media professionals, academicians, and students can come together under one roof to discuss explosion of media in the country, which has affected all other industry sectors
This explosion has created a paradigm shift in the way we look at businesses and employment, a never ending cycle of revolving doors, where you find media presence, in any industry you enter.
The NMC was inaugurated by Dr. N. M. Kondap, Director General, RSET, Mr. Ranjit Thakur,
Mr. Ranjit Thakur, President Founder, Krian Media, Mr. Ram Subramanian, Founder, Handloom Picture Company and Mr. T Anand Mahesh, MD, Mavcomm by lighting the traditional lamp with a beautiful rendering of Saraswati Vandana by our PGDM student, Ankit Jain.
Mr. Abhshek Tripathi, who has directed over 1500 episodes of several television serials and had kindly agreed to host the event opened the first session by introducing idea of ‘Revolving Doors’, the theme of this year’s NMC. Mr. Ranjit Thakur spoke on the digital revolution in cinema, and how digitization has helped in reducing costs, helped in security with DCI compliance, and benefitted the industry as a whole.
He emphasized how digitization has helped in better distribution of revenues among all stakeholders in the industry. He introduced ‘Mediaconnect’ a platform which helps in giving a break to budding talent, connects professionals in the industry and helps in collaboration and getting subsidies for the industry for shoots abroad.? He emphasized the need for maintaining proper documentation and justifying the costs while seeking funds for a startup.
Mr. Ram Subramanian spoke on the power of social media in bringing like minded people together. His powerful films – Mute, Unmute, Pause and Soldier of Peace were an eye-opener and demonstrated the power of social media. They were also a lesson in how to stylize a film to convey a message effectively. Mr. Anand Mahesh spoke on – Democratization of Media and the Power Distance in the Media World. His take on the power distance between media, distance between producers and consumers, and how consumers have now become producers o media was an interesting lesson for media students.
The second session was a Panel Discussion, and we had a very knowledgeable and experienced panel of speakers comprising of Ms. Sangeeta Chako – Head, Corporate Communication Percept Pvt. Ltd,? Mr. Arijit Ray, Co-founder, Paperboat Brand Works, Faridoon Shahryar, Head, Content, Broadband Bollywood Hungama, PMK Bala Director, MX Advertising, and Mr.Tejas Mehta, Senior Journalist and Former Bureau Chief, NDTV. Mr. Abhishek Tripathi, host for the evening introduced all the guests and opened up the discussion.
Ms. Sangita Chacko emphasized on the importance of the young population of India, which is the real strength of our country. She emphasized that other media forms are equally important along with digital media and for stakeholder engagement.
Mr. Arijit Ray elaborated on digital immersion and explosion in media taking a toll on our personal lives and relationships. He said that the young population is very savvy and how brands have to portray and persona to catch their attention.
Mr. Faridoon Shahryar spoke on the use of sensational headlines to attract viewership. He emphasized that the sensationalism was making media lose its credibility. He was very critical of irresponsible and unethical content generated by the media.
Mr. Tejas Mehta discussed the shift of focus being diverted to digital and online media. However, he made an important point by stating that even though online media, especially social media were attracting more advertisements, they may not necessarily attract more revenues. He also reiterated that the battle for TRP’s and 24/7 format was taking a toll on journalistic and content quality.
Virtual Sets, especially in the film Jungle Book was the subject of Mr. Ranjit Thakur’s discussion. He explained how virtual sets could transform the future of film making. Mr. P.M.K Bala said that media is segmented, and consumers have more exposure, and how audience behavior is posing a problem for producers. He elaborated on an interesting concept of psychographic side and demographic side of audiences affecting the media business.
The second topic for discussion was whether media should be regulated which led to a very lively discussion with several views. While some panel members supported regulation, others said that more regulation was not necessary as there are provisions already present in law. An important conclusion was that media has to be regulated by the audiences rather than the producers.
In the last part of the discussion, Ms. Sangita Chacko emphasized on the need to connect with the consumers starting from emotional engagement, leading to intellectual engagement. Most panelists agreed that ‘the next big thing’ in media and communication sector would be Virtual Reality. VR is changing the very concept of the way we narrate stories, and could become the next ‘game-changer’ in consumer engagement.
The Dean, Dr. Mangesh Karandikar summarized the proceedings followed by a vote of thanks by the Director, Dr. Kumardatt Ganjre.
The ‘Revolving Doors’ 1st National media Conclave was a huge success with the audience thoroughly enjoying the proceedings. More importantly, students and faculty were able to connect and interact with media professionals and gain valuable insights on the latest developments in the industry.
DGMC is committed to engaging the industry at different levels to enhance the quality of teaching and learning across all the programs run in the institute in the media and communication sector.
