Transformation of a Print Journalist

When I joined Indiatimes.com in 2000 most of my friends in the media industry were skeptical about the move. Nobody, even to some extent myself, was sure if the dotcom boom would survive and script a promising career for journalists.

I imagine there were only a few hundred web sites in 1994 and about 20,000 in 1995. Netcraft reports there are over 100 million web sites today, growing fast. It was tough for me to convince my friends I was not wrong to switch over from mainstream medium to dotcom. I used to tell them: “Think of how strong the TV medium has emerged! Fifteen years back, TVs were limited to living rooms of affluent people. You can find one each house today. It is the reach of TVs that has made it stronger. Ten years down the line, digital medium will be there. Bet it!”

People are no longer ready to wait till next morning to learn what happened the previous day. Nor do they want to store newspapers and magazines. Websites have out dated them. This is a choice between KNOW NOW and NO NOW. RSS feeds make it possible to consume far more information at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible for the human brain. This is strengthened by Podcast and PDA, thanks to Blackberry. That said, many people experience a new level of information overload once they begin reading feeds. I am sure post 2015, launching of a national newspaper will be as rare as a Grand Slam in pro tennis or golf.

Sometimes I wonder what will happen to the habit of reading. I still need a newspaper before going to my toilet every morning. Old habits die hard. What about the new generation. They are hooked onto web. They spend more time with PCs or cell phones than any other tools. Web rules everywhere, be it dating, music, movies, masti or magic. Undoubtedly, the best source to stay updated today. I won’t be surprised to see newspapers turned into Web 2.0 models, the city Yahoo, in the near future. Gannett — which owns USA TODAY– has already turned its community newspapers into “Information Centers”. They deliver content to any device using multimedia information gathering tools. In fact, their readers are generating more content for them. The media brands are today forced to open their content to the masses. They don't mind tie-ups with once rivals, rather than fighting tooth and nail to protect old business models. The recent example is Metro Now in Delhi.

A company called Narrowstep is doing today what was originally “promised” in the 1998-1999 internet boom. Web will bring one million or more TV stations to users in coming years. Yahoo had paid $5.4 billion for Broadcast.com in those days for the concept. Of course, the idea was ahead of its time. Major telecom operators have already rolled out commercial IPTV (Internet protocol television) services where you buy television signals from their existing phone lines instead of the traditional cable or DTH (direct-to-home) operator. The rapid growth of infrastructure and high-speed broadband services are going to power digital medium the strongest in the race, not in the distant future. It's just a matter of time only. However, going by the fast growth, the installed base of PCs and adoption of Internet in India leave a lot to be desired.

The media barons today emphasize on generating content that can cater to both online and mobile VAS industry. With half of India’s population below 25 years of age and tech-savvy, there is huge potential for the medium. This has encouraged manufacturers to come up with more affordable cell phones with bigger screens, higher resolution and more storage space.

Cell phones are handy and very personal. India's mobile data networks across operators are amongst the best in the world. With mobile internet accessible nationwide soon, what else can be a better option to update you? Where were you when the terrorists attacked Mumbai? Did you miss it even by an hour? It will never happen if you have a cell phone with net connectivity. And the phone’s multimedia capabilities drive the desire to create and share the content. The online medium is growing fast and reaching new frontiers. Wait and watch…

-- Soumitra Mishra