Future of Indian language journalism bright: Prof Ghosh

Celebrating 200 years of Indian language journalism, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Dhenkanal, organised a seminar on “Future of language journalism” here on Monday.

Speaking on this occasion, senior media academician Professor Subir Ghosh seemed quite optimistic regarding the future of Indian language journalism and said, “Indian language journalism has an exceptional future ahead.”

Ghosh said, “A huge chunk of India’s population is yet to be educated. Statistics say that the literacy rate of the country is growing rapidly. Hence, it’s safe to presume that there are a large number of readers which will consume media content in the future. This increasing number of readers will lead to a tremendous growth in the news industry and Indian language news outlets will be the prime beneficiaries.”

The seminar, organised in association with Odisha State Open University (OSOU) and Odisha Journalists Union (OJU), was graced by Registrar of OSOU Dr Jayant Kar Sharma, HOD of Mass Communication and Journalism Department of Nagarjuna University Dr Anita Gaddipaty, senior journalist Sandeep Sahu, ‘Hiranchal’ editor Jugal Kishor Samal and IIMC Head Prof Dr Mrinal Chatterjee.

Dr Gaddipaty deliberated on the evolution of Telugu journalism while Ghosh and Samal shared their views on Bangla and Odia journalism respectively. Sahu deliberated on the future of broadcast and digital media in Odisha.

The deliberations were followed by question-answer sessions where the dignitaries responded to the queries of the students.

Dr Chatterjee, in his curtain-raising speech, said, “Indian language journalism has a bright history, which is having a bright present and will definitely have a bright future. Of course, there have been challenges and these challenges will remain in the future also. But if the budding generation of journalists prepares itself for the challenges and has the courage not to compromise with the core professional and ethical values, language journalism will shine in future.”

Dr Anita, on the other hand, pondered upon the importance of raising local issues in the regional news outlets.

She said, “Regional media ought to fight for the regional cause. It has to portray the stories the region and raise the voice in their favour in order to maintain its readers’ base. So in a way, language newspapers not only protect the language but also protect the regional interest.”

Dr Kar Sharma opined, “The Government should take necessary steps to protect the interests of the fourth pillar of the democracy. Like judiciary, media can work for the betterment of the society.”

Notably, the first language newspaper ‘Digdarshan’ in Bengali was published on August 4, 1818. On this day in 1866, the first Odia newspaper ‘Utkal Deepika’ was published. The IIMC tried to celebrate these two historic events.