Sonia Singh: Challenges and Rewards in Journalism

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Unmute with PRCAI, a broadcast series brought to you by AdFactors

[00:00:12] PR.

[00:00:13] I'm Nareth Alva.

[00:00:14] Our guest today has played many roles that of a journalist, television anchor, author

[00:00:19] public speaker.

[00:00:21] She's interviewed prime ministers, Nobel laureates, and politicians of all hues in her career

[00:00:26] spanning 30 years.

[00:00:28] She's also one of the slew of awards for her work.

[00:00:31] So, Nia Singh, welcome to Unmute.

[00:00:33] Thank you Nareth.

[00:00:34] Okay, let's start at the beginning.

[00:00:37] What inspired you to become a journalist?

[00:00:40] It's almost too long ago to remember but when I was going up the red was still the time

[00:00:45] when children read and for us our biggest view on the outside world, my brother and I was

[00:00:51] time and news week.

[00:00:52] So those were the weekly magazines which my parents subscribed to at great cost at that

[00:00:56] time and that really, I think drove me to want to become a journalist.

[00:01:01] But I always wanted to be a print journalist because that was the only journalism we knew

[00:01:05] and read about and weekly news magazines were really the gold standard at that time.

[00:01:11] When I finished, I graduated from a St. Stephen's College in English literature which I guess

[00:01:16] is one of those subjects which is out of fashion now because what does it equip you for?

[00:01:20] But I think literature really did equip me for being a storyteller and that to me is

[00:01:25] in a sense what journalism is about telling two stories.

[00:01:29] After college, I was right-eyed and I applied to India today had a written examination at

[00:01:34] that time so I gave the example and while I was waiting to hear somebody mention that

[00:01:40] oh there's a they're looking for people for researchers and why didn't you try then?

[00:01:46] So I went, I applied and luckily got a call from an interview and I met Radhika Roy who

[00:01:52] I don't think many people know is very much the boss of NDTV along with the Penoiroid

[00:01:56] co-founders.

[00:01:58] And she interviewed me and then said that Sonya, the only reason I may not take you is because

[00:02:03] you did quite well in your exam so I stopped English at that time and she said, I don't

[00:02:08] really like toppers because they think they know everything and won't work that hard.

[00:02:12] So I said, I promise you I'll work hard and I don't know that much and I'd love to learn

[00:02:17] and so there we started off in a basement in GK1 and there were about I think 20 people

[00:02:22] working there at the time.

[00:02:23] It was fantastic it was exciting and we spent many nights there on that couch when you heard

[00:02:29] that whole debate about Mr. Ranh Muthi saying, 70 hours a week and I'm sure you're also

[00:02:34] from the world of television what's that?

[00:02:36] We had even heard of that concept in the point is we loved it.

[00:02:40] We never counted us we really did love it and after two weeks I got a call from India

[00:02:44] today and it was very dream so I said, okay I'll go ahead and I joined so I told Penoiroid

[00:02:50] that I'm be wearing and I'm really sorry but I love this to be here and he said you'll

[00:02:54] be back.

[00:02:55] And I said why he's saying that with India today was a huge name at that time and I said

[00:02:58] that of such an opportunity and he said, okay let's see and I joined India today and it

[00:03:03] was very nice the people they're very kind to me but for two weeks I didn't even write

[00:03:08] a comma because it was like a grand old party the grand old magazine and it was there

[00:03:13] were some editors and I was below that in the hierarchy so I called up and I think about

[00:03:18] a month now Spinoid can I come back and he said yeah.

[00:03:21] So I think again what I tell young people is don't be fixated on your dreams because often

[00:03:26] it dreams are what happens when you're looking somewhere else and I think that is and so

[00:03:30] that was my first job and I think it's going to be my last job because I think whatever

[00:03:35] I do now is not going to be a full time thing so it's been a wonderful three decades.

[00:03:41] Speaking about those three decades if you can encapsulate for us what are some of the

[00:03:47] highlights of this three decades tough question but I'm sure you can manage.

