Why Media is Important

1. Handling Media – An
Inside Perspective
Alok Mishra
Deputy Director (Sr.)
LBSNAA, Mussoorie

2. Layout of Presentation
• Why is Media Important
• Drivers of Media Industry
• The Changing Media Scenario
– Global
– National
• Nature of Media
– Divergences in perceptions
• Examples: Crisis and Media
• Media Management Strategies
– Press Conferences
– Press Releases
– Social Media
• Learnings!
• Q&A

3. Why Media is Important

4. What’s Govt. Communication For?
• To inform people
– For eg., the odd-even car scheme in Delhi;
Disaster/crisis situation
– When perceived hardships are to follow, it is
important to manage public emotions
• When you need people’s participation
– For eg., the Swachch Bharat campaign
– For people to do something with conviction, you
need people to be convinced

5. What’s Govt. Communication For?
• When you’ve goofed up
– People demand explanations
– You need to contain damage
• When you want to take credit for a political
promise
– Showcase your commitment to action
– Eg. LPG Subsidy
• Because you’re changing directions
– Your rationale is questioned
– Being frank about changing situations rather than
obfuscating
– Showcase that it is in the interest of nation

6. What’s Govt. Communication For?
• When you need to justify an apparently
unpopular decision
– For eg. Government to tax EPF; Demonetization
– Mind-sets need to change
– Often gentle persuasion is the key
• When you need to create a groundswell for
an initiative that builds government’s
public image
– For eg. Swachh Bharat, Make in India, Digital India
or Skill India etc

7. Communication Process
Noise

8. Media, Public Opinion and
Democracy
Government
Informed
Citizen
Media

9. Role of Media
• Information Dissemination – How?
– In an interesting manner so as to engage viewers’
attention
– Constraints of competition from other media
outlets
• Public Discourse
– Diverse opinions
• Role as Watchdogs
– Fourth pillar of State
– Impartial in approach
– Critical role
• Media as Business

10. HANDLING MEDIA
Technology, Globalization and
Liberalization

11. • Content is shaped by where, when, and how the
media is consumed.
• We shape the content to fit the medium.

12. Convergence in Media
• Convergence in Telecom, Media and Computing
YESTERDAY
(Silos into the home)
TODAY
(Convergence of services, networks
& devices)

13. Films Television Radio Media MusicE&M Sector

Content 
Commercial (Hindi &
Regional) Cinema
Art Movies
Cartoon Movies
Commissioned
Programs
News & Current
Affairs
Commissioned
Programs
News & Current
Affairs
Fiction/Non
Fiction Articles
Film Music
Private Albums
Delivery 
Cinema Halls
Home Videos
(Video Cassettes,
VCDs, DVDs,)
Cable
Terrestrial
DTH
IPTV
Public
Broadcaster
FM Channels
Newspapers
Magazines
Books
Cassettes
CDs
Mobile
Phones
Internet
---------- Straight line denotes Traditional Delivery Mechanisms
- - - - Dotted line denotes Converged Delivery Mechanisms
Convergence in Media
Source : PwC analysis

14. Media Convergence

15. Media, Globalization and
Liberalization
• Policy changes in the USA from the 1980s
onwards
• Changes in other industrialised countries
(Western Europe, Canada, Australia, etc).
• IMF/WB, trade regimes such as GATTs, WTO
and the drive for privatisation, deregulation
opening up of markets
• Convergence, and new laws that seek to
reflect these changes

16. HANDLING MEDIA
The Global Media Industry

17. Death of Newspapers

22. Media Ownership

24. Social media are computer-mediated
technologies that facilitate the
creation and sharing of information,
ideas, career interests and other
forms of expression via virtual
communities and networks.
Social media is an environment in
which information is passed from one
person to another person along social
connections, to create a distributed
discussion or community.

