Changes that Odisha’s Digital News Platforms Need

Audience of Odisha’s online news is on the rise. In Odisha most of the digital platforms catering news are free. None of the digital media platforms have dared to opt for digital subscription for revenue generation. They depend on native advertising or the revenue shared by the social media platforms used to reach the audience.

Most media houses in Odisha find it hard to reach breakeven point. They are mostly making huge losses. Yet they survive because they have political entities or private industrial houses behind them. Concerns related to the growth of misinformation and disinformation, attacks on journalists, and the financial sustainability of smaller and local digital news publications in Odisha is increasing.

Small numbers of ‘quality’ news organisations are not getting all the money generated from online news related to Odisha. Without any proper quality regulation, usually no holds barred smaller players in online news market generate much income because they can make the trending news related to Odisha more spicy and gossipy. While it comes to Latest Odisha News, these smaller players do not have the network of reporters all over the State to break the latest Odisha news. These smaller players compensate it by opting for saucy headlines and double meaning thumbs. And in a state like Odisha, where a large number of digital news enthusiasts are rural folk, they circulate like hot cakes.

These smaller players in digital news arena try to add up lewd and unprofessional fake angles to trending Odisha news. At times their unbelievable speculations and allegations that are nothing but fake news become trending online news in Odisha.

Be it latest Odisha news or trending news of Odisha, traditional notions of journalistic impartiality and objectivity are under pressure in this era of greater political and social polarisation. More and more partial news outlets are getting added up in Odisha. So, the concept of impartiality matters more than ever.

Online video becomes a key focus of concern around misinformation in online Odisha news clips. With the rise of hyper-partisan opinion-led channels and video podcasts distributed via social media platforms authenticity of the latest Odisha news and trending Odisha news have started to lose their authenticity.

Only field which has escaped these vagaries is the latest sports news being provided by digital news sources. In this sphere the competition is to provide latest news about as many local sporting events as possible.

Online news craze in Odisha is expected to gather pace with 5G rollout by mobile data providers. With it digital news publishers will need to prepare for a future that involves taking content and brands across more and more devices and distribution channels.