INDIA. New Delhi. The Media Rumble (TMR), the annual news and media forum, hosted by Newslaundry and Teamwork Arts, will be back this year in a new avatar with TMR Dispatches and TMR@Online. At TMR, leading news professionals, tech innovators, policymakers, filmmakers, and investors from across the world discuss the future of news, tech, and policy. A new addition this year is a fortnightly series in the lead-up to September titled TMR Dispatches. The theme of TMR Dispatches is the “NEWS”.
The fourth edition of TMR, titled TMR@Online, will be a digital-only forum. Scheduled for September 2020, TMR@Online will feature conversations and discussions on some of the most pressing issues concerning news media. Among the themes that TMR focuses on this year will naturally be the overwhelming impact of COVID-19, acknowledging the role of “media front-line warriors” while also analysing the economic impact of the pandemic on the news media – layoffs, ad-revenue trajectories and the need to rethink business models. Sessions on the migration crisis, and how it was covered by the press will also be hosted. In addition, topics such as gender and caste composition of Indian media houses, press freedom, hate news, and the future of news media in an age of digital transformation will feature at TMR@Online.
The TMR Dispatches series will cover the entire media landscape in India, region-wise, and will discuss the challenges, trends and the way forward for the news media sector. The first session of TMR Dispatches will focus on North India under the theme: Myth or Reality? Hindi and proximity to Delhi give North India an advantage in the news space.
Scheduled for 26th June, 2020, the session will feature Shahid Siddiqui, former Member of Parliament and the Managing Director & Chief Editor of Nai Duniya, an Urdu weekly published from New Delhi; Arfa Khanum Sherwani, award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at The Wire; Punjabi writer and columnist Sukirat; and Himanshu Dwivedi, Chief Editor of Hari Bhoomi, a daily Hindi newspaper published in North and Central India. The session will be moderated by Manisha Pande, Executive Editor at Newslaundry. TMR Dispatches will be scheduled fortnightly from June to September in the lead-up to TMR@Online and can be accessed on all TMR’s social media handles as well as on the official TMR website.
TMR@Online, which is scheduled between early and mid-September, will feature a host of national and international media voices. Some of the key international speakers scheduled to participate include Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, who will throw light on the changing digital media landscape across the world; Joel Simon, Executive Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) who will discuss press freedom and surveillance, attacks and arrests of journalists and Marco Mass, Founder of Datenfreunde, Germany, who will speak on a technology panel. Nandini Jammi, Co-founder, Sleeping Giants Movement, USA and Richard Wilson, Co-Founder, Stop Funding Hate, UK, will address the issue of brand and corporate sponsored-advertising in a session titled Hate News,Brought to you by: With Great Advertising Comes Great Responsibility. Another key session will feature a discussion on the Rwandan genocide and the role of media and will have Allan Thompson, Associate Professor, Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, who is also the Editor of The Media and the Rwanda Genocide.
Speaking about The Media Rumble 2020, Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts, said, “In a technology-enabled world where consumers are bombarded with multiple messages and information, it is imperative to encourage informed judgment and the ability to sift trusted information from propaganda, sensationalism and fake news. The role of news media has never been more critical and with TMR Dispatches and TMR@Online, The Media Rumble leads this charge by creating new opportunities for knowledge-sharing, discussing best practices and enabling media professionals as well as consumers to connect on issues of significance. As we navigate through the new normal, Teamwork Arts brings its expertise in curating unique platforms for today’s digital audiences.”
Abhinandan Sekhri, CEO and Co-founder, Newslaundry said, “While this year TMR@Online is a digital only-festival, the digital experience is not just for 2020, it’s here to stay. The Covid-19 crises has forced the world to go online, and in so doing has opened up opportunities – such as inviting a diverse and inclusive range of panelists for TMR@Online 2020 from across the globe. TMR Dispatches too will feature important conversations on a digital stage that will lead up to TMR@Online. It’s an all-new format and calendar.”
TMR Dispatches Schedule
Friday, 26 June 2020
5:00 PM IST
North India – Myth or Reality? Hindi and proximity to Delhi give North India an advantage in the news space
Friday, 10 July 2020
5:00 PM IST
East India – We don’t need no mainstream: Our stories, our storytellers
Friday, 24 July, 2020
5:00 PM IST
West – Mumbai’s Lutyens: Is entertainment journalism all about access?
Friday, 24 August, 2020
5:00 PM IST
South India – Reclaiming centre space in news: A robust market and innovation hub
Note: An updated schedule for TMR Dispatches with additional sessions will be announced soon. TMR@Online Schedule will be released closer to the date.
