Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bangalore (SIBM-B) hosted its Media summit called AGNITIO 2010 on September 4, 2010. The event witnessed the convergence of many eminent personalities from media and other fields on a common platform. The event comprised of two panel discussions on the topics - "Media: The Fourth Pillar of Democracy?" and "Social Media vs. Traditional Media: Shall the Twain Meet?"

Both the panel discussions were moderated by Mr Krishna B. Mariyanka, VP, National Executive & Director, Governing Council - Public Relations Council of India.

In the first panel discussion on 'Media: The Fourth Pillar of Democracy', D.B. Chandre Gowda ,Lok Sabha MP, Bangalore North citing his personal experiences, commented on the evolution of media over the years since independence. He said, "The role of media, with the introduction of new technologies, has not only diversified but has increased considerably." He also stressed that not only media but the other three pillars of democracy should also be honest in what they are supposed to do.

Yeshvanth Kumar, Owner, Apex Media commented that sadly media today has become eighty percent business and twenty percent journalism. He suggested that the common man should now take the charge and question the credibility of media. He said, "Media's responsibility in current global environment is doubly important as it is the window to the outside world; and, it plays a very important role in building the faith in the system."

K. Giriprakash, Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Business Line, answering an audience question, opposed the concept of having a media watchdog. He said, "The job of media is to be a watchdog itself; and it's time that people stop being cynical about what is printed."

Praveena Sharma,Deputy Editor, DNA newspaper cited her past experiences where the entire media fraternity was held responsible for one news agency's wrong reports.

The second panel discussed the topic - "Social Media vs. Traditional Media: Shall the Twain Meet?"

Kiruba Shankar, CEO, Business Blogging Pvt Ltd. said that though social media is a great platform for communicating an individual opinion, professional journalism will remain irreplaceable; that traditional media and social media can coexist.

Vigyan Verma, AVP & Client Services Director, JWT stated that although traditional media would never get replaced by the social media, there can be a convergence of the traditional media with new-age technology.

Aditya Anand, Editor, Mid-Day recognized the fear that exists in the media houses, but rejected the claim that traditional media can ever lose its shine.

K.R. Sreenivas ,Editor, Bangalore Mirror said, "Social media can never be as credible as traditional media because trusts are formed over a period of time and also social media like blogs, Facebook updates etc are not moderated by a single reliable source."He encouraged the students to regularly read The Economist to understand the art of writing.

Dhanya Rajendran, Bureau Chief, South India, Times Now appreciated the fact that social media has provided a platform for everyone to voice their opinions but this must be done within the boundaries. According to her, "In India, in spite of all its vices, traditional media has not been rejected, and that social media taking over traditional media is still a long way off.

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