MUMBAI: More often than not, negative and disturbing news dominates prime time television and suppresses the good that happens all around and hence paints a rather cynical picture of society. With an aim to bring these positive stories to the fore, triggerbridge -the unagency by S Yesudas, in partnership with Ajit Nair and Amit Tripathi, has planned the ‘Un News Hour.'
“It is a one-hour prime time news capsule across English, Hindi and all other vernacular languages, which will air only happy news of human achievements, however small or big the achievement might be,” explained media veteran and entrepreneur, Yesudas.
“With every other noise that’s being made everywhere else, this in my opinion, will be an equalizer of sorts, and will be a huge opportunity for those unsung heroes to be recognized, day after day and a big ground of motivation for many more to embark on such initiatives,” he added.
When quizzed about the choice of the title for the initiative, which has indirect reference to Arnab Goswami’s flagship ‘News Hour’ Yesudas shared, “While there was no inspiration from Arnab, I can’t deny the potential of Arnab himself owning up both the News Hour, which is about debate on hot topics in the country and the Un-News Hour, which is just simply happy news to triggerhappy conversations. I have interacted with Arnab and he is a very different human being personally, gentle, soft spoken, intuitive and brilliant. Un-News Hour will give him an opportunity to portray his actual personality where he doesn’t have to lose his cool or get upset with people who are covering up etc”
While the idea is definitely noble, due to lack of proper planning and participation such social initiatives seldom see the light of the day. To this Yesudas commented, “I don’t think any genuine initiative ever fails. If there are hidden agendas, yes it will, much like how Free Basics failed and odd/even (Delhi) succeeded. Both happened around the same time, the former began with so-called support and the later with all the negativity possible. But it is the purity in purpose that made odd/even a success. The attempt here is to motivate people by raising their awareness to the wonderful things that are happening around them. As a dear friend of mine said it is strategy without a map. And yet each element is beautifully tied into each other through human knots of kindness.”
Putting the scale of the initiative in perspective, one can’t help but wonder how triggerbridge planned to cover the costs. “I’m looking for support from clients to cover the actual expenses, not for advertising, but for them to be known for doing something much more meaningful for the people of India. I am happy to say there have been people calling in offering their support in various ways. I got a call from an institute that trains in cinematography, with many trained camera units. They offered to become part of our cause. I have had a doctor calling up offering support. Many friends are waiting in line to offer all kinds of support. I've also tweeted the PM, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, requesting each to give the initiative wings,” explained Yesudas.
The entire concept is heavily dependent on partnerships with channels and networks that believe in the cause. “I’m talking to all possible channels. I know this is disruptive and this is not for someone who is only focused on transactions. We are sure to align with a few like-minded people. Conversations are ongoing as we speak. Within two to three weeks we will be able to share names of concrete partners and the status report,” Yesudas concluded.
