STUDENT PAPER OF THE SCHOOL OF MEDIA & LIBERAL ARTS
GREATER NOiDA | june 2018 | VOL 1, ISSUE 7 | PAGES 12
THE TIMES OF BENNETT Rohit Saran:
Blind Students:
Coca-Cola:
Campus event:
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The fizz factory
No dearth of vision
Five verbs of new media
You have to be No. 1 to survive competition, says Chancellor MANVI SINGH “You have to be number one and that is how you survive,” Vineet Jain, Managing Director of the Times Group and Chancellor of the Bennett University told mass communication students during an informal interaction on the university campus on September 16, 2017. “The newspaper industry across the globe is going through a bad patch. However, India has bucked the global trend of declining sales,” he said. Jain believes that This Special Edition of The Times of Bennett showcases some of the best news reports written by the BAJMC students for their training newspaper and website. The text in the blue boxes describes the significant points of the programme and the learnings that accrued in the first year. The blue boxes also provide information about the second and third year.
Bennett University Chancellor Vineet Jain (fourth from left) with students and Head of the Department Professor Sunil Saxena of the School of Media and Liberal Arts low price, doorstep delivery, and the perceived credibility of the printed word have kept the newspaper industry healthy and growing in India. Jain took the students through his journey in changing and expanding The Times of India newspaper. “I constantly think about what’s coming next. If you don’t disrupt your own business, someone else will disrupt it,” he said.
Although The Times of India is the flagship brand of Bennett Coleman and Company, Jain expects an overwhelming shift to the digital medium in coming years. “But we still have time. The internet services might take long to get all readers to switch to the digital platform.” When students wanted to know how he deals with criticism of his publications, Jain said, “You have
to develop a thick skin, and carry on with what you consider is right.” Jain, who did his higher studies in Switzerland, said that the newspapers in western countries ran few stories on the front page, “Most of them carry only three to four stories as compared to The Times of India which has a much more busy front page. This allows us to cover more news.” When asked about
Attack survivors’ café a hit The survivors have got a new lease of life with a small restaurant on one of Agra’s busiest roads. REETI AGARWAL “Taking revenge isn’t a big deal, forgiving someone is”, said Neetu, an acid attack survivor. She forgave her attacker, who happened to be her own father. Neetu and her sister were all under 5 years of age when their father threw acid on them one night, while they were
asleep. The reason behind the attack was that the father had wanted a son. Neetu does not remember the details of the attack because she was very young. She remembers the agony she had gone through as her skin burned. Her mother, grandmother and uncle took her to SN Medical Hospital in Agra where she was admitted for 3-4 months. She couldn’t go to school as she lost her eyes in the attack. “I have always considered myself normal. I never covered my face in public. It’s not my fault, why should I hide the truth,” said Neetu. She also mentioned that she believed in living life to the fullest. In 2014, she joined an NGO called Stop Acid At-
the impact of government policies on media, Jain gave the example of demonetisation. “Last November demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes sucked cash out of the system. As a result, sales of most of the companies suffered. To cut the losses these companies reduced their advertising, leading to a revenue loss for us.” A similar thing has happened with the intro-
tacks, that also provided treatment for them. She also partnered with other survivors and opened a cafe called ‘Sheroes’ in Agra. She feels this cafe helps in spreading a message about acid attacks in society. She always had
the propensity to work and now she is successfully running this cafe. Even after the attack, Neetu has a very positive outlook on life, she does not like being called a victim. “He threw acid on my face, not on my dreams”.
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Programme Overview
he Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) programme offered by the School of Media and Liberal Arts is a three-year programme leading to a Graduation degree. The focus of the programme, which is divided into six semesters, is to provide skill-based education to students wanting to pursue a career in media. The curriculum has been designed to provide the right mix of knowledge, perspective and skills that a student needs to succeed as a media professional. A unique feature of the curriculum is the time dedicated to practical work. About 40% of the teaching is classroom-based; the remaining 60% time is dedicated to acquiring skills in state-of-the-art labs. All practical work is supervised by Faculty that has worked in the industry and is familiar with the latest technology. Pass Course and Honours Degree A student enrolled in the BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) program is awarded a BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) Degree on successful completion of all prescribed courses totalling 120 credits. A student becomes eligible for a BA Honors (Journalism and Mass Communication) Degree when he/she fulfils all the requirements of the general degree totalling 120 credits, and successfully completes a group of Skill-based Electives taking the total credits earned to 150. Specialization An Honours student can specialise in one of the following four streams: Print Journalism, Television Journalism, Web Journalism and Mobile Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations. The specialisation work happens in the fifth and sixth semesters. The specialisation is not available to non-Honors students.
Being curative with copper ANURAG KUMAR AND ANUBHAV TYAGI
Acid attack survivor Neetu at Cafe Sheroes.
duction of RERA. “The builders have cut down on advertising,” he said. Jain said he has forayed into cinema “as it is a logical extension of media.” After the success of ‘Talvar’ and ‘Bareilly Ki Burfi’ he is coming up with another film which is a real life story about a Kashmiri spy married to a Pakistani general. “The film may feature Alia Bhatt in a lead role,” he informed.