25. Snapchat vineSoundcloud
Vimeo
Tumblr
Spotify

26. “Tech that existed when we were born seems
normal, anything that is developed before we
turn 35 is exciting, and whatever comes after
that is treated with suspicion.”
– Douglas Adams

28. Rise of Facebook

29. News on Social Media in America
(2015)

30. Social Media Filter Bubbles
• Personalization of social media
content and personalized searches
affect what information is surfaced
over social media
• More likely to be in line with what
the algorithm thinks you want to
see
• Facebook, Google, all participate in
this sort of personalization

31. Social Media - Echo Chamber
• The Echo Chamber:
information/beliefs get bounce
around in a closed system and get
amplified
• Both conservatives and liberals or
Rightist and Leftist disproportionately
exposed to likeminded information
• Like-minded tweets reach people
more quickly
• If a topic is political, it is common to
see two separate, polarized crowds
take shape

32. Spiral of Silence
• Spiral of silence: Fear of isolation
leads to self-censorship (Elisabeth
Noelle-Neumann)
• Is the spiral of silence evident on
social media, or does social media
offer new outlets for sharing that
diminish fears of isolation?
– Evidence of a reluctance to speak about
the Snowden case online (more so than
offline) (Hampton, 2014)
– Evidence of increased perceptions of
empowerment and more discussion of
politics due to anonymity affordances
(Malspina, 2015)

33. HANDLING MEDIA
The Indian Media Industry

34. Media & Entertainment Industry
• Indian M&E Industry
– Total number of registered newspapers/
periodicals in 31.03.2015 - 1,05,443. [RNI]
• Hindi - 32,793. English - 11,478.
• Newspapers - Hindi (7910), English (1406), Urdu
(938), Gujarati (761), Telugu (603), Marathi (521),
Bengali (472), Tamil (272), Oriya (245), Kannada
(200) and Malayalam (192)
– Total Private TV Channels (31.07.2016) – 886
• Total Private News & Current Affairs TV Channels –
399

35. Newspapers in India

36. Media & Entertainment Industry
Size of Industry 2014 * 2019 (P)* Growth Rate
TV 474.9 975.5 15.5%
Print 263.4 386.8 8.0%
Films 126.3 204.0 10.0%
Radio 17.2 39.5 18.1%
Music 9,8 18.9 14.0%
OoH 22.0 35.1 9.8%
Animation & VFX 44.9 95.5 16.3%
Gaming 23.5 45.8 14.3%
Digital
Advertising
43.5 162.5 30.2%
TOTAL 1026 1964 13.9%
* In billion Indian rupees
Source: FICCI-KPMG Indian M&E Report 2015

37. Media Industry Segments
TV
47%
Print
26%
Films
12%
Digital
Advt
4%
Animation VFX
5% Gaming
2%
Radio
2%
OOH
1%
Music
1%
2012
TV
50%
Print
20%
Films
10%
Digital
Advt
8%
Animation VFX
5%
Gaming
2%
Radio
2%
OOH
2%
Music
1%
2017
Source: KPMG Report 2015

39. Network18 Group Structure
Raghav Bahl
51%
Listed entity*Note: Investment in Infomedia is subject to statutory & regulatory clearances
50% 50%
100%15%
51%
TV18 ibn18
67%
SPORT18
51%75% DIVISIONSAFFILIATE AFFILIATE
*
JV WITH
53%
50%
85%
70%+ Mgt
~30%
SOURCE18

40. Media Ownership in India
 Despite sheer number of media organizations,
dominance over specific markets and market segments
by a few players –oligopolistic character.
 The absence of restrictions on cross-media ownership
 Increasing ownership/control by political parties and
persons with political affiliation.
 Use of media power by owners for other business
interests
 Large conglomerates acquiring stake in Media

41. FeaturePhones
22%
7%
70%
57.3%
42.7%
Urban Mobile Subscribers
Rural MobileSubscribers
THE INDIAN MOBILE REVOLUTION
1000 million
650 million
220 million
306 million
Total Mobile Connections
Total Mobile Users
Total SmartphoneUsers
Total Mobile InternetPopulation
Total Population
1.36 BillionStrong
67%
33%
Mobile
Internet
Users
3G SmartphoneUsers
2G SmartphoneUsers
Emarketer 2015, KPMG, IAMAI – IMRB Report March2015
Total Mobile Connections
Total Mobile Users
Total Smartphones
Total Mobile Internet Population
67%

42. The Media Landscape

43. Urban vs. Rural

45. DIGITAL/SOCAL VS. TRADITIONAL MEDIA

46. SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLOSION
Facebook 138MN,
YouTube 100MN,
Twitter 22MN,
LinkedIn 20MN

