These are precarious times for print media everywhere. The digital age, specifically the spread of cheap internet via mobile phone connections, has changed the face of how the public consumes media, specifically news.
Globally print is shrinking, with ever more consumers preferring to get their news online. First this was through news websites but the written word has taken a back seat as the rise of social media videos takes over.
November 16 is National Press Day in India and this year the theme is the ‘Role of Print Media in the Digital Age’.
Although Meghalaya did not set the internet trend, it has belatedly followed it. Sales of physical newspapers are shrinking in Meghalaya and venerable organisations are at a crossroads – how exactly do they stay relevant and profitable (ideally both)? There are various models to try. There is the free online model with advertisements. However, unless the website gets a very large number of hits ads are unlikely to cover the costs involved and this is especially true for Meghalaya-based publications where readership interest is small. More and more Indian publications are going for subscriptions but there is still a reluctance on the part of consumers in paying for online news, especially when so many options are still free. Very few brands actually choose a third option – asking readers for donations.
As readership declines, newspapers are looking for other avenues to earn; it appears nowadays that every news outlet in Meghalaya has a YouTube channel.
But as far as print goes, as sales fall private advertisers start to look elsewhere. And that makes the government – state and national – increasingly important to the financial survival of the newspapers. Case in point – today’s issue of HP carries a front page message from the state government for a happy National Press Day. This is not free but a paid ad that HP will submit a bill for – it’s like charging someone who wishes you a happy birthday.
The more government ads account for newspaper revenue, the bigger the danger that newspapers, once called upon to hold governments to account, become mouthpieces of those in power.
After all, one does not bite the hand that feeds you. Even without this danger, the majority of media houses in Meghalaya are controlled by political families. In that way, an independent YouTuber might be more trustworthy but who is to say that that person won’t be paid off by a rich politician? The digital realm is an opportunity for true citizen journalism but also carries the risk of being fed hogwash.
Another issue is the growing use of AI. While potentially helpful to reporters and editors, the information these machines spit out are often loaded with errors. And there is a very real risk that AI will eventually put a lot of journalists out of work.
In actual fact, the role of print media has not changed – it is still to hold those in power to account. But whether it still has the ability to do so, now that’s the real question.
