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In June this year, the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media (IIJNM) in Bengaluru shut down after 24 years of existence. The reason: the institute did not receive enough applications to proceed with the academic year. IIJNM was not alone. Convergence Institute of Media Management and IT Studies (Commits), again in Bengaluru, also downed shutters in 2023 after 23 years of operation.
For others who are still fighting to keep the production line of journalists going, it is a grim battle. For instance, Ruchi Jaggi, the director and dean of the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in Pune, told Frontline that there has been a 20 per cent decrease in applications, especially after the pandemic. Reportedly, other schools such as the National School of Journalism, Bengaluru; Xaviers Institute of Communication, Mumbai; and Manipal Institute of Communication too have seen a decline in applicants ranging from 15 per cent to 40 per cent. Responding to the crisis, Bennett University, affiliated with the Times of India, discontinued its post-graduate diploma programme this year, converting it into a master’s programme instead.
“Until the late 90s, journalism was taught in an environment of media scarcity—that is, there was a scarcity of news outlets, of news flows, of opportunities and professional niches, and of access to gadgets, says Vibodh Parthasarathi, associate professor, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia. “Now, however, students who enter journalism programmes are already exposed to a dense environment of news and information, and are fluent in many technical skills, including those that were part of the traditional curriculum. They now look for ways to integrate these skills into their career opportunities, rather than learn skills from scratch.”
Young people now find the job (journalism) challenging because it demands too much of them—they have to be voracious readers, keep abreast of the times; they are also under constant pressure to work on their language proficiency, observes Francis Karackat, chairperson, Board of Studies for Journalism & Mass Communication, Kannur University. “Young recruits have, instead, become reliant on social media, scrolling but not learning, and their general awareness of current affairs is very shallow. Therefore, they are diffident to choose journalism as their profession.”
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Gopalan Ravindran, dean of the School of Communication, and HoD of Media and Communication at the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur. Ravindran believes the decline in applications is part of a much larger crisis—that journalism itself is “dying” in India. And that “people no longer find reading papers attractive”.
Noise trumps newsSocial media means many things to many people, but for journalism, it represents the single greatest threat.
Jarshad N.K., the former dean of ACJ-Bloomberg, the business journalism arm of the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, attributes the current crisis to the changing ways of news consumption. “Most people, especially in the current generation, no longer rely on TV, let alone the newspaper for news: They check social media instead.”
Social media has indeed become an integral source of information. GenZ cannot go without an hour of checking their phone. Social media has helped break down long-form content into bite-sized summaries, catering to the limited attention span of youngsters. Instead of sitting down to read a newspaper cover to cover, they watch videos, listen to podcasts, read tweets, click on hashtags.
“New avenues for getting information have risen exponentially,” says S.R. Sanjeev, assistant professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mar Ivanios College (Autonomous), in Thiruvananthapuram. But he also expresses concerns about how social media creates an “illusion of being informed about everything”.
Jarshad echoes this sentiment, calling the Internet too “noisy”. He enumerates the issues that pick up traction online and flood social media. “What about other developments then? In a newspaper, a wide range of sections and regions are covered. The [news]paper is comprehensive, social media is just the tip of the iceberg in comparison.”
Social media applications on a high school student’s mobile phone showing in Melbourne, on November 28, 2024. Concerns have been raised about how social media creates an “illusion of being informed about everything”. | Photo Credit: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters
This raises the question on how news is consumed by the current generation, and the way knowledge production has drastically changed. People now seem to prioritise information over news. It is no longer about learning; what is happening across the country or the world is a battle about who knows the most in order to win online debates, gain more followers, and go viral.
Mukund Padmanabhan, distinguished professor of philosophy at Krea, and former editor of The Hindu sees social media as a double-edged sword. “On the one hand, the growth of the Internet has given people a handle to criticise like never before: No government or regime is spared. However, it has also created an extremely polarised world. The news on social media often comes in opinionated, and reeks of bias. So, the news consumed becomes reactionary rather than analytical.”
The bot blotDue to this large shift in media, from print to online, students find themselves more interested in courses such as visual communications, with subjects such as video and audio editing, data visualisation, SEO, and web tools. They no longer want to learn writing, copy-editing, reporting, and the other fundamental skills in journalism.
