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INTERNSHIP REPORT – 1

DAINIK JAGRAN – CITY PLUS

PUNE

Submitted to

MAEER’s Arts, commerce and Science College

Pune

By Natasha R. David

First Year

Master of Journalism and Mass Communication (MJMC)

2014-2015

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Internship Report by: Natasha R. David Internship at: Cityplus Pune Jagran Prakashan Ltd ,

301,Sai Gaurav ,2040, S K Jaan Mohd.

Street, Off M G Road, Near Baba Jaan, Chowk, Camp, Pune 1

Telephone:- 020-66052452

Internship type: Weekly Community Newspaper Internship duration: December 2, 2014 – January 2, 2014 Supervised by: Nadeem Inamdar Former Senior Editor, City Plus Pune.

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INDEX

Title

Page No.

Acknowledgement

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Introduction and History of Organisation

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Daily/Weekly Log

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Observation and Experience

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Published Work

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Unpublished Work

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Internship Certificate and Card

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I, Natasha R. David, take this opportunity to convey my gratitude to the Director and

Associate Director of MIT-ISBJ, Mr. Mohan S. Menon and Mr. Makarand Malawe

respectively; for giving me the opportunity to intern with City Plus.

I would also like to thank Executive-Administration & Promotions in-charge, Mr. Vaibhav

More, for help in arranging the internship, and co-ordinating with the newspaper

organisation.

Hearty thanks to Mr. Nadeem Inamdar, Senior Editor at Dainik Jagran City Plus, Pune, for

his constant support, guidance and counselling during the course of my internship. I would

also like to thank Bushra Shaikh, Namrata Devikar and Sumantha Sukhdev, for their help in

editing, reporting and photographing, respectively; and for their friendliness and openness

towards an intern in their organisation.

I would lastly like to thank my fellow-inters Sagari Jog, Sayalee Rakh, Rashmi Nargundkar

and Steby Thomas, for their camaraderie and support during our month-long stint at the

organisation.

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Cityplus is a venture of Jagran Prakashan Ltd, publisher of world's largest read newspaper Dainik Jagran. The concept has been formed with the need of bringing in a community-commodity-lifestyle based compact weekly, which has the real zeal of making a strong community of its readers, and associates. City plus aims at informing, entertaining and empowering its readers and business partners alike. City Plus is a compact English weekly circulated in these City. Cityplus have 43 edition in India.

Delhi/NCR Pune East Delhi Aundh Baner South Delhi Kondhwa/Wanowrie South-West Delhi Kothrud/Bavdhan Dwarka Deccan /Shivaji Nagar Paschim Vihar / Punjabi Bagh Camp /Bund Garden Gurgaon Koregaon Park /Kalyaningr/ Viman NGR Faridabad Wakad Pimple Saudagar Noida Pimpri-Chinchwad Greater Noida Hadapsar New Ghaziabad/Ghaziabad Undri/NIBM Indrapuram/Crossing Bangalore

Mumbai

Koramangala Vashi Indiranagar Nerul Jayanagar Thane Sarjapur Kandivali HSR Layout Chembur-Ghatkopar Malleshwaram Malad-Goregaon Banaswadi Borivali JP Nagar Mira Road-Bhayander Rajajinagar Hyderabad Banjara Hills Secunderabad Ameerpet Himyatnagar/Abids Kukatpally

Cityplus has been designed, derived and delivered keeping in mind the need of the hour.

With the ever changing lifestyle and economy, Cityplus aims at bringing about the change

much needed from the perspective of readers and advertisers.

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Retailing in metros is the buzzword of the day. With a shift in consumer behavior and

spending patterns influenced by the upward shift in the Social Economic Class and with

options of various purchasing modes (EMIs, Credit Cards), the markets are upbeat and

every retailer, small or big, is now aware about the power of advertising.

Since the markets have become local in nature, this weekly tabloid offers the local

advertisers to have a low value-high reach option to reach out to their potential customers in

their own domain.

