Prabhu Chawla, the editorial director of the New Indian Express, delivered the convocation address to the class of 2011 at the Indian institute of journalism & new media (IIJNM), in Bangalore, on Monday.
Chawla’s salient points:
# Something is rotten in the state of Indian media: Journalists have forgotten that they must report violations, not commit them. Journalists have forgotten to ask tough questions. Instead, they prefer to be supercops, judges and hangmen, all rolled in to one.
# Media is ailing from negligence and ignorance: Journalists no longer seem to have curiosity or the hunger for news. Instead, they seem to be losing credibility. Stories are not based on facts, but manipulated by politicians and corporate houses.
# Generation Next is suffering from lack of training: Most journalists are not looking for a good story any more. Neither are editors pushing them for better stories. TV channels have found the easy way of dishing out opinions instead of giving viewers information.
# Good journalism needs support from consumers: If Indian media has to be liberated from the clutches of advertisers, consumers have to pay for what they read or view. With a business model based on paid news and private treaties, advertisers have begun to dictate what goes into the news.
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View Prabhu Chawla’s PPT presentation
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Photograph: Prabhu Chawla, editorial director of the New Indian Express, leads the faculty to the convocation of the class of 2011 at the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, in Bangalore on Monday, 2 May 2011. To his left is Kanchan Kaur, vice-dean. (Karnataka Photo News)
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Ask Prabhu
Vol I. No.I: Straight drives from the man behind Seedhi Baat
Vol I. No II: Home truths from the man behind Sachchi Baat
Vol I. No. III: My greatest feat and my greatest failure
Vol I. No. IV: No one can destroy Ramnath Goenka‘s Express
Vol 1. No. V: Media doesn’t need a regulatory mechanism
IJR 
Whats the strange Prabhu Chawla fixation? Looks when this blog has nothing to post, it turns to quoating ‘The Prabhu’.. Is he funding the Sans serif blog or has India run out of creditable journos…Looks like this blog is infatuated with megalomaniac journos accustomed to throwing their weight around..What next hero worshiping Vinod Sharma !
This shows that Shri Prabhu Chawla is still intent on doing “Seedhi Baat.”
Too bad he didn’t do enough to improve the media when he was number one big shot at the powerful India Today group.
If something is bad in our media, then as an important media personality a part of responsibility must also lie with him.
Very thoughtful Powerpoint show. I am sharing it. Thanks, Shri. Chawla!
Until recently, Prabhu Chawla was head of India Today magazine which epitomises the ills highlighted in his convocation address.