Radio, TV jobs sees a new high

The launch of so many new FM channels on radio in Delhi has come as a blessing for those who have an inherent knack for chatting. Suddenly the demand for anchors and presenters has seen a high which was unheard of before. Earlier the opportunities were open only for a few who found them in their job with the two All India radio channels.

Besides the anchors, it also opens up new ventures for many such as Raman Bhanot of advertising company called Elan who now conducts workshops for aspiring Radio Jockeys. He has trained more than 150 students till now.

For the likes of Imran Zahid who is the director of IAAN Creations, a private mass communications institute running since five years, this surge in the number of FM stations and TV news channels has acted as a big boon. Now they receive around 20-25 business calls, which earlier amounted to only a few couple per day.

Then are those like Bhanot and Zahid who are creating a professional field for training of the aspiring radio jockeys and TV anchors. There are many who idolize the likes of Amin Sayanis and Prannoy Roys, but find little means to reach that goal. These workshops take them one step further in realizing their goals. Usually they last for a fortnight, for 2 hours each day, in the batches of 15 students each.

They cost around Rs. 3,500- Rs. 6,500 per workshop. Participants work upon their skills in pronunciation, diction, scriptwriting and voice modulations. It is not uncommon to find practical experience being imparted to the participants in these workshops so as to make them aware of how to use equipments such as faders, microphones etc. in a right manner.

RJing is definitely one of the coolest career options for today's youth. But as Nishchint Chawla, chief operating officer of Radio Today Broadcasting Ltd. that handles Red FM explains that Radio cannot be a field that requires continuous supply of RJs. And these workshops add little to a person except just the basic voice- modulation skills. But being a RJ is definitely not about just being a good voice modulator. It is much more than that requiring intelligence, spontaneity, attitude, etc.

But as Zahid argues, these skills can also be utilized for a career in related fields such as compering and voice-overs in jingles, commercials etc.

Further according to Bhanot, people enroll in these workshops for varied reasons such as improving upon their presentation skills, English vocabulary etc. The trainers are mostly those who are radio professionals with their studios rented for recordings.

But it is also a fact that many ventures remain unopened to the youth because of the lack of appropriate programming. As Raman Nanda, former BBC radio professional and promoter- director of Media Arc, a radio software company explains, there is hardly any radio programming going on. It just ends to non stop music.

Nanda's training workshops envisions inculcating new ideas in their students as they get to do portable recording with no docu-drama and natural sound effect.

Maala Shyamsundar, a freelance RJ feels that there is more in store for professionals like her in near future. It might be too premature to assess the effects of these newer FM and TV channels at this point of time.

As on latest add-ons, the government has proposed opening up of more than hundred frequencies in over 40 different cities. Thus even the airwaves of smaller cities are going to get flooded with chatter soon!