PRINT JOURNALISM AT A CROSSROAD – FIVE WAYS TO REVIVE THE ART FORM

The pen is mightier than the sword or so goes the adage. While the younger generation might just scoff at it, the proverb is probably truer today than any other time in recent history. As far as honest journalism is concerned, we are undoubtedly going through the hour of the wolf. Print journalism for many media organizations has transformed into a tool for dangerous political propaganda. As the country immerses itself into a strange binary discourse of nationalism and anti-nationalism, the mediascape is continuously getting murkier. Without drooling unnecessarily into obscurantism, let me make an honest attempt at deconstructing the existing stalemate. While suggesting solutions might not be enough by themselves, the process needs to be initiated somewhere. So, here is my five-point agenda to tide over the crisis, literally and metaphorically
  1. As much as we might be nostalgic about the newsprint, emphasis needs to be on the online medium. Not only is it less expensive and more encompassing, it is a democratic medium as well. It efficiently removes the information mismatch and effectively brings everyone at par. The reduction in capital expenditure ideally reduces the political influence of the financial patron and eventually imparts a certain objectivity to the resultant breed of journalism.
  2. Journalism schools across the country are still obsessed with an archaic pedagogy where a top-down approach is the norm. Consequently, we have been left with a bunch of self-righteous journalism graduates who never think about their readers while writing. Ramoji Krian Universe (RKU), strategically located within the magnificent Ramoji Film City (RFC) in Hyderabad follows a unique method of academic delivery wherein concepts are embedded in practice. This orients the learners to adopt practices that are not only effective in news deliverance but also ethical in approach.
  3. That day isn’t too far away when news will be solely delivered through the social media. Twitter is no longer a microblogging platform, it has practically transformed itself into the first resort for journalists to put across breaking news. Blogs are becoming the order of the day. Consequently, more and more journalists need to become more active on the social platform. It is interesting to note how people got to know about the Arab Spring through Twitter and Facebook. Independent blogs are increasingly coming up to challenge the monopoly of conventional media.
  4. Prospective journalists need to be sensitized to the crude realities of the society. It is always important to understand that journalism seeks to represent the bottom half of the population. Consequently social, political and economic education has become a sine qua non. This is exactly where RKU, as an institute, is aspiring to become a catalyst for change. It offers a convergent approach to education where learners are oriented to a bucket of relevant subjects in addition to the core area of study.
  5. Last but not the least is the employability factor. One of the reasons why journalists behave the unethical way they do is because the controllers want them to. This factor can be eliminated by the establishment of independent journalistic ventures. RKU, with a futuristic vision, will make an effort at imprinting the learners with an entrepreneurial approach, something that would not only open newer vistas for the learners but also create alternative spaces in the domain of print journalism.
    Sunayan Bhattacharjee is Assistant Professor - Centre for Print & Cyber Journalism Skills. He has earlier worked with The Times of India and Reuters.

    *******
    Assistant Professor – A journalism postgraduate from the prestigious Symbiosis Institute of Media Communication in Pune, Sunayan earlier worked with renowned organizations such as The Times of India and Reuters News. He is a UGC-NET qualified scholar and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in film studies from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University. He is also the Associate Editor of The Cinemaholic.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advertising Creativity

Image
Nothing is more efficient than creative advertising NO wonder creative ads are far more appealing to people and undoubtedly they prompt them to buy products. Laboratory experiments have inferred that the creative messages get more attention and influence purchase behaviour but there is little research done on whether creative messages help increase sales revenue. At the same time there is no confusion on the fact that the   creativity matters and one can find numerous ads which are creative AND at the same time have motivated consumers to go out and buy the product.  Creativity is generally   defined as divergent thinking- ability to find the unusual, to tread the path untreated, to find a non obvious solution to a problem. All this applied to advertising would mean moving away from the obvious, focussing on uniqueness of ideas.May be thats why the creative people feel, behave, dream, think and work differentlyAND sometimes also appear a little different than ...
Keep reading

From SETU: the man who shot Dangal, Kahani, Taare Zameen Par…

Image
Setu is the Cinematographer of the films like Dangal (2016), Dedh Ishqiya(2014),Ghanachakkar (2013),Kahani (2012), Katho uponishad (2011), Vakratunda Swaha (2010), Taare Zameen Par (2007), Charas (2004), A Pyramid of Women (2003) etc. Sandipp, Asst Professor, Cinematography, RKU has taken this exclusive interview for the readers of the RKU blogspot. RKU shows its gratitude to Setu for giving his valuable time. Sandipp : Setu, when did you have the insight of becoming Cinematographer?  Setu:  From an early age  I was interested in photography. In my school & college days, I used to go to Chitrabani, Kolkata. I learnt Black & White photography process,  the image forming on paper. But the real thrust came to me watching my Mesho ( aunt’s husband) Ranjan Palit, working as the cinematographer. He is a legend in documentary circles. Watching him work, I made up my mind to become a cinematographer.  Sandipp:  Though you have the ...
Keep reading

Art of Sound

Image
Saibal Ray Centre for Sound Design Audio Art or sound art is a new genre of contemporary art that uses various technological sounds, natural ambience and sounds of our day to day life to create a piece of art. This is an interdisciplinary art form that includes and resorts to many genres of traditional art forms and subjects, like music, acoustic ecology, acousmatic sound (acousmatic sound is a sound that one hears without seeing the originating cause), psychoacoustics as well as painting. The painting, which is inspired by the sound, is also being called sound art nowadays. For example, ‘Frozen’ (5 Days Off MEDIA: Frozen, Wed 2 through Sat 26 July 2008, Melkweg Mediaroom & Paradiso, Amsterdam) was an exhibition that held in Amsterdam in July of 2008 to present sound as a space. [1] As this exhibition was described, “In the Mediaroom at the Melkweg multi-channel sound pieces can be experienced over an advanced speaker setup, accompanied by sound in a "frozen"...
Keep reading