News You Can Use

Hey you, TV anchor-hopeful. We heard you told the camera you love it, but it doesn’t love you back. Enter Mahrukh Inayet Rizvi, former senior editor at Times Now, who’s on a mission to make the cam give a damn.

After quitting her job at the news channel recently, Mahrukh launched Studio Talk, a new TV anchor school in Bandra that begins its first batch on April 30. “I’ve seen so many broadcast journalists who are smart but freeze in front of the camera. And that’s primarily because most Indian media schools don’t focus on this hands-on aspect enough. The camera only gives you one chance,” says Mahrukh, who’s been in the field for almost a decade now. 

Next of (Sor)Kin

And so Studio Talk was born, a 14-day intensive course to provide lessons in a simulated studio environment. Here, students train to become news, sports, business and entertainment anchors. The curriculum will familiarise you with the camera, teach you how to use the teleprompter and conduct interviews that require you to improvise and think on your feet. While Mahrukh is the course director, she plans to rope in a whole bunch of guest lecturers from the industry as well. And we at bpb expect enrollments to shoot up post June, when TV genius Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom releases on HBO. We’re psyched!

Meanwhile in Mahrukh’s Newsroom, you can sign up for weekday or weekend classes and fresh batches begin every month. At the end of the course, you will receive a certificate along with a demo CD that can serve as your CV on film. And there’s also that thing which made you enroll in the first place: your crush on the camera.

Getting there: Studio Talk, St Paul’s Institute of Communication Education, 24th Road, TPS III, Bandra (W), call Mahrukh on 9820228950, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or view the Facebook page here, Rs 40,000, first batch starts on April 30.