Industry leaders from the country’s media, marketing and communications have converged for the 4th edition of IMAGEXX Summit and Awards 2024, Adgully’s premier PR industry event, which is being held today (July 18, 2024) at the Holiday Inn, Aerocity, Gurgaon. In a short span of time, IMAGEXX Summit and Awards has been recognized as the PR industry’s go-to event.The event commenced with the opening keynote address by Rahul Shivshankar, Consulting Editor, Network18. While speaking on the topic ‘Redefining Journalism: The Impact of Independent Media on Mainstream News’, Shivshankar noted that there are several competitors in the news medium today. Highlighting the growth of ‘independent’ news media, he pointed out that there are several YouTubers today, some of whom were journalists once, but now want to be independent. Many of them have been able to win over viewers with their content and get them to subscribe to their YouTube channels. “So, mainstream news asks, where do I get my little niche back, how do I get 50% of the views back from these great competitors?” he said.Continuing further, Shivshankar pointed out that those calling themselves independent news media are quite opinionated. “But the trouble is when I, a part of mainstream media, become opinionated, you would say ‘What kind of an anchor is he? He is taking a position’. Now you have to ask yourself, who has pushed me, the mainstream media, into taking a position?,” he added.Shivshankar made a pertinent point when he said, “You are watching non-traditional sources, the independent media, which is very opinionated. Now I want to ask, have we ever thought about what we mean by the label ‘Independent’? And what are they independent from? What do they seek independence from? Are they seeking independence from the need to be factual, truthful, and accurate, or are they seeking independence from legacy platforms that many of you may today believe are no longer objective?”While urging the audience to seriously ponder on this, he observed, “We all say that we want independent sources of news, that are untinged by bias and which gives us the truth as it is. But we do not ask how we can be so sure that these independent sources are also independent of biases. We listen to them because their opinions sound great. After all, they can say a lot of things by being independent. They can say a lot of unqualified things, so are they seeking independence to be able to say things that are not qualified at all?”On the other hand, he said, “Because I represent a news channel with a great legacy – CNN for example, TV18 – I have to think about the consequences of everything that I say, of every fact that I show on my show. I have to make sure that every fact is bonafide. However, independent media has no such obligations. They can get away with a lot and they have gotten away with a lot. And a lot of you out there believe them, they shape your opinions on things, making you vote in a particular way. I don’t want to be negative, I do believe that independent media has done a lot, but what is meant by the term ‘independent media’?”Elaborating further, he said, “Does independent media mean that they are independent of a funding source? I remember there is a lot of talk today about who is funding whom. And to what end? Just a few months ago, I wanted to start my independent platform, and I went out there with some people coming to me because they wanted to see good journalists, but others came to me and said ‘We will give you ‘x’ amount of money, but it comes with strings attached. I refused. It’s an eco-system that feeds into itself, so the person who is funding you will also ensure that you are successful. There are large numbers of podcasters and Youtubers in the news space, who get huge hits, so the eco-system expects them to say something, and then they amplify that. And that becomes the economic model – more views mean more money.”He stressed that the independence from the funding source might be a lie. “We do not know who their funders are. And it’s not easy to be independent and self-sustaining. It’s very tough. When they say they are independent, are they independent of political control? In a country, where the first amendment made by the great liberal Nehru was about curtailing free speech, can these people push the boundaries without fearing the consequences? I cannot and I sit in a massive network that has a lot of heft. I came from another massive network brand – Times Now, where I was the Editor-in-Chief. A certain newspaper reported ‘Gunman shot dead at Trump rally’, it was as if Trump shot him, or his supporters shot him, instead of saying how Trump escaped with his life in an attack where the gunman was killed. Just look at how the news changes in the public imagination.”At the same time, Shivshankar pointed out that legacy media, too, have problems. “Since we are competing against independent journalists, we have had to anticipate this, because we have seen a large number of people watch them. So, independent media has given voice to diversified perspectives, stories that perhaps others may not have covered – not because they were not interesting, but we, the mainstream media, thought that people would not be interested in them. Thus, it has created a choice, which is a good thing. It has democratized access to news; you don’t only have to watch mainstream bullies like Rahul Shivshankar on TV anymore, you can watch others who are kind of bullies.”He candidly admitted, “I realized that we have made certain mistakes, and when you look at them through a tight frame, those mistakes look big. You can just narrow on them, and you can say this guy is from mainstream media, and they are not worth it.”He wondered, “Why do these independent media people have a problem? Why they only write about media in publications? What is their problem? I don’t write about ‘X’ and ‘Y’. But I do realise that they are doing what everyone classically does in a competitive space – criticize the established so that people start moving away from the established, and look for alternatives. Politicians do that all the time, criticize Modi, criticize Rahul Gandhi, so people can move away from them. It’s our responsibility to ensure that we don’t make even half a mistake, so the one thing that independent media has done is making mainstream media more conscious about the red lines, because you can get exposed. And that has put the fear of God in us, which is very good. So, the 50% who do not watch, must start watching, because you will get more value now than in the past.”
