u Volume 1 Issue 8 Business & Management Ezine December 2009 1959-2009 : Golden Jubilee Techno India, EM-4/1, Sector-V, Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700091 Table of Contents Sl. No. Topic Page No. [1] First Byte [ Editorial ] Ed/1 [2] Cover Story : Media Studies Do/1-14 The Doordarshan Story ( Anis Chattopadhyay & Monojit Banerjee) [3] Cover Story : Media Studies Mo/1-6 Doordarshan : Most Popular TV Characters (Anis Chattopadhyay) [4] BIZarre We/1-11 Weird Products (Debraj Datta) [5] Soft Skills In/1-6 Dodging The Bullets: Guidelines For Facing Specific Interview Questions [Part-3] (Virag Bhushan Dwivedi) [6] Case Study : Merger & Acquisition Me/1-6 The Air India – Indian Airlines Merger (Monojit Banerjee) Disclaimer: Any views expressed by author(s) are their own. Bizzy Bytes is in no way responsible for the personal opinions of the author(s). We try to keep all information accurate, but that is subject to reliability of the sources. Bizzy Bytes Page : Cr/2 December 2009 The Bizzy Bytes Team: Editorial Team: Content Writers: [1] Monojit Banerjee [1] Anis Chattopadhyay [2] Anis Chattopadhyay [2] Debraj Datta [3] Bijan Chakraborty [3] Virag Bhushan Dwivedi [4] Arjan Biswas [4] Monojit Banerjee [5] Vijay Kumar Singh Graphics Design Team: Marketing Team: [1] Monojit Banerjee [1] Monojit Banerjee [2] Archita Pal Choudhury [2] Anis Chattopadhyay [3] Bijan Chakraborty [4] Amit Kundu [5] Archita Pal Choudhury [6] Shamima Haque [7] Arjan Biswas [8] Vijay Kumar Singh [9] Debraj Datta [10] Jayeeta Debnath Munshi Our Advisors: [1] Debraj Datta Bizzy Bytes is available at: Contact details: www.tisoms.co.nr (Download all issues today) Techno India School of Management studies You can also provide us your EM-4/1, Sector-V, Salt Lake, email ids and we will mail you Kolkata – 700091 every issue as and when it is published. Monojit Banerjee M: +(91)9231342749 Never miss an issue !!! E: [email protected] All intellectual property rights are reserved by Bizzy Bytes magazine. No part of this magazine can be copied, extracted or distributed without prior written permission. The magazine issue itself may be freely distributed, provided all due credits are visible. Bizzy Bytes Page : Cr/3 December 2009 Editorial First Byte Monojit Banerjee Editor Bizzy Bytes Email: [email protected] Bizzy Bytes, the business and management ezine of Techno India School of Management Studies [TISOMS], has been in existence for 8 months now and we are delighted to present our readers with the December 2009 issue. On behalf of Bizzy Bytes, let me once again take this opportunity to thank all those people who have made this possible. We have, for our readers, the following regular columns: BIZarre, a column by Debraj Dutta, (faculty, Department of Management Studies, Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology) featuring some curious and extremely interesting facts and stories from the business world. Soft Skills, a column by Virag Bhushan Dwivedi, an alumnus of our college. Also in this issue: Cover Story: Anis and I take a trip down memory lane on the nostalgia express. We are very fond of Doordarshan, the channel we grew up with. Even though now we may not watch DD much, still when DD celebrated its Golden Jubilee on 15th September 2009 we could not help but dedicate an issue for this phenomenon in the history of Indian Television. Anis also specifically pays homage to some of the most memorable characters of Doordarshan’s history. We wanted to include so many things which would probably fill a book. The short space of a magazine issue is only sufficient for a collage, and that is what we have attempted to do. The Air India – India Airlines Merger: In this case study developed on the requests of students, I explore the hopes and implementation issues behind a merger. Hope you enjoy all this. Keep sending us your views. Thanks & regards, Monojit Banerjee Bizzy Bytes Ed/1 December 2009 Cover Story : Media Studies The Doordarshan Story Monojit Banerjee Anis Chattopadhyay Doordarshan (Hindi word for Tele-Vision) is the public television broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a public service broadcaster nominated by the Government of India. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15 2009,it completed 50 years and its celebrating its 50th anniversary. Modest beginning of an era 15 September 1959 experimental telecast starting in Delhi with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. 1965 The regular daily transmission started as a part of All India Radio. 1972 The television service was extended to Bombay and Amritsar. Till 1975 7 Indian cities had television service and Doordarshan remained the only television channel in India. 1976 Television services were separated from radio. Each office of All India Radio and Doordarshan were placed under the management of two separate Director Generals in New Delhi. Finally Doordarshan as a National Broadcaster came into existence. 1982 National telecasts were introduced. 15 August 1982 Colour TV was introduced in the Indian market with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by then prime minister Indira Gandhi. 1982 Colour telecast of 1982 Asian Games being held in Delhi. Now more than 90 percent of the Indian population can receive Doordarshan (DD National) programmes through a network of nearly 1400 terrestrial transmitters and about 46 Doordarshan studios produce TV programs today. Bizzy Bytes Page : Do/1 December 2009 Memorable programming The 80s was the era of Doordarshan with shows like Hum Log (1984), Buniyaad (1986-87) and comedy shows like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984). • The first ever daily soap Hum Log, Buniyaad and Nukkad and mythological dramas like Ramayan (1987-88) and Mahabharat (1989-90) glued millions to Doordarshan and later on Bharat Ek Khoj, The Sword of Tipu Sultan and The Great Maratha. • Hindi film songs based programs like Chitrahaar, Rangoli, Ek Se Badkar Ek, Superhit Muqabla. • Crime thrillers like Karamchand (starring Pankaj Kapoor), Barrster Vinod (starring Parikshit Sahni), Barrister Roy (starring Kanwaljeet), Byomkesh Bakshi (starring Rajit Kapoor), Reporter (launching Shekhar Suman), Tehkikaat and Janki Jasoos, Suraag (starring Sudesh Berry), , Johni soko and flying Robot. • Shows targeted at children include Fairy tale Theatre, Dada Dadi ki Kahaniyan, Vikram Betaal, Space City Sigma, Stone Boy, Malgudi Days, Tenali Rama, Potli Baba Ki, Superhuman Samurai Cyber Squad, Street Hawk, Knight Rider and a horror serial Kile ka Rahasya (1989), Ek Do Teen Char (Thriller of four Kids), Appu Aur Pappu. • Other popular shows include Oshin a Japanese drama series , Trishna, Mr. Yogi (Based on whose storyline we had a recent Bollywood film “What’s your Rashee”, starring Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra), Neem Ka Ped, Fauji (launching Shahrukh Khan), Doosra Kewal Bizzy Bytes Page : Do/2 December 2009 (starring Shahrukh Khan), Circus (starring Shahrukh Khan), Gul Gulshan Gulfam, Udaan, Rajani, Talaash, Phir Wohi Talash, Katha Saagar, Nupur, Mirza Ghalib, Wagle ki Duniya, Phulvanti, Sangharsh, Lifeline, Kashish (launching Malvika Tiwari), Srimaan Srimati, Tu tu mein mein, Junoon, Ajnabi (starring Danny Denzongpa), Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Sansaar, Swabhimaan, Chanakya, Shanti (launching Mandira Bedi), Sea Hawks (starring R. Madhavan), Surabhi (a cultural weekly TV magazine anchored by Siddharth Kak and Renuka Shahane), Tana Bana, Mujrim Hazir (launching Navni Parihar), Jaspal Bhatti's Flop Show, Alif Laila, Meri Awaaz Suno, Captain Vyom (starring Milind Soman), and Chandrakanta, Doosara Keval. Doordarshan also telecast English cartoons at 12.00 noon during summer vacations in a programme named "Fun Time" which showed cartoons like Spider-Man (1967 TV series), Giant Robot (Johnny Soko and his flying robot), Gayab Aaya, Guchhae, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Jungle Book, Talespin & Duck Tales (basically the world of Donald Duck created by Walt Disney) also the comic plays of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy and Didi's Comedy Show. Presently, Doordarshan operates 21 channels – CHANNELS No. All India channels-DD National and DD News 2 Regional languages Satellite Channels (RLSC) 11 State Networks (SN) 4 International channel 1 Sports Channel 1 (DD-RS & DD-LS) for live broadcast of parliamentary 2 proceedings Total 21 Channels On DD National (DD-1), Regional programmes and Local Programmes are carried on time-sharing basis. DD-News channel, launched on 3 November 2003, which replaced the DD-Metro Entertainment channel, provides 24-Hour news service. The Regional Languages Satellite channels have two components – The Regional service for the particular state relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state and additional programmes in the Regional Language in prime time and non-prime time available only through cable operators. DD-Sports Channel is exclusively devoted to the broadcasting of sporting events of national and international importance. This is the only Sports Bizzy Bytes Page : Do/3 December 2009 Channel which telecasts rural sports like Kho-Kho, Kabbadi etc. something which private broadcasters will not attempt to telecast as it will not attract any revenues. Active Doordarshan It is an Interactive Service of Tata Sky to show 4 TV Channels of Doordarshan which are not available on Tata sky as normal channels. Active Doordarshan channels are Rajyasabha TV, Gyan Darshan, DD Urdu and DD Bharati. DD has its own DTH service called DD Direct Plus. It is free of charge. International Broadcasting DD-India is being broadcasted internationally through Satellite. It is available in 146 countries worldwide, however the information on picking up this channel in other countries is not easily available. In the UK, DD-India was available through the Eurobird Satellite on the Sky system on Channel 833 (the logo is shown as Rayat TV). The timing and programming of DD-India international is different from that of India.