NE has huge potential for digital media, say experts

Kolkata: The northeastern states have immense potential for the digital media. People from most of these states, who are either working or studying in big cities, are increasingly having a cosmopolitan mindset. Hence they, like their counterparts from other parts of the country, need to be tapped by the digital media, feel experts. These were some of the issues discussed at Y-Factor, 2015, organized by NSHM Institute of Media and Design (NIMD), Kolkata. The topic of the discussion was “The digital media is here, are you ready”. “Its biggest advantage is that it is not bound by geographical constraints. Hence, it is the best way to get everyone, from Tamil Nadu to Nagaland, on the same platform. I must say we have been successful in doing that to a large extent,” Nilasish Basu of Google said. “Digital media is making its presence felt, but it is yet to leave the traditional forms — newspapers and television — behind,” said senior journalist Uttam Sengupta. Sameer Hashmi, a journalist with an international broadcaster, differed. “Digital media connects with people the best. There are times when mainstream media cannot cover an event. That is the time when social media comes into play. For example, when Navy Seals descended upon the Abottabad house of Osama Bid Laden, it was a neighbour who first posted online about armed men entering a house in the neighbourhood,” he said. “So many times, we have seen Facebook posts or tweets from people following which the mainstream media latches onto the story, which could otherwise have gone unnoticed. The mainstream media is yet to be as strong in the northeast, which is why the digital media has a brighter scope there,” Dr Buroshiva Dasgupta, director, NIMD, said.But authenticity of content remains a major concern for the digital media.