The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu conferred the 19th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards at a function held in New Delhi on March 19, 2025.
Addressing the gathering, President Murmu underscored the indispensable role of free and fair journalism in a thriving democracy. She emphasized that an informed citizenry is the cornerstone of a meaningful democratic process.
The President said that a thriving newsroom full of ideas is essential for the business of news. She highlighted the importance of a research wing to ensure quality and accuracy of news. She stated that news gathering, the soul of journalism, must be strengthened. She urged media organisations to devote more resources in encouraging the culture of reporting from the ground.
The President said that earlier, newspapers and magazines sought to offer qualitative reporting and analysis, and readers bought their copies. A sufficient number of readers meant a good platform for advertisers, who subsidised the costs. She pointed out that in recent decades, however, this model has been replaced by many hybrid models. She stated that their success must be measured by their effect on the quality of journalism. She added that there are only a limited number of sources of funding, which could be the State or corporate entities or the reader. While the first two have their own advantages and limitations, the third option of keeping the reader at the centre is the most preferable option. It has only one limitation: sustaining that model seems difficult.
Speaking on the issue of content creation, the President expressed confidence that we will soon reach a stage when malicious content will be weeded out, and the so-called post-truth will go out of currency. She noted that technological tools are also being applied to that end. She advised to hasten that process with pro-active campaigns to educate citizens about these pitfalls. She said that the hazard of deep fakes and other misuses of artificial intelligence compel us to sensitise all citizens about this critical aspect of news. The young generation, in particular, should be educated to spot the bias and the agenda in any form of news report or analysis.
The President said that AI is disrupting the world, creating new opportunities as well as new challenges in many sectors including journalism. Machines have already started compiling and editing reports. What they lack, however, is empathy, which will be the one ingredient that can help journalists beat AI. Journalism based on human values is not going to be extinct ever.