From Cave Paintings to SMSs..

Wilbur Schramm intended for The Story of Human Communication to not be “limited to one medium or one country” but serve as “an introductory course on human communication”. This book describes developments in communication that span millennia, cultures, and nations.But a mere introduction it is not. Schramm will take you beyond an introductory understanding of mass media, evaluating & analysing its origins, its raison d’être, its dynamics and the symbiotic relationship between communication & progress.

The language simple and complicated jargon is rare. His expositions are concise and coherent. His ‘suggestions for further reading’ and ‘questions to think about’ at the end of every chapter ensure that the book is more than just statements of facts and theories.

By using a chronological narrative, Schramm parallels the development of communication with the progress of civilisation, demonstrating that there is a definite co-relation between the two. He uses devices like time capsules to ‘set the narrative in historical continuity’ and enable the reader to put the developments in perspective.

In his concluding chapter Schramm raises the issues of ‘the increasing pace of information, ‘opportunity versus overload’, privacy and artificial intelligence. His concerns were based on the technologies present in the late eighties but two decades later we find that those concerns are still relevant and disturbing.

More interesting reads by Wilbur Shramm:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1&&sa=X&ei=FPw6TazkNsjJrAemv4DICA&ved=0CCIQBSgA&q=wilbur+schramm&spell=1

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Human-Communication-Painting-Microchip/dp/0060457996

Jerusha Chande

The Reality of Journalism

The mind of a journalist comes forth as an extremely heavy title and I was apprehensive about choosing it for the book review. The first page discusses the irony of a young college graduate choosing a profession, journalism, which pays him meagerly, compared to his other options. Having made the same decision for myself, I was engrossed. It goes on to highlight the various reasons which bring a person to this profession and I could identify with each.

The book refrains from painting a rosy picture and provides an insight into the problems and challenges that a journalist is faced with. What makes it a gripping read is the fact that the author’s observations and theories have been substantiated by his own personal experiences and also that of other journalists. These real life instances add more weight to the issue being discussed and make it easier to relate to and understand what exactly the author is trying to convey.

Another plus point of the book is the fact that it is not just about the ideals, values and ethics that one should uphold, because the truth is that it is not practically possible to do that all the time. The dilemma that journalists are faced with everyday has been given prime importance and examples of journalists who have sometimes been forced to go against what they “should” be doing and been troubled by their conscience for the same, have been provided.

The reality of everyday journalism has been effectively brought out. For a person who is completely new to journalism, this book is an eye opener, because it introduces them to the harsh reality and takes away from the protected picture which dwells in their minds.

Read more: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Xf1ZMMqaZZ4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+mind+of+a+journalist&source=bl&ots=Z54qvw2k5L&sig=wJ7nHT54FTlV4cov8hlhfI9MTkc&hl=en&ei=ZI88TcS3MMforQeFkrnCCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Journalist-Reporters-Themselves-Their/dp/1412954576

Sanhita Sinha Chowdhury

Back to the Future

Even though 3001: The Final Odyssey was published in 1997, many of Clarke’s predictions seem plausible, though no one can really know for sure unless they live to see it.

For those without a basic understanding of science, the book does not get too technical, other than in a few instances. The language is simple enough for readers to be awed by what the future might be like.

For those interested in science and technology, Clarke manages to paint a very believable picture of what the future might be like. Because his predictions are rooted in existing technological advances, the universe he creates seems quite real.

However, Clarke’s insight into relationships, thought processes and philosophies is lacking. He simplifies things too much.

Clarke does not describe human relationships in any detail. He just breezes through his marriage to Indra, and the birth of his children and grandchildren. We don’t get any idea of the impact of all that technology and standard of living will have on human relationships. Or maybe he’s trying to imply that in the future he’s painted, relationships will not be worth much.

Many of the problems faced in the world today are dealt with too simplistically. Clarke wants us to believe that in a millennium there will be only two religious belief systems – Theism and Deism – that have a very subtle distinction. It seems a little incredulous that a population that will have increased by at least ten fold will be so harmoniously divided into two religions.

Faults aside, Clarke does manage to give readers quite a realistic peek into what the world might be like a millennium into the future.

Read more:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3001:_The_Final_Odyssey
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• 2010: Odyssey Two (1982)
• 2061: Odyssey Three (1987)
• 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)
• (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pcfZ1OK498)

http://www.amazon.com/3001-Final-Odyssey-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0345315227

Jerusha Chande

In Conversation With

The book is a collection of twenty six interviews, most of which appeared in Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph magazine and radio times. The interviews are of the rich, the famous and the controversial, ranging from the judge who ordered a death sentence to a frustrated music vocalist.

