Star TV has drawn up a plan to beef up its communications and channel promotion division by recruiting journalists. The idea is simple: do away with fancy public relations firms recruited by Star and have journalists do the publicity work.

According to a plan being studied by Star TV management in Hong Kong, with an aim to target the regional press more effectively, it has been proposed that the existing channel promotion division be whittled down and journalists recruited to do the work in various state capitals.

The economics work out fine. If Star does not spend the amount of about Rs 250,000 per month on a Delhi-based PR agency, recruited to look after its DTH publicity, then more people can be stationed in smaller towns like Kanpur, Lucknow, Pune, Guwahati, etc..

A source in Star TV said, "If we have journalists in our publicity department and spread across the length and breadth of the country, our channel promotion would be more effective."

The source added that Star TV can position these new staffers in Star offices. "For example, a local journalist can be attached to the Hyderabad office of Star and will liaise with the local press there. Taking a journalist helps because of his contacts in the media and also because he knows about journalism which can be beefed up with a bit of marketing too," the source added.

But this decision can only come through when the picture on Star's DTH activities in India becomes clear. At present, the Star TV management is "reviewing" its DTH setup in India and it will take a final decision on it by the middle of June as its new financial year starts only from 1 July.