[00:03:51] I was extremely lucky to have a vantage point and I think really because Penoiroid

[00:03:56] Radhika really the pioneers of Indian television and I was lucky to be part of that journey

[00:04:00] and I think that what the journey gave you is that we've seen the complete transformation

[00:04:05] of not just say Indian politics but also I think of Indian society and I think the India

[00:04:10] I see today is actually so different from the India of 30 years ago it's almost like

[00:04:16] two different nations and I think this I think being part of that journey there were many

[00:04:21] highlights I think we lived to the age of coalition governments a very different Indian

[00:04:26] politics in a sense 1992 when I joined journalism we lived for the first journalist of liberalization

[00:04:35] when foreign investment wasn't a bad thing but there was still a tightrope walk.

[00:04:39] We saw the India US nuclear deal which I think was very important in terms of actually India

[00:04:43] first tentatively taking its steps of being on the international high table.

[00:04:49] We saw the very tense India Pakistan relationship which I think many today may not realize also

[00:04:55] the what the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was like at that point.

[00:04:59] The Kargil war was the first war on television I think again it's the first war many of us

[00:05:04] in our generation grew up with as a younger does to see the sacrifice of the armed forces

[00:05:10] and also the questions raised about what exactly India's emerging power needs of its military

[00:05:17] as well and I think we've seen now again for many of us the rise of Indian the global stage

[00:05:24] and the dehydration from Pakistan has been a very important foreign policy story.

[00:05:28] We've also seen a society which is now less afraid to speak out I think television

[00:05:33] really gave the mic to the voiceless so I think much of the noise around us now yes

[00:05:37] television contributed to that but I also think it contributed to a sense of fearlessness

[00:05:41] of people feeling that they had a way to tell their story.

[00:05:44] I think we're now the next phase of that where you see that people are not turning their

[00:05:48] own story directly via whether it's YouTube or whether it's anyone can be a YouTube channel

[00:05:53] or a YouTube star now but I think at that time the television mic was really something

[00:05:57] that gave voice to millions of people who may not have had that before and I think that

[00:06:04] what I would see now and I think the biggest change will be that say a democratization in a way

[00:06:10] you had of course independence movement you had then the participation in democracy election

[00:06:16] after election where I think where you had various regional aspirants come forward I think that

[00:06:21] was a very important phase of democracy way so many regional parties come center stage and now we've

[00:06:26] come on a full circle we're seeing very strong emergence perhaps of national parties again as

[00:06:32] the governing party in the main opposition but you'll also see I think the democratization

[00:06:38] of the belief that Delhi also belongs to us we don't have to be in a regional aspiration or not

[00:06:42] regional but our aspirations are now national and international and I think that's really the big

[00:06:48] change that we are seeing now the democratization of all aspects of society around us I think newsrooms

[00:06:55] are still a bit behind that but it will happen sooner or later so wonderful way of summarizing

[00:07:01] 30 years brilliant many people say the journalism is not what it used to be it's becoming

[00:07:07] increasingly dangerous throughout the world more journalists than ever before are killed in

[00:07:12] their line of work targeted if they inconvenience the powerful and jailed on what many would say

[00:07:17] our false charges do you agree the journalism is not what it used to be see I think again

[00:07:24] maybe this is the perspective of 30 years but I think journalism in constant different phases and

[00:07:29] again remember I joined journalism at a time when we couldn't report live news and in fact at that

[00:07:34] time we had to record when we did the first private news bulletin because it's only due dhashin

[00:07:39] for two live news it actually used to be uplinked via Hong Kong and then come back in broad class

[00:07:45] in the 10 minute delay so for us that was the initial skepticism and again at that time there's

[00:07:50] not this censorship but I never called it censorship I said it's a government who doesn't know the

[00:07:54] power it's going to unleash and then as you saw that when it eventually it happened because you

[00:07:59] how much can you keep this down it had to when we did go live first it was one news bulletin

[00:08:04] then it was like 12 hours use bulletins and then now it's virtually it would be 24-7 and

