Every time the Auto Expo is
held in India, the components players have an Asli Naqli pavilion which
displays spurious components along with real ones. The purpose is to educate
the consumers of the rampant availability of spurious auto components and the
several dangers associated with using them in your vehicles. There are lots for
one to learn visiting this pavilion.
At the Motor Show, there was
also an Asli Naqli show. I have been witnessing this show for the last several
decades, ever since the auto shows have become popular in India. Here it’s not
about components, rather it is about journalists. There are Asli (genuine)
journalists as well as Naqli (fraud) journalists. This year one expected the
organisers (SIAM) to curb these rascals but much to the frustration of the
genuine journalists, this tribe of fraud journalists came in unchecked and
created mayhem on the two days of February 3 and 4, reserved only for the
media.
I hold the corporate world also
responsible for this. In today’s digital world, why is there need to even issue
a press release? Simply ask every journalist present to drop his or her
visiting cards and after the press conference is over, the company can simply
email each and every person with the report as well as high and low res
pictures. Genuine journalists and photographers will stand to gain a lot. With
no gifts luring the journalists tribe, there will be no stupid rush caused by
these fraud journalists.
SIAM officials I talked to
admitted that they did not expect a media mayhem this year. They tried their best
to dole out media accreditation only to genuine journos, but unfortunately they
failed in their mission.
Motown India was one of the media partners to the mega show—the 2016
Auto Expo- The Motor Show. I must admit this was one of the toughest shows I
have attended in the recent past. First and foremost, SIAM, despite suggesting
to them several times, refuses to have a closed door meeting with serious
journalists on chalking out ways to improve the show. As a result, as media
partners we were at the receiving end.
The role of media partners is
simple. Its job is to spread and promote the Auto show in a big way before,
during and after the show. Mind you, its job is not to sell unrelated
goodies or showcase the latest car or motorcycle at its stall. The space
provided by the organisers need to be used by the media team to assemble and
finally disseminate the news happening at the Auto Expo. Then who uses the
Media Room? Well, the Media Room should actually be for those journalists who
are not media partners to the show...the newspaper journalists, the wire agency
boys and girls, the outstation journalists and all the others who are not media
partners. Media partners (usually auto magazines) should be given a place
wherein they can use the space to camp there and disseminate news. Once the first
two hectic days are over, the media can even use the space to spread information
about their own magazine/ website etc to the general public.
But that did not happen in
2016. We were put in a hanger (Hall No. 16), away from all the action. No
washroom was there in the so called hall, no coffee or tea or even snacks. As
for internet connectivity (which should be provided free) there was none. No
wi-fi and yes, there was LAN connection but it came at a hefty price. I
wondered whether we were media partners or someone else?
It is obvious that whoever organised
all this had no clue as to how to deal with media persons (read media partners).
It definitely left a very bitter taste in my mouth. With terrible air conditioning,
no loo in the vicinity, no internet connection and no coffee or tea or snacks
easily available....it was a show I would rather like to forget....The
experience was humiliating!