In a spirited discussion on the role of media, several representatives of the media discussed the reasons why media today is perceived to be more sensational than responsible. The session was moderated by Mr Shekhar Gupta, Founder Editor and Chairperson, The Print, and the panelists included Mr T N Ninan, Chairman & Managing Director, Business Standard, Mr. Vikram Chandra, Group CEO & Executive Director, NDTV Group, Mr Jawahar Sircar, Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharti and Mr Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, TV Today Group. The discussion was taking place at the CII Annual Session in Delhi today.

According to one view, since sensational reportage attracts higher viewership, the spotlight should be on the viewer rather than the media. The media reflects peoples’ preference. As a result, some critical issues such as the water crisis in Latur are not covered by the media. Others disagreed with this view, saying that the malaise of poor quality TV news can be attributed to a structural reason. While TV channels in other countries have access to subscription based revenue, in India the business model is based on advertising revenue and news channels are therefore forced to earn high TRPs. Further, these TRPs are based on only 15-17,000 boxes in a country of 1.3 billion people.

It was pointed out that responsible and good quality programming also attracts viewers. Further, it was felt that there has been outstanding coverage of critical issues in the regional media but these voices are not heard in the national capital region, where there is very little awareness of what is happening in different parts of the country.

New Delhi

5 April 2016