1. WHAT AILS JOURNALISM TODAY?
Presentation by Prabhu Chawla,
Editorial Director, The New Indian Express Group
Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore
May 2, 2011

2. PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE PONTIFICATING UPON THIS ISSUE

3. IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM IS EASY
The problem with journalism today is a mix of
Ignorance & Negligence

4. WHY IGNORANCE? BECAUSE JOURNALISTS TODAY HAVE:
Shoddy training, poor or no mentoring
Huge demand vis-a-vis limited supply of manpower, thanks to over 500 channels and 5,000 publications
To keep advertisers in mind while reporting and writing articles

5. WHY NEGLIGENCE? BECAUSE JOURNALISTS TODAY HAVE:
No curiosity, no hunger for news
Greed for money and instant fame
No accountability
Too much at stake: Fear of losing contacts, glamour and wealth

6. BUT THEY ARE JUST PUPPETS
The battle for bottomlines has bust the credibility of bylines
Paid news, private treaties, advertorials are all creations and consequence of a broken business model

7. EVERYONE IS CHASING NUMBERS
Advertisers have contributed to the mess
Is Quantity, numerical reach the only parameter?
What about quality, credibility?
Quality costs money.
AND DEMANDS RESPECT

8. JOURNALISTS ARE ALSO TO BLAME
Journalists have forgotten to ask simple but tough questions
They have also forgotten that their job is to report violations, not commit them
They have started acting like a super cop-judge-hangman

9. Satyam’s Raju got exposed when he was asked:
Enron collapsed when somebody finally asked a simple question: “How do you make money?”
Satyam’s Raju got exposed when he was asked:
“How did you value Maytas?”

10. Call it the ‘Double A’ Approach
For journalism to thrive, we need a supportive institutional atmosphere and individual attitude
Call it the ‘Double A’ Approach

11. But for that, everyone has to act

12. Some questions for you, as consumer
Are you ready to liberate media from the clutches for the advertiser?
Are you ready to pay for what you read/see/hear?
Some questions for you, as consumer

13. Fact is Indians pay Rs 12 for a cup of coffee at an Udipi but want 40 pages of content for free
In Mumbai you get 730 days paper for Rs 299. That is less than 50 paise per day
Readers also have the option of going on the net and not paying anything at all
Think about this..

14. It is both an editorial and business challenge
Bring realism into the picture
At least 50% cost must come from cover price
Channels and newspapers must charge

15. Editorial credibility is also a function of political buoyancy
Ramnath Goenka could create a coalition of rag tag players like Hegde, Devi Lal and NTR and take on Bofors
Today the Opposition cannot project even one leader who can be backed
But there is hope. Civil Society is crystallising into an Opposition
Participative democracy can revive both journalism and democracy

16. IF ALL THE PLAYERS ARE ON THE SAME PAGE….
...the road ahead gets easier

17. FEAR NONE EXPOSE THE CORRUPT
JOURNALISTS NEED TO FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULES
FEAR NONE
FAVOUR NONE
EXPOSE THE CORRUPT
PROMOTE THE HONEST

18. Join journalism as a mission and not just for money Ask questions
Join journalism as a mission and not just for money Ask questions. Story begins with the source. It doesn't end there.

19. THE END