MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18, India?s No. 1 Business medium will air a special show on American Greed?s Mob Money on Saturday 7 pm and Sunday 2 pm & 6:30 pm. The documentary narrated by actor Stacy Keach will reveal the inner workings of the mob through the eyes of New Jersey?s DeCavalcante family. The real life mafia family that inspired "The Sopranos?.

From loan-sharking and labor racketeering, the DeCavalcante family did it all. It was an organized crime laundry list that also included illegal gambling, murder-for-hire schemes and Wall Street scams. They were once seen as second-class mobsters living in the shadows of the bigger New York City families. But that changed in the late 1990?s when the feds busted all five New York families for racketeering. Discover how the family matures, becomes success and eventually bows to its weakness and crumbles to its knees.

The mafia. The mob. La Cosa Nostra. Whatever you call it, America‘s national crime syndicate is powerful, entrenched and almost impossible to nullify. Federal and local law enforcement have tried to stamp out organized crime for almost as many years as it has existed. The sheer size and scope of organized crime makes that nearly impossible.

The way the mob does business isn?t all that different than any other big corporation. There?s a corporate structure with investments and returns. Mob bosses take their business as serious as any CEO with one major exception - the way organized crime deals with the competition--making them some of the most violent criminals around. Nothing and no one stands in their way

Organized crime activities bring in a worldwide annual income of between $50 billion and $90 billion according to a 2002 FBI study - more money than any major legitimate national industry. From loan-sharking and labor racketeering to illegal gambling and murder for hire to its recent invasion into Wall Street ? it?s all part of the life-and-death business of organized crime.
 

MUMBAI: In his first ever appearance on Disney Channel, actor ?Circuit? aka Arshad Warsi will come to the rescue of Disney Channel?s coolest band ? Super Troopers on the coolest musical show Ishaan, this weekend.

Arshad will make a special appearance in the coming episode when lead characters Ishaan, Pulkit, Ron and Shyla are racing against time to make it for Shyla?s tennis match and the band competition. Their car breaks down. They are close to giving up when a huge vanity van pulls up close to them with Arshad Warsi. The show will be telecast on 3 July at 10.00 am.

?Arshad is extremely popular with kids and adults alike. We are very happy to have him on Ishaan. His comic timing along with all the excitement of this particular episode will be a treat this weekend for kids and their families,? says Arnab Chaudhuri, Director Content and Creative, Walt Disney Television International India.

?My son is very fond of the show, especially the band and he was very excited about me being on Ishaan. Sometimes I watch Disney Channel with my kids and what I like about Ishaan, is that it sincerely represents today?s youth ? their friendship, innocence and joy for life. The show gives a very important message to kids? to follow your dreams. I truly believe that success comes only when you dare to dream! Without a dream there is no motivation to strive hard,? quotes Arshad.

?Ishaan? is the inspiring musical journey of a boy who finds friends and a sense of belonging through music.
 

MUMBAI: Hanmer MS&L India, part of MS&LGroup, one of the world?s top three PR and events communications firms, today announced the expansion of its management team in India through the addition of four key hires. Each will expand Hanmer MS&L?s ability to offer clients senior counsel and campaign management, drawing upon decades of experience in the Indian and international marketplaces. The addition of strategic capabilities in the areas of corporate reputation, corporate responsibility, crisis and issues management, brand marketing and digital further reinforce Hanmer MS&L?s growth strategy and strength as one of India?s top specialty communications agency brands.

The four new hires, each joining in June, include: Sanjay Sharma as Chief Operating Officer, Dhanshekhar Iyer as Finance Director, Hemant Kenkre as Senior Strategist, and Parveez Modak as Senior Vice President. Each will work closely with the Hanmer MS&L management team, staff and clients to support existing and new campaigns.