48. HANDLING MEDIA
Nature of Indian Media

49. Nature of Indian Media
• Media houses are business houses
– Advertisements vs. Subscription Revenue
- Editorial independence is compromised
• Owners/editors of newspapers and TV
channels share political allegiances/ambitions
– Results in editorial bias
• News channels have more news in the
infotainment mode
– Sensational coverage over serious journalism

50. Nature of Indian Media...
• Regional media is mostly owned or
controlled by local politicians
– – Results in biased news
– “Paid” news
• TV channels are chasing TRPs
– Accuracy is not important anymore
– “Sting” is used as a weapon for TRPs
• Number of whistle-blowers is increasing
– Laws like RTI are making it difficult to hide
information from public scrutiny

51. The Indian Media Landscape…
• Media activism is on the rise
• Citizen journalists and panel discussions are used
to drive opinion on high-profile issues
• Only those who shout the loudest are selected to
appear on many news channels
• Still growing demand for more newspapers
and TV channels
– India is the only country where newspapers
continue to buck the global downward trend
– About 800 existing channels and 216 new news
channels on the anvil

52. The Social Media Landscape ..
• News is circulated faster and is ever-
changing
• Social media platforms are source of news
• Information is archived forever
• Provides direct access – Public does not
need you or any other media channels
• 24x7 engagement – Everyone has an
opinion and the right to share it -
Everybody is now a citizen journalist!

53. The Social Media Landscape ….
• Social Media not just a channel for communication
but useful for insights, content sharing, policy/
campaign response monitoring and proactive
communication – Social Media Intelligence
• Social activism is on the rise
– Voices of dissent are numerous and widespread on
social media
– For governments, accessibility and accountability is a
pre-requisite
• Everyone wants to know how they will ‘benefit’
– Concrete data-driven proof-points are important
– More rhetoric only means more controversies

54. Available Media Vehicles
• Traditional media – Press and TV
– Some will support what you say, some will be neutral,
while others will be largely critical
– It is the latter you need to focus on while you indulge
the former
• The digital media – Facebook, Twitter
– Know its moods and be a part of the milieu.
– You cannot control it, but you can hope to moderate it.
• The “owned” media - Websites, blogs, micro
sites
– It’s all about content that you create and own
– Here you have a chance to state your part of the story

55. HANDLING MEDIA
Media and Crisis

56. Crises and Disasters

57. Crisis unfolds

58. Learning in Media Communication
• Media pressure on the Govt with images of
infuriated and agitated relatives of the hostages.
• The media made out that the overwhelming
majority of Indians were with the relatives of the
hostages and shared their view that no price was too
big to secure the hostages’ freedom.
 Limited negotiating space, choices and options…
 Imposed time constraint for government to take
action..

59. Nature of Media
• Disaster and in fact any crisis is custom-made for mass
media – Arresting footage, sound bytes,
unsettling/chilling photographs.
• Since any crisis or disaster is rich in dramatics,
shocking and tragic human interest, the media tends
to “over-cover” it.
• Journalistic emphasis on what is visible tends to create
distortions and confusions in the meaning that is
constructed by audiences because much is often
invisible in a disaster situation.
• Inadequate reliable information leads media coverage
to tend to sensationalize and portray the authorities
poorly – Adversarial Role

60. What we need to know?
 Adverse media reporting about the lack of progress
escalates public anxiety and pressure from higher-ups.
• Every country has its problems. The worst, of course,
involve loss of life, or potential loss of life.
• When there are problems, the media often wants to
know more because bad news sells.
So how do you manage the inevitable
media interest at such times?

61. Media and Disasters
• Mass media has reach which makes it critical to
reach large publics
• BUT … You don’t have any control over the
content
– Journalists act as gate-keepers, interpreters and
commentators.
• They can support or even hinder disaster
management efforts.
• That’s why… there is a need to pay more
attention to how we manage media and the
content we deliver to them.

62. What we need to know?
 Adverse media reporting about the lack of progress
escalates public anxiety and pressure from higher-ups.
• Every country has its problems. The worst, of course,
involve loss of life, or potential loss of life.
• When there are problems, the media often wants to
know more because bad news sells.
So how do you manage the inevitable
media interest at such times?