Cityplus is delivered separately by a dedicated distribution chain. The placement of Cityplus

is done across all the upper-middle and premium residential localities in each market it is

launched in. It's also in all the malls, multiplexes, Caf''s, Institutes, Clubs, Hospitals, Gyms

and other local gathering joints.

Cityplus is positioned editorially as a paper that focuses on life and lifestyle on a more local

and sub-local level. There are localized Community news, Events and Happenings while the

features will focus on lifestyle accompanied with customized information, inputs on a more

local level for value-addition to the story, more relevant to the individual reader.

Cityplus is an English Information-Entertainment based weekly compact paper. An

aesthetically designed all colour paper that covers a variety of topics from Food, Fashion,

Lifestyle, etc. Apart from this, it also has reader interactivity through Contests, Coupons,

Puzzles, Quiz, Crossword, Games, Polls, Suggestions and Views.

Editorial Team

Puja Sethi Editor of Jagran Cityplus, a community tabloid with 43 editions spanning across 5

cities in India. Alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College where she pursued her degree in English

honours. She later went on to pursue masters in English literature from Miranda House at

Delhi university.

Puja Sethi has enjoyed a media career spanning across television, internet, telecom VAS

and print. She has worked as the head of mobile sms content for Indiatimes (the online

venture of Bennet and Coleman group). Puja was the content head for Personalitree, a soft

skills portal. She has been an active political journalist for India This Week, a premier news

show on national television. Puja anchored television shows like Cyber Zee and Subah

Savere. She has been at the helm of affairs for community journalism. She was the Editor for

India's first community newspaper Neighbourhood Flash.

For more information, check out the CityPlus website: http://cityplus.jagran.com/

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Dec 2nd The first assignment I received, before even entering the office for my first day of work, was to interview an Indian Rock band called Highway 61. The interview was to take place at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Pune. I had to get in touch with Chetan Jairam, a PR agent for the even that was hosting the band’s performance. A taxi was to pick me up from my home for the interview, and drop me back. My first impression was that this job was über cool. I had bought a recorder, which I used for the interview. It was a daunting, yet exciting experience.

Dec 3rd The 2nd day on the job, I was invited back to the same hotel to take the interview of another artist performing at the same function as Highway 61. This time it was an international artist, View Farka Toure, who had performed at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa! As he was short on time, I had to do the interview along with another reporter. We took it in turns to ask questions, and that was also a good experience. Right after that interview, the taxi arranged for this interview dropped me off at the location of my next assignment, Hotel Ramee Grand, my first press conference. It was at another hotel and was regarding the first Indian Bubble Carnival. The conference went off well, followed by snacks. At this event, I was able to interact with another PR agency, who maintained contact with me regarding other events, during the entire course of my internship. On the same day, I returned to the office, only to have a cab pick me and our photographer up to take us to the music and fashion event where the artists I had interviewed, Highway 61 and Vieux Farka Toure, were to perform. It was an amazing experience to watch the people who had opened up their hearts to you, show you the proof of what they had shared via their performance. That was one packed second day at work! I was in fact the last to leave the office.

Dec 4th Nadeem sir then decided to send me on a civic story hunt and I took my fellow-intern with me to look for stories. We went to a community swimming centre in Wanowrie and interview the person in charge there regarding the benefits of that pool to the community. For our next story that day, I interviewed a friend of mine who had a house near a bus

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stop that had a large overflowing trash can near it, and wrote a story on the nuisance of the bin on the people living in that area.

Dec 5th On our second day doing civic stories, we went to the Maharashtra School for the Deaf(MFD) in Undri and interviewed the lady in charge there. There is also another school there called Vibgyor which has a very bad patch of road leading from the building to the main road. We interviewed the school bus drivers regarding the traffic jam there and dangers for the students.

