CHENNAI: : The erosion, if any, in the sanctity of the print media, perceived to be under threat from challengers such as satellite television, the Internet and blog journalism, was the topic of an animated discussion here on Saturday, the concluding day of `Media Perspectives: An Australia-India Symposium.'

It was organised by the Media Development Foundation and the Australian High Commission here on Saturday. Also under scrutiny were issues of ethics concerning sting journalism and the alleged intrusiveness of the hidden camera.

The convergence among technologies (Internet, broadband and digital television), content (online, print, television, radio and video) and companies (IT and media) would massively impact the future of journalism, said Paul Budde, Australian industry analyst. Print should integrate new media to meet the challenges of the future, he added.

Despite a steady growth path, certain `grey' areas still existed in Indian satellite television such as a lack of proper regulation or standards and a dependence on cable operators for distribution, K.P.Sunil, vice-president, Jaya TV, said.

Sanjay Pinto, senior special correspondent, NDTV, said the issue of ethics in the use of hidden cameras in sting journalism had to be seen in the light of whether the exercise was for the public good.

India was poised to find greater representation in the Australian media as the interest shown by the United States, a close ally, in India's nuclear policy was bound to make a difference, Louise Williams, senior journalist, The Sydney Morning Herald, said.

Blog journalism was emerging as an alternative to the editorial content of newspapers, Ashok Malik, Senior Editor, The Indian Express, said. However, the issue of broad regulations and censorship/monitoring needed to be examined.

Earlier, N. Murali, Joint Managing Director, The Hindu, said though India had emerged as one of the fastest growing media markets, the growth pattern was ``on the back of flimsy economics.'' Predatory price wars and excessive dependence on advertising revenue had disturbed the economic stability (of newspapers) and journalistic independence. ``What is happening in the market place defies all logic and [we need to return to] sound business principles. Unless newspapers are priced right, the frenetic growth may not be sustainable,'' he added. The Indian media was headed the American way, with news being increasingly doctored to suit advertisers, Kamlendra Kanwar, Resident Editor, The New Indian Express, said. There was a steady erosion of journalistic freedom and trivialisation of content, necessitating safeguards.

The Internet had emerged as the medium of the future and though it needed enormous technological investment, it later bought in incremental revenue, George Zacharias, President and Chief Operating Officer, Sify, said. Though the web had emerged as everybody's medium, the challenge was in leveraging it to give real benefits to real people.

Though television helped shape public agenda, the question of how much it had transformed the public sphere needed to be analysed, said Nalin Mehta, School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia. The ratings race had determined television content and as ratings represented only the urban trends, rural programming had been compromised.

The public sphere should be seen as a qualified and empowered entity and not the least common denominator of the populist mass base, said Sashi Kumar, Chairman, Media Development Foundation.

Professor Robin Jeffrey, Faculty of Humanity and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, and John Fisher, First Secretary, Australian High Commission were also present.

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