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MUMBAI: Star News pioneered India?s 1st National News Anchor Hunt which provided an opportunity to all prospective journalists to opt for a rewarding career in Television Journalism. The curtains have come down today on India?s biggest search for News Anchors- The Star Anchor Hunt.
Mr. Ashok Venkatramani CEO Star News felt the need of the Star Anchor Hunt to bridge the resource gap of trained manpower in the News Television business. ?Human Capital is the most important resource at Star News which is why we conducted the 1st Talent Hunt by a News Channel to induct fresh talent into the Industry.?
Over three months, Star News and its 3 celebrity Judges traversed the entire Hindi belt, visiting 10 cities. Star News would cull out 250 to 450 Candidates in each City and put them through Group Discussions, Written Tests, Piece to Camera and Jury interactions. After that, we?d put the final twenty candidates into a stringent final round in the Star studios in Noida. The 20 finalists (10 Male and 10 Female) were trained to interview Celebrities, report on an Event, write Headlines and Anchor in the Studio. From there would emerge a couple of candidates that would become the face of Star News. Yes, this wasn?t a regular Talent Hunt on an Entertainment Channel where the winners are patted on their backs, given gift hampers and sent home.
Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav fielded questions ranging from Bihar, the Railways and Films from all the 6 finalists in his trademark style with a lot of humor. He requested the Management of Star News to employ all 6 Finalists as they were all very good and not over awed by him like most Journalists. But since some Winners are more equal than others ,Meenakshi Khandwal and Akshay Shukla were felicitated by the Jury of Tisca Arora and Chetan Bhagat and blessed by Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav. Mr Shazi Zaman, Editor of Star News presented them with a Trophy and a 3 year Contract as an Anchor with Star News. They are also proud owners of a Ford Figo which were on view outside the Hotel.
?India?s biggest search of News Anchors has thrown up India?s 1st two Star Anchors? according to Mr. Neeraj Sanan the Marketing Head of Star News. ?We are delighted by the response to the first Star Anchor Hunt. Opportunity knocks a second time for all those who missed out ? so please register online for Star Anchor Hunt 2011 on www.staranchorhunt.com .?
?I was amazed why no one had thought of this concept before to search for the best anchor/journalist across India? said a member of the Jury,Tisca Chopra. She started her Career as a Star News Anchor and went on to star in the much acclaimed Taare Zameen Par with Aamir Khan- India‘s official entry to the 2008 Academy Awards.? The Star Anchor Hunt was by far the toughest challenge for me?.how do you pick someone from anonymity, groom them, work with them and see them grow and then send them back? It broke my heart to eliminate the very people I had fought to bring to the finals.?
Well read author Chetan Bhagat shared snippets of his journey into the Indian heartland. ?We met the youth of this country from all backgrounds ? rural and urban, rich and poor, moderate to highly educated. However, they had one thing in common ? everyone had a dream, and they were willing to work hard for it. Many candidates lacked anchor-like skills, but quite a few were excellent. In every audition city me and the other judges (Tisca Chopra, Deepak Chaurasia, Siddharth Sharma), had a tough time making the final shortlist. I witnessed the raw talent of my country firsthand, which frankly is India?s only hope in making it to the big league of nations.?
Talent is not a monopoly of the Metros and the Star Anchor Hunt opened its doors to the Hindi heartland. A lot of the participants lauded Star News efforts while acknowledging that they always wanted to be Anchors but didn?t know how. For them Deepak Chourasia, Kishore Ajwani, Aditi Arora, Siddartha Sharma, Srivardhan Trivedietc are role Models as they feel that the Star News Anchors are among the best in the Country.
The Star Anchor Hunt has been captured on Camera in 20 Episodes and can be seen on Star News between 8.30 to 9 pm till 26th June. The Grand Finale would be telecast on 26th June-so please switch on your Televisions and meet the final winners.
