Abstract:

Social media has on the one hand given freedom of speech and expression (Enshrined in the Article 19 (1) a of the Indian constitution) to every citizen of India, which is in sync with what the constitution drafters had envisaged, but has also raised the question of unscrupulous ‘untrained’ people playing the role of journalists (citizen journalism). A large number of these people may not have the essential journalistic skills, ethics and training, whereby raising questions about the credibility of news in social media platforms. The Hindu was the first newspaper in India to have a website which was launched in the year 1996. Foreseeing the impact that social media can have on newspapers, Indian newspapers started launching their online editions and apps. The movement was mainly spearheaded by The Times Group and followed by all English, Hindi and regional newspapers. Another issue to be mentioned here is that these e-papers, had more takers when they were free of cost, than once subscribed.

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