Will print media die?

Do you think that print media is losing it’s essence? Well, people do prefer digital media today but the habit of reading a physical newspaper won’t go. People do believe that what they physically read is more reliable than what they read on the internet. On our recent industrial visit to Lokmat office in Nashik, we came across the inner workings of a printing press and how Journalism is growing to be a respected profession. Lokmat is a Marathi newspaper published from Mumbai, and several other cities in Maharashtra state. Founded in 1971 by Jawaharlal Darda, it is the largest read regional language newspaper in India with more than 18 million readers. It is one of the leading regional newspapers. We had an informative chatty session with the Lokmat team. The Editor of Lokamt said,”print media will never die”. He strongly believes that print media and digital media co-exist in spite of technology growing which is true at some level as there are some loyal readers who will not stop reading newspapers. ‘HEADLINE BEFORE DEADLINE’ is the main mantra of Lokmat. They strictly don’t mix journalism with politics and believe in being unbiased to their readers. What is journalism without originality? Being independent would mean that there is no government influence in the media. The world is a hectic mess today. News is happening all around us, and the only source that acts as a filter between the chaos and ourselves is the media. The media, journalists especially, must hold upon themselves a great responsibility when they are acting as this filtering apparatus between the government and people. Modern journalism has many subdivisions, like general news reporting, crime reporting, sports, economics, business, politics, interviews, column writing, book reviews and the most prestigious and most hazardous Investigative reporting! A journalist has no set timing. He has to be ever alert to rise to die occasion; die news will not wait for him! While covering tragic news, he shall not expose his emotional feelings. His job is to collect the fact and report. There is no room for such sentiments.
A journalist should never forget his mission of unbiased, frank, fearless and truthful reporting. Obviously, newspapers can play an important role in the reconstruction and regeneration of a country. During our struggle for independence, the press played its important, constructive role. It reminds us of Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru and other leaders who published and edited newspapers and magazines or wrote articles, and reviews, etc, for them. These played a very positive role in quickening the process of national struggle for freedom. Their heroic, bold and missionary writings had the desired impact on the masses and, consequently, they got actively involved in the movement. The freedom of press is most important, if it has to take active part in struggle against the evils. As it is a saying ‘Old is gold’, I strongly feel that print media has played a vital role since our struggle for freedom till today, print media will not die. It can surely co-exist but not lose it’s charm and originality.