?As Hanmer MS&L continues on its growth path, we as an agency are focused on enhancing our capabilities and providing clients with a broader range of knowledge and expertise,? said Jaideep Shergill, Chief Executive Officer, Hanmer MS&L. ?As part of this commitment, we are thrilled to bring aboard some of the industry?s most respected and seasoned professionals whose combined expertise will provide the level of strategic counsel needed in today?s changing business environment.?

Sanjay Sharma, joining as Chief Operating Officer, will play a strategic role at a pan-India level and his immediate focus will be to expand the presence of Hanmer MS&L in Delhi. Sanjay brings with him over 20 years of rich and diverse experience in the communication industry through his exposure to numerous clients with the likes of Western Union, Nerolac, Westside, ICICI, HDFC, Godrej, Sansui, Hyundai, among others. Before joining Hanmer MS&L, he held senior positions with Ambience Publicis and Mudra handling large national clients including Volkswagen, Wrigley?s and Philips.

Hemant Kenkre, a corporate and brand communications veteran of more than 20 years, joins Hanmer MS&L as Senior Strategist. With deep expertise in the areas of media relations, trade communications, crisis and issues management, employee communications and corporate social responsibility, Hemant will play a critical role in advising corporate clients on their communications strategies and campaigns. Prior to joining Hanmer MS&L, Hemant held senior positions with MTV Networks Asia (based in Singapore), Cricketnext.com and Clea Public Relations, as well as serving as a columnist with several leading publications in India.

Parveez Modak joins Hanmer MS&L as Senior Vice President, and brings 16 years of rich experience in brand marketing across multiple communications disciplines. Parveez will play a strategic role advising clients on integrated communications, including campaigns spanning multiple brands, audiences and specialty communications service areas. Prior to joining Hanmer MS&L, he held senior positions in Bates 141 and Ambience Publicis, where he lead initiatives with clients and brands including TVS Motors, Fiat India Automobiles, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Philips, L?Oreal, Sundrop, Sunflower and Playwin.

Dhanshekhar Iyer joins Hanmer MS&L as Director of Finance, with over 14 years experience in finance and accounting. He will work on a national level managing the financial operations of Hanmer MS&L, working closely with the management team and clients. Prior to joining Hanmer MS&L, Dhanshekhar gained experience working at Ogilvy & Mather, Tata Finance and Telco Dealers Leasing & Finance Company.

?In a market where the competition for talent is so fierce, I am thrilled to welcome this foursome of outstanding professionals, said Glenn Osaki, President, Asia, MS&LGroup. ?Our business revolves around the quality and expertise of our people. I am certain that Sanjay, Hemant, Parveez and Dhanshekhar will make immediate and lasting contributions to our current and future clients.?

These four senior hires, along with the recent appointment of Jaideep Shergill as Chief Executive Officer, Hanmer MS&L India, showcase the commitment to investing and developing world-class communications capabilities for clients in India by MS&LGroup, a wholly owned subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. In the past six months alone, Hanmer MS&L has dramatically expanded both its team and client base in several specialty communications areas and is currently supporting integrated communications campaigns for World Gold Council, Volkswagen and Star Group in India, just to name a few.

MUMBAI: Real time reporting is the future of journalism. It is convergence of print and web where in journalists working in print use the latest web technology to feed news to portal and print set-up as it happens in real time. It means that reporter files the story from the field as it happens where it happens.

This has been happening for in case of telecast with OB VANS and the Breaking stories but the print industry had remained neutral to these developments. Convergence is changing the format of news, making it more flexible for reader - print, web, radio all in one. The demand for news content in terms of time and coverage is going to push media to increase its bouquet of content. Real-time reporting model is a step in that direction.
Dainik Bhaskar has taken the initiative to address, fill this gap taking advantage that comes with such an action. This is a proactive step from the group as currently DAINIK BHASKAR is in a position of dominance across its markets and does not face real time challenge from TV or internet for the functional deliverable towards readers or advertisers.

Technology convergence is changing the format and need for information. Even in the net, metro news coverage is far extensive compared to other areas in the rest of the country. Dainik Bhaskar believes this is a draw back and an opportunity and that reader need for such localized content is remaining unanswered.

