Remembering KR

I met Mr K.R. Singh - Kanwar Rajendra Singh to be exact - at the national council meeting of PRSI in 1989 and was greatly impressed by his clarity of thoughts and articulation. He was a multifaceted personality who could interact with anyone and everyone with ease and could discuss with you on any subject, whether it is the kind of wine he was drinking or the fish curry or the Indian diplomacy.
And I remember in 1991, he was the first sitting President of PRSI who agreed to visit the Chandigarh Chapter and address the members. I had gone to pick him up in a borrowed Ford from a friend, and the moment he was in till the time we got down at the hotel, I was better informed about the Ford's history and car's attributes.
KR was a respected journalist, having started his career as a staff correspondent of The Times of India. Later he was with Hindustan Times as Chief Reporter, and later published an English tabloid from Mumbai, 'The Daily' for five years.
He moved to corporate communication after joining IBM and also served as President of Birla Engineering Services, and later of Birla Medical Technologies. He was on the board of directors of three Birla companies for several years.
He was chairman and managing director of a Kirloskar Group company engaged in setting up of cancer treatment facilities in India.
He was the man in a hurry, but would enjoy every moment of his life. He would spend hours with his friends from PR fraternity till late evening, and one could find him up early in the morning ready for the day ahead.
The leadership he provided to PRSI, and the India Foundation for PR Education and Research, that gave me the opportunity to interact with him quite frequently, had been exceptionally memorable golden moments that I cherish so fondly today.
CJ

A legend passes away

The man full of verve, wit, and smiles...the legendary communicator...the former National President of Public Relations Society of India, Mr.K.R. Singh, passed away yesterday after a cardiac arrest. He leaves a deep chasm in every heart who knew him personally. His contribution to the PR profession had been unmatched...and we shall miss him.
We pray for peace of the great departed soul, and convey our heartfelt condolences to all nears and dears. CJ

National Media Conclave at Mt Abu

The two-day National Media Conference 2008 at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India, was held on 20th and 21st September 2008.

You can read about the discussions at the conference and view pictures at PRPoint. Just click here to get the complete update on the Conference.

Dr. Kalam's Message to Youth

Our friend, Mr. Srinivasan of PRpoint met Dr Abdul Kalam, former President of India at Chennai on 24th July 2008. You can go to click here to listen to Dr. Kalam's message to the Indian Youth. CJ CorePR

India on the crossroads?

India is passing through a political crisis. May be for the time being. But it is great masala for all the TV channels which for the last two days have got a lot of fodder to munch around, and opportunities of "Breaking News" every hour of the day. Though India is passing through a crisis of sorts, it is time for our channels to 'make hay (the mullah) while the sun shines'.
Watching every Indian tv channel these days is an effort to find out what is the fact and what is the fiction, though for the majority of the viewers it is the entertainment value the channels are trying to offer.
What is the role of media in any national crisis? Mr Vijay Menon, former Secretary General of Asian Mass Communication and Research Centre, Singapore, in his Foreword to "Role of Media in National Crisis", writes, "The media, in the popular view, should play a healing role in times of national crisis. But there is a lack of clarity, leave alone unanimity, about that role.... The journalist is often in a quandry, torn between his professional duty to provide a true and complete account of developments or events and exhortations to temper candour with caution lest his reporting should inflame passions rather than cool them."
Looking at this definition one wonders how many journalists, especially on the electronic media, are really in a "quandry", morally, while reporting.
Let's think.
CJ

PR is not a substitute for truth

Last year there had been discussion on whether PR people lie and some of the senior PR practitioners at an international conference made no bone about the fact that 'yes they do lie on behalf of the client', that led to serious discussion on the issue, with many votaries for the business of lying.
Unfortunate indeed. Most corporates do not understand the need to be truthful, honest and ethical, and they run to PR agencies to white wash their image, who, again many of them, oblige with a smile.
As a firm believer in the ethical practice of all professions, and the dictum that Public Relations is NOT a substitute for truth, lays down the mandate for the practice of PR. It does not mean that the bad image cannot be corrected, provided the individual and/or the corporate is willing to learn and clean up its own act and adopt the right course of action.
The recent Hollywood release Hancock holds the message for the PR practitioners as well as the corporates. Here's a super hero who carries a bad image until he runs into a PR man, Jason Bateman, who helps him change his habits and his behaviour, and the good things follow...even attracting a positive media.
CJ