National Press Day: Changing Nature of Press – K Temjen Jamir, Editor, Tir Yimyim

16th November is Independence Day for us, Media friends, as we come together to celebrate this National Press Day, 58 years ago, it was the day when Press Council of India as a statutory body was established and started functioning as a moral watchdog and legal guardian to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also not fettered by the influence or threats of any power on earth.

Most appropriately, this year the PCI has chosen the day’s theme as “ Changing Nature of Press”. This theme is appropriate for obvious reason that actions of ‘Change’ dominates this 1st quarter of 21st Century, particularly with changing nature of press in reaching out to its audience by Technological advancements in the field of mass communication.

It made us understand that the today’s theme wants to take us to the genesis of Press so that we may understand and visualize how difficult and laborious it was to print news and equally dangerous to spread news and share ideas and information in early days of the Press.

The word ‘Press’ must have come to use from Printing Press as only medium of mass communication was Newspaper printed in printing press in the beginning of news dissemination for public. However, today we ‘the Press’ are also identified as ‘Media’ which is very common and sometimes confusing as owners of Printing Press also found to be identified themselves as Press. Nevertheless, the word Media is also plural form of medium. In short, media means mass communication. It broadly describes all Channels of Communication, including everything from printed paper to digital.

So whether it is Press or Media, both carry the same meaning and same task of responsibility as an agent of mass communication. It is, indeed, a social communication tool to share information and ideas amongst its community members for their benefits.

It also the same tool to collectively identify social needs, problems and its solutions. It’s a medium of education for human lives. Press also can play a role of mediator to listen to each side without partiality and present each position without bias so as to bring conflicting parties to a meeting point to settle the issue peacefully. So press and media can be used as medium even in peace making initiative.

Positively speaking, media can safely be described as the intellectual backbone of any nation. It is the most prominent platform for sharing public opinion. In fact, history bears witness to the fact that a robust means of mass communication can change the face of any nation.

Modern media that was only known as the Press has its own origin that directly linked to a major impetus to Christian Outreach ministry with the invention of printing press by Gutenberg in 1450, which led to the first mass printing (180 copies) of the Bible in 1455. During this period, Bible and other Christian books, tracts and periodical were instrumental in disseminating the good news of Christianity into coastal cities.

At the turn of 21st century, Time magazine named Johann Gutenberg the most important person of the past five hundred years because his invention, the printing press, vastly accelerated the multiplication of knowledge throughout the world. It was Gutenberg’s invention that gave impetus to f lourished Print Media which became a powerful agent of change the world over.

In the modern world of 21st century, the Changing Nature of Press brought many faces ; among those faces most prominent one is Electronic Social media that is available on the smart phone. It brought the entire world to our palm and made us connected. It becomes one of our basic needs now. Without being connected through social media one is kept himself/ herself isolated from the society and made lonely and bankrupt of information as the social media not only keeps people connected with their relatives and friends, but also keep them updated and make aware of events and happening across the world.

However, the modern social media made us to confront with a number of new challenges that is, indeed, a cause of serious concern for all of us. One vital issue that concerns us is alarming fake news that misinform public and allow to mislead even responsible people like us, that calls our serious attention and need to be always remain guarded.

As we discuss about ‘the Changing Nature of Press’ today, it is pertinent for us that we are also mindful about potential dangers and disadvantages of using the tools of New media so that Changing of Nature of Press does not adversely affect our integrity and commitment to the cause we dearly hold and work fearlessly and tirelessly.

As we look at the advantages side of the Changing Nature of Press, we see number of good areas of communication that benefit us. Amongst them, after all its about mass communication, the benefit of Connectivity comes f irst . It can link with countless users at any time, everywhere. Information could be permeated globally through electronics media and making it simple and affordable to enable people to interact with one another. It results in global relationship, so every user of Social media tools becomes world citizen. In that sense, we are proud to say that we are one of the main stakeholders that makes it happen everyday.

The sole purpose of media, be it print or electronics; be it traditional form of media or New Media in modern world, is to reach out with a message. The only difference is the degree of fastness of time and vastness of area of coverage. Indeed, nature of Press is changed but not the Purpose of Press, that makes our calling more loud and serious.

Not long ago in our time till last quarter of 20th century , we were using manual typewriter. It was laborious exercise and extremely difficult to edit and make correction. We have never heard of using computer with keyboard. However, if we compare our time of using manual typewriter with those who wrote the manuscripts of old and new testaments on the ancient scroll, we see vast improvement and realized that our job was much easier than them.

Certainly the greatest advancement in technological innovation of the present era is the invention of the computer and its multiple application system. The creation of global internet and subsequent invention of mobile devices, especially smart phones makes the entire world a global village.

These incredible inventions, the hallmark of the Digital Age, are changing the world on every level and linking us together for good or for worse as if the whole world is just a single place where we live together. We have entered a Digital Communication Culture and not only the Press but many of the traditional communication culture and systems are also changing.

