Dnpa Conclave 2026: DNPA Conclave 2026: Sudhir Chaudhary calls for rewriting the news playbook with purpose and clarity | India News
New Delhi: Veteran journalist and news anchor Sudhir Chowdhury shared his reflections on the evolution of television journalism and the rapidly changing landscape of digital news during a session at the fourth annual Storyboard 18 Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave 2026 in New Delhi on Thursday.In an engaging conversation moderated by RJ Raunac — the artist, entertainer and entrepreneur known as “Baua” — the theme of the discussion was “The New World Order of News: Rewriting the Playbook for a Resilient Digital Future,” exploring how technology continues to redefine storytelling, credibility and audience engagement in the modern newsroom.Responding to a question about the dramatic shift from television’s early days to the rise of the digital and AI-driven era, Chaudhary traced his journey back to the mid-1990s, when India’s TV news industry was just taking root.“When I started my career in 1994-95, television in India was just starting. There was only one news bulletin every day, which aired around 9 or 10 pm. People eagerly waited for that slot, believing it ushered in a new era in broadcasting. It was really just a beginning,” he said of how a single night began. Today there are more than 400 channels running 24 hours across the country.Sharing anecdotes from his early reporting, Chaudhary highlights the challenges of storytelling when technology was limited. He describes how, during the Kargil war in 1999, which he called India’s first “television war”, it took two days to send footage from the conflict zone to Delhi, often leaving journalists anxious and helpless.Sharing another memory of the 2002 Parliament attack, he said, “I had the best visuals, the best footage of the incident, but there was no means of sending it from Parliament to my office in Noida. Though the OBI van was a thing, we didn’t have the OBI van that day.”Reflecting on how far the industry has come, he notes that while the tools have changed — from broadcasting to social media and now AI — some core principles remain constant.“People say TV is dying now that it’s being taken over by social media, which is also being challenged by AI. But I think some things haven’t changed,” he said.Emphasizing the enduring essence of journalism, Chaudhary noted, “Storytelling, transparency and responsibility — these things have never changed. Technology can create content for you, but the passion and intent behind the content will always be driven by you.”The DNPA Conclave 2026 brought together policymakers, editors, technologists and industry leaders to discuss the future of news in an AI-led world. The day’s sessions examined how innovation, regulation and ethics can coexist to shape a trusted and sustainable digital media environment for the next decade.
