Teacher of journalism, B.K. Ravi has said that according to researchers of communication, not much change had been witnessed in the medium of mass communication barring the speed with which information was being circulated.
Presiding over the session on ‘Innovations in Media’ on the second day of 86th Akhila Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana on Saturday, Prof. Ravi said that there was no need for glorification of the new technology in media. Earlier media was not a commercial business. However with multinational companies competing with television media, it turned into an industry, he said.
He said that technology changed and improved according to time. However, the glorification of the changes was happening. According to researchers, not much change had been witnessed in the medium of communication. Although there was not much change, there had been tremendous growth in the speed with which information was being circulated. At the same time, the development of technology had raised questions over the credibility of social media, he said.
Post the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian media was facing several problems and now with the Indian Government allowing foreign direct investment, many countries were waiting on their toes to invest in Indian media, he said.
Speaking on ‘Use of Kannada in Print Media’, journalist Sudarshan Channanghihalli said that the language of print media had its own significance and the responsibility of passing on the use of good language to the younger generation was on print media, he said.
Emphasising on the need for alternatives for English words in Kannada, he said efforts should be made to discontinue use of English words in Kannada media. “If Kannada develops, Kannada publications will survive,” he said.
H.S. Sudarshan spoke on the growth of social media and also on the dangers involved in excessive usage of social media.
Speaking on challenges before digital media, Prof. Sibhanti Padmanabh analysed the reasons for the development of digital media in India and said the moot point was whether digital media was controlled by us or the reverse had happened.
At a time when the thin line between information and entertainment was fast disappearing, knowing the veracity of information had become a challenge. As there was no concept of gatekeeping in digital media, properly educating the common people had become essential, he said.
Delivering the keynote address, senior journalist Mohan Hegde spoke about the contribution of newspapers in the development of the states and nation before and after Independence.
Elaborating on the challenges being faced by print media especially post COVID-19, Mr. Mohan Hegde explained that apart from soaring prices of news print and the extra burden of GST on print advertisements, there were various other factors that posed challenges to print media.