Dec 6th Saturdays are the days we had to go to the office, unlike other days where we could work on our outdoor assignments without dropping in at the office first. So I did a few stories from the office itself, where people mailed me reports and I made them into news stories. For example, I made a story out of the initiate taken by Wanowrie residents to clean a ground near their homes, in wake of the Swach Bharat Abhiyaan.

Dec 7th Sundays are a holiday from the office, but not from work. That evening I went with a fellow intern and our photojournalist to a superbike event at Pune’s famous mall, Amanora. It was so crowded and was quite a big affair. Hundreds of bikes were on show, by bike brands and by owners of clubs. I interviewed a few owners and also got to interview two brothers who had Pune’s largest vintage bike collection. I also scored a n interview with the man behind the event who gave me all the information I needed.

Dec 8th-12th The whole week, I worked on civic stories in NlBM area. I visited a member of the NIBM Road Resident’s Forum(NRRF), who told me of all the issues in that area that needed highlighting in the paper. He also gave me contacts of people for stories. One was of a school girl who had, with her school friends, taken up the issue like garbage removal and installation of speed breakers near her residence. That was my Gen X story for the week. I managed to get around four civic stories and the Gen X story. I also wrote a story on an event to be held, the Jingle Bells Christmas Bazaar.

Dec 13th This Saturday I attended a fun fair held in RIMS School, Undri. It was fun to be a part of a school event with kids scuttling about and having parents and teachers involved as well. It was also good to see fair was to raise money for the Institute for the Visually Impaired and Differently Abled, Hyderabad. Since it was a Saturday, I then left from the fair to the office to see that my article were fine for publishing.

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Dec 14th -15th Worked on making news reports into news stories.

Dec 16th Early morning, I made my way to the Jeejeebhoy ground near Bishop’s School to attend the Maharashtra Anglo Indian CISCE Schools Inter School Athletics Olympiad 2014. It was a well arranged event with parents and teachers in the stands, and the students waiting their turn to win medals for their school. I took pictures, made notes, and waited till the first medal distribution, after which I made my way to the home of the Bishop of the churches in Pune, to do an in focus story on him. I was invited into his office, and I asked him questions regarding the Advent season and the approaching Christmas Day Celebration.

Dec 17th Along with two of my fellow interns, I went to the Deccan Rendezvous Hotel to attend the press conference to announce the launch of Pubtown in Ishanya Mall in Pune. It was a short event that ended with the serving of lunch. We were again able to interact with the PR people.

Dec 18th I made my way to the same hotel as the previous day, Deccan Rendezvous, but only to a different room in the hotel. It was a press conference to announce the details of 'Walk of Hope', a Padayatra for peace and harmony covering 6500 Kms from Kanyakumari to Kashmir that will pass through Pune in its year-and-half long itinerary across India. The leader of this walk was to be Sri M, founder of Manav Ekta Mission.

Dec 19th Was invited by 100% PR, who were involved with the Bubble Carnival event, to interview an international bubble artist, Guinness World Record holder Samsam Bubbleman. The interview was at the Hotel Ramee Grand. It was in the dining area of the hotel, where our interviewee was served lunch. There were three of us reporters interviewing him. It was over an hour-long interview, but the bubbleman was very fascinating that there seemed to be no end to his stories and our questions. I did not end up writing a story on this interview, but I did record it.

Dec 20th With the newspaper’s photographer, I attended the second day of the three day Pune Fashion Week held at Ishanya Mall. It was my first ever fashion show and it was a fabulous experience. I saw actress Mugda Godse and was able to experience the thrill of the life of the fashion world. I watched two runways with two different designers, one with indian wear, and the other with what looked like oriental gothic wear.

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Dec 21st Again, although it was a Sunday, I went for the Bubble Carnival with my free pass. After attending the press conference and interviewing one of the international artists, it felt like closure attending the event itself.

