A one-day rural media workshop- Vartalap was held at the circuit house of Patan district.

The program began with lighting of lamp by Shri Prakash Magdum, additional director general, Press Information Bureau (PIB); Shri Shyam Parekh-Director, Bhavans, HBICM; Shri Kumar Manish- Communication Strategist, Shri Manish Mehta, Editor-Divya Bhaskar Digital, Shri Yogesh Pandya-deputy director PIB and Arohi Patel, deputy director PIB.

While delivering lecture on the topic "Trends in Journalism", Shri Shyam Parekh stressed on the importance of content. While addressing journalists of Patan during Vartalap, he said, " Future is digital and print is legacy. New media is still in transition. At the end of the day content is king. For  good content, language is the most important key. You may be working for television or print, at the end of the day, good language is required. Nothing can replace good language. Journalist say that we know lot of skills but nothing can replace good language. One should read atleast two new words from dictionary everyday."

He added, "India is an importer of content. We are not creating global content. Journalist in Patan can create good content which can be consumed in foreign countries. The market of content is very big. Posting video is one thing but there are many platforms where you can post and even make money. The only criteria is quality."

He added that when we say about Bharat, 74 percent of Indian consume content. The real number is different. Here, in India one consumer is consuming information in multiple languages. So one consumer is on average is consuming content in three languages.

Further Mr Parekh said that the divide between rural and urban is disappearing very quickly. Journalist should not think of rural or urban. They should think of audience. From rich to poor, everybody is accessing content. Reporter of Patan should think that they are producing content from Patan but the content is for everyone. The reason is global reach.

Shri Manish Mehta while talking on subject "Mobile Journalism and Digital Media" said that one rule in our newsroom is that every news should be crosschecked. In the times of fake news, it is very important to cross check news. One rule is that credibility should not be compromised. No matter you are getting delayed by one minute or one day. Credibility is supreme. The crisis is compromise of credibility. There is difference between social media and digital media. On social media, people forward information without checking.

He also showed a power point presentation to journalist of Patan district.

"One should come on digital media to connect with people. Earlier, TV was the most important medium . Now both TV and newspapers have shifted to television. The reason is phone is accessible. Online media is faster, wider, easier and engaging. Phone is engaging. Size of Indian Digital media is 729 million. The market of rural digital media is bigger. 48 percent readers believe truth is key. Gen Z consumes sports and education news more, " said Manish Mehta.

Shri Kumar Manish also showed an interactive presentation on the topic "Social Media and AI Technology".

"Your work could be enhanced and amplified using tools so that it's reach can be increased. One study reveals that less than two percent people are creating content. Rest are sharing them. Still, the major producer of content is mainstream media. One should explore the power of social media where demand for local language is constantly increasing. One should explore tools. AI tools are being used for writing and integration of content. Consumer is more interested in regional language," Mr Kumar Manish said .

He added that credibility is the new currency. More followers could be engage using content. Journalist should focus on amplifying the content. There are two types of content. One is generic for all and another is niche focusing on specific subjects like environment. Content should not be only text based. Visuals are very important Content diversity is a necessity. As a journalist, fact checking is our responsibility."

He further stressed on importance of AI. Generative AIs are most commonly used. Top organizations are using AI. Mr Kumar Manish also showed some examples of top AI generated news platforms.

Shri Prakash Magdum, ADG, PIB Ahmedabad said that we are open for the feedback and this is the main motive of Vartalap Workshop.

"Technology is evolving. Through this workshop we aim create awareness on new trends also . Role of social media becomes very important. Understanding the challenge of social is equally important. We have created a separate fact check unit. We try to reach everybody. We also do press tours to make journalist familiar about the developments of government. PIB also work for the welfare scheme of central government. For this a welfare fund has been created too," he said.

Stressing on the role of PIB, Arohi Patel, deputy director, PIB said that the agency works to disseminate information. PIB acts as an bridge between government, people and media. Through press release we share information. PIB takes journalist on tours to create awareness. The role of PIB is also to do fact check.

Around 60 journalists from different media organizations attended the workshop. The workshop was organized as a part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's media outreach strategy conceptualized to act as a bridge between the masses and the government by empowering journalists with authentic information about government schemes and policies.

YP/AP/JKS/GP/JD

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