On the job

Yes, I always thought I was a journalist. To go out and report on issues that matter was and maybe still is my dream job profile. But I think the definition of journalism and a journalist has changed. How should I react when at a press conference of India’s biggest snack brands, the ‘journalists’ don’t even notice the brain behind the brand? The main focus for them was the brand ambassador, the ex-prince of some random place and now a Bollywood star. Are we of the same breed of scribes?

Some 30 news channels had arrived at the event. This number was far less than what were present at the ex-CM’s press conference during Maharashtra state election results last week. The ‘journalists’ before the event were crowding the snack counter, taking their pick! They munched on several packets till the actor arrived, which was almost after an hour!

After the speeches were made praising the greatness of the brand, the question answer session began. In the next few minutes which passed, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “aap kispe qurbaan hona chahenge, kareena pe ya lays pe?”, “kya lays aapko lazy feel karvata hai?”, “aapko apni yeh nayi hairstyle kaisi lagti hai?”, were some of the many questions thrown at the actor. The marketing head stood forgotten next to him. She just nodded and smiled on. Maybe even she didn’t know how to react.

As the round ended to my relief, the actor got down from the pedestal. He was nearly attacked by the journalist junta. However, the marketing head looked pretty happy with this event and peacefully came down to answer a few questions of some minority reporters who were waiting for her. I totally shared her feelings. The empty hall with the majority reporters and the great actor gone looked quite pleasant.