The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) held its second virtual roundtable discussion on Friday, focusing on the challenges of establishing partnerships between news publishers and tech giants to rebuild the journalism industry. The panel included Puneet Jain (CEO, HT Digital), Avinash Pandey (CEO, ABP Network), Dr Annurag Batra (Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Businessworld & exchange4media), Taylor Owen (Beaverbrook Chair of Media, Ethics and Communication, Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University), Dr Courtney Radsch (Fellow, UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy) and Paul Deegan (President and Chief Executive Officer, News Media Canada).
The panel discussed a range of solutions to the challenges facing the news media sector, including direct communication and modifications to existing laws. Owen discussed the need for better communication between digital news publishers and major tech companies, and how India’s policymakers could learn from Canada’s upcoming News Media Bargaining Code. Deegan argued for the need for international legislation to support a strong, independent press. India and other nations have shown interest in the code, which is seen as an improvement over a similar code implemented in Australia.