Rajiv Saxena, Editor & Publisher, Educare, Mangement Compass
For niche segmentation, knowledge support is as important as journalistic skill
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Published: Feb 18, 2004 12:00 AM | 5 min read
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For niche segmentation, knowledge support is as important as journalistic skillEducation is no longer confined to classrooms. Today it is channeled to a large audience through print, electronic and web mediums. The nature of education-based media content too has changed dramatically in keeping with the training needs of a wide cross-section of students and professionals. Rajiv Saxena, Editor and Publisher of education magazines Educare and Management Compass, and Vice President, Corporate Affairs of training major Career Launcher, believes the future in this domain belongs to media organizations that involve specialized professionals to generate education-based content. He delves at length on the subject in an interview with Rajiv Raghunath of exchange4media.com. Excerpts: Q. Do you see education as a segment gaining ground in media? There are two segments that look at education-based content with seriousness. One, of course, includes students. And, the other is the media itself, including newspapers, specialized magazines, radio and TV.
Coming to media, currently the print media is way ahead of television in the delivery of education-based content. TV, as I understand, needs content that has a sense of drama and is picturesque, which I am afraid, education-based programmes may not provide.
Further, the end user of education content needs plenty of raw materials which print can deliver comfortably but television can’t.
Q. So you don’t see much of a role for electronic media in education? Actually, I foresee specialized channels on education coming on the scene. But the content would necessarily have to power entrepreneurship. For instance, training is gaining in importance in the wake of increasing competition in all the domains. The electronic media is suitable for delivery of training programmes, especially in imparting soft skills. Print will not be able to do the job half as effectively as TV in this regard.
Q. Would you say the media has taken up education content generation in right earnest? Not quite. I see a vigorous interface between marketing and editorial matters with regard to education content. The thin line between the two has been virtually obliterated. One can see a trend wherein the advertisers are dictating the nature of education content that must reach the readers. This is dangerous since the end user includes a huge number of impressionable minds. Even as education as a segment in media comes into its own, it is important that content generation is managed by people who have been trained in education. Only education experts should manage the various education domains. Currently, one sees people who do general reporting holding forth on matters of education as well.
The differentiation would become critical from year 2005 when the WTO norms come into play. The education sector would be further liberalized and there will be free entry and exit of players. In such a competitive environment there will be a greater demand for training in education, as also on various subjects. Media can play a key role in this.
Q. Are there facilities available for training education content providers? The harsh reality is that there are no places worth the name that train general content providers. The real requirement is that if someone is writing on the hydrocarbons sector, he should be trained in that field. He couldn’t be resting on a master’s degree in philosophy, for instance.
Q. But we have seen education channels come up over the years. But definitely not in the private sector. The UGC-sponsored programmes and those produced by IGNOU lacked interactivity. More recently, with VOIP the interactivity has improved but much of education content is being delivered through VSAT to people who are geographically far-placed and to those who can’t afford direct access to the centers of learning. Of course, VSAT does not provide the quality that even analog TV, let alone digital TV, provides. But with the cost of bandwidth falling by the year, VSAT has become a highly affordable medium for delivery of education content, particularly in the domain of distance learning. IIT Powai, for instance, is using the medium to telecast M.Tech. programmes to the hinterland engineering colleges in Kholapur, Nashik, etc.
Q. What’s your take on Web as a medium for education content? The Web is going to be the most powerful tool in education. It ensures highest interactivity.
Technology is a great enabler. Using the Web as the backbone, certain corporates have stepped into education. Take the case of Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd, which has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch. This outfit has a segment called Direcfusion which enables, among others, tuitions facilities for groups of students at dedicated cyber cafes. Career Launcher provides the content for the tuitions.
Q. You have launched two publications Educare and Management Compass since joining Career Launcher. Take us through the process. Career Launcher began as a content provider to a Hong Kong-based publisher but we soon discovered a niche area and thereafter acquired Educare.
Management Compass is designed to meet the needs of students who are preparing for CAT. There are several publications catering to this segment, but none were providing in-depth content like the way we do. I would say that to bring out a niche publication, you need both journalistic skills and knowledge support. Career Launcher possessed both, and hence our publications have done well.
In a nutshell, for niche segmentation to happen, knowledge support will act as the key differentiator.
Q. What is your assessment of media’s role in handling education-related issues like lowering of fees at IIMs, IITs, and mandate to change textbook content? The Government has played its part like a politician by driving a wedge between the English publications and TV and regional language publications and TV. The issues have been turned into rich versus poor. A leading Hindi daily ran a headline ‘ab ja sakenge gareeb ka ladka IIM’. The merits of the issues have been lost in the process.
Coming to media, currently the print media is way ahead of television in the delivery of education-based content. TV, as I understand, needs content that has a sense of drama and is picturesque, which I am afraid, education-based programmes may not provide.
Further, the end user of education content needs plenty of raw materials which print can deliver comfortably but television can’t.
Q. So you don’t see much of a role for electronic media in education? Actually, I foresee specialized channels on education coming on the scene. But the content would necessarily have to power entrepreneurship. For instance, training is gaining in importance in the wake of increasing competition in all the domains. The electronic media is suitable for delivery of training programmes, especially in imparting soft skills. Print will not be able to do the job half as effectively as TV in this regard.
Q. Would you say the media has taken up education content generation in right earnest? Not quite. I see a vigorous interface between marketing and editorial matters with regard to education content. The thin line between the two has been virtually obliterated. One can see a trend wherein the advertisers are dictating the nature of education content that must reach the readers. This is dangerous since the end user includes a huge number of impressionable minds. Even as education as a segment in media comes into its own, it is important that content generation is managed by people who have been trained in education. Only education experts should manage the various education domains. Currently, one sees people who do general reporting holding forth on matters of education as well.
The differentiation would become critical from year 2005 when the WTO norms come into play. The education sector would be further liberalized and there will be free entry and exit of players. In such a competitive environment there will be a greater demand for training in education, as also on various subjects. Media can play a key role in this.
Q. Are there facilities available for training education content providers? The harsh reality is that there are no places worth the name that train general content providers. The real requirement is that if someone is writing on the hydrocarbons sector, he should be trained in that field. He couldn’t be resting on a master’s degree in philosophy, for instance.
Q. But we have seen education channels come up over the years. But definitely not in the private sector. The UGC-sponsored programmes and those produced by IGNOU lacked interactivity. More recently, with VOIP the interactivity has improved but much of education content is being delivered through VSAT to people who are geographically far-placed and to those who can’t afford direct access to the centers of learning. Of course, VSAT does not provide the quality that even analog TV, let alone digital TV, provides. But with the cost of bandwidth falling by the year, VSAT has become a highly affordable medium for delivery of education content, particularly in the domain of distance learning. IIT Powai, for instance, is using the medium to telecast M.Tech. programmes to the hinterland engineering colleges in Kholapur, Nashik, etc.
Q. What’s your take on Web as a medium for education content? The Web is going to be the most powerful tool in education. It ensures highest interactivity.
Technology is a great enabler. Using the Web as the backbone, certain corporates have stepped into education. Take the case of Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd, which has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch. This outfit has a segment called Direcfusion which enables, among others, tuitions facilities for groups of students at dedicated cyber cafes. Career Launcher provides the content for the tuitions.
Q. You have launched two publications Educare and Management Compass since joining Career Launcher. Take us through the process. Career Launcher began as a content provider to a Hong Kong-based publisher but we soon discovered a niche area and thereafter acquired Educare.
Management Compass is designed to meet the needs of students who are preparing for CAT. There are several publications catering to this segment, but none were providing in-depth content like the way we do. I would say that to bring out a niche publication, you need both journalistic skills and knowledge support. Career Launcher possessed both, and hence our publications have done well.
In a nutshell, for niche segmentation to happen, knowledge support will act as the key differentiator.
Q. What is your assessment of media’s role in handling education-related issues like lowering of fees at IIMs, IITs, and mandate to change textbook content? The Government has played its part like a politician by driving a wedge between the English publications and TV and regional language publications and TV. The issues have been turned into rich versus poor. A leading Hindi daily ran a headline ‘ab ja sakenge gareeb ka ladka IIM’. The merits of the issues have been lost in the process.
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