Dec 22nd I made my way to the Deccan Gymkhana to a very crowded hall that was there just to attend the book launch of a young 17 year old author, Avani Vora. The event was graced by Marathi actress and Mrinal Dev – Kulkarni, known for her role as Son Pari in the Hindi serial Son Pari.

Dec 23rd The three of us fellow interns made our way in the early hours of Tuesday morning to the main ground of Amanora Township, to attend the Amanora Pearson School Annual Day event. The Chief Guest was former Indian cricketer, Dilip Vengsarkar. We took turns photographing the various drills and races and took our place in the stands amidst the parents, to observe the action.

Dec 27th This day was spent in office to make sure all our articles were published.

Dec 29th-2nd Pending articles were being published, but we got no new stories to do.

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A weekly newspaper is quite different from a daily one. The atmosphere is more relaxed, and the editors have most of their work to do only on the day before their edition is published. The reporters have to work throughout the week, though for us as inters, the hours didn’t matter. We could work from home and go out and get as many stories as we could and just mail them in to the sub-editor and senior editor. The only days we had to be in office were Saturdays, because those were the days the editor placed our stories into the newspaper for publishing. We had to make sure our articles had all the information and were suitable for publishing. This internship helped me connect firstly, with famous people and big events. I was introduced to a range of beats, from music, fashion, education, sports, festivals, book launches, social causes, biking, family events, in this category. It opened my mind to all the fascinating and interesting happening in and around the city that most times we do not even know. Every day there is a different event that affects different people. Secondly, I connected with local and community people. When I had to search for and cover civic stories, I realized the problems and joys of a community. On the one hand, community groups were complaining and working towards repair of roads, and on the other, some were celebrating encouraging development and involvement. This internship brought me closer to my city. Working at the CityPlus Office also involved interactions with other employees. All the people I interacted with were very friendly and helpful, not afraid or too busy to help out a temporary newcomer. Nadeem sir was also very helpful in giving us so much exposure, and treating us more like his co-workers than as interns. It was a fun first-time experience where I learned a lot in just one month.

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Date of Publishing Edition Article published

7th-13th Dec

Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp Highway 61

7th-13th Dec

Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp First Bubble Carnival

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road Vieux Farka Toure

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road Civic Story – Garbage bin

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade

Highway 61

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade Vieux Farka Toure

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road Highway 61

7th-13th Dec

Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade First Bubble Carnival

14th – 20th Dec

Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade Superbike Festival

14th – 20th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road Civic Stories and 1 event

14th – 20th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road Civic Story – Scrap Cars

18th - 24th Dec

Pune-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD GenX – Sakshi Kaul

20th -26th Dec Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp Computer Lab donated

21st - 27th Dec

Pune - Undri NIBM Road RIMS Fun Fair

27th Dec– 2nd Jan

Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp InFocus – Bishop Andrew Rathod on

Christmas

28th Dec -3rd Jan

Pune - Undri NIBM Road GenX – Avani Vora

28th Dec-3rd Jan Pune - Undri NIBM Road Walk of Hope

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28th Dec-3rd Jan Pune - Undri NIBM Road Civic Story – Vibgyor School road

28th Dec-3rd Jan

Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade Walk of Hope

4th -10th Jan Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade Amanora Pearson School Annual Sports

Day

4th -10th Jan Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade GenX – Avani Vora

