POTENTIAL OF MOBILE JOURNALISM IN INDIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY

Abstract

Mobile Journalism is a growing practice which employs convergence of various devices in one device -A mobile phone. With a little history in hand, mobile journalism has been accepted in various international broadcasting channels to enhance their services as news providers, such as CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera. Indian media, too, have started to realize the shifts in reporting patterns, audience behavior and communication styles between the media and audience emerging due to mobile journalism and digitalization of news. Some news organizations have taken up this practice earnestly while other organizations are still analyzing its potential and benefits in the newsrooms. Since it is an emerging extension in Indian media industry, it creates a sense of ambiguity and elevates a debate on its uncertainty in Indian media. This research paper, therefore, considers various factors to ascertain the potential and probabilities of Mobile Journalism in India. Also, the paper attempts to predict the future of MoJo in Indian habitat in the near future. To determine the results, a combination of methods were taken into consideration, viz. interview of journalists belonging to three different media platforms (viz. Broadcast, print and web), participatory observation of a news room functioning and a case study to establish a comparison in reporting patterns amongst the three news organizations.