Today, there are about four billion mobile phone users in the world out of 8.2 billion world population. There are more mobile phone used in Africa than the United States. Even in Nagaland we may have about ten lakhs mobile phone users out of 19 lakhs populations. Unlike a computer, a mobile phone can carry with us always conveniently and now carrying mobile phone becomes not only necessity but our lifestyle.

As we live in this new world of Digital Communication Culture, smart phone becomes more useful than desktop PCs and laptops . It is not made only to talk and communicate between two people but the devices offer wide range of functions and services far beyond phone calls and messages. These include e-mail, web browsing, radio and tv reception, video and CCtv monitoring, GPS, gaming, book reading, Barcode scanning, e-ticketing, diary, appointment , WiFi connectivity and bluetooth capability, the facilities list will go on.

That’s not the end as far as the technology and media related progressive development is concerned, as we are completing the 1st quarter of 21st century, another amazing human invention that is emerging is Artificial Intelligent (AI). The year 2023 is being marked as beginning of AI era with major companies like OpenAL, Microsoft and Google launching various AI tools in an effort to lead the field. Today, AI tools such as ChatGPT have the capability to write books and speech, compose songs, code programs and make plans for humans.

Believe it or not, AI has become indispensable in our lives. Government and enterprises, for that matter even in news room and news reporting that fails to integrate AI into their system will be left behind. We have already witnessed AI replacing numerous jobs and it will continue in almost all the sectors of human activities. Imagine, using AI to edit news, cross check reporting and editorial discussions ! Now with this computer software AI technology, human languages can be translated in months, not years. We live in the first period of history when every single person on earth can be reached with latest news of daily happening in and around the world . This is the best generation of generations that we are experiencing , living and working today.

In the midst of present days media explosion, it depends on us , the users, whether we use these media platforms to our benefit or we let New Media and AI use us and make our life artificial, counterfeit and unproductive. We may not fully aware but this technological explosion impacts us daily. We cannot escape from it rather we became a part of this digital community.

A new culture of communication brought by this digital age is online service, be it news services, commercial, religious, social or even political affair. There is no more excuses in this world of new media for being unable to reach out. Modern communication technology that keeps on changing the nature of Press makes the task of media persons more easier, faster and wider but becomes more challenging as we are responsible for quality and reliability of our reports .

As we endeavour to know more about fast changing nature of media, what actually we are ought to communicate or deliver to people as media persons ? It must be our committed moral and social responsibility to let people know their rights and duties and most importantly keep them informed and updated so that they are nor misled neither deprived.

We have tools to communicate and platform to share not only information but even our thoughts and ideas with others worldwide. Let us always understand ourselves that we are powerful people who can make mightily corrupt fall and humble rise, who can change the people’s mindset from self –interest to common interest, Individualism to Collectivism, dictatorial to democratic, bad governance to good governance, kleptocracy to ethical government, kratocracy to fair democracy and Kakistocracy to Efficient Government.

In fact, as we discuss about the influence of media through Changing Nature of Press in our society vis-à-vis our working system, despite the world wide emergence of new media, the effect of old and traditional media can never be underestimated. Even in this 21st century Radio continues to dominate as a medium of transmitting and getting news and information all over the world.

There are billions of people who will never read content in a web browser, send a sms, whatsapp, tweet or even read an email. This demographic majority will be with us for sometime and the most effective way to reach them is through radio. In a continent like Africa where one in 160 people have internet access, one in 130 have a computer and one in 35 have a telephone but one in 3 have a radio. Even in our case radio is still effective way of communication in far flung rural areas. Radio also found to be more convenient even for digital savvy people while driving and travelling.

For our generation in 1980s watching BW television first time in our life was one of the wonders and reading weekly Newspaper like Nagaland Times and Ura Mail were great things and privileged to be counted in society.

Today it is said that there are 1.4 billion television sets in the world that allow nearly 5 billion access to news, information and entertainment.

In the meantime, we must know that not all 21st century methods of press and media communication are high tech. Even at this time of social media in digital era, still traditional media and oral method are found most effective to reach many remaining hidden people. Still two third of people worldwide are oral learners. They prefer to learn through proverbs, music, poetry and especially stories in traditional mode of conversation.

As we celebrate our own National Press Day today on the theme “ Changing Nature of Press” as Media persons at this era of Fast Changing Nature of Press, we must think seriously how we are delivering our reports in terms of fastness, relevancy, accuracy and reliability. We must also change our old mindset of dependency and make ourselves more proactive in trying to bring about a positive change in our people’s lives by identifying their problems, needs and suggest solutions.

I hope, as we are thinking deeply about “Changing Nature of Press” today, it shall also help us to Change ourselves into more creative, smart , adaptable, reliable and efficient media men and women as most powerful agents of positive change in our Land. Happy National Press Day and Thank you !

(This speech was delivered on the occasion of National Press Day celebration organized by the Dimapur Press Club)