By: Vijay Kumar Verma ( Editor-ICN Group )
SHIMLA: Department of Information and Public Relations organised a Interactive Session on Challenges before the Media, on the National Press Day here today to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the constitution of the Press Council of India.
Speaking on the occasion Media Luminaries Prakash Chand Lohumi, Bureau Chief of Press Trust of India, Dr Shashi Bhushan, Editor of TV 18, Dr Rachna Gupta, Editor Of Dainik Jagran, and Dr Shashi Kant Sharma, Chairman of Department of Journalism, Himachal Pradesh University recounted their experiences on challenges Media has been facing since days of emergency in India.
Dr Shashi Bhushan shared his association with the print media when news stories used to be sent by post and their publication in newspaper after 6-7 days would be a success. Revolutionary changes, he said had been experienced in reporting and it’s instant coverage in the media. He felt that more challenges were being experienced with the onslaught of social media leading to crises of credibility. While the social media was quick to disseminate news it’s authenticity was a big issue as it is not being governed by any rules and regulations.
Though the electronic media was also quick in communication the print word still had its old values. On the other side social media spreads like wild fire as it picks up issues of public interest more closely. The changing scenario, he said, had also spelt issues of competition.
Expressing his views on the occasion Dr Shashi Kant Sharma said that the challenges being faced were unimaginable in 90s. The news pics, he recalled, used to be got delivered by hand in the Press. Social media, he too agreed, had shaken the news values and brought issues of credibility to the forefront. It is like a unreined horse with no control of the administrators. Like newspapers there are no checks and counter checks to ascertain the news value and it’s authenticity.
Prakash Lohumi stated that in print the word ‘news’ in the theoretical terms had lost its meaning as something news and not heard of since the news we read in the paper gad already reached us through the electronic and social media. Today we find that the print media had competition not only with the electronic media but also the social media. When it comes to social media we find that the news had already gone viral and got lacs of hits and such news now tend to govern the priority for the print medium.
On the authenticity of social media in relation to the recent assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, he recalled how the false news on the death of a former Minister had gone viral and despite its being refuted by the concerned quarters, had continued to circulated and shared. In such cases we find that some mechanism should be deployed for authentication of the social media.
