CONFERENCE REPORT 3RD ALL INDIA MEDIA EDUCATORS' CONFERENCE-2018 ON POWER OF MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY: SHAPING THE FUTURE July 6 - 8, 2018 Geeta Girdhar Sabhagaar Pearl Academy of Fashion Designing & Media Jaipur Jointly Organised By: Centre for Mass Communication, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur Department of Communication & Journalism, Gauhati University, Guwahati Lok Samvad Sansthan, Jaipur Submitted By: Kalyan Singh Kothari Secretary Lok Samvad Sansthan BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT During the last 70 years since Independence, the position of media has taken a radical shift in India. The ingrained transformation of the Indian society during its journey in the last seven decades, especially in the post-globalization period, has left a noteworthy impact on media. The evolution has also placed challenges before the Indian media scenario. The character of these challenges has kept on changing with the emergence of new social, cultural and political context and has assumed a new perspective following the advent of information technology, Internet and social media, visible in the multiplicity of platforms. The Indian media had a sound role in the struggle for Independence. But it faces a challenge in the present scenario to maintain its high standards commensurate with its glorious past. Subsequently, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been entering into all forms of media. Though the entertainment media industry has been the prime area of FDI, the other genres like print, electronic even radio industries are now becoming lucrative targets of FDI. Though a focus is laid on the expansion of facilities or creation of new geographic market to speak high about FDI in media sector, experience and apprehensions point to several negative aspects. The uneven competition may create hindrance in the blooming of several indigenous local media houses. Similarly, the challenges posed to the freedom of Press by the nexus between political parties and corporate houses, which is supported by the powers that be on several occasions, often provoke several questions for the media scholars. Several ethical issues have also been appearing in the Indian media scenario. Modern media is no longer confined to a television or radio show, newspaper or advertisement. Today's media, from text to video and sound, can be saved and shared electronically, using everything from desktop computers to small mobile devices. Information and communication technology has changed rapidly over the past 20 years with a key development being the emergence of social media. Commodification of the media industry is pushing the role of media known as social responsibility far behind. Researchers may find the area interesting to go for an in-depth study. The ever changing ownership pattern may also be another important sphere to be handled. All these diverse angles need to be discussed and explored to find new discourses and avenues for an academic intervention in order to restore the high standards of journalism. Over the decades and more so in the recent years, plethora of innovations have been tried out by various stakeholders to test new waters and keep the flag of media's freedom and 1 neutrality flying. The innovations not only relate to the strengthening of values and ethics, but also relate to technology, financing and community-based media. Nevertheless, innovations can be of limited use and even be wasted, if these cannot be scaled up and made accessible to a greater number of communities. Many such innovations could not be replicated because of limited efforts towards dissemination, financing, and institutionalisation. A comprehensive, yet flexible framework is required to scale up the efforts to maintain credibility of media and make it relevant in the present socio-economic conditions of the country. All these issues need to be looked into from diverse angles in order to cover all possible discourses. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Conference Report THE CONFERENCE Against this backdrop, a series of the All India Media Educators' Conferences have been organised in Jaipur since 2015 to find new methods and evolve strategies for enabling the media industry to face new challenges and redefine the role of media educators. Media has played an important role in spreading public awareness on the sensitive issues, but questions are often raised about the Indian media's capacity to give voice to the marginalised sections of society, such as Dalits, minorities, tribals and women, and empower them. The series of conferences have addressed the important issues of media engagement among different sections of population and identified new areas of intervention by the media educators and practitioners. CONFERENCE - 2015 2 While the 1st All India Media Educators' Conference was organised in Jaipur on April 2- 4,2015. With the theme of “Role of Media in Positive transformation of Society: Challenges and Opportunities”, the 2nd All India Media Educators' Conference was organised from on April 22-24, 2016 and was devoted to the theme, “Media Ethics and Responsibility: Need for