HT: 13 Media: 21, 2008 | Career Counselling

Television journalism is among the fastest growing careers in India. Every month, we hear of a news channel being launched. There's going to be no dearth of jobs. Instead, channels might end up fighting over a small pool of talent.BARKHA DUTT, managing editor of NDTV 24x7

She entered the profession by chance, but her rise to one of the most watched faces on TV news is anything but accidental.

TANVIR GILL is a 25-year-old who looks like she is 12. So say people on a blog . Its content, dedicated to "profiling and discussing the hottest and sexiest TV anchor babes around the world", may be highly uncensored, but points to the celebrity-like status of Gill, anchor and researcher for CNBC-TV18.

For her part, Gill is amused by the comment on the blog, hosted from Vancouver in Canada. "I do look younger than my age, but I found it really funny," she said, still confused why she should be a point of discussion at all "My friends who live abroad also say that viewers there can't believe I'm 25."

But Gill is careful not to let her image detract from the hard work she's putting into her job. She recalled words of encouragement. "A colleague told me, 'Even if people think you look like a teenager, the fact is that the world is listening to you.'"

And the world - at least of business - is listening to her. One of the youngest TV anchors in India, Gill hosts morning shows like Your Stocks and Mid Cap Radar. She is a National Stock Exchange-certified ‘Mutual Funds Stocks Advisor.'

"I'm no celebrity," said Gill. "I have been recognised near Nariman Point, but that's because our target audience is concentrated in that area."

When you watch Gill discussing market trends with CEOs or grilling stockbrokers on television, it's hard to believe that she has little formal training in journalism or news anchoring. Or that the MBA graduate who grew up in Mumbai and Delhi barely made the cut for the general knowledge test when she interviewed for her first job three years ago at Headlines Today in Delhi.

The editor from the TV Today Network, which runs the news channel, did call Gill after the audition, but only to say that her general knowledge was abysmal. But one thing about Gill had struck him - her confidence and willingness to learn. Gill landed the job. "Luck had a role to play," said Gill.

But the rise in her career graph has had little to do with luck. While her MBA helped her grasp business trends, she honed her skills as a journalist, keeping herself abreast of current affairs and learning on the job.

Seven months into the job, Gill had already been spotted. CNBC-TV18 offered her a job as anchor-researcher in Mumbai. She accepted, and said it was the best thing to have hap pened to her. "I have my boss, Udayan Mukherjee, (executive editor, CNBC-TV18) and his team to thank for giving me the right opportunities at the right time," said Gill. "But it's not as easy as it sounds. There's a lot of hard work and dedication involved. I still have a lot to learn."

While Gill puts in the hard work required to do her job, she also values her time off. "Being part of business news has its advantages," she conceded. "I get most weekends off because the markets are closed, which anchors of general news bulletins may not get."

Being part of a fast and fiercely competitive industry hasn't changed Gill's innate disposition; she's a happy-go-lucky person who spends time working out and dancing whenever she gets a chance. "I like to have a worklife balance," said Gill, who lives in Powai. "If I hadn't been a news anchor, I would have taken up dancing."

Her fans call her "Tanu", according one of them who has uploaded a video clip of her on YouTube. The same "fan" also calls her a Katie Holmes lookalike, though Gill disagrees.

Gill isn't all about being pretty (though the good looks do help.) "I don't want to deny that looks are important in the business," she said. "But if only people could see what goes on behind the camera. An entire research team works to script a show and make it useful for the viewer."

Certainly not just another pretty face, Gill is in her office at 7 every morning, waiting to take the day's load. "My job is not about reading news off a teleprompter," she said. "I participate in the research. You have to know the subject and think on your feet, especially in breaking news situations."

The sense of accountability is evident in her voice, on air and off it. "I treat it as a serious responsibility. A lot of hard-earned money is at stake, and investors count on us to guide them."

