Coop-owned media in India; Prospects and Opportunities

???????????With more than 8 lakh cooperatives covering more than 90 % of the villages, the cooperatives in India ?have?a significant share in all the all the areas of socio-economic activities in India. Though media is considered the 4th pillar of democracy, and cooperatives are democratic and autonomous organizations , they have a negligible presence in the field of media. The fact remains that media?in India remains primarily corporate-run, and cooperatives do not fit into the scheme of things.

?In the wake of increasing government control over media, an independent people- oriented ?and ?managed model of journalism which is best represented by cooperatives, has yet to emerge in India. What are the reasons behind this? Firstly, awareness regarding the benefits of cooperative model amongst the masses is very less. A negative perception of cooperatives amongst the masses is still dominant. Lack of effective communication strategies with emphasis on public campaigns to create awareness for cooperatives amongst youth and general masses is a big hindering factor. Though initiatives in creating awareness about cooperatives amongst the youth in schools, colleges and universities have been taken, but cooperative education and training programs do not have much practical orientation in motivating youth to set up cooperatives successfully in new areas of activities including media.

The holding of COOPATHON event by ICA-AP in the last few years has created a conducive climate for young entrepreneurs in India?to come up with more?platform?proposal ideas with emphasis on technology infusion. The media-oriented proposals will definitely emerge in the times to come.?It is indeed heartening that SEWA, a women cooperative federation is involved in a platform coop project, more particularly related to building up a beauty services platform cooperative. The success of this project will have many take-ways for a coop media project of such type.

Secondly, the cooperative organizations in India have yet to take initiatives to promote cooperatives in the field of media, though National Federation of Film and Fine Arts Cooperative?which is primarily involved in producing films and documentaries on cooperatives, can take up this task on a pilot basis. The successful cooperative organizations like AMUL, IFFCO, etc which have a pure cooperative character, and function in accordance with cooperative principles and values, can promote setting up of coop-owned media ventures. For example, starting of a cooperative newspaper which has been a major recommendation at coop media conferences?has not been implemented as yet. A coop media venture can very well start this newspaper, with?a digital version, as the movement with large number of cooperatives, wide network and reach can definitely ?build up it’s image through a newspaper.

????Now coming to the vital question of funding of media, public-funded media is prevalent in India, but this leads to regulatory and financial control which curtails press freedom. There are public broadcasts which tend to become?a mouthpiece for government and enjoy little journalistic credibility. While funds may not be a problem with primarily corporate-run media, this remains a big problem for media which is primarily run on advertisements or regular sales, which often face the pressure of funds.

The subscription-base model of media is emerging fast in India?as digital news media is emerging fast with ?focus on breaking important news stories. Some of these platforms make some of its content freely available, while the rest is available only to the subscribers. The examples here are- Wire, Scroll, News Laundry, etc. Some of the established print media newspapers like Times of India, Economic Times, Hindu have switched over to subscriber-news based model based on their digital editions. As far as coop media publications are concerned, these are primarily-institutional driven, and thrive on institutional funds, or some advertisements. No doubt, they do not enjoy full freedom and ?have to work within the guidelines of these institutions.

?At a time when subscription based model of journalism is emerging fast in media, with emphasis on digital editions, this provides a good opportunity for cooperative media ?ventures to emerge. For finding subscribers, you have to go to the people and convince them with your good work so that they can become your subscribers. A cooperative media venture with strong roots in the communities, and having equal stakes of all the members, ?based on the ?subscription model can be a good alternative to corporate-run media ventures, as cooperatives based on their membership strength and participatory character ?can provide journalistic freedom. However, for this to materialize, the cooperative sector in India has to take a lead, and promote such ventures so that they become role model for mainstream journalism.

Today Indian journalism faces a big trust deficit, so there is definitely a?strong case for?emergence of coop-owned media ventures?as cooperatives offer a business model based on values of democracy, equity and solidarity. ?The?community media, more particularly community radio ventures have not made much impact due to govt ownership,?their links with big business, political linkage, etc.?At a time when rural journalism in India is not much developed, though rural digital media ventures like https://www.ruralvoice.in/?have come up, a ?cooperative owned model can be of much use because cooperative model has a strong rural orientation..

In India, the coop media ventures ?of others countries like Associated Press, ?https://www.thenews.coop/global/ may be studied in detail, and they can be best modified suiting Indian conditions by coop-owned media ventures. Similarly, coop media organizations of other countries?should also visualize ways to expand their operations in India considering the fact that there is ?a big opportunity to utilize the coop model for better journalistic credibility and giving?the journalists a sense of ownership. There must be a paradigm shift in journalism in India through cooperative model in the times to come. ????