introspection”. After a gap of two years, the 3rd All India Media Educators' Conference was organised in Jaipur on July 6-8, 2018 on the theme of “Power of Media and Technology: Shaping the Future”. CONFERENCE - 2016 The 3rd All India Media Educators' Conference was spread over three days and was addressed by a panel of distinguished speakers in its different sessions. Apart from the inaugural session on July 6, 2018, the conference was organised into 10 parallel technical sessions on the next day, in which the delegates from prestigious universities and media education institutions presented their papers. The conference was virtually a “Mahakumbh” of media educators, with the inaugural session organised at Geeta Girdhar Sabhagaar on Govind Marg in Jaipur and the technical sessions spread out on July 7, 2018, in Pearl Academy of Fasion Designing on the outskrits of Jaipur. The conference witnessed participation of more than 200 media educators and practitioners from 19 states and presentation of over 150 research papers. The conference was organised by the Centre for Mass Communication (CMC), University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, and Gauhati University, Guwahati, in collaboration with UNICEF Rajasthan Field Office and Lok Samvad Sansthan. The participants felt that the media technology would shape the future of India's media scenario and create new opportunities for social transformation. There was a consensus that in the present era of transformation when technology dominates every sphere of life, the misuse of media technology is a cause for concern because of its reach and potential. The responsibility of media educators as stakeholders has increased in this scenario, with the information revolution throwing up new challenges and giving rise to new issues not only in India, but also globally. 3 In a declaration adopted on the final day of the conference, the media educators took a pledge to upgrade standards and inculcate positive values among all stakeholders in the field of media education and practice and uphold a new value system. Their resolve showed the extent of problems that plague the Indian news media today. The declaration touched the subject of Media Literacy Education, which teaches students to apply critical thinking to media messages and to use media to create their own messages. As a key to the 21st Century skill, all the universities and media departments in the country must strive to bring in Media Literacy formally in the classrooms and take it down the line in the schools and colleges. CONFERENCE - 2018 HIGHLIGHTS OF DISCUSSIONS INAUGURAL SESSION (FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2018) The conference began on July 6, 2018 morning with its inaugural session organised at Geeta Girdhar Sabhagaar on Govind Marg in Jaipur. The delegates carried a positive spirit to explore the immense potential for interplay between media and technology, which will shape the future of India's media scenario. The media experts, media educators, professionals, academicians and faculty members from all over the country who gathered for the 4 conference were in favour of promoting freedom of speech to protect democratic values and save the real spirit of journalism. Prof. Sanjeev Bhanawat, Head, CMC, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, welcomed the participants and set the stage for the inaugural session. He said the media teachers from 25 universities and institutions across the country were attached to the CMC, University of Rajasthan, through different programmes. With the technology changing the media scenario, the impact of media was going to be very important in the age of infotainment, even though its future shape was not yet clear, he said. Prof. Bhanawat said though the deliberations spread over three days of the conference would generate new avenues and throw up new ideas, it was not necessary to reach a definite conclusion at the end. “Our objective is to generate an ideological energy. The journey of wide-ranging consultations, debates and interactions will continue even after this event,” he remarked. Inaugurating the conference, the Rajasthan Education Minister, Mr. Vasudev Devnani, said the media, which had helped establish democracy in the 18th Century, now had an important role in strengthening democracy, especially after facing censorship in the Emergency during 1975-76. “A section of media has today become mouthpiece of corporate houses and political parties. This goes against the ideals of journalism,” Mr. Devnani noted with concern. The Minister affirmed that media should treat the nation first, the society next and itself the last. While exercising the freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution, media should also respect the right to privacy of others, he said, while drawing the media educators' attention to the phenomenal emergence of social media. He also said the changes in the school textbooks in Rajasthan were made recently to inculcate respect and pride among the students for their cultural traditions. Mr. Devnani said the government should not control the media but the media needs to regulate itself and avoid misuse of freedom of expression.