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Panel Discussion on Reuters' Digital News Report 2021
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M Snehanjali
3:19
3:21
Hello and welcome to a Panel Discussion on Reuters' Digital News Report 2021. The panelists are Sashi Kumar, Rasmus Neilsen, Supriya Sharma and Dhanya Rajendran.
3:25
The moderator Manisha Pande started the session by asking about the concept of neutrality and how it affects journalists.
3:26
Dhanya Rajendran says: "In my personal view, journalists, news organisations and the general public should understand that neutrality does not exist. We are all human beings."

She further adds that consumers can demand some stories while journalists should aim to get both sides of the stories. A and B versions are not the same and journalists should cover both.
3:30
Supriya Sharma then speaks about the lack of symmetry out there in society.
"As a journalist, what I think of it is to give space to every view. Give a chance to every story but also ask questions from the government at the same time." She says.
3:33
The moderator proceeds with the question of neutrality to Sashi Kumar. He replies: "Neutrality does not make any sense. Objectivity is the need of the hour. To give both sides of the story. But in a fragmented society and media landscape, different news organizations are arriving at the varied points of view on a single story. The mainstream media is nothing but sort of a filter bubble, echo chamber and sadly that’s where the eyeballs are and the TRP."
3:34
Dhanya further says that maybe only Reuters ended up being neutral.
3:37
Moderator then asks for the panellists' views on the question of media literacy of the viewers and the ways it will affect the significance of journalism if people stop trusting news platforms.
3:39
She continues with the view that people who watch The Republic are more likely to take it as entertainment than news.
3:40
Rasmus Neilsen goes ahead saying: "I know it's very hard but I think it is the most difficult thing that journalists have to do but also just social media directly attacks and harasses and questions your professional ethics and practice. My interpretation is many peoples' journalism is not very different from what Supriya explained."
He also mentions the online news applications available that are trusted very much by the viewers.
3:43
On being asked about people preferring DD and AIR for news instead of the news channels, Kumar says that the Brand of The Republic is followed by TOI, Doordarshan, and AIR. We’re not speaking of news but something completely else in that case.
3:45
Supriya states some interesting facts about polarization in journalism.
3:49
Dhanya very precisely speaks about how news works on social media and things like death and violence grabs the attention of the audience.
3:50
3:57
The discussion then moves toward the demand for ad-driven news sources and their rise in the future to which Rasmus expresses his concern over the growth of regional news stories. There is an increase in the use of digital media in India and people being more inclined toward using the internet. So this is putting great pressure on the survival of regional news sources.
4:00
Dhanya, however, disagrees with Rasmus' statement and says that the influence of regional media is not much on print but quite a big influence on digital and television media.
4:01
4:03
The panelists concluded the discussion by agreeing on the fact that with successful literacy programs, their deep impact on society and the huge demand for regional news in local areas, there will be an abundant scope for it, in our country, in the future.
4:04
4:07
Which source do you rely on for consuming news?
Social media (0% | 0 votes)
 
Television (0% | 0 votes)
 
Newspaper (0% | 0 votes)
 
Total Votes: 0
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