Journalism students at this institute participated in ‘News Reporting & Anchoring’ masterclass

Apeejay Stya University-School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) on March 24, 2023 held a masterclass with Nidhi Razdan, a TV personality and recipient of several awards including International Press Institute award for excellence in journalism for Kathua rape and murder case expose.

The theme of the masterclass was ‘News Reporting and Anchoring’. Over 30 students of SJMC along with faculty members of different departments participated in the interactive session. The session was also live on Facebook which was attended by students. Professor Sanjay Ahirwal, dean of SJMC welcomed Razdan and said that to work in media there are two things that everyone should imbibe – to be on time and dress appropriately.

“In profession that all you have chosen, these are two important traits that must be followed to a T. In the masterclass, we have Nidhi Razdan, a well-known news anchor and a better news reporter. It is very important for all of us to understand and those who are in this field today or want to get into this field, that to be an anchor, one has to be a good reporter first. Work to be a reporter and be so good that they (your organisation) will be forced to make you an anchor,” Ahirwal said and invited Razdan to share her journey and what it takes to be a good reporter and eventually an anchor.

Thanking Professor Ahirwal and his team for a warm welcome, Razdan said that it was a pleasure to be here (ASU-SJMC) and invited everyone present to ask her question about journalism, the state of media today and television. Addressing the students she said: “If there are any questions with regards to career opportunities and about how to successfully climb the ladder in this profession, please be free to do so,” Razdan said and shared her journey.

“My own career began with NDTV back in 1999. Before I joined this organisation, I was an intern with ABTV, an American news agency. My work was to carry the tripod and set up the mic. It was a good learning curve. These are small things that matter especially if one wants to be an anchor. Once I got an offer from NDTV, six months down the line, my first day in the newsroom, I was very frightened. On day one I was sent to a Press conference by the Delhi Police because there was another body to see what was happening. I was fascinated by what I saw. I was thrown into the fire since they felt that this was the best way to learn. And it is true, that is how you learn when you are suddenly put into a situation where you have to figure out how things work,” Razdan said and added that that is how she began reporting on everything.

Giving an example from real-world experience, Razdan said that young journalists starting their careers need to understand that they will not be given a beat that they want. “As young professionals you will have to cover whatever you will be asked to cover,” Razdan said.

She added that if young journalists think that reporting is glamourous and one will go in the morning at 9 am and be home by 5 pm, they are living under a misconception. “Be prepared to make sacrifices; and once you are out in the field, it can be a whole day’s work. If there is a story that will take 12, it will take that much time and one has to complete the work. Be prepared to see your story through to the end. One can even get a call at 2 am in the morning and one has to be prepared to leave immediately to cover whatever is expected,” Razdan said.

“Your responsibility as a journalist is: Holding truth to power. You are not a stenographer who takes Press releases from the government and rewrite them and put out a story. The job of the journalist is to ask questions. Take an example. If there is a ribbon cutting ceremony, ask what was the ceremony about? Who paid for it? What is the story here? Because the story is not that a ribbon was cut,” Razdan said.

Dhairya Kapur, a final year student of SJMC said that the masterclass was very interesting. “It was a highly engaging conversation where we got to learn from the best. She told us the importance of being inquisitive and the need to look for answers in order to be a good reporter,” Kapur said.

The masterclass ended with the questions and answer session where students asked Razdan varied questions – from what it takes to be a good reporter to what is the future of journalism in India. To which Razdan said that it is important to have diverse interests, be honest and do good journalism.

To begin with, as an intern my work was to carry the tripod and set up the mic. It was a good learning curve. These are small things that matter especially if one wants to be an anchor

–Nidhi Razdan, TV personality