Anurag Thakur seeks suggestions on how I&B ministry can support digital news industry

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur met representatives from digital media platforms and YouTube channels to discuss their grievances and suggestions related to their industry.

The meeting hosted at the Constitution Club of India, Delhi, saw digital representatives from traditional media platforms like Bennett & Coleman Ltd, HT Media, India Today Group, and Network18 along with digital channels like Lallantop, The Frustrated India, Op India, and YouTube channels like Nisha Madhulika, Khabar India, Jan Ki Baat and Quick Response Team amongst others.

Thakur said the ministry has been long planning to have a discussion with the key stakeholders from the rapidly growing digital news ecosystem to frame policies and mechanisms to support the industry in a way that doesn’t curb the creativity and innovation of new content creators and young journalists.

The journalists present in the room demanded government and policy intervention across a wide spectrum impacting digital platforms and YouTube channels but their prime concerns revolved around three key aspects: recognition, accreditation, and advertising, and shadow banning issues around intermediaries like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Speaking on the issue of lack of recognition for young and small-sized digital journalists, the representatives present mentioned that this often gets them into trouble with the police while doing ground reporting. They demanded that there should be a government-affiliated tribunal wherein they can register themselves as journalists and get press cards for easy access to places of violence, and entry to some government events and press meets.

One section of the journalists also questioned the need to get registered or recognised by the government stating that if the government is given the absolute power to recognise such journalists, the former can misuse it as well.

The journalists also demanded accreditation for smaller channels stating it is easier for established media houses to get their digital teams accredited. On the other hand, the big media houses complained about the lack of exclusive slots for digital and mainline journalists when it comes to getting accreditation for several events.

Another problem highlighted at the meeting was the lack of transparency in intermediary algorithms and content strike issues by established media houses. “Even if we are using feed or content from PIB or from Twitter feeds of ministers like yourself, the bigger channels and publications send a copyright strike and bully smaller channels like ours by demanding monetary compensation in lakhs. At the same time, the copyright strike leads to our content getting pulled down from the platforms and other content’s performance too gets hampered. We need a clear resolution around such issues,” one of the representatives present said.

There were also concerns raised about the validity and integrity of some of the fact check websites present in the market right now, with several claiming that they are operating from a space of ideological differences and malice against a certain section of the journalists. The journalists, especially from smaller YouTube and digital platforms, also complained about the lack of ad revenue.

There was also a demand to categorise journalists and content creators on parameters like experience, type of content they are creating, and the reach/subscribers they have.

Thakur assured that the ministry will take all of these inputs into account and create necessary policies and interventions to help the community grow. “I think such meetings are very important in the discourse of a new form of media emerging. We will certainly do more of them after a gap of a few weeks and will try to get even more people on board for suggestions. The ministry will surely work on creating policy and other such frameworks required to support the industry.”