– Two other books also released on Politics & Governance and Media & Communications
By TN Ashok
Chennai, Oct 27: Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and a Central Minister (Congress), Mr. M Veerappa Moily, launched an stylebook for Digital Journalists brought out by an NGO run e magazine , PreSense, as part of three books , to commemorate the 200th edition of the PreSense magazine.
Claimed to be the first digital magazine to integrate Podcast with digital magazine in 2006, Mr. Moily also released on the virtual platform zoom two other e-books on Media and Communication, and Politics and Governance at the celebrations during the launch of the 200th edition of PreSense. The meeting was held on the virtual platform Zoom.
Releasing the three e-books, Moily, who was a former Union Minister, praised the efforts of a banker turned NGO head, popularly known as Prime Point Srinivasan, publisher and managing editor of PreSense, and his team for their efforts and commitment in bringing out the three e-books. The PreSense is a wing of the NGO Prime Point Foundation which also has an celebratory arm called the Sansad Ratna Awards which gives awards to best performing MPs across the aisle every year since the last more than 10 years at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi starting from a humble beginning in Chennai. More than 100 MPs from different political parties have received the award.
”When we talk about style in digital journalism, we are referring to the way in which information is presented and communicated to the audience. It encompasses various elements such as writing tone, formatting, multimedia integration, and overall design,” said Mr K Srinivasan, detailing the books’ contents while Mr Moily launched the books from Bengaluru, his home town, on a virtual platform on zoom. Moily congratulated Mr Srinivasan and his team of writers and editorial staff for sustaining the publication for more than a decade.
In the digital realm, where attention spans are shorter and competition for reader engagement is fiercer than ever before, style plays a crucial role in grabbing and retaining the attention of the audience, he said. ”Readability is the first aspect we should consider when examining the importance of style in digital journalism. In a world flooded with information, readers are constantly bombarded with content from multiple sources,” he added.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal sent his greetings to the NGO praising it for its efforts in bringing out such a useful journal. Meghwal has presided over the jury of the Sansadratna Awards Committee for several years.
Mr T K Rangarajan, veteran communist leader and MP of several terms in parliament, recalled his long association with Mr Srinivasan and his team of PreSense and wished he would go up to 250,300 and 400 editions of the e magazine in the years to come providing readers (in the age group 16+) with useful information on global and domestic developments.
PreSense, published by Prime Point Foundation, a Chennai based NGO, was launched in March 2006 at the instance of then former President A P J Abdul Kalam for promoting what he called positive journalism.
Dr. Y S Rajan, a close associate of Kalam and co-author of his best-selling books, who also spoke on the occasion, had in fact launched the first edition online. A logo commemorating the 200th edition of PreSense was also launched Thursday.
The book on Media and Communication was compiled by senior journalists: R Nurullah, ex staffer of Dinamalar, a leading Tamil Daily, and Ramesh Sundaram, ex staffer of the Hindu, while the e-book on Politics and Governance was compiled by Ms. Priyadharshni Rahul, a supreme court lawyer and currently the Chairman of the Sansadratna Awards Committee of which the founder Mr Srinivasan is mentor and emeritus Chairman.
”Though it is very challenging to bring out the e-magazine without any revenue, we have been producing it for the love of Abdul Kalam, who wanted to promote positive journalism,” Srinivasan pointed out. The PreSense is a no profit no loss magazine.
Ms. Susan Koshy, who served as Editor of the magazine, a retired IDBI Corporate Communications chief, recalled how the magazine had evolved over the years, while its current Editor Ramesh Sundaram, an ex-Hindu staffer, spoke of the goals ahead.
Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TS Krishnamurthy lauded the efforts of Mr Srinivasan and his editorial staff of PreSense comprising bankers, academicians and leading journalists across the country for their dedication and passion in bringing out the e magazine on time with interesting information that would be useful to the readers.
Ms. Priyadarshini Rahul anchored the event on Zoom coordinating speakers from Chennai, Bengaluru and overseas for the celebratory event while introducing the distinguished audience.