63. Discrepancies between what Administrators expect from
the Media and what they get
What we expect What we often get
Media as sympathetic partners
and allies
Media as distance -keeping
observers and critics
Media behaving like a powerful
high -fidelity speaker system for
their messages
Media being selective, distorting
their messages and adding noise
Media accurately reflecting
reality
Media constructing an own
"media reality"
Media disseminating uniform risk
estimates and recommendations
of the responsible public bodies
sources
Media disseminating
contradictory risk estimates and
recommendations of different
competent and less competent

64. What Explains these divergences?
• Journalists are awfully bad!
– Irresponsible and without domain knowledge
– Prefer sensationalism over serious information
• Governments are ill-prepared to handle media
– Don’t allocate resources
– Don’t involve communication professionals
– Lack of professionalism in media office
• Professional rules of journalists, their sub-
culture differs from those of Government

65. HANDLING MEDIA
Media Management Strategy

66. Media Communication Strategy
• Establish cooperation with media
– Media training on disasters, advances made and
uncertainties involved – Army – Media course
– Negotiate rules of cooperation - restraint
– Increasing disaster awareness of the affected population
• Communicate, be interesting and relevant
• Take into account operational rules of media
– Professionalize your media departments
• Prepare communication plans during disasters well in
advance. Only one team should communicate with
media.
• Involve Head of Media relations in your Crisis
Management Group
Above all, never lie. The exposure will be extremely
damaging and you will never contain it.

67. Media Communication Strategy
• Regular updates through Press Releases
• Disasters are one of those times when a press
conference is likely to be appropriate. The news
will be breaking, your phones will be ringing off the
hooks with journalists wanting to know what’s
going on, and it will be a good way to get
information to a large number of people.
• But…
• …you don’t want to hold a press conference just to
respond to hostile press questions.
• Instead, craft a positive story about what you are
doing in the aftermath of the disaster.

68. Media Communication Strategy
• Start with brief facts about What, Where, When and
Impact. Go on to expressing your sympathy for those
involved and their families. Then provide
information, which may include :
– Extent of loss of property and lives
– Resources put in action for rescue from various
departments
– Practical and other support for the families involved;
– Investigations into what happened, either internal or
cooperating with other national bodies. If possible,
include some early findings;
• Put the information on Social Media
• Ask you communication head to analyze media
coverage, use social media analytics so as to address
gaps in your messages.

69. Responding to Questions
• Be prepared for questions to be hostile, and have a stock
answer for anything under investigation such as:
“This is a very important issue and we’re trying to find it
fully. As soon as we know, we’ll let everyone know, starting of
course with the families involved.”
Or
“This is the subject of a inquiry and we’re not able to say
anything more about that just now. Once we can, rest assured
that you’ll all be told.”
• Don’t enter into speculation about anything, but
make clear that you have nothing to hide.
• Emphasize the fact that those involved come first as
far as your organization is concerned.

70. Social Media - What triggers strong
viewers response?
• EMOTION - When we care, we share
• SOCIAL PROOF – What makes us look cool, savvy
and smart
• PRACTICAL VALUE – When your content has
practical value people will share
• STORIES- The undercurrent of contagious
content: People don’t share information, they
share stories
• VISUAL – It’s a visual world
EMBED YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE/PROGRAMME IN
A STORY WITH PICTURES AND VIDEOS THAT
PEOPLE WILL WANT TO TELL

71. Do’s and Don’ts
• Media is nobody’s friend; Please don’t share gossip.
• Be courteous but professional.
• Media is an important source of information and a
watchdog; Use it for improving your decision-
making
• Before putting anything on media, please think
whether what you are doing, is motivated by public
interest or by personal interest.
• To start with, please practice what you are going to
say. Over a period of time, this will become a habit.
• Get your politician to share the limelight; He is
people’s representative.

72. Do’s and Don’ts
• Involve domain experts – Don’t arrogate all
knowledge to yourself.
• Invest in your Media Relations department – they
should be your media intelligence gathering unit
• Both ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’ may be required to ensure
planned outcome
• Media as “Fourth Estate” vs Media as Business
• Never allow information vacuum – if your message
does not fill the vacuum, someone else’s will.

73. Reputation building prior to a
crisis helps during crisis
response!
Thank You!