For students, however, the tussle between print and digital is complicated. Khushi Seksaria who is studying English journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, told Frontline that mastering skills in visual media helps with placements. “Whether J-schools [journalism schools] teach such subjects and skills, media organisations are now looking to candidates being proficient in writing, reporting, and copy editing.”
Another student, Shikhar Pathak, who is pursuing his postgraduate diploma at IIMC, digital journalism especially videos, is shaping the future of journalism. He agrees that the art of writing is getting lost. “The focus on technology comes at the cost of critical thinking.”
“Even when schools introduce courses that teach visual media-related skills, rather than look at ways to integrate technology into journalism, they provide surface-level knowledge that can be applied only for short-term projects.”
S.R. Sanjeev shares concerns about the rampant misuse of technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) by college students. He points out that students scrape through college, and when they are thrown into the field, they lack basic skills they were supposed to get from their course. “Journalism is primarily a writing-based career, but most college assignments are now submitted using AI. Copy-pasting from a bot that uses random sources on the Internet: is that the quality of journalism being produced for the future,” he asks.
However, Sashi Kumar, chairman of ACJ, dismisses concerns about AI taking over the industry in the long term, “AI is only a threat to journalism if you view it as a job instead of a calling.”
Pathak’s perspective hints at the current state of journalism education and its relevance to the industry’s evolving demands. The ways of traditional journalism are clearly being contested, creating a gap between the skills taught in academic settings and those required in the field. Do journalism degrees hold the same value they once did?
The ‘X’ factorJournalism schools have indeed been slow to adapt to the digital shift. Although schools such as Manorama School of Communication, Mathrubhumi Media School, ACJ, and other J-schools affiliated to media organisations have been quicker to pick up the pace, organisations find it easier to train a fresher with no journalism background but with an affinity for writing instead of taking in J-school graduates with pre-existing notions of what journalism is.
Interestingly, many reliable Internet personalities, to whom today’s generation goes for its news and analysis, do not hold journalism degrees. Dhruv Rathee and Ranveer Allahbadia—YouTubers who “fight misinformation”—have degrees in engineering and related fields. “Large parts of what they say in [their] videos is available in a variety of news, investigative, community, and opinion sites, but they smartly collate all of it to create easy-going narratives. They use storytelling, with doses of satire, to keep the audience engaged.” says Parthasarathi.
Dhruv Rathee, one of the handful of many reliable Internet personalities to whom today’s generation goes for its news and analysis, does not hold a journalism degree. | Photo Credit: YouTube/@dhruvrathee
R. Rajagopal, editor-at-large at The Telegraph argues that journalism is a learning process, a profession that can only be mastered “on the go” and not a “capsule” that can be taught in two or three years. “One does not need to study journalism to do journalism. More than learning the craft of writing, subject knowledge and specialisation are foundational,” he said.
Preethi Ayyalusamy, who studied journalism for her bachelor’s and is now a media and cultural studies PhD scholar at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, told Frontline that she decided to pursue a non-journalism Masters in order to have a better worldview and in-depth knowledge. While interning at a leading newspaper, she realised that anyone could write for the papers, they did not need to have a degree: But they did need expertise in the subject they were addressing. “Journalism is a skill-based course, meaning, you need to get into the job and figure out your way.” she added.
Many journalism schools also continue to teach outdated syllabi that carry teachings from the times print journalism was at its peak. Abdul Muneer V., professor at the department of journalism at Kerala’s EMEA College of Arts and Science, said that the curriculum does not align with industry needs. “The gap between academia and industry is quite wide. The infrastructure supporting JMC [Journalism, Media, Communication] programmes is inadequate. Moreover, industries are not encouraging students to pursue internships. I have also heard that some media houses in Kerala charge students for internships.”
Even when schools introduce courses that teach visual media-related skills, rather than look at ways to integrate technology into journalism, they provide surface-level knowledge that can be applied only for short-term projects.
Niharika (name changed to protect identity) graduated from a well-known journalism school earlier this year. She told Frontline that the “updated syllabus” in some J-schools had a course in which students were asked to make YouTube Shorts as part of their assignment. It offered no real learning and made her feel schools were not taking digital journalism seriously as they remain biased towards print culture.
Sashi Kumar observes that at the heart of the crisis is an understanding of the definition of “journalism”. “Our understanding of journalism is unchanging. The number of media organisations has increased over the years but has the quality of journalism increased?” he asks.
Mukund Padmanabhan also expresses concerns, citing that some newsrooms use X to pick up on trending topics and shape their news headlines and pages. He believes that print journalism no longer holds the same value it once did, it is in decline, and journalism itself is in a transitory state. “The industry needs to focus on adapting to digital journalism. At the same time, we have to be vigilant in ensuring that core journalistic principles are not sacrificed in making this transition from print to digital.”
‘Crisis in credibility’Jaggi says that journalism is undergoing a “crisis in credibility,” and that young journalists have very few mentors to look up. Ravindran too shares the sentiment: “When citing examples for great journalism in class, I still go back to the freedom struggle or the Emergency. There are only a handful of examples to give from the past 20 years.” he said.
Sashi Kumar enumerates the factors that have contributed to the changing image of journalism; but he believes how “insidiously difficult” it has become under the Narendra Modi government for people hoping to pursue journalism. A Deutsche Welle report in October 2023 revealed that students and young journalists admitted to being discouraged “before their careers can even get off the ground” due to what was described as “state-sponsored attacks on the press”.
This May, Reporters Without Borders released the World Press Freedom Index in which India’s press freedom ranked 159 out of 180 countries and territories. India has consistently ranked in the bottom one-third of the list since 2014. With the slow muzzling of the press and the rise in misinformation, people have also raised concerns on media bias. Ayyalusamy said: “Under crony capitalism, fascism, and declining democracy it’s [journalism] losing its grounds of authenticity and fair play.”
This seems to be one of the reasons legacy media houses are struggling to balance both print and digital journalism, while independent media houses, which are on the rise in India, are finding ways to establish themselves, gaining popularity with people.
Lifting the veilP. Sainath, the founder-editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), says that the fundamental question to ask when considering the idea of “decline in journalism” is: “Who currently owns the newspapers and what is their motivation?” He points to Adani’s NDTV and Ambani’s Network18 as examples. “Freedom and monopoly cannot exist together. If 30 to 40 per cent of the country’s media is owned by two of the wealthiest individuals of the country, how does news not become biased?”
A microphone of NDTV placed on a tripod in New Delhi on August 26, 2022. In 2022, the Adani Group acquired a majority stake in NDTV, which raised questions about the degree of journalistic freedom going forward. | Photo Credit: ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS/File Photo
This points to the industry’s wealth accumulation, where people at the top aggregate more wealth while journalists continue to be paid a meager salary that has not kept pace with inflation. “It is often more advantageous to work as a guest lecturer teaching journalism than as a media practitioner. The pay is nearly the same, but the workload is lighter.” says Muneer.
The industry has normalised the “passion vs pay” argument: It has become a badge of honour to wear for those who stay in the industry versus those who leave. Many students have shifted to adjacent fields such as public relations and content writing, which pay much more. Pathak tells Frontline: “The reality is harsh; many people are dissuaded when they are told of the average salary for a job that does not follow the 9-5 rule. I stayed on because of my passion.”
Jaggi does not find the passion vs pay dynamic in the current generation surprising: “Salary structures [in journalism] have largely remained the same for years now, it’s simply not feasible to live on.” But she also admits that it is a known trade-off, which will not change without industry reform. “No one comes into journalism for the money, it’s for the passion, to want to change things.” It is ironic that for an industry that wants to change the world, that acts as a watchdog for society, its own internal systems is in shambles.
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While print journalism is undeniably on the rocks and fading, the heart of journalism, however, is far from dying: There is a healthy tussle between keeping the old and leaping into the new. “At its core, journalism is about storytelling, its modes and mediums may change, but the form will never die. It is in a moment of re-invention and re-imagination,” says Sashi Kumar.
When asked about the shutting down of J-schools such as IIJNM, Parthasarathi says that many of these institutions came up at a time when jobs in journalism were booming, and journalism education suddenly became lucrative. “During the 2000s, there was a mushrooming of journalism schools; the ones shutting down now are a result of their short-term thinking and/or inability to rethink their curriculum in light of changing needs and opportunities, not because journalism per se is dying.”
As audiences increasingly turn to online platforms for news consumption, the future of journalism depends on its ability to adapt and innovate within this evolving landscape. To retrofit the Canadian philosopher and media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s theory to contemporary realities, one could say, “the medium is also the message”. And that is perhaps what J-schools have to teach.