[00:08:09] it would be more if people could be allowed to do it so you can't stop power that's

[00:08:14] inevitable I think journalists are ultimately is the voice of the people it is what it's meant to be

[00:08:20] so you're going to have it going around you're going to see many playbooks which will come out

[00:08:24] whether you define it from one political party or the other but you will see many playbooks

[00:08:28] without the government will see it as an adversity and that I think is good and I've decided

[00:08:32] relationship is good is it dangerous to be a journalist in India is not just me but I think at least

[00:08:38] the journalists they have been police cases there will be filed and not all are filed by you just one

[00:08:43] party to be against different and again we just as an editor face many police cases for my career

[00:08:48] but I think if you are convinced of the truth of the story you're telling if you are backed by fact

[00:08:56] it's an inconvenience but it's not something that had been a danger yet of course when I see stories

[00:09:01] which have happened and unfortunately many of them happen away from the national capital because

[00:09:05] if it happens here there is always some human cry whether it's there will be a gathering there

[00:09:10] will be it will use the supreme court I think the real danger is to a journalist in a smaller area

[00:09:15] who's offended whatever the power may be in that area often it can even be a local mafia person

[00:09:20] that is the real issue but I think in this area of information in this time of information it's not

[00:09:26] something that can be held down for long there will be the source and I still think India and I

[00:09:30] said this before that I think the vibrancy and independence of the Indian media is

[00:09:36] something which is at a peak I don't agree with those who say that's to the worst time

[00:09:40] in the media the point is how independent the media chooses to be and I think that's really a

[00:09:46] self decision as I said I worked in the DTV for 30 years you choose how independent you want to be

[00:09:51] and I think it's cowardly to put it on someone else and say I can't do it because the government

[00:09:55] doesn't want to I can't do it because this powerful businessman will not want a wrong file a case

[00:10:01] against me all organizations can be as independent as they want to be and whether they are or not

[00:10:07] as a question their viewers and their journalists need to answer in your own career you've had to

[00:10:13] confront so very profound changes political ideological editorial and even ownership of the network

[00:10:19] share with us the challenges that you confronted and how you navigated them

[00:10:23] I am still with the network but I think the biggest way to fight any challenges and of course

[00:10:29] you have not even one challenge is that I'm married to a politician and the thing is that changes

[00:10:33] as well so I think it was in that sense and of course I married him much after I became a journalist

[00:10:38] but I think the point is so then you face challenges of people asking whether you're biased

[00:10:42] whether you're biased to the network you work for whether the person you're married to whether

[00:10:45] your own bias is my I've always said at that point that listen every individual will have their own

[00:10:50] bias after all you all vote so at some point every individual will have their own bias the

[00:10:54] challenges that you make sure that your personal preferences are never influenced your professional

[00:10:59] perspectives and that is something which I do feel that our viewers and intelligent are

[00:11:05] this thing our management's intelligent and most of our politicians are irrelevant so in fact

[00:11:11] I have at every instance when there has been any question I've always first gone to my bosses

[00:11:18] and said that if there is any question of conflict I would like to step down and there's been faith

[00:11:23] in boss across changes that in a by journalist which is why I have been editor and in fact now I'm

[00:11:30] actually editorial director of the dialogues not of the entire group anymore but it's still

[00:11:36] an editorial role and I think also it has been that about being authentic in fact I had consulted

[00:11:43] justice Varmavan was then head of the news broadcasting standards counsel at one time and he said

[00:11:49] that Sonia as long as your independence is seen on air and seen by your viewers you're not

[00:11:56] answerable to anyone else and I think that really has been what has been my answer to all challenges

[00:12:01] that the day I think that I cannot be proved by viewer proves independent journalist is the day I retire

[00:12:07] and I don't know when that happens but all I can say is that I think that politicians across

[00:12:12] party lines have had no problem being viewed by me so I think that's perhaps is a validation

[00:12:18] what's your advice to young aspiring journalists given how dramatically the media landscape has changed

