To sink or to float is the question. In India, as elsewhere, the internet revolution has compelled newspapers and magazines to transition to digital. The transition has been slow, however, and most newspapers and magazines are still primarily in the print space. Will the pandemic hasten it?

To discuss this, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, in association with Newslaundry, organised a webinar with Anant Goenka, executive director of the daily Indian Express, Anant Nath, editor of the Caravan magazine, and Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry.

Goenka argued that the “major problem isn’t the lack of money being invested, but some major policy issues, like that of news aggregators in digital media, that we need to delve into and grapple”.

Nath said, “Aggregators like Inshorts make revenue from our content but they also give us customers. And it’s also a nuanced question as to what sort of liability they should be taking.”

Addressing the question of objectivity in journalism, Nath said, “The demise of the local paper has led to the demise of transparency and accountability in local governments.”

Watch.

You can also listen to this webinar by clicking on the play button below.