During Covid, Vinta Nanda and I opened a forum for conversation @Clubhouse. Today’s blog focuses on one such discussion around the stance of youth in shaping our news landscape.

Recognising the potential for media manipulation, this generation is not only aware of misinformation but also actively engages in fact-checking. They are disillusioned with the existing system but remain hopeful about instigating change and playing a role in it.

Gen X – (1960-79). Gen Y/millenials – (1980-94). Gen Z – (1995-2010)

The conversation ran for almost two hours and touched upon various issues and ideas, some of which I’ve encapsulated below.

1. Social Media as a Tool for Expression: Millennials leverage platforms like social media not just for sourcing information but also for voicing their opinions and showcasing their talents. Accounts like @Andheriwestshitposting highlight this trend. In rural India, there’s a marked preference for platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp, ShareChat, Facebook and Instagram which cater to regional language needs.
2. Individualism and Independence: What drives millennials’ preference for independence? How does this affect their media consumption?
3. Urban vs. Rural Media Consumption: Considering India’s vast millennial population of around 450 million, with 67% residing in rural areas, how do their media interactions differ? Can there be a synergy between urban and rural media habits?
4. Expectations from Media Organizations: What changes do millennials seek in media organisations? What factors influence their loyalty or decision to leave these organisations?
5. Role Models: Who are the role models millennials look up to in the context of media and social change?

The session revealed the fervour and conviction of millennials, along with their willingness to consider diverse perspectives. This group, numbering 450 million, is driven by awareness and a desire for change, prompting them to take control. Key topics included navigating misinformation in a post-truth era, the struggle to amplify rational voices amidst noise, and the need for media independence from corporate or establishment control. There was a call for a balanced approach to media, including the importance of reading both sides of the issue and contemporising and updating the media delivery mechanisms. Platforms like Inshorts and Flipboard, provide short, easy-to-consume news while also providing long-form content as an option. The discussion emphasized the necessity for integrity and ethical judgment in newsrooms. Speakers expressed their frustration with established news channels and the gradual erosion of press freedom and the calibre of journalists, highlighting a need for substantial changes in the media landscape. They also felt that the flip side of the social media platforms aside, it is a far more accurate space to document reality and the truth.

Here is a list of some of the ideas that emerged.

1. Ads in newspapers. Agencies buying media spots. Instead have sustainable models like agencies held within the publications itself. 

2. Why do we need the media? Stop 24-hour news channels. Bad journalism is making far more noise than good journalism. Move away from crony capitalism. Journalists should not be ideologically driven.

3. TRP metric – do away with it.

4. Social media and freedom lead to entertaining opinions that may be unfiltered without topic specialisation. Authorship, quantity of presence, and visibility evolve into an algorithm-based expertise. Governments should get together and collaborate. Fix the digital divide. Fascism on tech platforms is a steroid of hatred and fake news. Truth is highly expensive. Citizens are victims of the digital divide. Bring everyone to the same equal platform.

5. India is a unique market. Vernacular. 

6. Low tolerance for other opinions.

7. Ethical. Training of professionals. Reward and punishment.

8. Fact-checking should be mandatory till we arrive at a way of neutralising subjectivity.

It is interesting to see that as we reimagine, we also recognise the checks and balances that exist today. We cannot address just one industry because everything is deeply interconnected. We can see that structures as they exist today must go, for us to realise a different and, hopefully, better world. It is all about starting over. 

The session was a refreshing reminder of the passion, opinionated assuredness and idealism that is so distinctive of the youth.