Once on air, Gill forgets that she's facing the camera. "If I think about the fact that behind this camera are a million people watching me, I will not be able to utter a word," she said. "So the key thing is to focus on asking the right questions to the guests and on conveying the right answers to the viewers."

If the rising number of viewers tuning in to her shows is any indication, Gill is definitely asking the right questions.

6:30 am: Tanvir wakes up and gets ready for work. No breakfast, just milk and almonds.

7:30 am: She begins her day, gets her make-up done and does a "link", i.e. goes briefly on air, for CNBC Asia and CNBC Europe on how the Indian market is expected to open.

9:00 am: On a typical day, she ends up doing some research work for other primetime shows that go on air.

12:00 to 1:30: Does more research, prepares for her next show. Lunch happens somewhere in between.

3:30 pm: If there's an anchor crunch, she may go on air to host an extra show.

6:30 pm: Gets home, goes to the gym, or lazes around and catch- es up with family.

9:00 pm: Watches TV, mainly surfs channels and watches Travel and Living, Discovery, and, of course, CNBC.

People have the perception that anchoring is easy; but there is a lot of research and thinking that goes into preparing a bulletin.

Both job profiles demand effort and hard work. People have the perception that anchoring is easy But there is a lot . of research and thinking that goes into preparing a bulletin.

You anchored the popular show, ‘Saas, Bahu and Sensex,' along with Ayesha Faridi. What did it teach you?

The show was an eye-opener. We got a great amount of participation from housewives who would call to talk about their investments. I realised there are so many savvy investors in women; we just exposed ourselves to another section of investors. Women in my locality sometimes stop me on the road and discuss stocks.

I haven't explored those mediums yet. As of now, I'm enjoying television and what it's teaching me.

How many texts do you send per day? I call. I prefer chatting to sending messages.

How important is money to you? As important as it can be to live a comfortable life.

Sunday brunch or midnight feast? Sunday brunch. A midnight feast would mean staying up late and I value my sleep.

TALKING BRANDS: TANYA KAPADIA ON HOW HER PUBLIC RELATIONS COMPANY GREW SO BIG

PR is successful only if it translates into bottomline sales for the company

TANYA KAPADIA, 28, doesn't have a resume. That's because she has always worked for herself. She runs Id8, a successful PR agency that she started in 2002, and now boasts of clients like Jim my Choo, Tommy Hilfiger, Manish Malhotra, Mocha, Saltwater Grill, Sula Vine yards, among others.

But Kapadia has travelled the trial-and-error route to get where she is. It all happened one afternoon in the year 2001, when Riyaaz Amlani, better known as the man who gave the city Mocha, just handed over part of the PR campaign for his first outlet at Churchgate to Kapadia. "Riyaaz is an old friend," explained the Jai Hind graduate. "He saw the potential in me but I was scared. Except for a nine-month course in public relations from XIC (Xavier's Institute of Communication) and some experience working with Meeta Bajaj of Coffee Communications. I had no credibility."

But as is the case with all great careers, Kapadia accepted the challenge. "Mocha as a brand excited me," said Kapadia, a big foodie herself. "I loved the idea of large dessert portions and shakes. We started the Mocha film club, which did extremely well. Riyaz was happy, and so was I."

The next stroke of luck beckoned Kapadia towards another big brand in the making - Provogue. Salil Chaturvedi of Provogue wanted to know who did the PR for Mocha, and the next thing Kapadia knew, she was handling the Provogue Society Achievers Awards night. "It wasn't easy," she said. "When you are new in the field, everything is intimidating. But I also know that if it's a brand that I like and believe in, I will never say no."

She roped in a friend to help her with the Provogue event. It's a no-brainer that the event was a success, because the offers started pouring in. "I don't even remember who my third or fourth clients were, because my projects just grew manifold. And I still didn't have a registered PR agency," said Kapadia, who had never thought of running her own firm. "Some people have it all charted out right in the beginning, but I didn't. I fumbled my way through things, and finally started Id8 with the help of Riyaz and a friend from school, Amrita," said Kapadia, who registered the agency in 2002-end and began operating out of a rented garage in a building at Marine Drive.