4th -10th Jan Pune - Undri NIBM Road Amanora Pearson School Annual Sports

Day

10th - 16th Jan

Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp GenX – Avani Vora

Wrongly Published

7th -13th Dec Pune - Kondhwa Wanowari BT Kawade Wanawadi Swach Bharat Abhiyan

10th-16 Jan

Pune - KP Viman Nagar Camp Bishop’s School Athletic Olympiad

Meet

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Wrongly Published

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Infocus : Maharashtra Fellowship for the Deaf By Natasha David Tara Meshramkar and her husband Arvind Meshramkar are the founders of MFD, or the Maharashtra Fellowship for Deaf, in Mohammadwadi in Pune. Tara herself was taken in as a daughter by Lillian Doersken who had come to India on mission work, and who helped them set this school up. Started in 1997, it was the village’s first residential school. “We had only 6 girl students, and now, more than 25 years later, we have around 150 students, both boys and girls”, stated Mrs. Meshramkar. Their students are mostly Maharashtrans, but some are from places like Indore and Gujrat. Their teachers are all qualified and are mostly from Pune City. Government recognized, they follow the SSC board pattern. The students are taken in and put into classes dependent on their capabilities, as most children with disability join school a little late. ‘The sooner they join, the easier it is for them to try speaking’, said Mrs. Meshramkar. MFD also provides vocational training for their students in computers and tailoring, after which an organization called Marg helps them get placements. The students are then ready for government and corporate jobs. Many nearby schools and hotels take a charitable interest in this school, like Delhi Public School, The Bishops School and Hotel Radisson, that arranges snacks for the kids and even a soccer match every year. In November, on Children’s Day, Hotel Sayaji sent buses to take the children to their hotel, where they arranged for cake, drinks and games for the children. ‘It was their first buffet meal experience’, said Mrs Meshramkar proudly. On the 13th and 14 of December, a football tournament called Footy was arranged on the MFD grounds and 20 teams from over India, like Ahmadnagar, Kolhapur and Goa, participated. The MFD football team also took part. In preparation for the Christmas season, the MFD conducted its annual Christmas programme on the 16th of December. The event involved the participation of all their students in skits and a choreography by students of the Aurangabad branch. Having been divided into 5 groups, each group enacted a scene from the Bible referring to the events around Jesus’ Birth. There were three judges to judge the performances and the skits were all silent, incorporating only miming and background music. The MFD gets support from Private organizations, any well-wishers, and also sponsors in the Netherlands, Canada and America. The students there are quite friendly and are of the ages around 5 to 20. ‘We are now looking for the addition of a few playground items for the smaller students’, said Mrs. Meshramkar.

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Church Christmas Programme By Natasha David On 13th December, 2014, the St. Paul’s Church arranged its annual Christmas programme to bring in the Advent season. The theme for their programme was ‘Light of the World’. Different wings of the church put up a performance of songs, a play or both. The children of the church performed a musical play with a choir on the side singing songs while others took the roles of Mary and Joseph, shepherds, prophets, wise men and angels, all from the Bible story of Jesus’ birth. A choreography was also displayed by the children based on a song talking about the reason of Jesus’ birth.Next was the women of the church putting up a comic skit involving them playing roles of women as the wives and relatives of Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and wise men, all making a to-do at the manger where Jesus was born. They ended the performance with a song. Then the youth enacted a skit based on the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It involved Sherlock and his sidekick Dr. Watson solving a case for a client who is confused about whether Christmas is about Santa Claus or Jesus Christ. They added comic elements where Sherlock and Watson go to the North Pole to look for Santa and then end up travelling in a time machine to the time of Jesus’ birth over 2000 years back. They then sang two songs, which was followed by an opera performance by a couple singing and playing the guitar to ‘Oh Holy Night’ a Christmas carol. The evening ended with contributory dinner over fellowship. Civic Story: Private property used as dumping ground By Natasha David A number of plots of land in the NIBM area which are privately owned lie vacant. With some issue regarding their building something on that land, the area is just covered in weeds and small plants. Having a low or broken down wall surrounding the land, it invites people to use it as a dumping ground. Piles of garbage now lie on private property causing the area, which is in full view of the public, to look and smell dirty. When people see garbage already lying there, they themselves feel no hesitation in dumping more garbage onto that. Due to a dispute between the corporators and the builders, there is no high wall or fencing around the land. Without a high boundary wall around the compound, nearby citizens are making use of that easy access to throw waste onto the open ground. These plots of land lie near the bridge over the nala.

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