Online panel discussion on authenticity of news held at Navarchana University

An online panel discussion was organized by the Journalism Department of Navrachana University, Vadodara on the importance of accurate and consistent news in times of natural calamities and epidemics with the participation of experts from Gujarat and other states.

The dialogue, which lasted for about two hours, was attended by more than 600 students, teachers as well as people from Vadodara and other cities. The panel discussion included Bhagyesh Jha, former Collector of Vadodara and Head of Information Department Gujarat, Shirish Kashikar, Director, NIMCJ, Padma Kumar, Head, Journalism Department, Christ University, Bengaluru, Sanjay Kachot, Deputy Director Information Department, Gandhinagar, Ajay Umat from Journalism field and Chairperson of Navrachana Education Society Tejal Amin.

Academics have been conducted online by Navrachana University for the last one month along with webinars have also been organized later on. Now m for the first time a panel discussion was organized by the university.

During the discussion Bhagyesh Jha said, today when people are getting information from various sources, the big question is how much information is wrong. He said that if the media shows only one side of the coin, it remains incomplete information. If they present the complete news then they can create their own brand by showing the true and news.

While briefing about the steps being taken by the government to convey the true news,

Sanjay Kachot Deputy Director, Information Department, Ahmedabad said, the government has set up many filters to provide accurate information to the people. When the smallest information is received, it is verified by the system through visiting the place and only then the information is given to the media.

Talking about the different challenges related to information, Padma kumar from Christ University said, people gets the information but the question arises when there is insufficient information, misinformation, intentionally spreading information and spreading it with bad intentions.

Tejal Amin, Chairperson, Navarchana Education Society said, getting accurate information on the current situation in the world of education is a basic need. Today when the educational world is going through a major crisis, the right guidance from the government will help the management and parents understand each other better.

In the end students can get a good education. Today when 52% of people get information from Facebook and about 18% from Twitter, it is important to understand that these media are not focus on the truth of the news but put emphasis on likes and algorithms.

Higher education institutions now have to embrace online learning with positivity, said Dr. Shirish Kashikare, Director, NMICJ. Now the university as well as in the college, special emphasis has to be laid on the authenticity of the news. The students have to be taught to place special emphasis on verifying the information.

Nilay Yagnik, Vice Chancellor, Navrachana University also supports it and said, it is time for Navrachana University to change the ranking of higher education institutions and integrate online learning.

Ajay Umat editor of Navgujarat Samay said, getting the right information for natural calamities as well as in the current situation is a big challenge for journalists. It often happens that the information received from the government is questioned. In addition, there is often a lack of consistency in decisions made by the government and gathering accurate and consistent information at such times becomes a major challenge.