[00:12:24] the fact that people turn to social media first to see what's happening in the world

[00:12:28] and the sheer overload of information falls and true that we are bombarded with every moment

[00:12:34] what advice would you give journalists in that scenario young journalists

[00:12:38] so I would tell young journalists I think the feeling is a lot of young journalists

[00:12:44] not a lot but I think a lot of young journalists I think often get put off by the kind of surround

[00:12:47] noise around it and they're like we won't be able to do this we won't be able to do that

[00:12:51] I would always say that you have to experience it for yourself you have to see for yourself and in fact

[00:12:56] I think actually some of the best journalists today are our young journalists because

[00:12:59] really some of the stories in the reporting they're doing is outstanding I think what one of the

[00:13:03] dangers of spending too long in journalism is you come JD developed with cynical and also some

[00:13:09] sameness creeps in I think the biggest advantage for journalists today to stand on the

[00:13:14] top of originality because I think that what happens is that and I felt when I made that point

[00:13:20] earlier I think that journalism often gets stuck in a rut in fact I think these recent state elections

[00:13:25] does show that is that why I joined this find the curve how can it be that we have state elections

[00:13:29] that are dramatically different results from what journalists are telling you or why is it that even

[00:13:34] like when it's political choices why is it that journalists somehow seem to be the last in the room

[00:13:39] who know what's going on and I don't think that can only be discovered fact that with the government

[00:13:44] intel us it's not the government's job of political parties job to tell you what's happening it's a

[00:13:49] job of a journalist to sense it on the ground or hear it from other people that what the mood is

[00:13:54] I think in that journalism pay have fallen behind a bit and I think the advantage of young

[00:13:59] journalists is that they come in without any baggage they come into the quest for originality of

[00:14:04] authenticity and I think that is really very important factor in journalism today and I think

[00:14:10] we do need that reset definitely in the kind of stories we're telling and perhaps reconnecting

[00:14:15] with people's voices in journalism at all I think so further you go away from the power corridors

[00:14:22] it always helps quick follow up to that it's more a how-to for young journalists aspiring journalists

[00:14:28] so assuming you're a aspiring journalist you want to speak the truth to power ask powerful people

[00:14:33] questions the audience would want you to ask them if you can access them that is and you want to be

[00:14:39] independent what should you do so I think the first thing is that the journalists are not the story

[00:14:45] and I think that is something which is really important especially for young journalists you know

[00:14:50] it's not about what the story you can break it's about are you telling people stories when you're

[00:14:55] telling proof to power who's through the you're not telling your truth you're not saying that this

[00:14:59] is what I think is the truth that I'm telling you this are you spending enough time with the person

[00:15:04] who's story you want to tell do you have the facts you've seen this and this is not specific to

[00:15:09] India at all but I've seen interviews where Elon Musk has been interviewed and he actually

[00:15:14] has more facts and his fingertips than the journalists so I think that is something which is

[00:15:19] really important for young journalists that if you're interviewing somebody you better know

[00:15:23] as much about the subject and you may not experience it but at least have enough to be able to ask

[00:15:28] him the right question so I think more about holding people truth through powers of course

[00:15:34] wonderful but you must be able to ask the right question journalism without a glamorous job

[00:15:39] and I think people get tagged away by that because television anchors, anchors, celebrities which is

[00:15:44] in itself a very dangerous fallout of it because news cannot become an echo chamber of the news you

[00:15:50] want to share so you can't be journalists to report the stories you want to report only without actually

[00:15:56] seeing are these the stories that are the reality so I think especially with algorithm based news

[00:16:01] when you're assessing news online you'll see that more and more you only get news which is

[00:16:06] like a playlist right so you hear the songs you like and you watch the news you like and then

[00:16:10] you form a worldview which can be fine it's a worldview you like but it may not be a world that is

[00:16:15] any relevance to the world you're living and then you need to make that transition or that journey

[00:16:20] to see something that's sort of I think for a true journalist you need to be hearing views from

[00:16:23] all sides even views you disagree with in fact I was at some journalist I was at talk to some young

[00:16:29] journalists and one there was a young reporter there who made that point that she felt very upset

[00:16:33] because I think somebody from a group she didn't like it got a column in an edit page in the newspaper

[00:16:39] she worked for and I said but why shouldn't he or she get that column space and she said no I just

[00:16:44] want to agree with it and I feel that the newspaper let itself down by giving that column space

[00:16:48] and I said he or she has the right to be heard why not it is somebody who's a valid political

[00:16:54] force in the country today now if you don't agree with them disagree with them they're absolute

[00:16:59] you're right to do that but you have to do it with facts and information and that's the best way

[00:17:03] to counter someone so I think for young journalists I would say go into it unbiased all of us as

[00:17:08] I said have our personal preferences playlist of a song not for news see what people are saying

[00:17:14] it's not about we don't have to follow only what the majority feels your entire community

[00:17:18] opinion your entire individual stories each person's voice important but make sure it's there

[00:17:24] truth you're telling as well not just your I think that is extremely important and journalism

[00:17:30] is hard work it's hard work it's not something which is a glamorous profession we prepared put

[00:17:35] that in but it is something which gives you the biggest highs in the world it's absolutely

[00:17:41] exhilarating it's an once you're in it it is almost like an addiction but you should enjoy it

[00:17:46] and I think there's a lot of scope in fact I think really for a changing India it's young people

[00:17:51] who will tell the story so I would love to see more young people enter journalists

[00:18:01] let's change pace a little bit and do a quick fire round of questions just go stream of

[00:18:06] consciousness or throw things at you and you just react briefly AI and journalism

[00:18:12] I think it may make things easier but I do think that every journalist I met every ex-an journalist

[00:18:19] I met has had an individual speak of billions which you can't replicate when you want to so I

[00:18:25] don't think journalists are machine-of-factly manufactured they have individual billions individual

[00:18:30] bylines individual works which I don't think can be replaced by AI but I think AI will transform

[00:18:35] newsrooms short videos a lot of the technical work but I think that the journalist should look

[00:18:42] at seeing how to stress their individual say strengths much more to try to do that but I think it's

[00:18:48] something that will be is already in our newsrooms and will be there in a much larger part very fast

[00:18:54] fake news look I think really fake news has stressed while social media cannot replace

[00:19:01] news institutions at all in fact I think it really stresses that very importantly that ex-canot

[00:19:06] your main source of news you need the editorial safeguards you need an editor in the room to

[00:19:13] combat fake news and I do think that the fact that at least the credible ones and I think

[00:19:18] NGTV is definitely one of them the fact that they fake news is really minimal I think it's

[00:19:24] maybe one in a six months or something like that I think that's really credible and you have to

[00:19:31] be very careful to ensure credibility is going to be one of the biggest differentiators for

[00:19:36] news channels going ahead but yeah I think the problem with the accessing news or social media

[00:19:42] for fake news problem will grow even further social influencers versus journalists are in the same

[00:19:49] space I don't think so the irony is a lot of people are beginning to think so and are

[00:19:55] determined to take a lot of what they say very seriously I mean again I think journalists are

[00:20:02] people are watchdogs where the fourth estate but we are not and should not be influencers of

[00:20:09] policy or really anything just beyond our remit I think that each institution of

[00:20:15] Indian democracy needs to be in its lane and of course there is much interaction which is welcome

[00:20:22] but I think that we need to realize that journalists are not celebrities you're most challenging

[00:20:27] interview I said he's the most challenging also the most interesting has been Shahrokh Khan

[00:20:33] because usually his interviews I think he's just oncologically great I don't know I don't think

[00:20:37] on his sets but definitely for interviews so I think we finally did one interview in quarter

[00:20:40] the two a.m. interview because that's the time he showed up but I have to say that he is one of

[00:20:44] the most intelligent people I've ever interviewed and somebody who is articulate and very conscious

[00:20:50] of the world he lives in and I think it's in the context of this whole crazy movie animal which

