Despite the growth of print and television in India, Chairperson of Prasar Bharati, Dr. A. Surya Prakash said, the advent of New Media was likely to change the consumption patterns of media in a major way

Making a strong pitch for the Public Service Broadcaster at a seminar organized by Dayananda Sagar Institutions on Nov. 7, Dr. Surya Prakash said that despite the exponential growth of media in the country, only Doordarshan and All India Radio had been performing the role mandated by public interest and policy. He underlined the role of Prasar Bharati in the eradication of polio and popularizing Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan However, there was also a lack of appreciation of government and vernacular media by the advertisers who continued to spend on English media, he said. Pushpa Girimaji, Columnist on Consumer Rights, also criticized the role of advertising in promoting magic remedies and urged the citizenry to be ever vigilant against some of the fraudulent claims made by advertisements.

Krishna V, senior journalist and former US correspondent of The Hindustan Times spoke at length on the democratizing functions of New Media that were ensuring wider public participation in decision making than ever before. Traditional media will have to rejig the way they will dish out content in the future, he stated.

The seminar drew students from across at least 15 colleges, including IIJNM, Oxford, Acharya Institutions, KLE, Symbiosis and Commits, besides the constituent colleges of DSI.

Following the seminar presentations, students had the opportunity to raise questions on media during an open house session moderated by Prof. Rakesh Katarey, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, DSI.

Earlier, Dr. S C Sharma, Director, DSCE/DSATM and Provost, Dayananda Sagar University, welcomed the gathering and underlined the importance of the seminar for students of all disciplines. Dr. C.P.S. Prakash, Principal, DSCE, proposed the vote of thanks and Dr. Vasantha Kumar, faculty, was the MC.