CONVERSATION
Shanaz Ramzi is not a new name in the media industry. Apart from what she has written in blogs and news pieces, there’s a lot more that has been written about her on the internet both as a person and a professional.
When asked to briefly comment about her work experience and the topics she likes to work on especially through the many years she has been a columnist, this is what she has to say: “It’s been almost 22 years now since I started my career as a journalist. I started writing regularly since October 1994.”
While social issues are somewhat of a specialty, she pursues interviews and reviews just as religiously as well, irrespective of whether they are of fashion shows, movies, plays or restaurants.
“There was a time when I had become known especially for my restaurant reviews as I was doing them so regularly and people seemed to be really fond of reading them. I have also done investigative journalism.”
The lady is quite versatile, and a celebrated author in her own right. Her book, Food Prints: An Epicurean Voyage Through Pakistan - Overview of Pakistani Cuisine, was very well received by food lovers!
Meanwhile, one can also attribute a number of travelogues to her expertise.
So what happens when a journalist, head of public relations for a private television network, and now CEO of her own PR and event management company, is called in to host a KLF session? Us finds out!
Conducting a panel discussion with illustrious personalities and a well-informed audience is not an easy feat. But you managed to pull it (Pakistani Cinema Strikes Back) off brilliantly. Was this your first experience?
Thank you very much! I am much obliged and, really, quite humbled by the highly positive feedback my session has received! Yes, this was my first session moderating, and, honestly, I had been nervous about how it would all pan out, which is why I had done my homework, prepared my questions, and even the order in which I would ask them!
But, having said that, I have to admit that it wasn’t dealing with illustrious personalities that had me worried; I am quite used to that having conducted numerous press conferences with bigwigs in them. I was more nervous about being able to give everyone time and conducting a session which is holistic rather than just focusing on any one aspect.
The people who were actually part of your discussion were not there (e.g. Ayesha Omar). Did that trouble you?
No, not at all. The panel had changed much earlier and I knew exactly who was coming. In fact, I was instrumental in getting some of the panellists on board; I had felt the initial panel was too female-actor centric, and didn’t have room for other view-points such as that of film producers, distributors and exhibitors. I am really glad they agreed to come as that helped make the session holistic.
Personally, what qualities do you think a moderator should possess?
I think they need to be confident, concise, and willing to hear! All too often I have seen moderators just rambling away and not giving a chance to the panellists to speak.
How much prep work is involved before going live in front of well-informed audience such as expected at KLF?
I don’t know how the others do it, but I always like to be well-prepared and organized no matter what I do! So, I knew exactly what I was going to ask and to whom, 
and in what order!
Quite unlike the fiasco at the session on Urdu digests and digest writers, everyone has some tips and tricks up their sleeve regarding their profession. What about you? With respect to your position as a moderator at KLF, was your discussions scripted, generally discussed before it took place, or happened on the go?
Well, it wasn’t scripted, but it was partially discussed. I had hosted a coffee meeting for the panellists a couple of days before the festival to discuss the session and three of the six showed up, so we managed to do some brain-storming that helped me a lot when framing my questions. Hence, I had my basic questions for each member written out from before, and then went with the flow and either added something, or changed the order of the question as the session progressed.
How was the crowd in your session? I remember the overexcited gentleman present. How do you think a moderator should respond to such instances?
The crowd was great and responsive throughout the session, which is so heartening for a moderator. As for agitated audience members, I don’t mind them in the least as they help to further fuel a spark and get everyone involved! In the end, everyone remembers the controversy and talks about it! I let him get excited as I knew my panellists were qualified enough to handle him. The poor guy had not done his homework and got carried away with his question, so it became quite funny! He was attacking the exhibitor for removing Moor from his screen and running an Indian movie in its place, without realizing that the exhibitor was also the producer of the film! And it was amusing the way Tipu offered him his bottle of water to cool down!
- Shermeen Zuberi
The writer is a member of staff and can be reached at shermeenzuberi@hotmail.com
