Pink'ed!

Not me, but I hear that the proverbial 'Pink Slip' is going out over the coming week in a couple of large media groups to quite a few employees in the form of machine generated emails. Angry mails from senior editors are doing the rounds (great way to build up morale) and employees have all been told to buckle up - well, shape up. In several language channels, you know the way that some of them expanded there are hundreds of 'silent' lay-offs.
How bad is the scene? By some estimations between 1500-2000 jobs in the media sector in India have already vanished, but that includes ad-sales and marketing which make up two-thirds of job-losses by conservatiive estimates. And these numbers do not include 'internet' operations of media firms such as Firefly or Times Business Solutions which have been cutting back as well.
This is a small note, if you have been laid off or think your job is under threat because you don't work enough and spend the day reading crap like this, just know your rights if you're asked to go. The economy is down and the PR escape route isn't there anymore and don't think that 'Blogging' is quite an exciting way to make money either because this is a popular blog - I was amazed when I consolidated my feeds into one just to discover I have over 500 subscribers (yes, that is why I put ads onto the feeds) - but money... well, bits and pieces. Sure, it would be possible for me to consolidate and get something going if I wanted to because I have an established base, but then again that won't exactly mint money. I blog because I like the noise my fingers make when the bang on the keyboard. No seriously. I'm addicted to tappity-tap. Well, it is a better addiction than stuffing your nose.
Anyway, the comments and the email line are open if you hear of lay-offs please let me know and please vent if you want to. How was the procedure handled, were your resignation letters on your desk when you arrived, a la (unnamed company) SEZ employees? Or were you told that times are bad, or that you're a worthless gorm? Do you think your media masters are spending large sums of money on 'consultants' or on launching a television channel that is sucking up resources? Tell the world.
In the meantime, the rest of you, get back to work!

Cost Cutting?

I was at a bar last night (or tonight if you're reading this in the next few hours) along with quite a few people from Undie TV and around midnight some of them were all getting frantic calls, it seems a late night mailer went out from Radika and Prannoy Roy. It contained the dreaded word - 'cost cutting'. What it said along with the fact that all NDTV senior management are taking 20% pay cuts are some rather ridiculous things - including advising employees to mind phone calls. Now call me a penny pincher - but there are better ways of doing things. I understand that travel budgets need to be cut at every major news organisation and trust me I work at one and we are trying hard and thankfully doing rather well, or so I'm told. At least my business division is. I understand that cost-cutting is a reality, but the best part of the NDTV mailer was about 'floaters' - some people work very hard but there are many people who 'float'. Now I wonder what that means?

Given that Metro Now is probably shutting down, I have received a couple of mails from panicked employees about what is going on, and not just with interns, but even full-time staffers, I don't think the next three months are going to be great. In fact, the media industry, particularly listed companies have been great practitioners of 'creative' accounting and might indirectly suffer the fallout of the Satyam saga. even though Ramalinga Raju surrendered so that he could avoid SEBI questioning, and I think he seriously underestimated the media fallout, but the media fallout might be rather bad both for him and the listed media industry.

More tomorrow, when the Grey Goose wears off.

On the INX affair, please read this post.