In addition the early flow of news benefits the newspaper too, as events are covered in much more detail. Internet readers also get the benefit of news as it happens.This model will revolutionize the journalism and its impact on advertising and other industries would be mindboggling.

As on date, under this initiative, around 220 top reporters have been professionally trained to become the first line of Multimedia reporters. Equipped with the latest model of laptops, high speed wireless connections and cameras they file directly from the field uploading the news on web and print as it breaks. The news is uplinked from the laptop through proprietary matrix technology and the Bhaskar.com readers continuously get the latest reliable version of the news stories. While most of newspapers continue to take net as a static impression of their print, at Dainik Bhaskar we are merging its reporting output for print and internet. It also enables us to differentiate our newspaper content substantially.

The first phase of real time reporting covers 13 major cities of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Punjab . These include Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Varodara, Chandigarh, Ludhiana etc. The training of next set of journalist is on as we speak and soon the width and depth of this team of Multimedia journalist will be enhanced.

The time involved in accessing, evaluating latest news will reduce allowing additional time for analysis and further probes. This will also enhance width and depth of local news coverage significantly. In effect the user interested in his surrounding will be updated on the relevant and array of news emanating from their city and vicinity, that too in real-time.

Yatish Rajwats; Group editor Dainik Bhaskar group says ‘The biggest investment in this initiative is in changing the mindset and training journalists for this. Besides this there has been a substantial investment made in the technology infrastructure both hardware and software. The truth is that post initial hick-ups are enjoying the new breed of hyper journalism‘ He adds, ‘in journalism news is like burning coal on hand. Once this simple philosophy is ingrained, each individual starts appreciating the change that made them more efficient with output and their off-the-workplace time improving significantly‘

MUMBAI: Zee Marathi brings to you another season of Idea Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs.

It will be the 9th successful season of the musical journey of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Children between 7 to 14 yrs are eligible to participate in this show. Auditions will take place at major cities across Maharashtra.

Now Little Champs auditions are taking place in Mumbai, it is not just auditions but fun-fillers bonanza for all the participants.

Date - Saturday & Sunday, July 3rd & 4th, 2010 Venue - Dadar- Matunga Cultural Centre, Dadar west, Mumbai- 400028,Time: 9 am to 5pm

So be ready to enjoy the musical journey and to make your dream comes true with Idea Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘s musical extravaganza.
 

MUMBAI: The government has appointed Adfactors PR as its communications consultant for Coal India‘s Rs 12,000 crore Initial Public Offer (IPO), which is expected to hit the market in October.

Adfactors, a leading communications firm, beat industry peers like Concept, Pressman Advertising, Sobhagya Advertising, Raka Advertising, Hanmer Advertising and Dentsumarcon to bag the prestigious job.

"Adfactors has been selected to handle advertisements and PR activities of the Coal India IPO," a senior Finance Ministry official said.

In Kolkata, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said the CIL IPO was expected in October. Earlier, the world‘s largest coal producer had indicated that it plans to launch the issue in August-September.

The Department of Disinvestment had invited PR companies to handle external communications in the run up to the IPO and over half a dozen companies were called for presentation on Monday, June 28, 2010.

Earlier, the government had appointed six merchant bankers -- Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Enam, Kotak Mahindra and DSP Merrill Lynch -- for managing the IPO.

The Cabinet had approved the divestment of 10 per cent of the government‘s holding in CIL through a public offer. The Centre holds 100 per cent equity in the company.

Jaiswal had earlier said the government would raise Rs 10,000-12,000 crore from the stake sale.

The government aims to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment this fiscal. So far, divestment in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam has fetched the exchequer over Rs 1,000 crore.

The government is likely to sell its stake in 10 PSUs, including MMTC, SAIL and Hindustan Copper, this fiscal.

During the last fiscal, it had raised Rs 25,000 crore through stake sales in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC.