Bhubaneswar: The Editors Guild of India, in association with the Press Club of Odisha, on Saturday hosted its Odisha edition conclave on ‘Opportunities and Challenges in Regional Media’ in Bhubaneswar, focusing on pressing issues in journalism.
The event, held at Press Club of Odisha here, brought together esteemed journalists, academics, legal experts, and media students.
The conclave commenced with a keynote address by N Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, followed by a Q&A session moderated by Tathagata Satpathy, Editor of OrissaPost and Dharitri.
Delivering his keynote address, N Ram said instead of calling it regional media, we must consider it as Indian language newspaper. Regional issues are being overlooked by national dailies. On the other hand, there is targeted assaults on freedom of expression, he said. Even though the scenario has evolved and clearly changed. The transformation has been striking and challenges are tough. The challenges are cliches of opportunities and the transitions that lie ahead over India’s diverse media ecosystem, he added.
The conclave also featured three-panel discussions. Challenges for Journalists in a State brings together esteemed journalists and mediahouse owners including Tapan Mishra from Samaja and Tanaya Patnaik from Sambad, moderated by Ruben Banerjee from the Editors Guild of India.The panel discussion on Media Laws and New Criminal Laws, and the Challenges for Independent Journalists brought together renowned experts former Supreme Court judge Justice Ananga Patnaik, Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde, senior journalist and writer Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and moderator Anant Nath, Editor of The Caravan.
The Journalism in the Digital Era panel comprised Editor of Nirbhay Navin Das, Editor-in-Chief of Ommcom News Jajati Karan, and Newsroom Editor Manoranjan Mishra, with Sandeep Sahu, a senior journalist, as moderator.
These discussions aimed to shed light on the current state of media laws and journalism in India, as well as the challenges faced by independent journalists apart from fostering collaboration and innovation among participants.