Communique on The Changing Paradigms of Media Landscape – Prof. Baldev Bhai Sharma

Prof. Baldev Bhai Sharma was honoured with the award of Lifetime Contribution to Media and Communication Education which was facilitated to him by Prof. K.G. Suresh as a President of GMEC. After receiving the award he addressed the audience by saying that today media is being used in a very bad manner, social media as a tool is being used to manipulate the real story and disseminate among the audience spreading the wrong message

He said that social media is like a tool for a society that should be used for social development and for the growth and development of society not for spreading fake news. Teachers are not different from media in fact teachers are the biggest communicators.

A lot of changes are happening in the media but we should not forget the basic ethics and aims of media. Lots of changes are happening in the world today and the media is undergoing all those changes, if we fail to understand these changes, we will lead the media in the wrong direction which will be very dangerous for all of us. Today media and media persons want to change the world for the better, which is the fourth pillar of democracy it should, but if media does not change itself first in the correct manner, then it will fail as a tool for the betterment of society.

Earlier being a media person was tough, we had to face so many problems, but now with technology, many things have become easier. A lot has changed over the years, but the best part is that we have updated and upgraded ourselves with all these changes, all this is because we never stopped learning and as a journalist, we should never stop learning. He said that we should not look at Indian journalism with the European vision, look at it with the Indian vision. A journalist is someone who should be alert and should not get influenced by western journalism and also a journalist should not work as a postman by just delivering messages instead should give some meaning to their work and work towards the development of society. Covid has changed the basic thinking process; it has changed the meaning of positive and negative in our life.

He talked about the four main points that he as a journalist learned in his lifetime which are – alertness, fearlessness, searching the truth and the most important honourable address. He ended his lecture by saying that, a journalist should always remember the principle that it is his responsibility and power to change the bad times into good times.