The interviews deal with the present lives of the interviewees, their past and controversies. The interviews are in the form of conversations. The people interviewed are the sought after personalities of that time like Lord Denning, Graham Greene, Mick Jagger, David Hockney, E.P Thompson, Angela Carter.

‘For my money the best interviewer there now is’ said Terry Coleman in the Guardian about John Mortimer who was a playwright, a novelist and a former practicing barrister of his time and an interviewer and the writer of this book.

A smooth talker and an intelligent questioner is how Mortimer turns out to be in this book. He’s an interviewer who can handle a range of personalities and ask them hard questions without being offensive. The best of quality of Mortimer is that he gives enough space to the interviewee to answer the question the way he/she wants to. He also gives them the liberty to evade difficult questions. But like a clever interviewer, frames up the same question in another way and throws it as bait, which is mostly taken by the interviewee.

Mortimer has done a commendable job by making the interviewees reveal their secrets. A must read for those who want to learn the knack of good interviewing.

Read more:

• john mortimer: www.guardian.co.uk/culture/john-mortimer
• lord denning: www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/mar/06/claredyer1
• mick jagger: www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/mick-jagger.html
• david hockney: www.davidhockney.com/bio.shtml
• E.P Thompson: www.marxists.org/archive/thompson-ep/index.htm
• Angela Carter: www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/carter.html

http://www.amazon.ca/Character-John-Mortimer/dp/0140063897

Preeti Chauhan

Rahul Bhattacharya – Crossword

The Weaker Voice

In Waves in the Hinterland, Naqvi talks about the barriers that Dalit women – uneducated, poor, schedule caste, female – broke through to be journalists. It would have been very easy for these women to just accept that they were dealt bad cards in life. But they chose to gamble (and win) using those cards. The issues of being a woman – the sexual innuendoes constantly thrown, the derogatory once-overs and the condescending attitudes are ubiquitous. But if these women, who are far more disadvantaged than I, can do it, I have no excuses.

Naqvi’s chronicling of Mahila Dakiya (MD)’s story serves as a lesson in elementary journalism. Very simply she addresses the problems that MD faced in its lifetime and emphasizes many basic premises – “the written word is permanent”, conversion of oral narratives into the written form without compromising on meaning or essence, writing simply, interviewing skills, the difference between a writer and a journalist, “ethics and perils of journalism” and language versus not so much dialect but colloquial speech. Even more practical are the Nirantar Workshop Reports that detail exactly how they dealt with these issues.

With the stories of MD and KL, Naqvi manages to allay my cynicism to a certain extent with respect to the journalism industry. The journalism seen in MD & Khabar Lehriya (KL) is true, honest journalism which Naqvi quotes, “is not guided by commercial interests … But the paper, like all the others before and since… has an agenda: To empower the women … to give them a voice, to strengthen their fragile literacy skills, and give them power to construct their own wor(l)ds”. She makes you believe that even in an age of commercialisation, true journalism can still make waves – in the hinterland or the urban jungle.

Read more:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farah_Naqvi

• http://www.nirantar.net/khabar.htm

 

http://www.flipkart.com/waves-hinterland-farah-navqi-story-book-8189884565

Femina’s Leading Lady

Vimla Patil’s motivation for penning her memoirs My Times is to tell “the story of the impact of such a journal [Femina] and … [paint] the portrait of an organisation which made such a journal possible. I don’t feel that she manages to do either in entirety.

Patil’s book seems to be divided into two; the good and the bad. In the first few chapters successes seem to be around every corner. She appears to have Midas’s touch. Femina does well consistently, with almost no pitfalls. And so does the Miss India venture. Any problems or hindrances that might have been there are usually skimmed over or overcome. This makes her memoirs appear not entirely genuine, like a part of the story is being withheld. I feel her achievements would have had a greater impact on the reader if equal importance had been given to shortcomings and successes.

Furthermore, her intention was to tell the story of the impact of Femina. This she does only in one chapter when she talks about eminent doctors demystifying women’s health issues in the journal. In many of the other chapters she details what how women’s status changed in three decades but does not clearly outline Femina’s contribution to the cause.

The last half a dozen chapters all focus almost entirely on the negative. She writes about Samir Jain and his abhorrent management policies, and has dedicated an entire chapter to Pritish Nandy’s inadequacies. She did have to deal with Nandy quite a bit but not so much with Jain. Thus most of her criticisms concerning Samir Jain are just hearsay and not based on first hand knowledge.

As the editor of one of India’s longest running women centric journals, I expected much more from Patil’s memoirs. But unfortunately, My Times fails to deliver an impact the way it was intentioned.

Read more:

• http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/

• http://www.femina.in/

• http://www.writerfind.com/vpatil.htm

http://www.a1books.co.in/my-times-memoirs/itemdetail/8174761489/

Jerusha Chande