Technology has fundamentally altered the way in which we access and consume news and information. The proliferation of the 24x7 news cycle and an omnipresent social media in the ‘post-truth’ era, has meant a significant shift for journalism. The result has been a preference to present a ‘false balance’ in news reporting in the struggle for higher viewership and bigger advertisers, occasionally compromising objective truth, fairness and accuracy. The 2014 general elections in India was perhaps the first time that social media played a significant role in election campaigning and potentially its outcome. It has since become an intrinsic and increasingly volatile part of political and civic life in India.
 
Four years on, as the country is gearing for another general election at a time when India’s global standing is stronger than ever, the traditional political landscape has all but changed completely. Join us in a conversation about what the future holds for India, the potential outcome of the 2019 elections, and the role the media plays in the world’s largest democracy.  
 
In conversation will be veteran Journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, India Today; Shaina NC, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party and Milind Deora, Former Member of Parliament, Indian National Congress in a discussion moderated by Naresh Fernandes, Editor, Scroll.in on the changing face of India, it’s politics and press, centered around Sardesai’s new book, Newsman – Tracking India in the Modi Era.

Rajdeep Sardesai is award-winning journalist and news presenter. He is the author of the bestselling books 2014: The Election that Changed India and Democracy’s XI: The Great Indian Cricket Story. Currently the consulting editor and lead news anchor of the India Today group, he has 28 years of experience in print and television. Sardesai was founder-editor of the IBN 18 network, prior to which, he was Managing Editor of NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India. He worked with Times of India for 6 years and was city editor of its Mumbai edition at the age of 26.

Shaina NC serves as a member of the national executive council and spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Maharashtra. Shaina currently holds the position of Treasurer of the BJP in Maharashtra, the first woman to receive this position. She is also an Indian fashion designer and social worker. Shaina is involved in social work through charity fashion shows and two NGOs, 'I Love Mumbai' and 'Giants International'.

 Milind Deora is a former Union Minister of State & Member of Parliament, Government of India. He entered the Lok Sabha in 2004 as a member of the Indian National Congress, and was one of India’s youngest MP’s. He has held various positions in Parliamentary Committees on Defence, Civil Aviation, Estimates, Urban Development and Information Technology. He has also served as India’s Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Shipping. During his active 10-year political career, Milind was an important national voice and harbinger for transformational change, spearheading the historic Right to Information law and e-Governance.

 Naresh Fernandes is the editor of the digital news publication Scroll.in. He was previously editor-in-chief of Time Out India, and has worked at The Times of India and the Associated Press in Mumbai, and The Wall Street Journal in New York. His journalism has appeared in The Hindustan Times, The New York Times, India Magazine, Man’s World, Outlook Traveller, Seminar, Columbia Journalism Review, Art and Thought, Wespennest, Letras Libres, Transition, Culturefront and Citylimits, among other publications. He has been a Poiesis Fellow at the Institute of Public Knowledge, New York University and is on the editorial board of the World Policy Journal.

In Partnership with: