Aindrila Mitra Rajawat, Senior Editor, Times of India Group
Masterclass with Ms. Aindrila Mitra Rajawat, Senior Editor, Times of India Group, was specially organised for students of School of Media and Communications to give an insight into the world of Journalism. Ms. Aindrila Mitra Rajawat is also credited for initiating lifestyle supplements and magazines for the media house. She is the founder-editor of IDiva and Time n’ Style magazine.
Moderated by WWI Faculty Soumyadipta Banerjee, the session focused on the changing and evolving dynamics in Journalism with various mediums of communication and information-sharing springing with technological innovation.
She emphasized on the fact that the changing dynamics of information proliferation and consumption in today’s world looks for equally dynamic resources, who have strong base and understanding of all the mediums, i.e., print, TV, and Internet.
While speaking about the requirement and expertise that a person should posses to be a journalist, she suggested that there should be a fair balance of both managerial and creative aspect. It is extremely important to hone the basic skill of ‘writing’. She further suggested that “to be a successful writer/editor, one need to develop interest in ‘reading’, which helps immensely in broadening the horizon as creative writers.”
She also mentioned that for a writer/editor/journalist to thrive as a professional, one need to connect with the readers through their writing. As she puts it, “Understand the requirement of the target audience of your brand” . This, she suggested, can be achieved by interacting, doing research, reading & accepting constructive feedback.
While talking about online journalism, she also mentioned that “Online” writing should be crisp, should cater the information quickly and focus should be given to niche categories. She also feels that in the coming days and with everybody having the power to disseminate information through mobile devices, importance will be given to views rather than news. Opinions would be considered more valuable.
When asked, if she would like to work with WWI students, she expressed a positive interest, while also putting forth the pointers that she looks for in a resource while hiring, which are: Presentation skills, presence of mind and adequate knowledge in the field.
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