News Influencers attracting big audiences on You Tube
Alexander Chandy spoke as the guest lecturer at Bennett University.
By Naaznen Dhillon
Veteran journalist Alexander Chandy is of the opinion that “YouTube has emerged as a strong challenger to print and electronic media.” Speaking virtually at a guest lecture organized by the Times School of Media on January 18, Chandy gave the young media students food for thought as he shared his observations on the emergence ofYouTube as an important news destination.
“News channels are more interested in increasing TRP through highly opinionated debates,” said Chandy. “Newspapers are boring and at times do publish poorly edited reports. In the era of ‘fake news ’ it is not surprising that several mainstream media journalists, frustrated by the incorrect news being dished out, have chosen to start their own YouTube news channels,” the former Director of Public Relations and Media Communications Manipal Academy of Higher
Education (formerly Manipal University) and former News Editor of the Lucknow and Mangalore editions of The Times of India said.
He added that “YouTube has a lot to offer. That’s why several news portals and mainstream news channels are present on this internet platform now for additional viewership,” he said. Even The Wire, Quint, The Print and Scroll are doing pretty well. The Wire’s exposes on “Pegasus” and “Tek Fog” have attracted huge audience.
Some of the top 10 newsinfluencers on YouTube
_ Ajit Anjum, a senior journalist and writer who in 2010 was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award, and worked with News24 and India TV news channels left the mainstream media. He has made over 170 videos on the UP Elections alone which are extremely informative. Ajit ventures out on the ground to speak to village folk, talking to cross sections of people to gain their perspectives on election issues. He has covered the Farmers Protest, and those who watched the coverage of his West Bengal Elections were not surprised when Mamata Banerjee won big.
_ Punya Prasun Bajpai, another seasoned journalist, worked with Aaj Tak and ABP news. He publishes a video daily which is well researched and presents the audience with facts and figures. He has a huge following
_ Dhruv Rathee is an Indian Youtuber based in the United States. He gives detailed talks on topics such as: Savarkar, Kargil, Gandhi, emergency to name a few. Although he doesn't cover news, his topics, mainly being exposés, are factual, relevant and informative. “What surprises me is the kind of traction he has,” said Chandy
_ Sakshi Joshi was a news anchor for News24, became an independent journalist and covered the West Bengal Elections. When the Central government released advertisements about houses being given to the poor, Sakhi tracked the womanwhose photograph appeared in the advertisement. She was supposed to be a beneficiary. Sakshi brought her on camera and she denied being given a house. The woman was still living in her original dilapidated house. Chandy also talked about her election videos that tell the truth of public leaving rally venues long before the speaker even started speaking.
_ Pragya Mishra runs the Youtube channel “Ulta Chasma” in which she walks the village streets and talks to people to gain their opinions. She also comes up with satire in Bhojpuri.
_ Shekhar Gupta in his show “Cut The Clutter” does well informed talks on topical issues.
_ Rajdeep Sardesai gives information straight in terms of facts with his “Straight Bat”.
_ Barkha Dutt, an experienced journalist, on her channel Mojo Story, does interviews and incorporates a lot of innovation with the way she runs and promotes her channel.
_ Faye D’souza on her YouTube channel does a segment called Money Love where she explains the nitty grittys of finance: everything from investment strategies to taxation.
_ Palki Sharma Upadhyay in her programme Gravitas Plus from The Wion stable, comes up with exclusive reports. She makes every programme interesting as she packs them with a lot of facts and figures to make her point. The topics are picked meticulously. The recent one on pharma companies has attracted a lot of viewers.
This internet platform is getting more traction than newspapers and TV channels with lakhs of viewers logging in. “The viewers want good stories without hype and melodrama, and theYouTubers are providing it,” summarized Chandy. “You Tube has emerged as the biggest platform for communicating news, expert opinions, analysis, interviews, panel discussions etc. There is an ocean of information out there for one to pick and choose.
(Naaznen Dhillon is a first-semester student of the 2021-22 Post-graduate Diploma in Digital Journalism programme.)
Join exciting programmes offered by Bennett University
Veteran journalist Alexander Chandy is of the opinion that “YouTube has emerged as a strong challenger to print and electronic media.” Speaking virtually at a guest lecture organized by the Times School of Media on January 18, Chandy gave the young media students food for thought as he shared his observations on the emergence of
“News channels are more interested in increasing TRP through highly opinionated debates,” said Chandy. “Newspapers are boring and at times do publish poorly edited reports. In the era of ‘
Education (formerly Manipal University) and former News Editor of the Lucknow and Mangalore editions of The Times of India said.
He added that “YouTube has a lot to offer. That’s why several news portals and mainstream news channels are present on this internet platform now for additional viewership,” he said. Even The Wire, Quint, The Print and Scroll are doing pretty well. The Wire’s exposes on “Pegasus” and “Tek Fog” have attracted huge audience.
Some of the top 10 news
_ Ajit Anjum, a senior journalist and writer who in 2010 was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award, and worked with News24 and India TV news channels left the mainstream media. He has made over 170 videos on the UP Elections alone which are extremely informative. Ajit ventures out on the ground to speak to village folk, talking to cross sections of people to gain their perspectives on election issues. He has covered the Farmers Protest, and those who watched the coverage of his West Bengal Elections were not surprised when Mamata Banerjee won big.
_ Punya Prasun Bajpai, another seasoned journalist, worked with Aaj Tak and ABP news. He publishes a video daily which is well researched and presents the audience with facts and figures. He has a huge following
_ Dhruv Rathee is an Indian Youtuber based in the United States. He gives detailed talks on topics such as: Savarkar, Kargil, Gandhi, emergency to name a few. Although he doesn't cover news, his topics, mainly being exposés, are factual, relevant and informative. “What surprises me is the kind of traction he has,” said Chandy
_ Sakshi Joshi was a news anchor for News24, became an independent journalist and covered the West Bengal Elections. When the Central government released advertisements about houses being given to the poor, Sakhi tracked the womanwhose photograph appeared in the advertisement. She was supposed to be a beneficiary. Sakshi brought her on camera and she denied being given a house. The woman was still living in her original dilapidated house. Chandy also talked about her election videos that tell the truth of public leaving rally venues long before the speaker even started speaking.
_ Pragya Mishra runs the Youtube channel “Ulta Chasma” in which she walks the village streets and talks to people to gain their opinions. She also comes up with satire in Bhojpuri.
_ Shekhar Gupta in his show “Cut The Clutter” does well informed talks on topical issues.
_ Rajdeep Sardesai gives information straight in terms of facts with his “Straight Bat”.
_ Barkha Dutt, an experienced journalist, on her channel Mojo Story, does interviews and incorporates a lot of innovation with the way she runs and promotes her channel.
_ Faye D’souza on her YouTube channel does a segment called Money Love where she explains the nitty grittys of finance: everything from investment strategies to taxation.
_ Palki Sharma Upadhyay in her programme Gravitas Plus from The Wion stable, comes up with exclusive reports. She makes every programme interesting as she packs them with a lot of facts and figures to make her point. The topics are picked meticulously. The recent one on pharma companies has attracted a lot of viewers.
This internet platform is getting more traction than newspapers and TV channels with lakhs of viewers logging in. “The viewers want good stories without hype and melodrama, and the
(Naaznen Dhillon is a first-semester student of the 2021-22 Post-graduate Diploma in Digital Journalism programme.)
Join exciting programmes offered by Bennett University
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