: Challenge Before the Columnist
Today, artificial intelligence is blurring the distinctions between writers. The real challenge before the columnist is to respond swiftly—writing immediately after an event unfolds, while its meaning is still fresh and contested. Artificial intelligence can reorganise language, refine arguments, and even reshape viewpoints, but it cannot replace original thought. Your perspective, shaped by lived experience, ideological commitment, and moral judgement, remains uniquely yours—and that is something no machine can substitute.
Dr Santosh Kumar Mohapatra
Imperative of pro- people perspective
The international newspapers place a premium on the original analysis and distinctive viewpoints of writers. Information is available to everyone and is largely the same; what truly matters is how it is interpreted, contextualised, and presented. It is the writer’s insight, clarity of argument, and unique framing that transform common facts into meaningful commentary.
Any issue can be interpreted either from a pro-people perspective or from a pro-rich, pro–ruling-class standpoint. Writing from the ruling-class angle is often more rewarding—bringing recognition, access, and material benefits—while a pro-people position rarely offers such incentives and may even invite resistance or isolation. Yet it is precisely this pro-people perspective that is most necessary. It gives voice to the marginalised, challenges entrenched power, and keeps alive the ethical purpose of journalism: to question authority and stand with those who are unheard.
Dr Santosh Kumar Mohapatra
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