Indian News – then and now

When you see the news on Indian media (TV) today, it seems so rank bad.  When a Zee news reader reads out the news – you dont know whether she is speaking in English or Hindi?  It is Hinglish.. and the kids these days, as a result, cannot learn either of the languages properly!

Their diction was perfect and the pronunciation was corrected with a zeal.  There was rarely a time that they would make a mistake on words.  They spoke with a poker face whether it was 1984 massacres or a terrorist attack.  Their very demeanour provided trust.  Today’s newscasters somehow give me a feeling of lot of hollowness!

Even though the Doordarshan news used to be sanitized, YET, the people who used to render it for us were very talented and had great backgrounds.  Look at one here: Ramu Damodaran

Ramu Damodaran has been Chief of the Civil Society Service in the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information since February 2003. The Service is responsible for the Department’s relationships with non-governmental organisations and academic institutions as well as programmes for the general public, including exhibits, guided tours, concerts and special events. It also publishes the UN Chronicle, in print and online, and the Yearbook of the United Nations.

His earlier assignments with the Organization have included the Departments of Peacekeeping and Special Political Questions as well as the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. He is a member of the Indian Foreign Service and his last national position was that of Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1994. He has also served in the Indian diplomatic missions in Moscow and at the United Nations.

Prior to joining national government service, he worked in Indian mass media, including television, radio and print publications, including as a news anchor and disc jockey. His radio feature “Echoes of a Generation” was awarded the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Prize.

The News readers of that time

Tejeshwar Singh (now deceased – was Managing Director, SAGE Publications), Salma Sultan, Neethi Ravindran, JB Raman, Shammi Narang, Manjari Joshi, Rini Khanna (My favorite and her LinkedIn profile, to see sign in), Komal GB Singh, Usha Albuquerque, Ramu Damodaran, Sunit Tandon, Gitanjali Aiyar, Minu

Who was your favorite?