Changes in Indian journalism as news websites take lead: Online media pips traditional newspapers and TV channels

The second media revolution has arrived in India.

News websites have emerged as flag-bearers of independent journalism.

This was needed as traditional media was facing criticism for its failure.

Leading newspapers and TV channels were failing in objectivity.

It was being rued that the fourth pillar of democracy was crumbling as journalists were no longer questioning those in the power. Media was accused of toeing 'government line'.

With TRP becoming the sole criterion for news channels, the situation had become even more critical. In the era when 'mainstream media' was losing credibility, the websites have emerged.

These websites are now giving space to hard journalism. There are articles questioning the official position and reports that present the other side of the picture too.

NEWS SITES SHOW THE WAY IN THE ERA OF 'PAID MEDIA'

Not just stories that don't get reported in 'mainstream media', the News websites are carrying special reports, giving space to dissenting voices and opinion pieces--the kind of articles that are not published in leading newspapers or issues not discussed in TV studios.

While terms like 'Press-titutes' were coined, 'credibility became the biggest casualty' in Indian journalism. Journalists had to chose either of the two sides--Manmohan or Modi. Even after the election, there was no change in the situation.


Just when it had become the fashion to say that 'long reports' were out of fashion, narrative style of journalism made a return.

Thanks to these websites. One or two may be agenda-driven but they do provide space to alternative opinions too.


MAJOR NEWS PORTALS, MEDIA WEBSITES KNOWN FOR QUALITY JOURNALISM

The Wire started by Siddharth Varadarajan's is known for serious, issue-based journalism.

The Asian Tribune comes with insightful reports, unique perspective, special stories and reports regarding conflict-prone regions.

MaktoobMedia is a major news portal, which has redefined online journalism in India. 

NewsBits [Newsbits.in] focuses on real issues, brings reports from Central India--Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states, with focus on marginalized communities and under-privileged sections.

The Observer Post has emerged as another competition for major news websites. 

Huffington Post is well-known and among the pioneers in online journalism in the world. Its India edition has grabbed eyeballs. [Now it has closed its Indian edition]

TheNewsMinute gives special coverage to Southern India--states that are not given proper attention in 'North-based media'. 

Scroll was among the first such websites and it has been quite successful. 

Catch is associated with the Patrika group.

There are other websites too. Existing newspapers and magazines like Outlook also have high quality content on their websites. With social media proliferating, the reach of the content has also increased.

Clearly, the 'New Media' is the winner.

Update: 

Caravan, Article-14, NewsClick, have emerged as flagbearers of unbiased, hard news in India. Enewsroom, NewsD, News Meter, Cognate and several other websites have made a mark in journalism as the scenario has changed a lot. 

Heritage Times, LiveLaw, websites that focus on specific fields, have filled a gap.

NewsLaundry is yet another portal that keeps an eye on media. FirstPost, DailyO, JantaKaReporter and Catch News have not been as active as they were in the past, either because the companies lost interest or owners changed. TwoCircles.net was among the first online sites in India, but has lost steam after the team leader quit it.

The traditional media i.e. The Hindustan Times, The Times Of India, Statesman, The Pioneer, Telegraph have seen reduction in their sales, the circulation has been going down. Many newspapers are closing down their editions.  

Among the broadsheet newspapers, Indian Express publishes informative reports and is still having an impact though its circulation has come down. Certain big newspapers have been opting out of Audit Bureau of Circulation exercise, as their readership and sales figures have been hit. 

TV channels like AajTak, India Today group, ABP News, Zee, CNN-IBN, NDTV and most others, are trying hard to capture eyeballs. But now the youth are getting news from social media i.e. X [formerly Twitter] and Facebook apart from News Websites and Apps like Inshorts.

NOTE: This article about the changes in Indian journalism and media scenario, has been updated recently (in January 2025).

Revolt Press: News website twisting facts, a disgrace to journalism

What's the job of media? It is informing public or distorting facts in order to spread false information?

Ironically, getting hits seems to have become the sole criterion for success in online media.

As there are thousands of websites, the hits will come only when you give bizarre headlines.

RevoltPress, a website, that delivers news in both Hindi and English, has taken this 'bizarre' to an extreme.

Take for example, the news that has been show here along with the post. It wrongly says that Pakistani men marry their own sisters. The headline clearly suggests as if it is incest that is prevalent in Pakistan.

The intro begins with the practice in Islamic world. The fact that an absolutely misleading news is not just published but it's being posted widely in Facebook groups and aggressively pushed, shows that they have no qualms about their brand of 'Yellow journalism'.

Such stories get them HITS, which bring some money in the form of advertisements and also a bit of name for the 'media group'. It today has nearly 1.9 lakh likes (followers) and hence reach of such articles keeps increasing as they keep posting such articles, again and again, with an interval of few days.

As far as the particular misleading post is concerned, the truth is that there are marriages between cousins in Pakistan. But it is common in India too. In many parts of the country, there are marriages among cousins in Hindus. In Andhra, it has been common for the girl to marry her real maternal uncle (mama).

But calling a cousin as 'sister', giving an impression of 'incest' and its prevalence in entire society, is disgusting to say the least. Sadly, journalism is the biggest casualty with the proliferation of such news websites. This is perpetuating false myths, spreading hate and agenda-driven activity that needs to be condemned in the harshest possible words.