The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Studio to shape radio professionals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Studio to shape radio professionals

Krishna Velupillai

Intensive course for aspirant RJs offered

— Photo: R. Ragu

Showing them what it takes: RJ Niladri with students in a training session.

CHENNAI: Inside a small studio in Nugambakkam a new brand of young guns are being trained to enter the world of radio where an extroverted mind is all you need to become a star. Voice has become fashionable again, thanks not only to the FM radio boom but also to simple audio publishing tools, Podcasts and Internet radio.

“Radio in India is still like a baby, it’s up to us to make the baby grow up healthy,” says veteran radio jockey Niladri. With more people getting inspired by the medium, Niladri’s training camp for aspiring radio jockeys is gaining popularity in the city.

“In Chennai, radio has become all about music, the art of presentation has taken a back seat. Actually in radio, there is no room for error in presentation. If you are on video, the visuals take away most of the attention. In radio, ‘audiolising’ is a skill. The day the listener tunes in to listen to you, you can say that you have achieved something,” said Niladri.

During the 3-4 day intensive course, students are trained in everything from presentation and voice culture to the use of music and radio software. The organisers do not have a fixed criteria for choosing their students. All that is required is basic communications skills, an interesting personality, a pleasant voice and a passion for the radio.

According to Niladri and his team, however, people are joining the profession because of the glamour that it is beginning to acquire. “Passion for the medium as a tool for communication is dwindling. The first question many young people ask is how much they will get paid. In those days, when we joined radio, we even had to go through a written test and a proper audition to check our language skills, both written and spoken. Now things are easier, so people look for what the medium can give them not what they can give the medium.”

While Niladri and his team have received applications from candidates as young as 12 to those as old as 50, according to him the ideal age group is 18-35.

Abrar Malik (23) is an aspiring radio jockey. He underwent the training because he heard that it was a lot of fun. An engineering student, Abrar is not keen on taking on radio as a full-time profession, but feels that it is definitely something he would like to pursue as a hobby. Saranakumar, an ad-film maker, would also like to pursue radio as a part time endeavour. He feels that radio should be able to convey a message to the people.

The RJ training studio is located at 6/8 Unique Sterling, Second Floor, 3rd Cross Street, Sterling Road, Nungambakkam.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News Update

Stories in this Section