[00:20:57] I haven't seen I think it was really nice to see many Shahrokh Khan interviews we talked about

[00:21:00] the fact that he's very careful but how the women in his films are portrayed because he realizes

[00:21:05] that there is a larger impact on society and he doesn't also have preachy where I think he is

[00:21:09] somebody who's extremely intelligent articulate and somebody who wears the influence he has very

[00:21:15] lightly the most dramatic moment as a journalist the most dramatic was definitely perhaps the

[00:21:21] coverage of the Kargil war and I was running the newsroom at that point and Barkha of course was in

[00:21:27] Kargil not just Barkha many father journalists from the show as well and I think the fact that the

[00:21:33] footage coming back of many of those brave young soldiers captain Vikram Batra others and the

[00:21:39] realization that literally within about three or four days those same people whose interviews we'd

[00:21:44] watched were dead was something which is very traumatic for our newsroom as well and for all of us

[00:21:50] for me personally so that was to see ready the sacrifice these young officers these young men

[00:21:56] Javan's as well who went in really with no thought of themselves I think also the of course

[00:22:03] Mumbai terror attacks was something which was also extremely disturbing for many of us the stories

[00:22:09] of the families died in the Taj hotel and I think that was a watershed moment because it really changed

[00:22:14] the coverage that again remember for us this was happening real time we were literally just

[00:22:19] broadcasting at that point this had never happened none of us had ever covered anything like this

[00:22:23] I think it really changed the way terrorism was covered on television rightfully but it was

[00:22:30] something I think which even the Indian government and even television at that time was just not

[00:22:34] to cover it was very traumatic for the journalists and for all of us covering that.

[00:22:39] Let's shift to the personal for a bit you're a mother of three daughters and you say that's the

[00:22:44] most difficult and rewarding job in the world what does that mean? In media I think there was always

[00:22:50] this belief that to be a journalist but was always like that comes first family doesn't matter

[00:22:56] and you drop everything for your job and I totally understand that again as somebody who was a

[00:23:01] reporter and then somebody who's an editor and I had to often ask people at Oda to rush off

[00:23:06] to the same of course the job is very important but I do believe that it is important in all fields

[00:23:11] to have a work-life balance and I think children are an amazing way where you may be as bigger star

[00:23:17] on television or off television or a big boss but at home you never are as when you're a parent

[00:23:24] so I think they are a wonderful reality check they ground you and I think that really their

[00:23:30] challenges and their perspective of the world is a wonderful reality check for me and I think

[00:23:35] when you talk in fact I remember that when we started the eight-club news bulletin I think it was

[00:23:41] often female because I found that children or young people actually had no idea of the news

[00:23:46] because in television it was all about debate and it was a debate which is often led by somebody's

[00:23:51] opinion versus another person's opinion and it was actually the world of news but you actually

[00:23:55] learn something about what's that information I often say that I think that what

[00:23:59] the main thing of three things of news is to inform to illuminate and also inspire there does

[00:24:04] have to be that level of weight and I'm sure you read recent writers or surveys which is point two

[00:24:09] people are turning away from news because they feel that all it does is tell them negative things

[00:24:14] and I think that we also the editors have to move beyond the fact that all news is bad news

[00:24:18] and look at the fact that news is also about a changing world and where people's places or your

[00:24:23] spaces in it or what you need to live in this world what are the tools and how this will impact you

[00:24:29] so I think those are the key elements I think that came to me very strongly when you see young

[00:24:33] people who have not connected to what we show them as viewers anymore so I think they are also

[00:24:39] very critical viewers and it's been wonderful and the things you realize are deadlines are important

[00:24:46] but so are things like showing up for children's place and I think that way again I was lucky that

[00:24:51] the organization I worked for was very future forward in terms of women friendly policies when I

[00:24:57] had my first baby the first crash was set up and I think that we had a six month maternity leave

[00:25:01] much before it became low and I think really now you see that's the conversation going on around us

[00:25:06] but I think the media and especially NTTV was way way ahead in terms of being a great place