"We grew to a team of 10 people functioning out of that 300 square feet space we called an office. But we stay put there for a year-and-a-half," recalled Kapadia, who, today, rents an office measuring 1,100 square feet at Khar, and employs 15 people. "Id8 started as a PR agency but today, it's a holistic brand consultancy Believe it or . not, it's still getting crowded and I'm looking for a bigger space," she said, grinning.

At 28, the achievements are plenty, and the client list runs long, but Kapadia is not about to gloat. "I'm happy to have set my own route. I live and learn," she said. She wakes up each day to a variety of publications – newspapers and magazines – and scans the day's news and features. "In this business, you've got to love news. And then, you have to understand how newspapers and journalists function," said the self-starter. "PR is not about making press kits and sending them to journalists. That's what you learn to do as an intern. And it's also not about going to the best parties in town. It's about understanding a brand from the points of view of the client, media and the PR agency At the end of the day, . PR is only successful if it translates into bottomline sales for the company," she averred.

The entrepreneur is candid about the fact that there's money to be made in the business, but at this point, she wants to invest most of the earnings back into the company. "I draw a salary as CEO and proprietor of the agency because I like to draw boundaries on the outgoings. Id8 is my baby and I don't know how large I'm going to make it, but I do know that I can't imagine doing anything else," she said.

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SOME CHANNELS: NDTV CHANNELS CNN-IBN,Star Plus, UTV, Imagine, CNBC-TV18, NDTV 24 X 7, AAJ TAK, Sony Entertainment, Zee HEADLINES TODAY, PRODUCTION HOUSES: Miditech, Synergy,NOW ZEE NEWS, TIMES Balaji,

Involves a lot of running around and assisting higher-ups in getting sound bytes, writing very basic scripts and monitoring the wires

Writing full scripts, getting reporters to send material from outstation bureaus, being in charge of your own stories.

Supervise correspondents, assign work to trainees, get 'phonos' (telephonic interview) for important stories, writing the headline (main) story

In charge of directing the news flow on television. Taking a call on which stories are primetime, whose reactions need to be aired, and which politicians/experts to bring in as part of the news bulletin. Also deciding what stories should be followed up.

1. A nose for news (judgment of what makes news and what doesn't). A good reporter always digs out a good story.

2. A penchant for current affairs, and vast general knowledge. Reading is a must.

5. Persistence - especially needed to chase sources, and to obtain answers that people may want to evade.

6. An ability to multi-task and cope with stress. This industry is not for people who get easily worked up.

7. Individuality - an ability to do things differently, and think beyond the obvious.

Eligibility: Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university with a minimum of 50 percentile. Entrance exam, group discussion and personal interview.

Eligibility: Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university with not less than 50 percentile. Entrance exam, personal interview

News anchors often do "hits" or "links" from bureaus in India that are aired abroad. That's one way of getting exposed to an international audience. But many networks now also have foreign correspondents stationed abroad. Asian cities like Beijing and Tokyo are becoming the new hotbeds for postings.

Foreign networks are also increasingly becoming open to hiring brown faces. CNN in the United States and BBC in the United Kingdom have some representation by Indian correspondents. But these are mostly hired from Indians residing in the US or UK.

Several small newspapers in the US and UK are struggling to survive. With Indian media undergoing major tranformation, this is actually the place to be in, in the coming years.

1.Journalism offers a lot of scope for creativity and exposure to different people and fields of activity.

3.There's a fair amount of thrill and excitement, especially in breaking news situations.

4.The glamour of being the first to know, or being the dispensers of information, is unmatched.

6.Emergency situations may require you to sometimes be at office past midnight, or even all night.

7.Stress levels are high, because time is of essence, and working against a daily deadline is the norm.