NEWSNEXT SUMMIT back with 12th edition read Senior Journalists share insights

New Delhi (27 August 2023): e4m’s annual media summit, popularly called the NEWSNEXT SUMMIT, is back with its 12th edition. NEWSNEXT SUMMIT brings together thought leaders from News TV, Media Experts, Advertisers, Brand Marketers, Academicians and Global Media Leaders to discuss the future of TV News.

Same as many other fields, TV newsrooms are preparing for the changes sweeping over them and the Industry leaders seem uncertain where the changes would lead. The sheer speed of change has outstripped most predictions.

Addressing the event, renowned Rajdeep Sardesai said, “It is very easy to say TV news is dead but the reference point for social and digital media is TV news even today. What is said on TV news becomes clips, which go viral. TV news is not dead but it is in ICU. business model of TV news has broken down.”

Terming this way of journalism as “Khidki” journalism, Sardesai said soon there will be “Ravan” journalism where there will be 100 faces on TV jumping from one studio to another without “offering any knowledge, but drama.”

“Information has become infotainment. And this transition has created a crisis of content,” he added.

“During the Manipur violence matter, which happened in the first week of May, the focus was on the Karnataka elections at that time. It required a viral video two months later to wake up to the reality of Manipur. It was, as if for some news channels, Manipur was not a part of India. This is where the crisis of conscience comes. Does your conscience tell you not to cover the news that will not get you TRPs? Ignore the rating system as it is broken,” he said.

Speaking at the 12th Edition of NewsNext Summit 2023, Barkha Dutt shared how Mojo Story spent weeks in Manipur for news coverage. She said the largest presence of media in Manipur apart from the local news media were independent digital platforms. “I did not see a large presence of television news on the ground in a sustained way other than as purely reactive to that viral video. There was no before and after coverage of Manipur on our TV channels.”

“I think across mediums the biggest crisis for media not just in India but globally is how do you remain journalists and find a way to be self-sustaining? What is the best way to fund media in a way that remains independent?”

She further concluded, “As a journalist today, three things remain undeterred by technology and by the medium — passion, authenticity and the capacity to take risks and be courageous in your storytelling. It doesn’t matter what the medium is.”

News TV is at the cusp of a big change, from format to content to credibility of the content, there is so much changes happening.