Financial Journalist

Rediscovering Relevance
The picture was very clear up until 1990. Things have dramatically changed since then. Thanks to Narashimha Rao's bold liberalisation initiatives, the Indian economic landscape has undersgone a significant change. The Internet revolution that followed in the first decade of the 21st century has tremendously altered the way we communicate. By the click of a mouse, you have access to huge information. So much so, we are now struggling to sift through the pile for the right info. The post-liberalisaton and the subsequent Net revolution have also coincided with the growth of the PR agencies. The Net result is that we have come a long way since the days when information was hard to come by to a situation now where one is flooded with so much info. This has put the financial journalists especially in a huge predicament. What is the role of a business journalist now? Time was when his/her role was to disseminate info. When information was proving difficult to get, he/she was looked upon by all and sundry in the industry, trade and the like for credible information to guide them. Today, there is no shortage of information. Everything is available on the Net. And, information sources have also multiplied. There is nothing like an exclusive source for a business journalist. As opposed to one-on-one exclusives, we now find one-by-one exclusives! A business journalist is flooded with releases from all sorts of PR (public relation) outfits. And, the same release is distributed across geographical locations. A business journalist is now going through an identity crisis. With intense competition among themselves, nobody is willing to miss any release! This question is nagging me for a long time now. How could a financial journalist stay relevant in this changed atmosphere? What should he/she do? Should one just write a no-frill report? Or, should one add some spice in his/her story? What do the industry, trade and commerce look for in a business journalist? Do they expect a financial journalist to be their mouth-piece? Do they want a business journalist to report only what they want? With journalism itself becoming some what of a commerce, one is not quite sure of the role of a financial reporter. May be a business journalist needs to rediscover his/her role in the fast-changing environment. Any suggestion?