2. Growth of Digital Journalism in South Asia: The Story So Far

From a print-led news media in the second half of twentieth century in South Asia, the region had decidedly moved to an electronic media (television) led news media in the first two decades of twenty-first century. Interestingly, Nepal had seen a radio boom unlike the others in the region. In the Pre-pandemic years of the last decade, there has been cautious growth of digital divisions of the legacy media. However, the pandemic has leapfrogged digital news media in all the nations in this region, aided and abetted more by protests in some nations (Sri Lanka and Burma particularly). This process was also supported by the gradual bridging of digital divide and people’s changing media consumption habits. This chapter will explore the trajectory of digital news media, with mobile first option increasingly being the way to go. It will also explore the structural limitations inhibiting further growth and the nature and reasons of stunted revenues growth in digital news platforms, except a few honourable exceptions. It will conclude on the future trends and how a more enabling eco-system can give further growth to web-led news media.