Contemporary journalism has become more resilient, proactive as compared to what it used to be earlier: Ajay Singh

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: On the historic day of Jammu University’s launch of its first newsletter, Jammu University Post at the Panch Pran Event, The Department of Journalism and Media studies organised a round-table interaction with Ajay Kumar Singh, Press Secretary to the President of India.
Talking to the students, Ajay Singh threw light on the changing media landscape in India.
“Contemporary journalism has become more resilient and proactive, as compared to what it used to be earlier,” said Ajay Singh, who started his professional career with national newspaper, The Times of India (Lucknow) in 1985.
He shared that he has also worked with Economic Times, Telegraph, Pioneer, Business Standard, Star News and News X. Later, he edited Governance Now and became its Editorial Director.
He further shared his roles and responsibilities as the Press Secretary to the President of India.
“If your intentions are pure, you will achieve what is best for you,” he said and added that journalism is a field of various disciplines.
When asked by students about threats or intimidations for being at such a responsible position, Ajay Singh said that he has been doing his job sincerely with pure intentions, so never encountered any such experience.
In response to a question asked by Karman Singh of University of Jammu, Ajay Singh said that exaggeration and sensationalism had been plaguing this profession and is definitively a matter of concern.
“Sensationalisation of news is a deep rooted problem, especially after the advent of digital media, which otherwise has democratised the field of Journalism,” said Ajay Singh, adding that it causes chaos and confusion.
He emphasised that exaggeration of facts by news agencies has greatly effected credibility of the news agencies and at many instances plunge them into an embarrassing situation.
Presiding over the programme, Prof. Shyam Narayan Lal-Coordinator, Journalism and Media Studies and Dr. Garima Gupta, Head of the Journalism and Media Studies Department welcomed the guests by presenting mementos.
Dr. Pardeep Singh Bali , Dr. Ravia Gupta and Kumerjit Chajgotra, faculty members of the Journalism Department of Jammu University were also present.
Earlier, Sant Kumar, Advisor to Regional Director of IIMC Jammu and a senior Journalist also shared his views and experiences with the students while working in the field with Ajay Singh.
Students were highly enthusiastic and motivated by their interaction with Ajay Singh and asked various questions related to career prospects and the growth of regional newspapers.
Alina Shapoo, a student of JU, asked about how the media landscape has changed in the contemporary world and if journalism in today’s time is better than its predecessor.
Ajay Singh responded that he’s with the opinion that the the dynamics of journalism should change over time and that the coming time is always better than the past because we tend to learn from our mistakes.
Aditi Kashyap, a student of IIMC, asked about striking a balance between ethical and non ethical journalism to which Ajay Singh responded that there is no such categorisation of journalism, it depends on journalist’s own perspective.
Other students who asked questions included Rohan, Bharti, Idress, Shahnaz, Krishan Gopal and Ambika.