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RSS goes media savvy
Pune, Feb 22: Armed with IBM laptops, a group of media professionals, including pass-outs from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communications, are exchanging notes in an air-conditioned basement in this educational capital of Western India and the mantra of the brainstorming session is networking.
Pune, Feb 22: Armed with IBM laptops, a group of media professionals, including pass-outs from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communications, are exchanging notes in an air-conditioned basement in this educational capital of Western India and the mantra of the brainstorming session is networking.
Delegates from 30-odd RSS media centres, popularly known as Vishva Samvad Kendras, have converged in Pune for a day-long workshop ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, in an effort which is admittedly aimed at complimenting BJP's media management plans. A parallel news agency or an online news service is being conceived and executed at this workshop with the objective of carrying to the people RSS activities and ideology in a more effective manner so as not to be just dependent on a generally biased and prejudiced media. Not only are all the Kendras, manned by activist media professionals, have been computerised and net connected, but their personnel are also being trained to handle media and mediapersons, collect news under various heads such as Sangh, Parivar, Hindu and anti-Hindu. News and news items thus gathered would be vetted by regional editors in the four metros, which would then be approved by the Central Media Cell in Delhi to be thereafter disseminated to international, national, regional, district and local media in the form of e-mail based news bulletins containing 30-40 items from across the country. "The idea is not to project individuals but to present the reality and truth about Sangh ideology and activities. It will give our viewpoint on events, incidents and activities," says Ram Madhav, the RSS spokesman and the brain behind Mission Media Management. Coming close on the heels of a similar workshop organised by the BJP in Delhi, Madhav admits that all our efforts would be complimentary. Our objective has nothing to do with elections. We see it as an opportunity to train our cadres in media management as during polls, there is a tremendous scope for dissemination of news, Madhav said. The polls, he said, would serve as a launch pad for RSS activities and the proposed news bulletins would start reacting media organisations within a couple of weeks. Besides, the Kendra staff are also being trained to coordinate with other Parivar organisations, establish contacts in the media, build rapport with senior journalists and identify journalists with the Sangh Parivar background who could be helpful in carrying the news bulletins. "We will not be giving ideologically-slanted news but merely countering the biased news highlighted in the media. For example, our activities in tribal pockets are often projected as anti-missionary whereas they are essentially aimed at economical and educational development of the local populace," he said. The RSS would also be effectively putting across its views through the dozen odd dailies, 15-16 weeklies and about 35 monthly bulletins run by it. Bureau Report
Delegates from 30-odd RSS media centres, popularly known as Vishva Samvad Kendras, have converged in Pune for a day-long workshop ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, in an effort which is admittedly aimed at complimenting BJP's media management plans. A parallel news agency or an online news service is being conceived and executed at this workshop with the objective of carrying to the people RSS activities and ideology in a more effective manner so as not to be just dependent on a generally biased and prejudiced media. Not only are all the Kendras, manned by activist media professionals, have been computerised and net connected, but their personnel are also being trained to handle media and mediapersons, collect news under various heads such as Sangh, Parivar, Hindu and anti-Hindu. News and news items thus gathered would be vetted by regional editors in the four metros, which would then be approved by the Central Media Cell in Delhi to be thereafter disseminated to international, national, regional, district and local media in the form of e-mail based news bulletins containing 30-40 items from across the country. "The idea is not to project individuals but to present the reality and truth about Sangh ideology and activities. It will give our viewpoint on events, incidents and activities," says Ram Madhav, the RSS spokesman and the brain behind Mission Media Management. Coming close on the heels of a similar workshop organised by the BJP in Delhi, Madhav admits that all our efforts would be complimentary. Our objective has nothing to do with elections. We see it as an opportunity to train our cadres in media management as during polls, there is a tremendous scope for dissemination of news, Madhav said. The polls, he said, would serve as a launch pad for RSS activities and the proposed news bulletins would start reacting media organisations within a couple of weeks. Besides, the Kendra staff are also being trained to coordinate with other Parivar organisations, establish contacts in the media, build rapport with senior journalists and identify journalists with the Sangh Parivar background who could be helpful in carrying the news bulletins. "We will not be giving ideologically-slanted news but merely countering the biased news highlighted in the media. For example, our activities in tribal pockets are often projected as anti-missionary whereas they are essentially aimed at economical and educational development of the local populace," he said. The RSS would also be effectively putting across its views through the dozen odd dailies, 15-16 weeklies and about 35 monthly bulletins run by it. Bureau Report