Miss World visits BU
“Eating in copperware helps in curing cancer,” says Mr Dilip Rai when asked about why should one use copperware instead of a regular ceramic or stainless steel utensils? “Not only this but Copper utensils hold many more medicinal values.” Keeping water in a copper jug overnight and drinking it in the morning prevents acidity and helps you in better digestion. Now people use RO systems that filter many impurities but these systems also decrease the mineral value in water. Keeping water in copper jugs filters the water and also adds to the mineral values of water. Drinking
water infused with copper beats arthritis and inflamed joints.” he explains His is a modest stall exhibiting his beautiful intricate copper utensils and handicrafts at The Mega Trade Fair in Expo Mart, Greater Noida. Exhibiting products ranging from rings and bangles, jugs, aanchmani, to royal bhokars and ransingha (a sound instrument used to announce the start and ending of war), but now collected as antiques. All these are made of copper and completely handcrafted without the use of any modern technology. Dilip Rai has been visiting exhibitions all around India since the 1980s to promote his craft. “Each product takes time and
hardwork to make. A small bangle takes around 6 hours where as ransingha might take about week.” he says. “Raw copper costs around Rs. 600 per kilogram. The copper is heated in a furnace, and then moulded. Hammers are used for defining the shapes and any abnormality is beaten off. Product can be made in pieces and then assembled together,” he explains further. “It must have been expensive for you, travelling from your place with many
things and booking a stall in this Mega Fair”. “No! Not at all. All the travelling expenses were provided by the Uttarakhand government with some financial assistance. The stalls too are rent-free. The accommodation and food expenses are provided by Indian Expo Mart Ltd,” he says. “I am working as a coppersmith since the 1970s and my father and grandfather were also coppersmiths. The learning has been passed on from one generation to the other. But times have changed a lot since then. Not many people are aware of the value of copperware. Sales have gone down. My son doesn’t want to continue our legacy.
Freshers’ Party: Oh, What a Blue Moon Night! WRITAVA BANERJEE AND TRIYA GULATI The dark clouds covered the sky. Beneath, the ground was bright. The campus was abuzz with feverish activity, as Bennett University geared up for its freshers’ party, 2017 - Blue Moon 2.0. Boys mostly chose the ‘suit-boot wala’ look, girls exhausted almost every option women clothing offers. Some even appeared in traditional attire, showcasing Indian culture. The show started with songs which set the mood. Even the rain god couldn’t resist the temptation to be a guest and a drenching shower dampened many a soul but briefly. There was a small music show indoors to counter the rain. But even the rain couldn’t kill the excitement built over two weeks. As
soon as the rain stopped, students swarmed back towards the ground where the event continued with renewed vigour. Indian culture is something with which everyone is connected and to honour this link, the Spic Macay Club presented a beautiful Dandiya dance. And then came the most awaited, Mr. Fresher’s 2017 contest. All the volunteers were called on the stage and five were selected on the basis of a push-up challenge. The next challenge for the top five was a ramp walk. The boys rather did a dance walk, Kabeer Solanki, a mass communication student, walked away with the title. Ansh club started a skit which made fun of all babas, and it was quite an accurate topic to choose, given the Ram Rahim
What you need is regular practice as it is very often said that ‘Practice makes perfet’.”
“Celebrations are incomplete without power packed dance performances”
Students performing on the Blue Moon Night at Bennett University. Photo by LAKSHAY KUMAR case. The act carried a vital message about not trusting these self-proclaimed Godmen. Another highly anticipated event, the Ms Diva 2017 contest took place after the skit. Five of them
were selected on the basis of a ramp walk for the second round. The next round consisted of a ramp walk, but the ladies were allowed to add their own bit of magic to it. Manvi Chhabra, a BBA student was able to
impress the judges and was declared Ms. Diva 2017.
Photo feature on P. 6 The Virtuoso Club presented dance performances which impressed
everyone. When Nandana, a B.Tech second- year student was asked about her preparations and how she managed to dance with a set of difficult props, she replied, “Nothing is impossible in the world.
The band concert, which was interrupted by rain, resumed again. They brought with them a variety of songs which varied from rock to classical. The crowd enjoyed the show immensely. The sour feeling which came with the rain was long gone. The event was done with, but the night wasn’t over. Adding some ‘Chaar Chand’ to the event, DJ
Johnie played various popular numbers but with his own twists, and the students danced with great zeal and enthusiasm. The atmosphere was filled not only with the songs blaring out of the speakers, but also with the cheers of those dancing. The entry of the Vice-Chancellor of Bennett University, onto the dance floor was a special moment as he surprised everyone with his moves. Thereafter to the students’ delight, he declared a holiday the following day. The students now danced with renewed enthusiasm and energy. All good things must come to an end, and so did the party. But it left a lot of memories for those present. Memories they would cherish till the end of their lives. Memories forever close to their hearts.