The mediapersons who spoke at the show were the editor of The Pioneer, Chandan Mitra, psephologist G V L Narsimha Rao, anchorperson for CNBC Asia Pranjoy Guha Thakurta, and NDTV man Rajdeep Sardesai, who was a hit with all the students.

According to a spokesman, this seminar was the concluding one of a series of national seminars held across four cities. Chandan Mitra, who commenced the session, gave some thought-provoking insights to the election scenario. He said that as the recent elections were ``issueless,'' the print media became heavily dependent on opinion and exit polls. Calling them ``fluke'' and ``hit and miss'' exercises, he did not hesitate to dismiss them completely. He also said that what was going to be the key to the next elections were websites and the Internet in general. At this point, the students also had their inputs in the form of extensive study on various issues. These varied from the opinion polls, women candidates and the efficacy of political advertising in India.

In the second session, the domain of electronic media took over. The expert, Sardesai, spoke extempore about his experiences and assessment of the scenario. ``Politicians have now entered our living rooms through television,'' he said. According to him, the election coverage also tended to be more of a ``marketing exercise.'' The upside to all this was that suddenly politicians, hither to larger than life figures, became accessible and thereby, more accountable.

The audience was told about the various aspects behind television analysis, contemporary packaging techniques and programme planning. Inputs were provided by Sanjay Pugalia of TV Today and Manoj Raghuvanshi of India TV on these issues.

The role that the foreign media played in the last elections of this millennium was elucidated upon by Thakurta. He noted how the foreign media naturally diverted attention on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. He then went on to illustrate the specific styles of each publication in its coverage.

The seminar concluded with a sense of satisfaction among the participants, having discussed various vital issues. And the audience got an opportunity to have their queries answered and interact with these personalities, other than just seeking autographs, as they did with Sardesai.