[00:25:13] for women to work so you can you must you never ask a man should have a family and work

[00:25:19] and I think it should just be as a routine for women now so do you been an advocate of women's

[00:25:25] empowerment how far do you think we've traveled on that road in our country and what do you

[00:25:30] think still needs to be done so I think the main thing remains Nirettan this I suppose is safety

[00:25:36] is still a key issue I think it's the fact that it still is an issue that whether night shifts

[00:25:41] should be done by women whether you're sending them and again when we were young as spent the

[00:25:47] night outside a mall in the Tunduri murder case when that young woman was chopped up and horrifically

[00:25:54] and have gone to cover rights so did many other women's genitalist my generation but as we

[00:25:58] actually became editors we realized that are we mad we didn't want to send women's genitalist

[00:26:02] into those kind of situations because we felt it could be dangerous and perhaps you don't realize

[00:26:06] it in doing it yourself but I think that's something which is a little bit worrying that you sometimes

[00:26:11] have to have different standards of safety and I think that is of course in fact ironically sometimes

[00:26:18] war zones are almost safer than it is in late night in cities or in some parts of maybe so I think

[00:26:25] that is something which we really need to work for that's a larger social issue which

[00:26:29] will be of equality of women being safe on our roads and of course in some cities that's happened

[00:26:34] some cities that's less but I think that really is key aspect of safety for women not just of

[00:26:40] course it worked but across and so I think that is one aspect of empowerment also when I made

[00:26:45] that point earlier democratization of newsrooms I find that perhaps women who have come from more

[00:26:51] privileged backgrounds as I did and many colleagues have it is easier I think we need to make a much

[00:26:57] more concerted effort to bring in people from backgrounds it may not be traditionally exposed

[00:27:02] to the media profession or may not have worked there and make that process not just for women but

[00:27:07] women and men so I think when we talk about democratizing newsrooms I think it really needs to start

[00:27:12] there of us working on programs that can make unused rooms more representative of the India we live

[00:27:18] and I think that again as I said that will happen sooner rather later but it needs newsroom leaders

[00:27:23] to take those first steps to do that and of course I think women would definitely be a major part

[00:27:30] of any such initiative. So Nya Singh it was wonderful talking to you I had many more questions

[00:27:36] that's my line of advice. I have many more questions and maybe that when we catch up I'll ask you

[00:27:41] but before we close we have a communication question of the day that Diti Seati the CEO of PRCI

[00:27:47] will put to you. Diti over to you.

[00:27:54] Thank you Nya Rath and thank you Sonia what a great conversation so good to hear all the

[00:27:59] sides of the journalism stories you know great storyteller just one question we often hear about

[00:28:05] this relationship between public relations and media and journalists right I've heard more PR

[00:28:11] people say that it's a symbiotic relationship but what do you feel from the journalism point of

[00:28:17] you how do you value public relations as a profession and how do you work with them and how

[00:28:22] do you think this relationship can grow to more maturity. I think I think the last part of it first

[00:28:27] but I think it really is this relationship is so important and especially now at a time initially

[00:28:33] as that most politicians that don't think there's many very much in public relations that we saw

[00:28:38] disasters that ensued after that but I think that there needs to be a sense that this has been

[00:28:43] authenticity and I think that is something which I think I'm sure PR firms also feel that you

[00:28:48] need to be telling an authentic stories I think journalists will want an authenticity or a sense of

[00:28:53] truth that comes wherever it comes from whether it comes via PR firm or whether it comes directly

[00:28:57] from the person because spin is something which is not something we are very comfortable with

[00:29:03] so that's something I think that journalists and the PR industry has to negotiate through but I think

[00:29:10] yeah it's a wonderful relationship and I'm sure that there's lots more to look at in the future

[00:29:15] and I think that's looking at how to work together is really an important part of that communication

[00:29:20] journey. Okay thank you for that I'm going to bounce it back to Neri.

[00:29:24] So, Dharaya thank you so much thank you Deepthi.