Navigating the Digital Media Transition Challenges & Opportunities

The first panel discussion of the DNPA Conclave 2025 was on the topic of “Navigating the Digital Media Transition - Challenges and Opportunities,” moderated by Mr. Puneet Gupt, COO – Times Internet and Vice Chairperson, DNPA. The panel included esteemed media professionals, Mariam Mammen Mathew, CEO – Manorama Online, Malayala Manorama and Chairperson, DNPA, Mr. Puneet Singhvi, CEO – Network18 (Digital) and President – Corporate Strategy, Network18, Mr. Puneet Jain, CEO – HT Digital, Mr. Pawan Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director – Dainik Bhaskar Group, and Mr. Anil Malhotra, Head – Public and Regulatory Affairs, Zee Media Corporation.

Mr. Puneet Gupt kicked off the panel discussion on a positive note when he invited Mr. Puneet Singhvi to shed light on what, in his opinion, was the biggest positive impact that AI has had on the transformation that we are witnessing today. Mr. Singhvi began by highlighting the biggest difference we have seen between the digital media transformation from half a decade ago and the present day, “What used to occur over a three- to five-year cycle is now happening in a single cycle, with changes occurring rapidly—especially in digital media. This era is marked by a mix of fear, trepidation, and anxiety, but also by immense opportunity.”

He highlighted AI’s role in streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and driving efficiency in digital media. He also emphasized AI’s potential in mining large datasets for content and ad personalization, though its full impact remains to be seen. Reflecting on shifting
content formats, he noted the transition from text-based to video-forward media,
enabling multi-platform newsroom outputs. Lastly, he discussed the convergence of curated and reported content, which could redefine industry standards for quality and authenticity.

Mr. Puneet Jain, CEO of HT Digital, shared how AI is revolutionizing their newsroom by auto-generating headlines and summaries, boosting productivity. He outlined his vision of AI-led
transformation built on content generation, user experience, and innovation. Reflecting on its impact, he noted how AI has enabled groundbreaking products and solutions. However, he believes the biggest shift is yet to come: “In the coming years, this transformation will
accelerate, introducing new content formats—beyond text, video, or visuals—tailored for niche audiences. We are actively exploring these possibilities.”

Mariam Mammen Mathew weighed in regarding the cost implications of leveraging AI in the digital news industry.She elaborated on how they have long struggled to compete with larger organizations due to cost constraints - but the introduction of AI has helped them address these challenges and become significantly more competitive in the new age.

Mr. Anil Malhotra echoed Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw’s concerns, expressing optimism about the government’s efforts to address AI’s challenges, including deepfakes and content misuse. He
emphasized the need for collective policy suggestions to ensure ethical and beneficial AI adoption.

Mr. Pawan Agarwal raised concerns about the credibility of AI-generated summaries compared to established newsrooms and brands that uphold accuracy and trust. While he acknowledged the need for a gradual adoption of AI in digital news media, he applauded its role in streamlining manual tasks like spell-checks and enhancing search capabilities. He reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining a responsible newsroom across traditional and digital platforms.

The conversation then veered towards the newsrooms that cover the news ethically and how the advent of AI and push-button publishing might be causing friction, or placing more pressure on traditional media. Mr. Gupt invited the panelists to share their views on how media professionals can balance the two, while maintaining the integrity of journalism and reporting.

Mariam Mammen highlighted Malayala Manorama’s 138-year journalism legacy, emphasizing their approach of "journalism with a human touch, even in AI use—what they call "AI with a human touch." Every AI-assisted piece undergoes human review, ensuring transparency with their audience. She noted that while television and digital media operate under intense pressure, this distinction sets credible organizations apart from unverified players. Malayala Manorama has heavily invested in AI but stresses the need for strict guardrails to prevent industry chaos, making verified accounts and blue ticks more crucial than ever.

“As custodians of traditional media, we remain cautious in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. While AI presents fascinating opportunities, we emphasise the need to reflect on our core values and identity as a media organization, ensuring that innovation is balanced with responsibility,” she concluded.

Mr. Puneet Jain emphasized that with news consumption shifting online, the spread of misinformation has become a major concern. Citing Mr. Vaishnaw, he reiterated the need for strong editorial standards and clear policies, as many platforms, left unchecked, operate with inconsistent or absent guidelines while managing an overwhelming volume of content. He
concluded by warning that as AI increasingly drives content creation—shifting from institutions to individuals, and now to machines—the lack of well-defined editorial roles and standards poses a serious risk of worsening the misinformation crisis.

Mr. Singhvi highlighted three key areas,starting with content integrity. Speaking for the panel, he emphasized that established media houses uphold journalistic standards by using AI as a tool,not a replacement. Every piece undergoes editorial oversight to maintain accuracy, credibility, and the human touch.

Mr. Singhvi’s second focus was technological evolution, drawing parallels to the rise of Pascal, C++, and .Net. He predicted a similar trajectory for AI, where future AI agents will be built on existing models, leading to a competitive, multi-player landscape rather than dominance by a few. Echoing Mr. Vaishnaw’s concerns, he stressed the need for timely policies to uphold editorial integrity and fairness.

Mr. Gupt shifted the discussion to actionable takeaways, asking the panelists about key policy considerations for India’s AI mission. Mr. Malhotra emphasized the distinction between AI as a creative aid and AI replacing journalists, stressing that credibility remains the media’s  responsibility. He warned of the risks posed by unregulated AI use in journalism and urged the government to implement robust policies to safeguard accuracy and integrity.

Mariam Mammen highlighted three key issues: ownership, voluntary licensing, and copyright. She stressed the need for government intervention when voluntary licensing fails, making copyright enforcement essential to determine content ownership. Concluding, she emphasized the importance of establishing strong safeguards to ensure responsible innovation.

Mr. Pawan Agarwal noted how at the beginning of the public internet, it was a platform for people to search and access data from a multitude of websites or platforms. However, in the  current landscape, it is being used by AI models to generate content without disclosing the source or giving credit to the owner. This phenomena, he adds, has led users to actively block crawlers on their web pages, as they have found their content on other platforms without any attribution or backlinks. In turn, this has limited and undermined the very basic idea of an open web and this is where government policies can be enforced to distinguish between open web for public access versus web for training and running AI models.

Mr. Puneet Jain expressed that he has a three-fold wish when it comes to policies formulated by the government. The first, in his view, is labelling verified and credible media houses and news handles, so the audience can make an informed decision,when it comes to consumption of content.His second recommendation was to label 100% AI-generated content, to curb the
spread of misinformation. And third, is to foster a policy ecosystem that encourages collaboration among all stakeholders like policy makers, content creators, and media houses, so that nobody is left on their own to chart the way forward.

Mr. Gupt concluded the panel discussion by asking for a short recommendation on what the government can do to help the publishers - and the unanimous answer, as told by Mr. Pawan Agarwal was to increase efficiency in the newsroom.