An Anti-thesis of Performance: DD revelation

In defense of passion - an Anti-Thesis of Performance

The DD revelation: Two decades and later

When there was no TV, we yearned for TV. When we got it, some accepted it with open arms, some fearfully like it was infringing on their morality / sensibility. Eventually all accepted it, not to say that the latter were humbled – they were probably right 15 years later for different reasons.

We were happy with one news channel for a few years, there were complaints and more complaints about one-sided news, no views, no choice in channels, boring programmes. The news readers were seen as static people reading out from a given script. The notion was DD never excelled because there was no competition. Thus, competition was brought in. We have seen competition at play for over two decades now.

When media opened up, new news channels enlivened news, it was views and news. However, to fend for themselves, they had to be saleable – that meant marketable to advertisers. They were perceived as being very performance oriented (unlike the government led channel). They had to report to investors, give them returns, or if not, atleast outbeat the next best news channels. TRP ratings mattered or most believed they mattered the most and put it on top of the  agenda. It became a performance metric. The program manager’s goal was to lead his channel to the top of the TRP rating.

At societal level

What  this did to the content, the audience, the messages we wanted to convey – or how was free market & free spirit interpreted – or was it limited by immediate goals to maximise channel following? Controversy just enough to raise viewership was welcome. TRP ratings or so called market forces decided the content – spicy reality shows – with little art or science as compared to what is available in the country rich as ours in culture. Talent shows redefined talent as stunt antics, incredible sagas and soap operas. In Western countries, juggling, doing the unbelievable is talent. In the East, we have many evolved arts – martial arts, music, dance, sculpture, - why should we be forced to believe stunts as talent.

Now let us examine what the pressure of competition and performance does? It brought in efficiency, it enhanced technology, presentations on news channels improved significantly. But news remained news and views remained views. Thus, what seems to be the right thing in the short run, need not necessary give the best variety to a nation in the long run – am sure this is true for organisations and individual. Quick performance gratification may be at the cost of true passion callings.

Did this also take away something from us? May be some tolerance: tolerance of viewing multiple languages in one channel, tolerance for the non-spicy stuff like Premchand Ki Kahani, tolerance for well-thought out scripts and stories. Stereo-typed ways to success was the safest way to reach top the TRP rating chart. Did the customer want that, was that the passion of the script writer, director or program in-charge. Mere business considerations “undo” and compromise larger sensibilities.

Did it also dilute the quality of family discussions? Did the last decade of telecast enhance quality of family life. A Surabhi or Tana Bana showcased the diversity of this country which a Slap Stick Comedy show cannot showcase. A healthy debate on key economic issues or political affairs by people who mattered were commonplace and still commonplace in DD channels. My Hindi is pretty decent thanks to hearing news readers reading beautifully in the national news channel.

Take off the investor pressure

May be we need to ask private channel producers, what is it that they would really like to deliver and do, if investors / owners needs were taken care of? Probably the “right thing to do” answers would emerge.

The national time given on media channels to enhancing / leveraging golden period of India is very low and youth and children, especially in metros have little to receive besides spice, jazz, colour and hyper-emotions. I see government channels solely bearing the Cross of social messages on toilets, primary health care centres, irrigation schemes and so on.

The problems of India’s farm sector and allied occupations, on which 60% of world’s second-most populous nation depends, are rarely the focal point of television news or debates. A dedicated news channel for farmers – interesting thought which never occured to many is now reality. No, ou don’t have to watch that channel. The point is who has the spot on “doing the right thing”.

In a country which can do with so much communication on schemes, facilities, reaching out, why is it that only the government news channels actually reach out to the poor. Besides encouraging candle light marches, and dealing with the urban few, private channels have much to be desired to be delivered on communication.

Did it give our children “weekly i.e. short lived” hoeros – based on box office hit item numbers? A singer who tops the chart today and not there tomorrow. Did it make artistes worry more about staying in the charts than working on their art?

Which child today can take pride in seeing award winning films, the national parade on Independence Day, commentary on leaders of India, history of India, travelogues on India (without showcasing best hotels and cruises). Today, I can follow a Malayalam film, a Bengali Film with the same zeal as one in Hindi – it gave me the confidence of understanding different cultures sitting at home – even if in a limited manner. That is the power of good media – take us into the different worlds around us.

Have TRP ratings or whatever measure of success there may be, limited our world to whatever they want to offer rather than what we could probably be seeing.

To unleash this power, passion is essential, performance can lag behind – if it is to do the right thing. If you have a passion , you would have strong beliefs on what you would like to deliver / perform. It will not be led by misleading metrics like TRP ratings which can alter the sensibilities of an entire generation.

What do we see in performance and passion led behaviours

Television was an example. One can extend this to one’s life and see how & when we stop doing the right things. When all consultants, managers, leaders talk about getting performance oriented, well may be that is the first step to collective excellence. But between the first step and the last step in this performance led journey, passion and good sensibilities are often orphaned cousins.

In building a performance culture, one tends to rely heavily on defined result areas. To make the business focused, the targets become the central point. Rewards are largely related to individual results. Hence, the individual starts focusing on the goal. Is that not how it should be? So we “do perform” many a times ignoring what may need obvious attention but focus on stated goals. That is passion compromised.

If you see it even a few decades down the history lane, you will realize that some simple things that could have made a difference just died. What are we killing when we are creating the new – this awareness is useful to have.

In my view an unnecessary by-product of getting performance oriented is creating competitive individuals. Everyone realizes that they need to keep themselves relevant to the organisation’s need. They align their behaviours and expectations to the defined performance standards and compete with each other to outperform. Was this the goal of the organisation? To manage performers becomes the new necessary evil in a corporate setting.

Whereas, if there was strong leadership, with a clear message on vision, people would align their passions together and not just performance. Performance would surely follow.

If passion is a more powerful force, your appraisal system cannot capture it – it in fact mutes it.

I am still bullish that there are a large number of people who can do the right thing.

It is time to catch up on DD – “doing the right things”. Quiz time on Sunday mornings versus KBC kind of show, the Saturday night sports quiz on the DD Tamil channel is powerful – it is the rural families who are listening to this. Urban youth, beware, are you truly in touch with reality or happily pandering to instant pleasure and reassuring yourself listening to 10-sec debates - “Do the right things”.

                                                                                                By Kanchana Manyam