Key Points

He was speaking at the FICCI FRAMES 2025, which marks its silver jubilee this year.

Reflecting on the rise of digital media, Aroon Purie explained how media industries attempted to fix the business model and build a direct relationship with the readers, only to repeat the mistake by "chasing scale and eyeballs."

"We chased them because the new gatekeepers demanded it. Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter became the world's new editors-in-chief. They produce no journalism, but they control its distribution and monetisation. I find it maddening that they are not, in law, treated as publishers but only as platforms. If I publish someone else's defamatory statement, I am liable for defamation. But not the platforms," he said.

Aroon Purie noted how the gatekeepers have been in control of 70 per cent of total media revenue, whereas digital advertising holds 55 per cent of total ad revenue, even surpassing TV and print media.

"Their master is the algorithm. The algorithm doesn't reward depth, accuracy, or nuance. It rewards outrage, speed, and virality. It has transformed our information ecosystem into a battleground for attention, contaminating public discourse in the process. Newsrooms that once invested in reporters now have to invest in SEO specialists. The editorial meeting is as much about what's trending as it is about what's important. The old master was the advertiser. The new master is the algorithm," he added.

The India Today Group Chairman also spoke at length about the disruption caused by Artificial Intelligence, drawing attention to how the implementation of AI across media industries has affected the organisations and their workforce.

"This is an existential threat to the very creation of credible information. It leaves us with a profound challenge. The old models are broken. The new gatekeepers are ruthlessly efficient. And the very value of professionally generated content is under threat," he said.

Purie strongly called for innovation in the Indian media's business models to persuade the audience about the credibility and value of well-researched news.

"A subscription is not just a transaction; it's a vote for the kind of media you want to exist. Disruption is not the enemy; it's the new normal. The real question is, do we have the courage, imagination, innovation, resilience and integrity to seize it? The challenge today is not just to survive the next wave of disruption, but to build a future where our journalism is not just viable, but valuable. Ultimately, we are storytellers. And humanity survives on the stories we tell each other," he explained.

Purie stressed the need to bring out stories in a truthful manner for the future of India and the health of its democracy.

- ANI